PT-1

 PT-1 was the very 1st official card ever sent through Postcrossing and I guess we can call it the "father" of all Postcrossing cards. It was sent by Paulo to Ana in July of 2005 and that's how it all started. This card here is a commemorative re-edition of that card and celebrates the 20 years of Postcrossing and friendships. 

This very special card was sent by Marie. She's probably the non-Portuguese postcrosser I've been in contact with the longest. We exchanged our 1st cards back in 2008 and we still keep sending each other cards every now and then. How lovely is this?!

 

Photos: Jean Guichard

Three beautiful lighthouses but where are they from? I had no idea but google images was very useful once again and gave me their locations. They are all Canadian lighthouses. 

The white lights are both located on Prince Edward Island.

The light on the left is the Panmure Head Lighthouse,a 17.7 metres (58 feet) octagonal, tapered, wooden tower, located at the north end of a sandy beach on Panmure Island, on the east coast of Prince Edward Island. It is Prince Edward Island's oldest wooden lighthouse and Heritage site.

The lighthouse has been a symbol of the local fishing and farming community of Panmure Island for over 150 years. With its classic design, and visual prominence in relationship to the land and water, it has often represented Prince Edward Island in provincial tourist material and continues to be a major tourist attraction in this area. - in: https://www.tourismpei.com

The white light on the right is Souris East Lighthouse, erected in 1880. It is a white and red square tapered wooden tower with a round lantern. The light stands 14.3 meters above the cliff on Knight Point overlooking the town of Souris. The Souris East Lighthouse has always been the symbol of the town and area. An atached dwelling was removed in 1959, and the light was changed to electricity in 1961. In 1991, Frank McIntosh, the last lighthouse keeper on PEI, retired from the Souris East Light. - in https://pointseastcoastaldrive.com

And the red light is La Martre Lighthouse, erected in 1906 and named after nearby Marten River. It is still operational and is jewel of the Gaspé coast.  Though fully automated at night, La Martre is the only light in Quebec that operates with a non automated system of weights and cables during the day, specifically for visitors’ viewing pleasure.

Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park - Brazil

 One, two and now a third card from a national park also classified as UNESCO site. The classification of this one took place last month, and Brazil added another site to its list of UNESCO sites.  

The Peruaçu River Canyon is located in the Peruaçu Caves National Park in northern Minas Gerais, perhaps the Brazilian state from which I have the most postcards. However, despite having received many postcards from there and purchased many others there, I didn't have a single postcard from the park. Luzia didn't wait long to surprise me, and the day after the site was classified, she wrote me this postcard. It was a surprise in celebration of Postcrossing's 20th anniversary. In fact, she says she was participating in the Postcrossing lounge on the anniversary! Thank you, Luzia.

 

Photo: Lumachadocastro

The park features dramatic karst landscapes, a complex of more than 200 cataloged caves, archaeological sites with human remains up to 12,000 years old, cave paintings, and a rich biodiversity.

(...) the park’s horizontal cave systems, formed in carbonate rock, reveal striking speleothems, collapsed dolines, limestone arches, and underground rivers. Developed in the stable São Francisco craton, the landscape reflects major climatic and geological changes from the Plio-Pleistocene. The park lies at the intersection of the Cerrado, Caatinga, and Atlantic Forest biomes, supporting over 2,000 plant and animal species, including many threatened ones. - in: https://whc.unesco.org