COVER N. 264 - PORTUGAL

Postmark: Vila Nova de Cerveira 4920 CTT 13.06.2023

Posted on the 13th June; Received on the 14th June 2023

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Plenty of interesting stuff, sent by Eric with a view to a "special operation" very different from what the expression lately has been disgracefully associated with.

Thanks a lot,  Eric! The wheels are moving...

Supporting this special operation is a pleasure even if  I will only act a middle man, Eric being the generous soul behind it all. Further to him, the procedures  will have to rely on the fundamental contribution of one of my daughters, whom I really need to thank  since she is not particularly into any type of collecting hobby and most time looks at her father's requests as another eccentricity of the old one,  and whom I know has a busy schedule into which she will have to fit her precious collaboration.

But there's nothing she won't do for daddy, right? 😀

On to the stamps

The theme for the EUROPA 2004 issues was "Holidays". Tourism is fundamental to the Portuguese Economy and Tourism and holidays go hand in hand so the Portuguese contribution for the Europa issues highlighted Portugal as a tourist destination. As usual three different souvenir sheets were issued, Mainland Portugal, Azores and Madeira, all of them showcasing reasons for putting Portugal on one's journey plans.

The mainland Portugal souvenir sheet that Eric used, was issued on 10MAY2004 and it comprises two 0,56 € stamps , one presenting Portugal as a cultural tourism destination with a little detail image of one of the Painéis de S. Vicente (which can be appreciated in the National Ancient Art Museum in Lisbon) and the other as a destination for those more sensitive to sun and sand, with an image evocative of the beaches of the Algarve. The legend reads Férias em Portugal or Holidays in Portugal.

On top of the souvenir sheet ERic also used  a 0,70 € stamp, part of a four stamp  (0,30; 0,43; 0,55; 070 €) and a souvenir sheet with two stamps (1 and 2 €), dedicated to Museums in Madeira. The stamp is illustrated with the painting Le Départ, by Madeiran artist Marta Theles (1930-2001), which can bee seen in Madeira's Contemporary Art Museum, located in Calheta, about half an hour drive from Funchal.

The snowboarding 0,03 € stamp is part of the five stamp definitive set issued on 31MAR2016. This was the last set of  a "Radical sports" series started in 2014.

Lastly, the 1,20 € souvenir sheet with a  stamp illustrated  with a reliquary cross from the treasure of  Lisbon cathedral, was issued on 07JUN2005, as part of an issue that also comprised another six stamps, dedicated to the Cultural Heritage of the Filipino Period (the period in which which Portugal was ruled by Spanish Monarchs - 1580 - 1640).

The very neat postmarks hail from the town of Vila Nova de Cerveira on the mouth of the Minho River, which is the natural physical border between northern Portugal and Spain.