FIJI - Young Indian girl dressed in traditional costumes

My second stamp card from Fiji, thanks to Veena for the awesome card.  This card shows an old photo of young indian girl in traditional costumes. Fiji was colonised by the British and as a result, Indians were bought over an indentured laborers to work the sugar cane fields. According to Wiki, Indian descent make up to 40% of Fiji population.

The stamp was issued in 2008, 1 of 4 celebrates 80th Anniversary of Southern Cross.

MONTENEGRO - Budva

My second card from Montenegro shows a wonderful view of Budva, thank you to Ivana for the swap.

"Budva (Serbian: Будва, Budva) is a Montenegrin town on the Adriatic Sea. It has around 14,000 inhabitants, and it is the centre of Budva Municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budva riviera, is the center of Montenegrin tourism, known for its well preserved medieval walled city, sandy beaches and diverse nightlife. Budva is 2,500 years old, which makes it one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic coast."

The left stamp was issued on 5 May 2015, set of 1 stamp celebrates 575 Years of First Written Mention of Centinje. And the right side stamp was issued on 12 May 2010, set of 1 stamp celebrates 400 years of the birth of St. Vasilij Ostroski.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND - Flying Fish Cove

My second card from Christmas Island, thanks to Kalvina for the card.

"Flying Fish Cove is the main settlement of Australia's Christmas Island. Although it was originally named after British survey-ship Flying-Fish, many maps simply label it “The Settlement”.  It was the first British settlement on the island, established in 1888.

About a third of the territory's total population of 1,600 lives in Flying Fish Cove, which lies near the north-eastern tip of the island. There is a small harbour which serves tourists with yachts. It is possible to dive at the settlement's beach."

BARBADOS - Cover

SAINT LUCIA - Nature in all its tropical splendour

Thanks to dear Jan for my second card from St Lucia.

SAINT LUCIA - Cover

WASHINGTON - Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, built in the mid-1850s and originally named cape Hancock, shown here with gun batteries from the Civil War era.  Located at the SW tip of Washington state. Thank you dear Debbie for the great card.

"The Cape Disappointment Light is a lighthouse on Cape Disappointment near the mouth of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington." Find more info here.

The area got the name from a fur trader named John Meares. He saw the headland and tried to cross over the bar into the Columbia River. When he missed, he named the area Cape Disappointment. Given that the Columbia River is the second longest river in the US at over 1200 miles long. By the time the current reaches the Pacific, it crashes creating a hazardous bar that mariners must cross. Due to this fact, the area has become known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. Originally, locals cut the tops of trees and used a white flag to create a daymark. At night they would set trees on fire to mark the entrance. By 1848, the Government agreed that a lighthouse was needed, but it would still be almost another eight years before a lighthouse was built."

QATAR - The Old Souq

Thank you to Sara for my second card from Qatar.

"Souq Waqif (Arabic: سوق واقف) is a souq in Doha, in the state of Qatar. Transliterated to "the standing market," the souq is noted for selling traditional garments, spices, handicrafts, and souvenirs. It is also home to dozens of restaurants and Shisha lounges. It is located in the district of Al Souq which is situated in the center of Doha.

The souq was founded at least a century ago in proximity of the dry riverbed known as Wadi Musheireb. It was a gathering place where Bedouins and locals would trade a variety of goods,[2] primarily livestock goods.[3] In 2006, the government launched a restoration program with the purpose of preserving its architectural and historical identity. Buildings constructed after the 1950s were demolished whereas older structures were refurbished. The restoration was completed in 2008."

CROATIA - Rab Arba

Rab is one of Crotian islands, founded back in the 1st century BC.  Apparently it was ruled by the Venetians up til the late 1700's before it became a part of Croatia. It's a bustling touristy town and full of historical buildings and well known of its 4 bell towers.  

Thank you so much dear Anja for sending card from your vacation.

"The town of Rab sits on a narrow sliver of land protruding towards the mainland, bounded by ancient city walls and recognisable by four church towers that form the familir outline, depicting Rab as a ship with four masts: bell tower of the church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the cathedral, the bell tower of the church of St. John the Evangelist (located near the ruins of the Church), the belfry of the church of St. Andrew the Apostle and the bell tower of the church of St. Justine. Further inland from the old town is a beautiful park called Komrčar, whose numerous paths wind around wooded hills all the way down to the beaches of Rab." Source.

The stamp was issued on 15.6.2015, it is 1 of 4 of the Croatia's undersea world II stamps.  Love the clear postmark from Rab post office.

