Philipsburg, capital of Sint Maarten

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Philipsburg is the main town and capital of the country of Sint Maarten. The town has a population of about 1,400. Sint Maarten is a ‘constituent country’ of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Sint Maarten and its French counterpart Saint Martin are both sides of the same island.

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Allure of the Seas is the world's largest passenger cruise ship. With a capacity of about 6,000  passengers (16 passenger decks!) and 2,300 crew. 

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Bornholm Island | Denmark

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Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. About 40,000 people live on this island.

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2015 Europa stamp. This year’s theme is Old Toys.

Lego has been around since 1949!    

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West Norwegian Fjords: Nærøyfjord | Norway

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Situated in south-western Norway, Nærøyfjord is part of the west Norwegian fjord landscape. In 2005, this spectacular fjord was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with Geirangerfjord, located 120 km from one another. 

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The Silver Discoverer | New Zealand

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Silver Discoverer is a small, yacht-type cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises as the third member of its Silversea Expeditions fleet. The ship is deployed in remote regions of the world including Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, the Russian Far East, Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Australia.

The card was sent by Rod who travelled with this ship to Australia’s Macquarie Island. But the card has a New Zealand stamp.

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The stamp is part of New Zealand’s Chinese Year of the Goat issue. But it could be the year of the sheep or even the year of the ram. This confusion is caused by Mandarin Chinese character yang: 羊 Its apparent meaning is 'horned animal'.

Thank you very much Rod!

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Willemstad, capital of Curacao

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Willemstad is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea.  The floating market is located in Punda, the oldest part of Curacao. Venezuelan salesmens sell fresh fruits, vegetables and fish directly from their boats.

Punda, a derivation of the Dutch word “punt” that means “point”, was established in 1634 when the founding merchants built offices, warehouses, stores and living quarters on the eastern side of the bay.

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Part of a set of 6 stamps issued 2014 about the 21st World Orchid Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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Penang Island | Malaysia

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Penang Island is the fourth-largest island in Malaysia, It is also the most populated with an estimated population of 679,000. George Town is the capital of the state of Penang, the inner city of George Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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The stamp is part of a set of four, depicting Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) Mounted Unit.

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The Greek island of Crete

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Greece counts 6.000 islands and islets scattered in the Aegean and Ionian Seas. About 200 are inhabited.

Agios Nikolaos is a coastal town on the island of Crete, the largest island in Greece. Crete is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Each year, the Aegean Regatta is based at a different harbour and is a major sports and cultural event in the Archipelago.

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Funchal, capital of Madeira

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Funchal is the largest city and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira.

“The city itself is nestled in a great natural amphitheatre, facing the blue Atlantic with a backdrop of dramatic mountains. Located in the stunning south of Madeira, on its sunniest coast amidst banana plantations and wonderful gardens where flowers bloom all year round in the shelter of the verdant mountains, it is an extremely lush, green and relaxed city by day but scratch Funchal’s surface and you will find it to have a vibrant and varied nightlife scene with multiple personalities. “

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The self-adhesive stamp shows a waterfall along the trail to the Caldeirão Verde (green caldron in Portuguese) on the island of Madeira.

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Canary Islands map

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The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara.

This paradisiacal group of islands, which enjoys a wonderful climate with a constant mild temperature through all the year, consists of 7 larger islands and a few smaller ones. Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro are the largest islands.

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A postcard from the Dutch Carribbean: Bonaire

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The island of Bonaire is located in the Caribbean, about  50 miles north of Venezuela and 86 miles east of Aruba. The population is only 17,500. 

Bonaire's economy is mainly based on tourism, it is a well known scuba diving location. Together with Sint Eustatius and Saba, Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands.

Kralendijk, which means "coral dike", is the capital city and main port of the island. This is where you'll find the vast majority of the island's restaurants, businesses, traffic and shopping.

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Issued in 2012 as part of a set of four stamps about Sailing Ships. The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by children up to the age of 15.  

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Prince Edward Island

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Prince Edward Island (PEI)  is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as some other islands. The City of Charlottetown is located on the south shore of Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown is the capital city of Prince Edward Island.

The smallest province in Canada, Prince Edward Island is famous for red sand beaches, red soil, potatoes, and the irrepressible Anne of Green Gables, a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery.

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A postcard from the West Indies: Port of Spain, Trinidad

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Port of Spain is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. With 51,000 inhabitants it’s the largest city. Thanks in large part to its fine natural harbour, Port of Spain was made Trinidad's capital in 1757. 

Cruise ships dock is right next to Port of Spain's downtown, which has an urban feel, with skyscrapers, a financial center, arcade malls and debilitating rush-hour traffic. 

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From a set of 5 stamps about local herbal medicine: Vervine.

Vervine is found in many parts of the Americas and the Caribbean. In Jamaica vervine is used for nervous disorders, as an eye tonic and to clean wounds. In the Eastern Caribbean vervine is used for colds, fevers, and worms.

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A postcard from Monaco

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Located on the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco is surrounded by France on three sides. This small country is 0.8 square miles in size, or approximately the same size as Central Park in New York City. It is the smallest state in the world after Vatican City.

In 1297 François Grimaldi and a small army seized control of the Rock of Monaco. Although the Grimaldis were expelled in 1301, they returned thirty years later, and the House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco uninterrupted (except from 1789 to 1814, when it fell under French rule) since then.  

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Monaco post issued a commemorative stamp to celebrate the 70th Monaco Grand prix race. Monte Carlo is host to most of the Circuit de Monaco, on which the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix takes place.

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A Postcard from the West Indies: Puerto Rico

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

The United States acquired the island from Spain in 1898. Puerto Rico is a territory (Commonwealth) of the United States of America and Puerto Ricans have common citizenship, currency and defense. Although Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, residents of Puerto Rico pay no federal income tax, nor can they vote in presidential elections. Over 2 million Puerto Ricans live in the United States, primarily in the northeast.

Puerto Rico is mostly mountainous with large coastal areas in the north and south. The 3.966 million people that inhabit the island of Puerto Rico make it one of the most densely populated islands in the world.

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In Puerto Rico US stamps are used.

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Nassau Harbour, Bahamas

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Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

Located on New Providence Island, Nassau has an attractive harbor, a colorful blend of old world and colonial architecture, and a busy port. The tropical climate and natural beauty of the Bahamas has made Nassau a popular tourist destination. (Wikipedia)

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The desert rose (Adenium spp.) is pictured on this 2006 flora issue.

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