COVER N. 765 - RUSSIA

Postmark: ? 16.07.2026 (?)

Posted on 16th July (?);  Received on the 7th September 2026

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Alex sends me a nice 2023 First Day Cover. большое спасибо, Alex.

Integrated in the Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments UNESCO World Heritage Site, Oreshek Fortress is located in Orekhovy Island, where the River Neva meets Ladoga lake, right in front of the town of Shlisselburg, a mere 40 km, as the bird flies from the centre of Saint Petersburg.

The fortress was built in 1323 and on several occasions was disputed and occupied by Sweden until it was finally taken by Peter the Great in 1702.

During World War II, the fortress was heavily damaged by German shelling, and according to Wikipedia, reconstruction is still taken place today.

Celebrating the 700 anniversary of the fortress, Russmarka issued on 24AUG2023 the beautiful single 100 ruble stamp souvenir sheet on the cover, illustrated with an image of the fortification at the golden hour. What I presume to be a tourist ferry can also be seen docked in a pier adjacent to the entrance to the complex. On a ribbon on top of the image there's a legend which I believe reads "Oreshek Fortress 700 Years."

Unfortunately the first day postmark is almost illegible due to lack of contrast with the surface unto which it was applied, by I believe it features the same legend.

The logo for the celebration of the anniversary is also printed on the left of the FDC.

To post the FDC, Alex used a 25 ruble stamp part of a set of  three of identical face value issued on 04JUN1993. The set is dedicated to the Novgorod Kremlin, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this particular stamp features an illustration of the St. Sophia's Cathedral Bebelfry. 

POSTCARD N.247 - U.S.A.

Postcrossing Postcard sent on 24 July; received on the  24th August 2026

Postcard image: The "Tridge" at Midland, Michigan

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Audrey sent me a postcard illustrated with a photo of quite an unusual concept: a three armed bridge, or as it seems to be locally known, a "Tridge". Many thanks Audrey, I quite liked it.

I was rather intrigued by the concept, although I remember having seen at least another three armed bridge before - Tromostovje or the Triple Bridge -  in Ljubljana, Slovenia,  so I turned to Google Earth to get a better notion of the emplacement of this curious infrastructure.

Turns out that the Tridge sits at the confluence of two rivers - the Tittabawassee and its tributary, the Chippewa - so that one of the arms links the "peninsula" delimitated by the two rivers running on each side of it to the other arm that crosses the already “unified” Tittabawassee.

The pedestrian wooden bridge opened to the public in 1981, each of its arms having a length of 55 metres.

To post the card, Audrey used a "Forever Global" self-adhesive stamp issued on 24Jan2025, illustrated with a 1794 Compass Rose that was drawn in 1794 by "...Lucia Wadsworth — the aunt of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — in her school geography notebook...", according to Wikipedia.

The mechanical postmark was applied at USPS Michigan Metroplex Processing and Distribution Centre, in Pontiac, and it carries the logo of Freedom 250, the PPP established by the American Administration to run the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.

COVER N. 764 - BULGARIA

Postmark: ? 26.08.2026

Posted on 26th August;  Received on the 7th September 2026

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My Friend, The Flying Dutchman, sent me a nice cover from Bulgaria. Muito Obrigado, Eric. Um grande Abraço!

As it is well known, 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of the first CEPT/EUROPA stamps, the occasion having been celebrated by PostEurope with a common design stamp issue, chosen through a contest open to its members.

20 years ago, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary, 2006, the path chosen what the more traditional (and to me more appealing) subordination of the issues to a common theme, not a common design, which, for that particular year, was "Integration through the Eyes of Young People".

Further to issuing the 2006 EUROPA set, Bulgaria, a member of CEPT since 1990, chose to mark the 50th anniversary of the organisation in advance, with the two stamp set (0,45 + 0,80 Lev) on the cover,  which began to circulate on 28MAY2005.

The stylised human images on the stamps can easily relate to both the role of PostEurope as a vehicle to foster cooperation between postal administrations and also to the 2026 common theme, "Integration",  as stated above.

Unfortunately, the postmark is not legible, but the Postal Code 1408 indicates that it was issued in Sofia, Bulgaria's Capital.

POSTCARD N.246 - SPAIN

Postcard dated of 19 August; received on the  27th August 2026

Postcard image: Sant Mateu (Castellon) - Ermita de la Mare de Deu dels Angels

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Eva sends me a postcard with a view of  the Ermita de la Mare de Deu dels Angels (Hermitage of Our Lady of the Angels), in Sant Mateu, province of Castellón. Moltes Graciès, Eva. It is always a pleasure to get to know new places and landmarks in our Peninsula.

