Don Benito - Spain

A few weeks ago i was in Salamanca for the 1st Portuguese Road Trip. We met to spanish girls there, one was already a postcrosser and the other, Mari Angeles, joined postcrossing after the meeting. I've received this card from her last week.

This is the Ave Maria Open Air Theatre in Don Benito, a small city in the Badajoz province, Extremadura, near the left bank of the Guadiana river. The theatre was built in 1927.

Officials from USA

I'm finally on holidays and in the next days i'll have time to postcards hobby. I've just scanned and uploaded a few cards, now i just need to post some of them. Lets start with 2 official cards from USA.

US-521646, sent by Elenie.

I love vulcanoes, Elenie read that on my wishlist and sent me this amazing Mount St. Helens card.

"Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is 96 miles (154 km) south of Seattle and 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a friend of explorer George Vancouver who made a survey of the area in the late 18th century. The volcano is located in the Cascade Range and is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire that includes over 160 active volcanoes. This volcano is well known for its ash explosions and pyroclastic flows.

Mount St. Helens is most famous for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980, which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed. The eruption caused a massive debris avalanche, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 feet (2,950 m) to 8,365 feet (2,550 m) and replacing it with a 1 mile (1.6 km) wide horseshoe-shaped crater.

The Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was created to preserve the volcano and allow for its aftermath to be scientifically studied." - in: wikipedia

US - 526029, sent by Ann.

The card doesn't identify the beach, it only says "the beautiful beaches and aqua color waters of Florida".

Brazilian cards

Mauro sent me this week this 2 cards from 2 cities in his state Piauí.

"Parnaíba is a port city in Piauí, Brazil, on the right bank of the Parnaíba River, 360 km north of the capital, Teresina. It is one of the only four coastal cities of the state.

The town has some buildings of the old Portuguese type, including two churches and a fine hospital." - in: wikipedia

On there card there´s some views of Parnaíba: the Eagle Monument, Portinho Lagoon, Our Lady of the Grace Church, Humberto de Campos cashew tree, Parnaíba River Delta, Civic Center and the Barcas Port.

"Oeiras is a municipality in the Microregion of Picos of the Brazilian State of Piauí. Oeiras grew up around a church founded in 1695 dedicated to Our Lady of the Victory. Oeiras was elevated to the level of town in 1712, then became the capital of Piauí in 1759. In 1761 it became a city. The capital was transferred to Teresina in 1851." - in: wikipedia

More official cards

I've received these officials during this week. They're from Russia and Finland.

RU-70576, sent by Anna "lapka8".This is a beautiful Black Sea beach near Tuapse.

FI-656082, sent by Mervi.

Dipoli Internatiol Congress Centre in Otaniemi.

Cartagena - Colombia

New country, new unesco world heritage site :D Thanks to Jenny "razviti".

This is the San Filipe Castle in Cartagena, Colombia.

"Cartagena de Indias was founded in 1533 by the Spanish conqueror Pedro de Heredia, who actually built it at the location of an existing settlement of the indigenous Carib Indians. It soon acquired importance as the main gateway for Spain into South America, and it became the warehouse of the Spanish treasures taken from the newly discovered territories. Not surprisingly, Cartagena became a prime target for pirates, and in order to defend it against attackers, the city was turned into a fortress, surrounded by a defensive wall. The Spanish also decided to build a real fortress, which was cleverly constructed to make it difficult to attack and impossible to conquer. Initially based on a design of the Dutch engineer Ricardo, the fortress was ultimately finished by Antonio de Arévalo."

Cartagena's colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

"The Castillo San Felipe, originally built in the 16th century and rebuilt in the mid-17th century, was so strong and so well located, on top of the San Lázaro Hill, that is was never taken. There were plenty of attempts, heavy battles, but in the end, the defenders always prevailed. The most famous battle was the one waged by the English admiral Edward Vernon in 1741. The British were so convinced of their victory against the Spanish, based on their much larger numbers of ship, cannons and men, that they even minted coints depicting a humiliated Blas de Lezo kneeling before Vernon. In reality, however, the Brits were defeated, and the physically handicapped Blas de Lezo, missing a leg, an arm and an eye, turned into a hero. He is still visible as a statue at the foot of the San Lázaro hill on which the fortress is built. Copies of the British coins depicting his defeat are attached to the sides of the pedestal on which his statue stands." - in: www.traveladventures.org/continents/southamerica/castillo-san-felipe/shtml

Officials

The officials i've received these last days from Finland, Germany, Canada and Thailand.

FI-655399, sent by Annika.

DE-431639, sent by Lillie.
Kath, St. Joseph Church.


CA-76527, sent by Sanna.
Emily Carr (Canadian 1871-1945). Indian Church, 1929. Oil on canvas.

TH-28328, sent by Sathitpom.
Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Ayutthaya. The ruins of the 3 chedis and the royal temple.

XI Photo Contest

After a week i can finally make new posts. I've a lot of new cards, mainly because of my road trip to Salamanca, Spain with a few portuguese postcrossers and i've also received some cards. These 3 are related with the photo contest on the portuguese community that i've recently won.
The 1st 2 cards are from Santarém and have been given to me by Susana "susanaportugal" and Diogo "diegoportucale". The 3rd is from Sintra and it was sent by Ana "ninocas".

"Church of St. Stephen - Church of the Holy Miracle (Igreja do Santissimo Milagre) Home to the 13th century Eucharistic Miracle of Santarem, a popular destination among Catholics worldwide.

Convent of Saint Claire (Convento de Santa Clara): 13th century feminine convent. Good example of Portuguese mendicant Gothic style." - in: wikipédia

Some of the landmarks and historical places in Sintra.

The stamp really smells like coffee :D