Brown Bears in Denali - Alaska

North America-Alaska-Denali On the full day tour of Denali I was lucky to see a number of brown bears. Pretty amazing to see and they were not far away , just off the road. 

This card is cancelled at the top and the bottom . It says Alaskan Frontier. 

Denali National Park - Alaska

North America-Alaska-Denali National Park Arrive by coach from seaport . A interesting drive. This national park is amazing. Loved it here. We took a full day tour through the park . Lots to see . 

This is a Post office box at the accommodation point. So mailed it here. . 

White Pass Route - Carcross Canada

North America-Canada-Yukon-Carcross Had a day trip out here by a mix of train and coach. Really enjoyed it . Stopped in Carcross for a few hours . This White pass route is well known and famous. 

On the day I got here , the post office closed early. I was planning on sticking this card with a $10 bill under the door, but they told me in the gift shop it would not work!! . So I gave it to them and they said they would post it for me. A nice cancellation. 

Skagway - Alaska

North America-Alaska-Skagway This town had some very nice buildings. I felt i was in a old Cowboy western movie set. I did have a nice walk up and down the town. Spend most of the time on a train going to Yukon Territory 

Hard to read the cancellation. Posted locally. 

Mendenhall Glacier - Alaska

North America-Alaska-Juneau This was more or less the exact look and location I had when I visited here in early August. It was a beautiful day . Got the Bus from Juneau and a walk . There is a interesting museum right beside the Glacier. On the ship also visited Glacier Bay, which was amazing , never to be forgotten 

Love the little stamp with the different faces and the hats. Very cleaver. 

Juneau Capital of Alaska

North America-Alaska-Juneau This shows the busy cruise dock and a overview of the city. This was visited taking the inside passage on an Alaskan cruise. Loved it all .

The back of the card is showing a map of the inside passage. Like the set of stamps showing rivers in the USA. 

Map of Alaska

North America-Alaska-Juneau I love maps . This is showing how big Alaska is comparing to the rest of the USA. Here I am in Juneau the capital of Alaska. Though being here it does not feel like a state capital. Very small. 

The Post office here had no official sign outside and was told it was contracted out. Well looking at the postmark it makes sense . Showing "Juneau AK Contract Station" . They had a few different choice of stamps. Staff at the "Post Office " which was also a shop were very helpful which was also a shop. 

Black bears in Alaska

North America-Alaska-Ketchikan One of my main goals for going to Alaska was to see black bears catching wild salmon in the rivers. I  had seen it before a few times on television. So took a float plane to Prince Wales island which is about 15 minutes from Ketchikan . Had about a 10 minute walk to a river. Waited about 40 minutes or so and hey presto a black bear appears. Spend about 2 hours there and seen about 6 bears. One was a mother with cubs. It was amazing and fantastic to see. I had planned to go earlier in the season , but you can only see bears from end of July ( which is when this trip was ) onwards. This was the second week the bears had started coming down to the river. A great add on trip and worth it and the great views from the old plane as well. 

I think the caption beside the stamps says it all. - Alaskan black bear goes fishing for salmon in Southwest Alaska. 

Ketchikan Alaska

North America-Alaska-Ketchikan This was my first stop on the cruise starting in Vancouver. I had a few hours in the afternoon to look around after my visit to see black bears. It was a very nice to just walk around and take it all in. First time to Alaska and my last part of the North America to visit on this journey . 

A small post office with a shop. No selection of stamps. This is a standard Global stamp for mail outside USA and Canada. 

Victoria - British Columbia

North America-Canada-Vancouver Island-Victoria My final card from Victoria. This beautiful sunny day setting was exactly like it was on the day I was here. Lovely gardens and well kept streets. Well worth the trip from Vancouver 

I had ran out of stamps so just purchased these stamps from the local post office. No other selection available. No postmark on this one. 

Empress Hotel - Vancouver Island

North America-Canada-Vancouver Island-Victoria This is the famous Empress hotel where I had afternoon tea. It was very nice, but nothing we would not have in Europe. But loved the history of the hotel . 

