Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic  is a sovereign state occupying the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population the Dominican Republic is the second-largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,445 square kilometres (18,705 sq mi) and 10.4 million people, of which approximately three million live in metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.

Christopher Columbus landed on the island on December 5, 1492, which the Taíno people had inhabited since the 7th century. It became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas; namely Santo Domingo, the oldest continuously inhabited city and the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the New World. After more than three hundred years of Spanish rule the Dominican people declared independence in November 1821. 

The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The year-round golf courses are among the top attractions on the island. A geographically diverse nation, the Dominican Republic is home to the region's tallest mountain peak, Pico Duarte, as well as the Caribbean's largest lake and lowest elevation, Lake Enriquillo. The island has an average temperature of 26 °C and great climatic and biological diversity. The country is also the site of the first cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress built in all of the Americas, located in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, an area declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Music and sport are of great importance in the Dominican culture, with Merengue and Bachata as the national dance and music, and baseball as the favorite sport.

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Valery for the sunny card from Dominican Republic ^_^

Sent: 21 April 2016   Received: 20 June 2016  Travelled: 61 days

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , is a United States territory located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic, and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro also known as Fort San Felipe del Morro or Morro Castle, is a 16th-century citadel located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Lying on the northwestern-most point of the islet of Old San Juan, Castillo San Felipe del Morro is named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. The fortification, also referred to as el Morro or 'the promontory,' was designed to guard the entrance to the San Juan Bay, and defend the Spanish colonial port city of San Juan from seaborne enemies.

The biggest surprise yesterday! The 156th territory in my collection

and another surprise, there's a castle in Puerto Rico?!? 

Thank you Maria for always remembering me on your travels.

Can't believe I have another Caribbean gem.

Sent: 18 December 2014   Received: 14 January 2015   Travelled: 27 days

Philipsburg,Sint Maarten

Excerpt: St Maarten, Dutch West Indies

The two main streets paralleling the beach are Front and Back streets (in Dutch Voorstraat 

and Achterstraat). Connecting them are little alleys called streegjes. Along Front Street 

are numerous duty-free shops, casinos and modern hotels. Town Square lies in the center 

with its Old courthouse and the Pier where cruise ship passengers disembark.

Philipsburg is the main town and capital of the country of Sint Maarten. The town is situated on a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. The island was first sighted by Christopher Columbus on 11 November 1493, but there was already an Arawak settlement there before his discovery. Philipsburg was founded in 1763 by John Philips, a Scottish captain in the Dutch navy; the settlement soon became a bustling centre of international trade. Two historic forts bear witness to Philipsburg's strategic importance in St. Maarten's history: Fort Amsterdam and Fort Willem. The main shopping district, Front Street, is in the heart of the city. Philipsburg also has a port that is visited by many cruise liners, ships like Celebrity Solstice, Crown Princess, Disney Magic, and since 2010, Oasis of the Seas.

My first card of the new year! The 155th territory/country in my collection. Yay!

Thank you Tom for this card from the otherside of this island! The smallest 

island divided into two territories.

Sent: 27 November 2014   Received: 2 January 2015   Travelled: 36 days

Smuggler's Cove, British Virgin Islands

I think this is my favourite Caribbean card, after "Hell" from Grand Cayman!

Who doesn't like a card with the name Smuggler's Cove. 

Thank you Tom for this great addition to my Caribbean collection and also the 

Hummingbirds :D 

154th country

Sent: 20 November 2014   Received: 30 December 2014   Travelled: 40 days

Saint Martin

Saint Martin (French: Saint-Martin; Dutch: Sint Maarten) is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 300 km east of Puerto Rico. The 87 square kilometres  island is divided roughly 61/39 between France (53 square kilometres)  and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (34 square kilometres ) ; the two parts are roughly equal in population. It is the smallest sea island divided between two nations with inhabitants. The division dates to 1648. The southern Dutch part comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The northern French part comprises the Collectivité de Saint-Martin (Collectivity of St. Martin) and is an overseas collectivity of France.

Haha! a great map card showing the division of Saint Martin from Sint Maarten.

Thank you Tom for sending this great map card! The arrows on the border of the card show

the distance to the neighbouring islands. 153rd country.

Sent: 28 November 2014   Received:   24 December 2014   Travelled: 26 days

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda (Spanish for "ancient" and "bearded") is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands (including Great Bird, Green, Guinea, Long, Maiden and York Islands and further south, the island of Redonda). The country is nicknamed "Land of 365 Beaches" due to the many beaches surrounding the islands. 

English Harbour on the south-eastern coast is famed for its protected shelter during violent storms. It is the site of a restored British colonial naval station called "Nelson's Dockyard" after Captain Horatio Nelson. Today English Harbour and the neighbouring village of Falmouth are internationally famous as a yachting and sailing destination and provisioning centre. During Antigua Sailing Week, at the end of April and beginning of May, the annual world-class regatta brings many sailing vessels and sailors to the island to play sports.

Thank you Tom for 152nd country to my collection :D

The island is also noted for the world's sweetest pineapple the "Antigua Black"

Pineapple isn't a favourite fruit of mine, I always pick it out from my food or

pizza when it shows up on my plate :p 

 Sent: 20 November 2014   Received: 22 December 2014   Travelled: 32 days

Dominica

Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday (domingo in Latin), 3 November 1493.

