COVER N.39 - Andorra - Spanish Post

Postmark:  - Andorra La Vella 30AUG21
Posted on the 30th August; received on the 4th September. (Fom 23AUG till 4SEP I was away, so the date of reception could be any day within that interval)
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On my recent summer holiday trip to the Pyrenees I spent a couple of days in the small state  of Andorra, as I made may way from the Spanish side of the mountains to the French side.

Andorra, although very tiny as a state has a complex administration in that it is a diarchy with two princes: the Archbishop of Urgel (Catalonia, Spain) and the French President.

That is why this microstate has two postal services providers: Correos de España and La Poste Française.

I could not let go the opportunity of adding covers cancelled by these two postal administrations to my growing collection so although I was staying further to the east because I wanted to do some hiking in the Vall d'Incles region, I went to the capital, Andorra la Vella and visited both post offices to mail me two letters, something that did not take much time, since they are very close to each other.

I decided I would use this year's Europa stamp on both covers, because i) I really liked the chosen theme ii) it made sense to use a common emission for covers sent from the same place,  and also iii) because both are very nice stamps, according to my own definition.

The 1,50 € stamp that constitutes the EUROPA stamp of the Spanish Post of Andorra, issued on 30APR21, depicts the Trencalós (in Catalan) or Quebrantahuessos (in Castellan) or Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus)

This species of vulture with Near Threatened global conservation status is well known for its characteristic feeding behaviour that gave it his Spanish designation in that it flies up carrying bones only to drop them on hard rocks from an height of up to 150 metres so that they break and it can then eat the precious marrow.