Rocha do Navio - Madeira

 At the beginning of this month I visited Madeira again. It was my 6th visit to the island and like the other times, I went to places I had already been to and went to others for the first time. I had been to Santana a few times before but I had never been to the Rocha do Navio viewpoint. I didn't take the cable car but I loved the scenery and really enjoyed going there.

 Located in the municipality of Santana, on the north coast of the island of Madeira, the Rocha do Navio viewpoint offers a panoramic view over the deep Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding coastal region.

 

Objecto Anónimo, Lda

The landscape of this place is marked by the presence of the Ilhéu da Viúva, which stands out for its maximum altitude of 94 metres. It is a place with a valuable botanical heritage, part of the Natura 2000 Network, where the characteristic plants of the Macaronesian cliffs and some species exclusive to this archipelago stand out.
The Rocha do Navio viewpoint, through a steep pathway in the rock, leads to the Rocha do Navio Natural Reserve, a name that derives from the shipwreck, in the 19th century, of a Dutch boat. Being exclusively marine, this reserve is delimited between Ponta do Clérigo and Ponta de São Jorge, also including the aforementioned Ilhéu da Viúva and the Ilhéu da Rocha das Vinhas.
This protected area, which can also be reached by cable car, is of great recreational but also scientific value, given the natural heritage preserved here. The Rocha do Navio viewpoint is the ideal place to be peacefully surrounded by Madeira's natural beauty. - in: https://visitmadeira.com

Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino - Mexico

 This big whale is a grey-whale, which found in the lagoons of El Vizcaino, the perfect place to reproduce. This whale sanctuary, a UNESCO site since 1993, is actually recognized as the World's most important place for the reproduction of the once endangered Eastern subpopulation of the North Pacific Grey Whale. The protection of these winter breeding grounds has been paramount in the remarkable recovery of this species after near-extinction as a result of commercial whaling, including in these very lagoons.

This site is new in my collection and the card was sent from Germany by Svenja. 

 

Getty images/Bruce Shafer

The Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino is a serial property on the Pacific Coast of the central part of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. It comprises two coastal lagoons, Laguna Ojo de Liebre and Laguna San Ignacio, and their surroundings (...).
The total extent of the two components of the property is of 370,950 hectares, embedded in the much larger El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, Mexico's largest protected area (...).
The lagoons are home to numerous other marine mammals, such as Bottlenose Dolphin, California Sea Lion and Harbor Seal and four species of the endangered marine turtle. - in: https://whc.unesco.org

Lauca National Park - Chile

I haven't received any cards from Chile in more than 10 years, so when Carolina asked me if we could swap, I immediately said yes. This card is from Lauca National Park, in northern Chile but the card was sent from Easter Island.

 

Lauca National Park has 137.883 hectares protected by its Reserve of the Biosphere status. The park has different attractions like its fauna, topography and flora, found in precordillera between 3200 and 3800 meters above sea level. It has a typical fauna, with more than 100 bird species. Among the animals you can find there are alpacas, llamas, guanacos, vicuñas, pumas, tarucas, vizcachas, foxes, blanquillo, ñandus, puna partridges, huairavo, guallata, Chilean flamenco, the giant tagua, juarjal, puna and jergon duck, and condors. In the National Park it is possible to find amazing volcanoes that are 6,000 meters above sea level, like the Parinacota, Pomerape and Acotando Volcanoes. You can also see lava rivers. There is varied flora in ravines and slopes with Guacara, queñoa, perrito, tola, puscaya, tola supu and chilca forests. Above the 3800 meters, there are plains with exotic flora. The Lauca and Lluta Rivers are part of the park, as well as the Cotacotani Lagoons and the Chungara Lake. - in: https://www.visitchile.com

FOTW Bosnia and Herzegovina

 Sometimes the mailbox is empty for several days in a row and sometimes a simple card makes up for all those empty days. This one was a surprise from Eric. It is not only a new FOTW in my collection but also, if i'm not mistaken, the 2nd written and stamped card from Bosnia.

 

www.postcardsmarket.com

Bosnia and Herzegovina has an area of 51.197 km², a population of 3.531.159 and its capital is Sarajevo. 

Unique: 

* Perucica - one of the last preserved primeval forest in Europe (in Sutjeska National Park). This forest is considered to be around 20.000 years old; 

* Stecci - Middle Age tombstones. Mysteries of the Bosnian History, classified as UNESCO WHS since 2016; 

 Famous:  

* Ivo Andric - won the Nobel Prize of Literature for his novel "The Brigde on the Drina";

* Old Bridge in Mostar  - National Symbol. Built in the 16th century, it was destroyed in 1993 and reconstructed, rebuilt and opened in 2004; 

History: 

* First King - 1353 - 1377 - Tvrtko I of the Kotromanić Dynasty;

* Austro-Hungarian Rule - 1878 - 1919 - 28 June 1914, assassination of crown prince Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo;

* Independence - Bosnian war 1992-1995.

Toledo - Spain

I've been to Toledo many, many years ago and I don't remember much of the city. It is on my list of places to visit again. 

The 1st of these cards was sent by Heidi and the others were probably bought by me when I visited the city. 

 

 

Toledo is truly one of Spain's most magnificent cities. Dramatically sited atop a gorge overlooking the Río Tajo, it was known as the ‘city of three cultures’ in the Middle Ages, a place where – legend has it – Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities peacefully coexisted. Unsurprisingly, rediscovering the vestiges of this unique cultural synthesis remains modern Toledo’s most compelling attraction. Horseshoe-arched mosques, Sephardic synagogues and one of Spain’s finest Gothic cathedrals cram into its dense historical core. But the layers go much deeper. Further sleuthing will reveal Visigothic and Roman roots. - in: https://www.lonelyplanet.com

 

"Toledo is a municipality located 70 km south of Madrid. It is the capital of the province of Toledo and of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire and place of coexistence of Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures.

The Puente de San Martín (English: San Martin Bridge) is a medieval bridge across the river Tajo in Toledo. The bridge was constructed in the late 14th century by archbishop Pedro Tenorio to provide access to the old town from the west, complementing the older Puente de Alcántara linking to the east. Both sides of the bridge were heavily fortified with towers, the more recent dating from the 16th century.
The Puente de San Martín features five arches, with the largest in the middle reaching an impressive span length of 40 m. Only very few bridges in the world had reached that mark until then.

The Cathedral of Toledo was built between 1226-1493 and modeled after the Bourges Cathedral, though it also combines some characteristics of the Mudejar style. It is remarkable for its incorporation of light and features the Baroque altar called El Transparente, several stories high, with fantastic figures of stucco, paintings, bronze castings, and multiple colors of marble, a masterpiece of medieval mixed media by Narciso Tomé topped by the daily effect for just a few minutes of a shaft of light from which this feature of the cathedral derives its name." - in: wikipedia