Tristan da Cunha

Now, an update related to Chris, wouldn't be just without a Tristan da Cunha card.

Chris is the first, and for the time being only person who has sent me cards from this most remote island in the world, and thanks to him I actually have several written and stamped postcards from here. He is actually a former Tristan UK Government Representative and our encounter was pretty much accidental, and one of the few reasons why I still believe FB may be useful, despite my overall antagonism towards it. 

On this particular card, you can see:

Top - St. Mary's school with the 1961 volcano in the background

Bottom left - Calshot Harbour

Second from left - The Welcome sign

Third from left - The Settlement "Edinburgh of the Seven Seas."

Bottom right - Administrators House with Tristan Longboats on the left 

Lovely stamps again - unlike me, Chris is one of the people who almost always get some super cool stamps on cards when travelling.
Three of these are from the Early Mail Ships series, for which I have written more here.
The one just above the address is from a set of 4 issued in 2016, commemorating The 200th Anniversary of the British Garrison, while the last stamp, at the very bottom is from a set of 12 issued in 2010, representing nature conversation.
ps. the very left one is not a stamp, just a vignette (I assume...)

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, Tristan da Cunha

after a tiring day (or if we are to be more precise, after tiring several weeks), one of the coziest ways to rest is write cards....in real and post some here...plus, today, was a big day for me, coz I managed to survive a press conference...and I survived it pretty well...I dread the media...esp. when the majority of participants will rely on what YOU tell them (or in other words depend on your interpretation)...plus, it was the National Translators' Day today...so it really fit in well....and due to that, ive decided to give myself a treat here, and show you my second (out of the four) Tristan da Cunha cards i received last year...In case you want to recall the first one, here it is

Im really honoured to have such a rarity of cards..and such beautiful ones indeed! If the previous one showed Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, this one shows a lovely Yellow-nosed Albatross....or as the back of the card says: "known on Tristan as "Molly", this albatross is endemic to the Tristan group. Isnt he adorable????

The IUCN list this species as Endangered, with an occurrence range of 16,800,000 km2, and a breeding range of 80 km2. Efforts to help conserve this bird are underway. The largest threat is from longline fishing, as harvesting of chicks and adults has been outlawed. The Tristan da Cunha population is being remotely tracked and counted, and the South East Atlantic Fisheries Commission has passed a resolution that all fishing vessels use a tori line and drop lines at night

I truly hope the efforts will be efficient and this wont become one of the many extinct species in the world.

two lovely stamps on the card....with two great cancellations! The right one is from a set of four folklore stamps issued in 2009, while the other one is from a set of 12 birds issued in 2005, and it represents the Antarctic Tern.

Happy Translators' Day to everyone concerned by it!!! :)

Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, Tristan da Cunha

Yippieee!! Yippiee!! Wohoooo!!! Yay yay yay!!!! What a country!!! Sorry to those making jealous faces right now, but im really over-excited and extra happy to be granted such a rare and special country in my collection...written and stamped!!! And yeah, to add more to the jealous reasons, i received in total 4 cards! All written and stamped!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

And it all came very spontaneously...a man came across me, and since among all my requests, I also had Tristan on the list, he kindly offered to help me since he said to have contacts on the island. And he did so! But i didnt expect that 4 cards would be coming my way, i was expecting one only...but of course, no way I would complain about this...just that I dont think i have the right means to show my excitement :D
The special thing about Tristan da Cunha is that it is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, having South Africa and South America as the nearest pieces of land, being away 2,816 kilometres and 3,360 kilometres from them, respectively. Can you imagine being somewhere so cut off from the rest of the world?
And another VERY special thing is that this island has no airport, so the only means of transport is by ship...one really has to have enough patience in order to arrive here or from the island to somewhere else.

The island has 264 inhabitants, with Edinburgh of the Seven Seas being its capital, is regarded as the most remote permanent settlement in the world, being over 2400 kilometres from the nearest human settlement, on Saint Helena. This is where the entire island population lives.

There are just so many fascinating facts and figures about this place on Earth...it is sooo amazing!

and here come 3 lovely stamps...the very right one and the one in the middle come from a set of 6 stamps issued in 2008, commemorating the 60 Years of Fisheries, while the other stamp comes from a set of 12 birds stamps issued in 2005. I have to say that Tristan issues some really lovely stamps, with great themes and picturesque images.

And something EXTRA special on this and the other cards I received, is the cancellation. Apart from being so clear,  I cant believe it that the card was sent on my birthday!!!! What a coincidence!!! Out of 365 possible choices during the year, this one got cancelled on that very day! Sooo thrilling!!!
As a side note, the cards travelled 4 and a half months until they reached me.....which is understandable when you take in account the means of transport...and they arrived in an impeccable condition!!
Im just sooooooooooo happy!!! Happy happy happy!!

I dont think I could ever properly thank enough Chris, the man behind all this, as well as the postal clerks on the island. Thank you so much to all of you for one of the most special treats my mailbox could have ever had!!!