Never thought about visiting the island nation of Vanuatu? Then here's a good reason for you to consider: they have the first (and only?) underwater post office in the world! We bet you never thought it was possible to post mail underwater, have you?

The Vanuatu Post came up with this idea to increase awareness of the richness and diversity of Vanuatu's underwater world. And if you never had the chance of finding nemo in real life, then that's yet another reason to think about Vanuatu for holidays, where you can do snorkeling and see the great aquatic life there is there.

But, don't think it's easy to get there! This special post office is 50 meters offshore and is 3 meters deep underwater - you'll need to scuba dive to actually get there. And make sure to check their schedule, as their are "open" only one hour per day! :)

Since its start in 2003, they have received over 100.000 visitors so it surely seems to be working well. Waterproof postcards are available and they use a special embossed cancellation stamp that can be used underwater. Postcards can be sent anywhere in the world, so it's perfect!

A small town in Oregon (U.S.A.) is asking for postcards from all over the world. In return, they will send back their recently created postcards about their town. What else could we ask?

Here are the details:

I just wanted to invite all Postcrossers to contribute a postcard to an upcoming event:

Celebrating the Art of the Postcard

Help the Cornelius Post Office celebrate the joy of small works of art and personal communication. Cornelius is a small town in Western Oregon, known for hazelnuts, blueberries and vineyards. Here at the local post office we noticed that for visitors there was no way of sending a local postcard to share the cool things about this unique little town. We’re working on that! Share your postcard with us and get one of the ones we are producing!

Exhibition: Begins January 11, 2010 in the lobby of the Cornelius, OR Post Office.

Make sure to include your return address to receive one of our postcards in return and to be included in the list of participants.

Send your postcards to:

Postmaster
1639 Baseline Street
Cornelius, OR 97113
USA

Follow us at: http://postcardmailart.blogspot.com/

Have you sent yours?