ETHIOPIA - Coffee Ceremony, Fasil Castle and Nyangatom Tribe

Thanks to Solomon for these wonderful Ethiopia cards, sadly it all unwritten. Anyhow, I enjoy all the cards.

Coffee Ceremony (Ethiopia)

A coffee ceremony is a ritualised form of making and drinking coffee. The coffee ceremony is one of the most recognizable parts of Ethiopian culture. Coffee is offered when visiting friends, during festivities, or as a daily staple of life. If coffee is politely declined then most likely tea (shai) will be served.

17th Century Imperial Fasile Castle (Gonder)

Fasil Ghebbi is located in the Amhara National Regional State, in North Gondar Administrative Zone of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the fortress-city of Fasil Ghebbi was the residence of the Ethiopian emperor Fasilides and his successors. Surrounded by a 900-m-long wall, the city contains palaces, churches, monasteries and unique public and private buildings marked by Hindu and Arab influences, subsequently transformed by the Baroque style brought to Gondar by the Jesuit missionaries. Source

Southern Ethiopia Gnangatom

The Nyangatom tribe women wear a lot of different beads on their necks, which they never ever take off. As a young girl, she gets her first strand of beads as a gift from her father and for all the years of her life she adds more and more. Sometimes you can see a woman who wears up to 6-8 kg of beads! Source

SLOVAKIA - Bratislava

A panoramic view of Old Town with Castle and other major Bratislava sights.  Thanks to Gala for another glimpse of Bratislava, such a lovely city.

DOMINICA - Scenes of Dominica

Yayy...I just love it to watch my collection grow and grow, feels so excited when I get a card from a country I hadn't before. Isn't this card absolutely stunning? Thank you so much to Vickie for my first Dominica card, island country #153 to my collection.

"Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its area is 750 square kilometres and the highest point is Morne Diablotins, at 1,447 metres elevation. The population was 72,301 at the 2014 census. The capital is Roseau, located on the leeward side of the island.

The island was discovered by the Spanish, but colonized predominately by the French. Great Britain took it over in 1763 after the Seven Years' War and gradually established English as the official language. The island republic gained independence in 1978."

AZORES - Lagoa da Furnas

A great card from Sara shows Lagoa das Furnas. She wrote: 'This is a view from one of the local lagoons, we have several in the Azores.  It is a volcanic formation, 600 mt above sea level and its surrounded by hot springs, some of which you can bathe in all year round.'  Thanks Sara!

"The Azores, officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (Região Autónoma dos Açores), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal, composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the North Atlantic Ocean about 1,360 km west of continental Portugal, about 880 km northwest of Madeira, about 1,925 km southeast of Newfoundland, and about 6,392 km northeast of Brazil. Its main industries are agriculture, dairy farming (for cheese and butter products primarily), livestock ranching, fishing, and tourism, which is becoming the major service activity in the region."

The Lagoa das Furnas is a pond Portuguese, located on the island Azores in São Miguel, Azores, in the town of Furnas, municipality of Vila da Povoação and is related to the volcanic Furnas. It lies at an elevation of altitude of around 600 meters."

The postcard was not duly cancelled by the postal authority.

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES - La Soufriere Volcano

Today my letterbox just made me really happy – Look what it had for me! A card from the island, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, marked as island country at #152, my first ever card and stamps from the islands! Thank you so much Kate for sharing some view of the islands.

"Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles Island arc, in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean. The country is also known as St. Vincent.

Its 389 km2 (150 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of smaller islands stretching south from Saint Vincent Island to Grenada. Most of Saint Vincent lies within the Hurricane Belt.

To the north of Saint Vincent lies Saint Lucia, to the east Barbados. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a densely populated country (over 300 inhabitants/km2) with approximately 120,000 inhabitants. Its capital is Kingstown, also its main port. Saint Vincent has a French and British colonial history.

La Soufrière (Vincentian Creole: Soufray) ("The Sulfurer") or Soufrière Saint Vincent is an active volcano on the island of Saint Vincent in the Windward Islands of the Caribbean. Many volcanoes in the Caribbean are named Soufrière (French: "sulphur outlet")."

VATICAN CITY - St Peter's Basilica

Thank you so much to Lucy for sending me card from her vacation.  My first written and stamp card from Vatican city comes as country #151 on my list.

The card reads: St Peter's. The Basilica is the work of great artists from the Roman renaissance; L. B. Alberti, Bramante, Raffaello, Michelangelo.

"Vatican City (officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano), is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. With an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of 842, it is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and population."

The stamp was issued on 19 February 2015, it is 1 of a set of 4 issued to commemorate Pontificate of Pope Francis 2015.