To say that traditional touristic postcards can be windows to the world  around us, echoes of a lapalissade, still I think it is worth mentioning it for the humble photo on a 10x15 rectangle has done a lot to preserve the memory of places, locals, buildings, infrastructures... you name it.

In the days before cameras in telephones and instant messaging, they were the physical counterpart to what we now do “matterlessly” through whatsapp or any email app.

And  they were ubiquitous. At every village or town, or city, in every quiosk, newsstand, stationery store, side by side with the newspaper racks, there would be a rotating postcard display stand, with images of the local landmarks, or local views,  humble as they might be.

It is in their physical nature that lays their utmost importance.

Some time ago I was visiting an exhibition in the museum of the city where I live. Part of it was dedicated to the evolution of a small fishing village that integrates the city's municipal area, which I know quite well, as it stands today.

A century ago, it was quite different, of course, and yet, I could see how it evolved into what it is today, thanks to several postcards, issued in the course of that same century, that provided the perfect registry of the changes that the village went through.

Yes, today it is so easy: you take a photo, you send it right away, but..........

no one puts the message in a shoebox anymore, no one cares about it, once it is sent and received, no one files it, classifies it, cares for it, collects it....

In a hundred years time, paradoxically, I wouldn't be surprised if  it may prove to more difficult to organise an exhibition documenting the evolution through time of a specific place (if that place is not a major city or landmark) than in the days of the paper backed photography...

That's why postcards are also important. Cheap yet affective time capsules, they are... 

There should be an international Postcard resurgence movement.. Eva (and I) and many others contribute to it.. hope it grows :-)

Wikipedia tells me that the Ermida de Sant Mateu sits atop the mountain of the same name in the Vale d'Angel mountain range, in the Province of Castellon, in the Valencian Community.

The story of this church goes back to the final years of the 16th century when Sebastian, a Portuguese hermit living in the then existing  hermitage dedicated to Saint Anthony the Abbot and Saint Paul the Hermit is said to have seen in his dreams an image of the Virgin appear and disappear under the altar table.

After securing permission from the ecclesiastical authorities, Sebastian and a group of believers who were aware of his dream, found the image and placed it on the altar. The existing hermitage was from then on expanded to become what is now the Sant Mateu Hermitage.

Today, the Hermitage is  the destination of an annual pilgrimage that happens on the second Saturday after Easter, originating in the Archpriest Church of Sant Mateu, in the town of the same name, two to three kilometres away

Stamps (left to right) 

- Felipe VI became the King of Spain on 19 June 2014. The first definitive series featuring his portrait was issued on 19JAN2015, and the 0,04 € stamp on the cover is part of that issue which comprised 6 values (0,01; 0,04; 0,10; 1;L 2; 5 €), the stamps being all equal but printed in different colours.

- The United Nations Assembly General of 2011 proclaimed the 30th July as the International Friendship Day.

This fact notwithstanding, this day  is also unofficially celebrated in Spain and in some of the Spanish speaking countries of Latin America and in Brazil slightly earlier, on the 20th July, the day when Neil Armstrong first set a human foot on the moon.

This year, to highlight the date, Correos de España issued on  20JUL2026, the 1€ self-adhesive stamp on the postcard, illustrated  with  a suggestive and self-explaining image and the legend Dia de la Amistad (Frierndship Day).   

The Tariff A (domestic, 20g) stamp illustrated with two ladies (one presumably older than the other, as indicated by her gray hair) hugging each other and the legend Soledad no Deseada (Undesired Solitude), was issued on 28APR2026 as is part of a series designated Salud y Bienestar (Health and Wellbeing). It aims at raising awareness for one of the silent epidemics of current times: unwanted loneliness.

The mechanical Postmark is illegible as to the place of application

COVER N. 761 - SPAIN

Postmark: Base Antártica Española Juan Carlos IIsla Livingston Correos 20.03.2026

Posted on 20 March;  Received on the 18th August 2026

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Another uncommon visitor to my mailbox, again thanks to the help of the restless wanderer, my Phantom friend. Danke sehr, Alex!

You'd expect mail coming from the Antarctic to travel through stormy weather.... what I would not expect was to have it delivered totally unscathed to my letterbox only to get it soaked by some rainwater from a summer tempest in my letterbox, while I was away from home for a few days :-( Luckily it only affected the bottom third of the envelope, so the beautiful blue cachet and black postmark were not smudged.

