POSTCARD N.36 -  Russia

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 18th September; received on the 29th September
Postcar dimage: A stork
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Storks....some say they are responsible for delivering babies, all over the world. Well, I'm not so sure about it! I still remember the running to and fro the hospital both my daughters caused the days when their delivery was nearing and neither I nor mum remember seeing any stork in the delivery ward...

This time though, the stork, instead of delivering,was delivered. Thank you Mr. Postman for the delivery, and thank you so much Elena, for your nice card and stamps.

I like storks, Cegonhas, we call them, with their elegant silhouette darting across the skies, the same silhouette that adorned the side of the SPAD aircraft of World War I aces like Guynemer, Fonk, or Garros. A common sight here where I live, so common that it is not impossible to see more than ten nests - and in extraordinary cases, close to double that number - in high tension poles. Also it seems that Portugal is the only place where storks nest on rock cliffs, for the pleasure of birdwatchers and photographers, something that I believe only happens at Cabo Sardão, in the South coast, where I took this photograph.

Elena used two stamps to send the stork my way:

The 55 ruble stamp is a very recent issue - 18AUG2021- commemorating the 550th anniversary of  Afanasy Nikitin's journey to India.

Having no idea of who Afanasy Nitkin was, I, as usual, sought the help of Wikipedia, to learn that Afanasy was a Russian merchant from Tver that travelled to India between 1466 and 1469, returning to his homeland in 1472, only to die before arriving back at Tver. He was made famous by the fact that he chronicled his journey in a book called "A Journey Beyond the Three Seas".  

The image on the stamp is that of Nitkin's statue and monument in Tver, while on the background three landmarks from his journey are superimposed on a map of India. Of them I could only positively identify the one located further North on the map as the The great mosque at Gulbarga fort.

The self-adhesive 3 ruble stamp is part of the 7th definitive issue of the Russian Federation, started in 2019. It exhibits the State Postal Administration Emblem and was issued on 07AUG2019.

Unfortunatley, I cannot understand what I presume are names of localities in the very large and clear postmark.

Image credit: La Poste

On my recent trip to the Pyrenees I profited from the occasion to post to my own self covers with postmarks from both the Spanish and the French Andorran postal services, thus adding two more postal administrations to my cover collection.

When sorting out on the internet  what stamps to buy to this end on the eve of my descent into Andorra-La-Vella, I noticed the French Andorran  Post had issued this year a stamp that, the moment I noticed it, I knew I had to buy it, even though it is far from being a stamp that would fall into my “what makes a stamp great” criteria.

What caught my attention were the words on it: “Estany de Cabana Sorda”. This evoked in me the memory of what began as a gorgeous day I spent in Andorra, in 2015, that would end not in disaster, but in a fair bit of discomfort to put it mildly J.

My wife and I, we were looking forward to a not so difficult walk in the mountains and so we took on the suggestion of a pamphlet issued probably by the Andorran Tourist office that  proposed 4 or 5 hiking routes to explore in the Vall d’Incles, a most  wonderful and peaceful location, that I love and recommend to all.

So we decided to follow what was, If I remember correctly, the green path, that would take us from  the parking lot at the entrance to the Valley, up to a lake at 2290 metres high, in what was presented as an easy walk, fit for families with children and all.

So we started our hiking. I have to say, it was not that difficult in what regards the path and the type of soil on it, but it had a lot of steep  passages that made it harder than I was expecting for a path classified as easy.

On the way up, I remember passing by a family with a 8-10 year old child that was crying and saying he was tired and wanted to go back, but the parents kept pushing him forward…

Anyway, step after step we reached our goal: this beautiful little lake, enshrined by the mountains with a shelter on one side of it: Estany de Cabana Sorda, it was.

We stayed for a while to eat our sandwiches and enjoy the gorgeous views, but all of a sudden, clouds began to muster  and what were fluffy white rolls of cotton candy in the sky began to turn into menacing grey stacks of smoke.

