COVER N. 761 - SPAIN

Postmark: Base Antártica Española Juan Carlos IIsla Livingston Correos 20.03.2026

Posted on 20 March;  Received on the 18th August 2026

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Another uncommon visitor to my mailbox, again thanks to the help of the restless wanderer, my Phantom friend. Danke sehr, Alex!

You'd expect mail coming from the Antarctic to travel through stormy weather.... what I would not expect was to have it delivered totally unscathed to my letterbox only to get it soaked by some rainwater from a summer tempest in my letterbox, while I was away from home for a few days :-( Luckily it only affected the bottom third of the envelope, so the beautiful blue cachet and black postmark were not smudged.

The Base Antártica Juan Carlos I is one of the two research stations that Spain maintains in the South Shetland Islands, one of the emerging bodies of land delimiting the infamous Drake Passage that links the Pacific to the Atlantic in the southern latitudes, the other being, of course, the no less  renowned Chilean Cape Horn. (The other Spanish base is  Base Antártica Gabriel de Castilla, in Deception Island).

Located in the  Hurd Peninsula, in Livingston Island, it was established in 1988, being given the name of the then Head of the Spanish state, King Juan Carlos I, and it is seasonally occupied, from November to March.

In can accomodate up to 50 people, its staff being functionally divided mostly into researchers and logistics personnel. The research therein conducted is carried out in the fields of:

Glaciology and Permafrost: Monitoring glacier mass balance, ice dynamics, and the degradation of permanently frozen ground to understand climate change impacts. 

Atmospheric Studies and Meteorology: Collecting continuous climate data, tracking aerosol movements, measuring ultraviolet radiation, and monitoring the ozone layer. 

Geomagnetism and Ionosphere Physics: Studying the Earth’s magnetic field and upper atmosphere variations, which are critical for satellite communications and global navigation systems. 

Biology and Ecology: Investigating polar ecosystems, including lichen physiology, vegetation adaptations to extreme cold, and the impacts of human footprints on local fauna. 

Geology and Geophysics: Analyzing the structural evolution of the South Shetland Islands, local volcanic activity, and tectonic movements.

Physical Oceanography: Examining marine currents, sea temperatures, and coastal salinity variations in coordination with the Spanish research vessel Hespérides.   

The stamp used on the cover is the Spanish Europa Issue of 2022, on the common theme of Myths and Legends.

It was issued on Europe's day 2022 - 09MAY2022 - and it is illustrated with an image evocative of Sa Dragonera island, located southwest of  Mallorca Island in the ballearic Archipelago.

The Island itself has the shape of a dragon , and legend has it that the island was home to one such mythical beast that protected Mallorca from undeserved invaders.

The pictorial postmark of the base is illustrated with the base's logo image, which I think is a skua, but I am not sure about this.