COVER N. 472 - FRANCE

Postmark: 58-Clamecy Nièvre 07.06.2024

Posted on the 7h June; received on the 12 June 2024

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The sea... 71% of the earth's surface is covered by water. Of these 96,5% correspond to the area covered by the 5 oceans. And to think that there are still many people on this earth who have not had a glimpse of all that immensity…

All my life I lived by the sea. I still do, luckily. As I type, I'm but a 10 minutes drive from  the ocean... the same ocean that I have swam in all my life, from my very first years in Cape Verde, to those spent in the Algarve in the South of Portugal, in my adolescence in the Azores, midway between Europe and America and finally here  again where I live not far from Lisbon, our capital, which the legend says Ulisses founded at the mouth of the Tagus, on his return to Ithaca, after the Trojan wars. 

When I was a kid, in Faro, my father would lead me and my sister on long walks by the coast (something I still enjoy doing) and we would be enthralled by the treasures we discovered on the sand, especially after stormy days, mainly glass ball net floaters, bottles (we even found one with a message, once), and all sorts of bits and pieces...

This was more than 50 years ago. In this 5 decades time we have accumulated so much garbage in the oceans that I feel that instead on 5 they are now 6, one of them being made out of the tons of  floating plastic that we all somehow have contributed to create.

After spoiling the land, we took to spoiling the oceans and in spite of all the warnings we don't seem to be acting with the needed determination to ensure that our descendants will be able to enjoy the simple pleasures the ocean has to offer to anyone who dares to dive with a snorkel mask and flippers, even on a sand covered beach ( who can forget the sight of a flounder or a ray suddenly erupting out of the sand and swimming away?).

Um grand merci, Jean-Pierre for another cover with a Europa 2024 issue.  It is never to much to call on people's attention to underwater Fauna and Flora. After all, if we want to keep eating oysters and munch on sea lettuce, we have to ensure they thrive on unpolluted habitats!

The French Europa Issue 2024 is composed by the 1,96 stamp on the cover, issued on 13MAY2024, which is illuminated by what at first looks like an almost abstract but colourful composition. As the eyes scan the image area, though, familiar shapes begin to appear and it is possible to identify several sea dwellers like an octopus, a ray, a moray eel, sea bream, corb, a starfish, corals and seaweed. 

The Postmark indicates that the letter was posted at Clamecy, a town in the Nièvre department, Central France.