Son Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan

Yes, someone is still alive here...or better said, struggling to survive this heat....i know I always complain about the summers in Skopje (though practically summer hasn't even come yet), but the worst thing is that this weather strikes all of a sudden and from 10 degrees, it just decides to go to 30 overnight...and then people feel lost in the universe...well of course they do..and i dont seem to be an exception...

apart from that...well, I dont know, life has been going at some fast pace and i just seemed to have really little time for one of my favourite hobbies lately...so my mailbox is in some starvation phase, my postman feeds it like once a week with some breadcrumbs...and then my dear darling blog has not been given enough attention from my side...and that pretty much gets me down coz I have some really great stuff to give to my blog, but I've been this selfish little thing, depriving it of what it deserves..and what has either way initially been intended for it...
Erm, Im talking too much no? But this cute horse seems to be patiently waiting for me to stop the claptrap and get down to something meaningful...like for example telling you that this sweet horse came all the way from Kyrgyzstan...and he came tagged (in the philatelic terms, read: written and stamped) Yay!! Finally a written and stamped card from Kyrgyzstan! Im soo extra happy!  Thanks a bunch to Sonya and Travis who have offered to send cards from their Silk Road journey. I tried to be modest, and pick just a few out of all the countries they are travelling to *blush*
It is so cool to visit a card like Kyrgyzstan....with such undiscovered beauties (like Macedonia, btw...;)

the card shows some yurtas near the Son-Kul Lake. Yurtas are portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structures traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. And what's funny is that they are designed in a way so that they can be dismantled and the parts carried compactly on camels or yaks to be rebuilt on another site. So cool! These are most likely the yurats that are rented to tourists, since there are no other facilities in the area, but for sure you will not remain without accommodation.
And this beautiful Son-Kul lake is the second largest lake in the country (18x29km wide, 13 meters deep).
The area is inhabited and safely accessible only from June to September....so you still have time to pack your bags and enjoy the morning sunshine lurking through the yurt.

and i just love the cancellation...so clear! and the stamp is so beautiful too!! (and pretty much blending the whole postcard mood). It was issued in 2008 in a set of 4 stamps representing the Yaks of Kyrgyzstan.

Kilauea, USA

Long time ago (actually at the beginning of my posctcrossing career) I posted some Hawaiian volcanoes, here and here. Compared to those, these are in an active mode and are so bright and colourful :)

the card above is called "Birth Day" and the back of the card says: Almost every day the newest land on Earth is born here on Hawai'i Island. Since 1983, when most recent eruption began on the southeast flank of Kilauuea, nearly a cubic mile of lava has gushed forth, adding some 500 acres of new land - so far: Often, our excitable volcano goddess Pele likes to celebrate with fireworks when she gives birth.

Interesting story and an amazing eruption!
Thanks a lot to Mary for sending me this awesome card as a part of her Vacations RR group. She also used a number of lovely stamps as you can see below:

the two on the right side are part of the four stamps issued in 2011 representing the US Merchant Marine (i really like those); the top left stamp was issued in 1974 as a part of 4, mineral heritage stamps, while the Magna carta stamp below dates back from 1965. I dont know if Mary had these stamps purchased in advance or found them on spot (though my guess bets on the first), but she certainly had put effort in them!

US-1478078

the second volcano came as an official card, and it again represents the Kilauea volcano at twilight and you can see (or not) how lava is flowing into the ocean. 

the stamps you can see hee are the American clock from 2003, the Cars from the Send a Hello series, issued in 2011, and one more ship from the US Merchant Marine series....the owl is a sticker ;-)

Victoria, Malta

this great citadel card came as a lovely surprise from dear Agi, from one of her 'conquering the world' trips. This time, the target was beautiful Malta.

on the card you have a close-up view of the Citadel situated in the heart of Victoria, the capital of Gozo, an island of the Maltese archipelago.
It is known to be first fortified during the Bronze Age approximately around 1500 BC. and was later developed by the Phoenicians and continued into becoming a complex Acropolis by Roman times.
It is a really beautiful peace of architecture.
The massive defensive stone walls of the fortifications rise above the town and were built by the Knights to protect the village communities from foraging corsairs attempting to take slaves and threatened invasion of Moslem forces fighting Christendom

and here is how you can recognize a tourist has found a philately..or at least was on the hunt for good stamps. I really love this pair...these buses are just soo cool! I could remember seeing them on the streets of Skopje too. When I was in kindergarden, there was this van/bus which resembles the ones on the stamps (that one was yellow though) and it was in charge of transporting the lunch each day.
You can still see one of these every now and then, but it is very rare, and they are in poor condition...esp compared to all those modern-class vehicles along the streets next to them
But it is nice when some memories are revived :)

hvala ti drugarice Agi!! <3

Bear's Den Stone, Finland

I got this adorable card from the favourites tag! Just look at this pair of cute children.

if im not mistaken, these traditional clothing should be typical for Inari, the largest, sparsely populated municipality with four official language and the centre of the Sami culture.
And Bear's Den Stone is the English equivalent to Karhunpesäkivi, a place in this area.
I would still need some help from some of my Finnish readers....Anu? Please? :)

well, whether im right or wrong, I wish you days ahead full of love and hugs and kisses :)

the stamp is from a set of two self-adhesive Dahlias issued in 2011.
I know the Finnish issue some of the most unusual stamps...but the last one ive seen definitely beats them all so far...maybe ill get it on some postcard too :)

In the meantime, you can check it out here:

as a whole, it is crazy, no?? and just fantastic. It represents the Sami culture. Übercool!