We looked at each other and without needing to say a word, picked up our walking sticks and started the descent in haste. Just a couple of minutes into it and a big cold drop of water hit my bald head… we donned our waterproof jackets and accelerated our march.

BOOOOOOOOOOM ! the first thunder echoed in the valley. With it came the heavy downpour and thunder, more thunder. The biggest thunderstorm we had ever witnessed was taking place and we had no place to shelter, so we had to go as fast as we could down the path to the valley. Luckily the storm stayed  up high in the mountain, but the sheer noise of the thunders echoing in the valley is something I’ll never forget.

We  reached the safety of the road in the valley completely drenched  and were desperately yearning for a warm drink. There was a little café bar on the way, but we were so wet that we didn’t want to leave a pool of water under our feet in the bar, so we went on to the car and drove to Pas de la Casa, where we were staying, and where we finally had our invigorating cup of coffee at home, after a nice warm shower to get the blood running again.

This was a day to remember.  

And looking at the image on the stamp made me remember it all again.

So on par with being  tools to ensure a letter journeys form one point to another, stamps can also be the trigger to (now) pleasant memories, so much so, that the day after buying that Estany da Cabana Sorda Stamp, I was again on the parking lot at the beginning of the road at Vall d’Incles to start another hike with my wife… this time, though, we chose the Camí de l’Obac (the path of the shadow) so we would be sure the sky would not fall upon us….

POSTCARD N.35 -  Ireland

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 8th September; received on the 23rd September
Postcard image: The General Post Office Building - Dublin
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Today, Mr. Postman dropped a mammoth postcard into my mailbox (a full A5 size), that flew in from Guinness land, Dublin, a beautiful city which I had already the pleasure of visiting a couple of times. Thank you so much Alvean!

The postcard is curious in that it depicts a stamp, which was issued on 11JAN2018 on the occasion of the Bicentenary of the official opening of the General Post Office in Dublin.

This building, to this day still housing the headquarters of the Irish Post Office, is probably more famous for the part it played in the Easter uprising of Easter week 1916, when it served as the rallying point for Irish independentists that rebelled against British domination of the island. It was also outside this building, that still shows the scars of the impact of bullets on its walls and columns, that the Proclamation of the Irish Republic was made public, having been read by Patrick Pearse.

The uprising would be defeated, hundreds would be wounded or killed on both sides of the barricades, 16 independentists would be executed in its aftermath (including Pearse), but the seeds had been sown and Eire would become an independent state in 1922.

Stamps, left to right:

Alvean used two ATM labels to mail the postcard. 

The first label was issued on 23JUL2020, replicating the design of a regular stamp issued on 21FEB2019. Dedicated to the theme "A stamp for Ireland" it highlights that most common feature of Irish weather - rain - through clever use of written typical Irish sentences related to it, displayed in a way that they too graphically evoke rain traces.

The second label was issued on 02AUG2018 as part of the series Irish Life and Culture and it depicts the  Rock of Cashel in Tipperary County, which, according to Wikipedia, was the traditional seat of the kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion. It was also the place where St. Patrick converted the then ruling King of Munster, in the 5th century. The design had also already been previously used on a regular stamp issued on 20APR2017.

No postmark was used on the postcard, but Alvean tells me it was posted directly at the GPO Building.

COVER N.40 - Andorra - French Post

Postmark:  - Principat d'Andorra - Andorra-La-Vella 30AUG21
Posted on the 30th August; received on the 4th September. (Fom 23AUG till 4SEP I was away, so the date of reception could be any day within that interval)
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The second letter I mailled myself during my short stay in Andorra was sent through the French Andorran Post service.

As per my Spanish Andorran letter, I used the Europa series stamp, a 1,5€ stamp issued on 15MAY21, illustrated with a nice drawing of a Trumpeter Rat (Galemys pyrenaicus)  a species with a "Vulnerable" global conservation status, due to habitat destruction.

This small insectivore and semi-aquatic mammal, which I had never hear of, can be found in the Pyrenees and in the North of Spain and... Portugal, my own country.

