Palau

I'll finish off today with a new country to my collection: Palau. Well, actually it's not entirely new as I received a card of the place last year, but that one was mailed from Taiwan. This year I managed to receive a written and stamped postcard directly from Palau :) I'm posting both cards here as I think they complement each other, and the second one shows a better view of one of the islands.

Palau is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. Geographically part of the larger island group of Micronesia, with the country's population of around 21,000 people spread out over 250 islands forming the western chain of the Caroline Islands. The islands share maritime boundaries with Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Federated States of Micronesia. The most populous island in the group is Koror, with the capital city, Ngerulmud, located on nearby Babeldaob.

The card above is the one I received this year and which was mailed from Palau. The one underneath is from a swap with the wonderful Kim in Taiwan.