This card past the Canadian Postal system with no cancel. Not the first time . 

Victoria British Columbia

North America-Canada-Victoria  It is the Parliament Building for British Columbia. It is an impressive site especially coming by boat from Vancouver. Very well maintained city 

A standard Definitive stamp. I posted this locally and at least it got a postmark unlike the rest. 

Vancouver Cruise Port

North America-Canada-Vancouver This is the stepping stone to my next trip Alaska . So this postcard showing a cruise ship is perfect. Starting a Holland America cruise. My last one with them was around South America. I had seen quite a bit of Vancouver on my last two trips. Liked the city and the vibe. 

Visited a main Post office. Very modern looking and had a full selection of stamps. One showing 50 years since the moon landing. I remember watching that on TV in blank and white. Those were the days..... 

Calgary - Canada

North America-Canada-Calgary Had a new direct flight from Dublin to Calgary and then on to Vancouver. So only a airport stop. I had always wanted to visit  here, but could not do on this time. 

Posted this card in Vancouver when I arrived there as could not buy any stamps at Calgary airport to mail the card from there. 

Rio Muni - Equatorial Guinea

Africa-Equatorial Guinea-Rio Muni-Bata The Giraffe is the national animal of Equatorial Guinea. Though I did not see any. In Bata there is very little upscale developments compared to the island Malabo is on. 

As per the previous posting , this was postmarked at the Bata post office. 

Bata Equatorial Guinea

Africa-Equatorial Guinea-Rio Muni-Bata This is the central part of Equatorial Guinea in mainland Africa. The capital is in Malabo in Bioko an Island. I had visited there before . My previous stop here was just a aircraft stop . I did give a postcard to an airport employee to mail for me.. I am still waiting .... lol  So this was a 3 day stay here. To be honest hard to find much to do. It is rather run down and uncared for , compared to the capital and the surrounds. 

I had discovered before coming here that the Post office was not in operation.But fingers crossed. First of all the hotel the Ibis in Bata was not aware of any post office !! Everyone I asked no one knew were the Post office was. Luckily for me a friend had been a few years ago and e sent me a whats app with directions. It was about a 15 min walk from the hotel. Near the famous roundabout with the revolving restaurant. But I have to say it was in one of the worst conditions I have ever seen for a post office. I did manage to find an employee. She told me there was no international Postal service. Only to Malabo. But she did have stamps. They were stored in her handbag ! . And she postmarked this postcard for me. It did not go in the mail as there is no service. At least you can see Bata in the postmark. 

Puerto Rico - Canary Islands

Atlantic Ocean-Canary Islands-Gran Canaria-Puerto Rico I had holidayed here for many years in the late 80s . I spend a half day here and seen how much has changed and yet it stays the same. The same here was imported from Mauritania as it is not a natural beach 

I posted this in Las Palmas airport . Stamps showing Las Palmas as part of a set issued for each island in the Canaries. 

La Laguna - World Heritage Site

Atlantic Ocean-Canary Islands-Tenerife-La Laguna This was the old capital and had a very lovely evening here. It is about 45 mins by tram from Santa Cruz. Nice old buildings and full of atmosphere. This is also a World Heritage Site. 

I especially like this stamp for how simple it is. Just a single flip flop as we all them on the sand with the blue of the sea on the side. 

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Atlantic Ocean-Canary Islands-Tenerife-Santa Cruz de Tenerife This is the capital of Tenerife . One of the main attractions here is the beautiful Opera House. It is stunning outside as well as inside. Was just here for the day so did not get to see a show. But there is a lovely cafe and a great vies over the sea. 

The stamp on the right is one of the stamps issued for each Canary Island. I loved the stain glass window stamp with a beautiful finish , heard to see here. 

Puerto de la Cruz - Tenerife

Atlantic Ocean-Canary Islands-Tenerife-Puerto de la Cruz Took a short flight here from Gran Canaria. It was in fact cheaper then the boat trip. A nice enough town , stayed overnight. 

Head Post Office building here quite impressive outside. Had a good selection of stamps on offer. Very clear postmark.