King Penguins, Falkland Islands/South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

So another Friday is almost gone and from what the weather forecast says, a nice weekend ahead of us...so I guess Ill use that for some sunshine-enjoyment...and before that, post a few cards on this nice calm Friday evening...well there is a tennis match in a while so I am not quite sure how calm it's gonna remain....

First is a card from the Falkland Islands that Glenn sent me from his cruise exactly four years ago....and before you start throwing stones at me, no, this one was neither overlooked nor forgotten...just kept special as usual with those cards from rare countries...but since a little birdy told me that a FI card is now on my way too, thought it was like time to post some of those waiting-in-line cards....

Glenn sent me a bunch of great cards from his cruise back then (he always does actually), and this one is no exception.....have I ever told you that one of my biggest wishes in life is to hug a penguin?  Probably I have...just that I still haven't managed to fulfill it....I mean I should first go to a place where there are penguins of course, you don't just come across one in the street...but so far budget-wise, I'll have to stick to 'torturing' cats and dogs...

and...you know what?? I have a South Georgia stamp on this card :D Yep!! Well, there are penguins there too...just as you can see from the stamp...I was in doubts if I should consider this card from Falkland Islands or South Georgia, but I believe it would be appropriate to make it a Falkland Islands one....plus a reason less to make people more jealous than necessary :P
This lovely South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands was issued in 2010 in a set of 4 penguins' stamps, with this one showing the Aptenodytes patagonicus species.

Interesting thing is that Glenn sent this card on 15 March, while the postmark reads 19 April...and I don't recall exactly when it arrived in my mailbox...but it arrived :)

Thanks a lot again Glenn!!

Magellanic Penguins, Falkland Islands

so, it is me here again...at last! What can I do...April was an EXTREMELY busy month, that I barely had time for anything....and probably it was the month when i had mailed the least number of postcards....and my mailbox would have remained empty if it wasnt for a few good fairies who surprised me...and also, coz i was such a lucky gal that i was the Winner of the Month on the PC forum. Yay! So thanks to all that my dear mailbox accommodated almost 100 postcards during the month :) I couldnt be more thankful for such a treat! :)

And one of those good fairies was Glenn, who took a nice cruise and sent me great cards from the places he had visited...and one of them is a totally new country for my collection....the Falkland Islands!!! And it is such a lovely card!! Thanks a bunch Glenn!

The card shows a number of Magellanic Penguins in the Gypsy Cove, which is one of the small bays in the Falkland Islands, particularly, on the East Falkland. (the other one is West Falkland, which along with 776 lesser islands, comprise the Falkland Islands). The capital is Stanley (from where this card was mailed) and it  is also the only city there. Interesting...
As for these cute Magellanic creatures....they are the largest of the warm-weather penguins and were named after Ferdinand Magellan who first saw them in 1519 on his first voyage around the tip of South America. They have a wide black strip under their chin and another is in the shape of an upside down horseshoe on their stomachs. On their chests they have scattered black spots.
They live on the stormy and rocky shores of the Falklands, Argentina, and Chile and are around 70cm tall and weigh about 4kg.
Im mostly used to seeing those bigger ones living on the Antarctica, so these seem a bit odd to me, more like a birdy i could see in my garden...but still they are just too cute :)

and here comes a matching stamp with penguins, issued in 2003 and intended specifically for airmail postcards! And I love the nice and clear cancellation!!

Thanks so much Glenn for such a treat!!