The Base Antártica Juan Carlos I is one of the two research stations that Spain maintains in the South Shetland Islands, one of the emerging bodies of land delimiting the infamous Drake Passage that links the Pacific to the Atlantic in the southern latitudes, the other being, of course, the no less  renowned Chilean Cape Horn. (The other Spanish base is  Base Antártica Gabriel de Castilla, in Deception Island).

Located in the  Hurd Peninsula, in Livingston Island, it was established in 1988, being given the name of the then Head of the Spanish state, King Juan Carlos I, and it is seasonally occupied, from November to March.

In can accomodate up to 50 people, its staff being functionally divided mostly into researchers and logistics personnel. The research therein conducted is carried out in the fields of:

Glaciology and Permafrost: Monitoring glacier mass balance, ice dynamics, and the degradation of permanently frozen ground to understand climate change impacts. 

Atmospheric Studies and Meteorology: Collecting continuous climate data, tracking aerosol movements, measuring ultraviolet radiation, and monitoring the ozone layer. 

Geomagnetism and Ionosphere Physics: Studying the Earth’s magnetic field and upper atmosphere variations, which are critical for satellite communications and global navigation systems. 

Biology and Ecology: Investigating polar ecosystems, including lichen physiology, vegetation adaptations to extreme cold, and the impacts of human footprints on local fauna. 

Geology and Geophysics: Analyzing the structural evolution of the South Shetland Islands, local volcanic activity, and tectonic movements.

Physical Oceanography: Examining marine currents, sea temperatures, and coastal salinity variations in coordination with the Spanish research vessel Hespérides.   

The stamp used on the cover is the Spanish Europa Issue of 2022, on the common theme of Myths and Legends.

It was issued on Europe's day 2022 - 09MAY2022 - and it is illustrated with an image evocative of Sa Dragonera island, located southwest of  Mallorca Island in the ballearic Archipelago.

The Island itself has the shape of a dragon , and legend has it that the island was home to one such mythical beast that protected Mallorca from undeserved invaders.

The pictorial postmark of the base is illustrated with the base's logo image, which I think is a skua, but I am not sure about this. 

COVER N. 763 - DJIBOUTI

Postmark: Djibouti Principal Rep. Djibouti 13.08.2026

Posted on 13th August;  Received on the 18th August 2026

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Nothing short of amazing. Nochmals danke sehr, Alex! 

Thanks to you I am able to tick another box in the countries list, something which fills me up with joy every time it happens. 

Also I would never think that a letter from Djibouti to Portugal would travel so fast. Excellent!

We don't hear much about Djibouti and I confess that excepting the fact of it being an eastern Africa country located in the horn of Africa, I knew nothing about it. So, I turned to the usual sources to find out that it was a former French colony up until 1977, the year when the Republic of Djibouti was officially established, and that it shares borders with Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, its shores being at the confluence of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

I also learned that Djibouti has been led by the same party since its independence and the adoption of a constitution, which only occurred 15 years after the separation from France, in 1992, which consagrates multipartidarism and that  the current President was recently elected for a sixth term by 97.8% of the votes...

Djibouti ranks as 152 in the list of 195 countries and territories  included in the "Freedom in the World" Index of the European Commission. 

For postage, Alex used two stamps of a mini-sheet of 6 x 120 Djiboutian franc issued on 28APR2000 themed on trains.

The trains in the illustrations are the French TGV (left) and the Italian ETR 450 (right).

Postmark from the central Post Office at Djibouti city, the capital.

COVER N. 762 - BENIN

Postmark: Comè 14.0?.2026

Posted on 14th ?;  Received on the 18th August 2026

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Getting mail in one's letterbox from such uncommon origins as Benin is always a motive for great joy, this being only the second time this Western Africa country is featured on the blog. 

A basketful of heartfelt Mercis goes out to Roland, who made sure I was included in such a great circuit and also to fellow member of the LCC, Marie-José, and to her kind friend who made it all possible.

The stamp on the cover is a curious one because it seems to have been originally issued as a Postage Due stamp in 1978, when the country was still named République Populaire du Benin, as part of a two stamp set, illustrated with images highlighting mail distribution services in the country by bicycle (60 Franc) and by river canoe (80f).

In 1990 it would again be issued with the new official name of the country - République du Benin - overprinted in black.

Somewhere in time, the stamp was again re-issued,  with the legend "Timbre Taxe"  and the face value of 60 franc blocked in black and a  surcharge for the new face value, which is now 600 Franc, this being the version used on the cover.

The stamps on this set are very much "French" in design, being bi-colour and recess printed. Pretty beautiful stamps if I may say so. Pity the overprinting hiding so much detail...

Postmark from Comé, a town in the south-west of tyhe country.