COVER N. 575 - SPAIN

Postmark: Far de Calella Oficina Postal de Calella Correos 07.02.2025

Posted on the 7th February; Received on the 21st April 2025

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I don't know why but lately it seems there have been quite a few delays both in my inbound and outbound mail. 

Some days ago I got notice that a letter that I had sent to France in  December last year had finally arrived, now I get a cover that my friend, the restless Phantom, sent me from Spain, (which is right next door...) in the beginning of February..... I am still waiting for mail I sent myself and others in mid March....

Waiting for better days, I try to deal with the backlog of letters and postcards I have to add to my blog only to find that I cannot take my eyes out of the pot on the cover Alex so kindly sent me.... Cocido... all over the Iberian Peninsula this is a magic word..,

Literally Cocido, in Spanish, or Cozido, in Portuguese, means boiled. And it is the designation for a plethora of dishes that share the fact that they are result of boiling or stewing vegetables or legumes together with meat and or sausages, a department in which Iberia also excels, with hundreds of different types to choose from.

Typically, the Cantabrian Cocido Montanez, from what I see and read, is not that different from the version of its next door neighbour, the Fabada Asturiana: Large white beans, cabbage, bacon, chorizo, pork ribs...

This is mountain food, food for hard working people, food  for those who have to brave bad weather since there are a lot of calories in those pots, but hey, provided you don't eat it every other day... and yes, all cozidos or cocidos are simply outstandingly delicious! Let me just recommemd that if ever you come to my neck of the woods, do try the Cozido à Portuguesa in one of its many declinations, from North to South, to the Azores, where you can even try it slow cooked in a hole on the ground by volcanic heat…. 

Did you try it, Mr. Ghost who walks?

Funnily enough, I just heard from Alex, while I was typing that this cover went  from Spain to Indonesia first, by mistake of the local post office, and was then returned to Spain and resent to its final destination.... mystery explained... probably my delayed letters are mid way between here and jupiter, who knows... 

. 😀

The series Spain in 19 plates began in 2020, it will be composed by 19 single stamp souvenir sheets, illustrated (judging by the number) with a dish of one of the country's 17 autonomous communities plus 2 autonomous cities.

The sheet with the Cantabrian Cocido stamp was issued on 24JUL2023. Of note is the fact that on the same years two other sheets from the series were issued but each on its own date.

The nice pictorial postmark was applied at the post office of Calella, in Catalonia, and it depicts the local Lighthouse.