COVER N.11 - Portugal

Postmark: Taxa paga - Horta, no date
Posted on the 3th June (?), received on the 11th June.
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The Azores have a special place in my heart. In fact some of the most happy days of my life were spent there when I was a child, in a little spot of land in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, called Santa Maria Island. Like Di Caprio, I was “King of the World”, not because I was sailing on the Titanic, but just because I had my bicycle and fishing rod and could go anywhere I pleased and do whatever I wanted to do, enjoying a freedom that not many kids nowadays have the possibility of enjoying.

In our days of electronic everything, things would probably be different, I guess. In fact, at the time, not even TV was available there, as I have already written somewhere in this blog.

And this is why I found it intriguing that not only  a Secondary School in the  Island of Faial  had a philatelic club, but also that this was a very active club, with an history that is already 27 full years long and that, from the looks of it, is well alive and kicking.

For family and personal reasons Airports have always played a key part in my life, and on reading that the “Clube the Filatelia “O Ilhéu” – Escola Secundária Manuel de Arriaga” had issued a card a stamp and a special cancelation mark to commemorate the 50 years of Horta Airport (the airport of the Island of Faial) I contacted it in order to try to obtain such a piece for my collection.

Some days later, this nice cover, commemorative of the 60^th anniversary of the eruption of the Capelinhos volcano, in Faial, found its way to my mailbox, with the  commemorative postcard in it.

I have written about generosity in this blog elsewhere and again I am at loss for words to thank Carlos Lobão, the club’s Director, for being so helpful and generous. My most sincere Obrigado, Carlos.

The postcard, stamp and cancellation mark show a picture of one of the Portuguese Air Force DC-6s on lease, in the late 70s, to SATA (Sociedade Açoreana de Transportes Aéreos, now SATA Air Açores (Serviço Açoreano de Transportes Aéreos). The stamp on the card is rated N20g for “domestic service, up to 20g”