Dominica, known as "The Nature Island of the Caribbean" due to its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, which are protected by an extensive natural park system; the most mountainous of the Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava craters and include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in the world possesses the most pristine wilderness in the Caribbean. Originally, it was protected by sheer mountains which led the European powers to build ports and agricultural settlements on other islands. More recently, the citizens of this island have sought to preserve its spectacular natural beauty by discouraging the type of high-impact tourism which has damaged nature in most of the Caribbean.

The Sisserou parrot (Amazona imperialis) is Dominica's national bird and is endemic to its mountain forests.

 151th country to my collection , big thanks to Tom for this

beautiful card of the Nature island!

Sent:20 November 2014   Received: 15 December 2014   Travelled: 25 days

Saint Kitts and Nevis

The Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island country in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population. The country is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state.

There is some disagreement over the name which Columbus gave to St. Kitts. For many years it was thought that he named the island San Cristobal, after his patron saint Saint Christopher, the saint of travelling. However, new studies suggest that Columbus named the island Sant Yago (Saint James). The name "San Cristobal" was apparently given by Columbus to the island now known as Saba, 20 miles northwest. It seems that "San Cristobal" came to be applied to the island of St. Kitts only as the result of a mapping error.
No matter the origin of the name, the island was well documented as "San Cristobal" by the 17th century. The first English colonists kept the English translation of this name, and dubbed it "St. Christopher's Island."
In the 17th century, a common nickname for Christopher was Kit, or Kitt. This is why the island was often informally referred to as "Saint Kitt's Island," further shortened to "Saint Kitts."

Another beautiful card from the Caribbean, the 150th in my collection!

At first I thought the stamp must have been stolen, but it probably fell off

hence the imcomplete postmark. Thank you Tom for this great card!

Sent: 21 November 2014   Received: 15 December 2014   Travelled: 24 days

Saint Lucia

One of the Windward Islands, Saint Lucia was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French, the island's first European settlers. Rule of the island changed frequently (it was seven times each ruled by the French and British). In 1814, the British took definitive control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West Indies".

The volcanic island of Saint Lucia is more mountainous than many other Caribbean islands, with the highest point being Mount Gimie, at 950 metres (3,120 feet) above sea level. Two other mountains, the Pitons, form the island's most famous landmark. They are located between Soufrière and Choiseul on the western side of the island. Saint Lucia is also one of the few islands in the world that boasts a drive-in volcano.

My 149th country, thank you Tom for this beautiful amazing view of Soufriere town 

with the background of the World Heritage Site, Gros Piton and Petit Piton.

Sent:19 November 2014   Received: 9 December 2014   Travelled: 20 days

The first from Barbados

Barbados is a sovereign island country in the Lesser Antilles.It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about 168 kilometres (104 mi) east of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and 400 kilometres (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside of the principal Atlantic hurricane belt.

Thank you Monika for this postcard! My 144th country in my collection.

Sent: 25 August 2014   Received: 15 Ocotober 2014   Travelled: 51 days

Jamaica

 

Half Moon Hotel Beach, one of the finest beaches in Jamaica

deriving its name from the shape of the bay. ©1973

 

Thank you Halef for this vintage Jamaican card sent from the

Turks and Caicos!

Jamaica would be my 136th country

Sent: 1 May 2014   Received: 11 June 2014   Travelled: 41 days

Martinique!

Martinique  is an island in the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of 1,128 square kilometres (436 sq mi) and a population of 386,486 inhabitants (as of Jan. 2013). Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. One of the Windward Islands, it is directly north of St. Lucia, northwest of Barbados, and south of Dominica.

As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is one of the twenty-seven regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the French Republic. As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its currency is the Euro. Its official language is French, although many of its inhabitants also speak Antillean Creole (Créole Martiniquais).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinique

Special thanks to Melanie for this beautiful card from Martinique, merci beaucoup!

Sent: 12 January 2014   Received: 14 February 2014   Travelled: 33 days

Whoa!! Hell is here

 

Hell is a group of short black , limestone formations located in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Located in West Bay, it is roughly the size of a half a soccer field.

The area has become a tourist attraction, featuring a fire-engine red hell-themed post office from which you can send "postcards from hell"

Thank you very much Maria for this holiday postcard from Hell :D

 Sent: 5 December 2013,   Received: 24 December 2013,   Travelled: 19 days

Bahamas

A country consisting of more than 700 islands,cays and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, north of Cuba and Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti) northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the US state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys. Its capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence.

 Thank you Niiki for this beautiful map postcard!

 Postmarked: 26 April 2013

Grenada

An Island country consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest o Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Grenanda is also known as the "Island of Spice" because of the production of nutmeg and mace crops which Grenada is one of the world's largest exporters.



 

Thank you Reinelle for the beautiful stamps and postcard :D

Sent: 9 May 2013

Recevied : May-August 2013 (away from home)

Trinidad and Tobago

Matching Toucan stamp and map card haha

 

Trinidad and Tobago , is an island country off the northern edge of South Amerca, lyin just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles.

Trinidad and Tobago is known for its Carnival and is the birthplace of steelpan, limbo and the music styles of calypso,soca and chutney.

 

Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago

 

 

Thank you Reinelle for this beautiful map of Trini!

 

Sent: 7 March 2013

Received: 9 April 2013

Travelled: 33 days

Pink Flamingo or so I thought!

My very first card from the Caribbean, a Scarlet Ibis from Trinidad and Tobago.

Thank you David for this lovely card from T&T!



Sent: 20 December 2012
Received: 25 January 2013
Travelled: 36 days