COVER N. 303 - PANAMA

Postmark: Donde La Ciudad Inicio - V Centenário de Panama Viejo 18-06-19 (First day of issue); Correos Y Telegrafos - Departmaneto de Filatelia - Cotel - Panama (Corporative stamp); Correos Y Telegrafos - Panama Este - 17.10.2022 Panama (Postmark of the day)

Posted on the 17th October 2022; Received on the 21st August 2023

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Slow mail can be as tasty as slow food.

In these days of immediate everything, the surprise of receiving something that was sent from quite afar almost one year after its expedition is an obvious reminder that no matter how fast we can bridge them, geographical distances are inherent to our condition of Earth dwellers. Our planet is a large one by our standards and it is not that long ago since going around the world in 80 days was considered an almost impossible objective to attain. Right Phileas?

I remember exchanging some messages with my friend the Phantom when he was in the place where a canal was opened to let the Atlantic court the Pacific. 

He was very enthusiastic about sending a whole bunch of circuits from the Philatelic office of Panama and he told me he had spent quite a few hours there arranging this.

And then time passed. And passed..... and passed...

The Phantom was disheartened. Not that he would let himself ever be defeated by the unexpected setback: the Ghost who Walks knows that justice will prevail, no matter how tortuous the road might be... 

"It's only a matter of time", I kept telling him...

But time passed... and passed.... and passed again.

I, of course, knew how he must have been feeling and I tried to encourage him, but it was becoming obvious that a bunch of mail bound for Europe must have had probably fallen off the truck somewhere ....

Till one day, last August when I opened up my letterbox...

Gracias, Amigo, for another PHAMTtastic cover and for letting me tick another box in the list of countries.

The city of Panama, the capital of the equally named country in Central America, was founded on 15 August 1519 by a Spanish conqueror, named Pedro Arias De Ávila, who later would also be the governor of Panama, whose biography, like many of these so called conquerors, is not very kind in what concerns personality traits....

Anyway, 500 years have passed and Correos y Telegrafos  Panama  would not let this important anniversary  go by without issuing a celebratory set of stamps with pictures of several infrastructures (or of what's left of them) in Panama Viejo (Old Panama, the original city) dating from that era, which can still be visited in the country’s capital.

The set, comprising five 0.20 Balboa stamps, was issued on 18JUN2019 and can be fully seen on the cover The Phantom sent me, albeit it one on the back of the cover.

From left to right, they depict:

The Convent of Santo Domingo; the Jesuit Church; the Convent of the Conception; the Bridge of the King and the Cathedral Tower (on the back of the cover).

A plethora of postmarks and cachets illuminates the cover, these being the first day of issue postmark; the Corporative stamp of Correos Y Telegrafos Panama, and the normal day postmark of the Post office (on the back of the cover).

Thanks a lot Alex, for another great addition to the collection!