COVER N. 607 -  URUGUAY

Postmark: Correo Uruguaio Jefatura Dptal. (?) Admision 25.06.2025

Posted on the 25th June; Received on the 9th July 2025

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My friend the Flying Dutchman sends me a cover from Uruguay. Nice. As usual with Eric's mail they always come from where its least expected...and I love it! Hartelijk Dank, Eric!

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is one of those names that needs no introduction, at least to those of us who bear no grudge of the fact that as primates we share a common ancestor with apes (or believe that the earth is not a flat disk, for that matter...)

The ship in which he made the circum-navigation voyage that would prove instrumental in the development of his "theory of evolution by natural selection" is, for this fact, also famous and although the original can no longer be visited, since what's left of it seems to be buried in the mud, on river Roach in Essex, a true to size replica exists at Museo Nao Victoria, in Punta Arenas, Chile.

HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop, launched on the 11th May 1820, its famous Journey around the world having taken place between 1831 and 1836.

Celebrating the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin birth, Correos de Chile issued a two stamp set (12 and 37 Pesos) on 31AUG2009. The higher value stamp, beautifully illustrated with the Beagle  sailing full sail not that far from land, can be seen on the cover.

The 50th anniversary of the first Europa/CEPT common issue, which occurred in 2006, was celebrated by many postal administrations around the world, many of them not even being members of CEPT, such as is the case of Uruguay.

The Uruguayan issue celebrating this fact comprised the two stamps on the cover (16 and 37 Pesos).

Issued on 11AUG2005, the two stamps were illustrated with  paintings by Uruguayan painter Carmelo Azardun, (1888-1968) and a facsimile of a Spanish Europa stamp issue: "Paisaje" (landscape) and the 1964  issue (16 Pesos); "Los nandues" (the Rheas - South American ostriches), and the 1962  issue(37 Pesos).