COVER N.39 - Andorra - Spanish Post

Postmark:  - Andorra La Vella 30AUG21
Posted on the 30th August; received on the 4th September. (Fom 23AUG till 4SEP I was away, so the date of reception could be any day within that interval)
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On my recent summer holiday trip to the Pyrenees I spent a couple of days in the small state  of Andorra, as I made may way from the Spanish side of the mountains to the French side.

Andorra, although very tiny as a state has a complex administration in that it is a diarchy with two princes: the Archbishop of Urgel (Catalonia, Spain) and the French President.

That is why this microstate has two postal services providers: Correos de España and La Poste Française.

I could not let go the opportunity of adding covers cancelled by these two postal administrations to my growing collection so although I was staying further to the east because I wanted to do some hiking in the Vall d'Incles region, I went to the capital, Andorra la Vella and visited both post offices to mail me two letters, something that did not take much time, since they are very close to each other.

I decided I would use this year's Europa stamp on both covers, because i) I really liked the chosen theme ii) it made sense to use a common emission for covers sent from the same place,  and also iii) because both are very nice stamps, according to my own definition.

The 1,50 € stamp that constitutes the EUROPA stamp of the Spanish Post of Andorra, issued on 30APR21, depicts the Trencalós (in Catalan) or Quebrantahuessos (in Castellan) or Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus)

This species of vulture with Near Threatened global conservation status is well known for its characteristic feeding behaviour that gave it his Spanish designation in that it flies up carrying bones only to drop them on hard rocks from an height of up to 150 metres so that they break and it can then eat the precious marrow.

POSTCARD N.34 -  United States of America

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 27th August; received on the 9th September
Postcard image: The Castle, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, 1947 by Ansel Adams
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Scanning an Ansel Adams photograph..even if in a postcard... I know it is pure sacrilege, but I only did it for the purpose of maintaining a record of all the covers and postcards I receive - such is the nature of my blog, anyway - and as such I believe this to be fair usage (like it also happens with all the other postcards and stamps whose image I publish here)

Mr. Adams is my all time favourite photographer and all I could say of him would be either redundant and mundane, because it has been said by others millions of times before,  or self-evident, obvious, because words are unnecessary when trying to describe the carrousel of emotions that a picture like "the Grand Tetons and the snake river " or Moonrise over Hernandez,  New Mexico", to name but two of his most well known masterpieces, can evoque in one's brain.

Once, quite a few years ago I was in Spain, in Galicia, to be more precise, and I passed by this building of a foundation in the centre of A Coruña. Huge posters announced an anthological exihibiton of Ansel Adams works, organised by the George Eastman International Museum of New York. That day I knew I needn't bet on the lottery anymore because all my luck had just been used up. I hastily found a parking place for my car and ran to the venue to visit the exhibition,  which, on top of it all, If I remember correctly, had free admission.

150 first generation prints of Ansel Adams works, with all the great classics that I das seen in books, now in front of my eyes, as full size magnificent prints.... I'll never forget the day!

Thank you so much for your card, Matt. I loved it!

Stamps, left to right:

The small stamp on the left was issued on 24JAN21 as part of a 4 self-adhesive stamp set available in coils of se-tenant strips of the 4 designs or panes with 5 sets of the 4 designs. With no face value, it carries the mention "Postcard" what leads me to think that it could be used to mail a postcard domestically....am I right?

the Bicentenary of the birth of  the poet Walt Withman, the famed author of Leaves of Grass, is the subject of the second stamp, also with no face value but with the inscription "Three ounce" so again I'd presume that such a stamp could be used to mail a up to 3 ounce letter in the domestic service, but I really am speculating here....

The machine applied cancelation reads S SUBURBAN IL 604 what indicates that the card was posted in one of the towns served by the mail processing centre of Bedford Park, Illinois. 

COVER N.38 - Japan

Postmark:  - Shinjuku Tokyo 24AUG21
Posted on the 24th August; received on the 9th September. 
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On the last 24th August, the beautiful hydrogen fuelled cauldron at the Olympic stadium in Tokyo was set alight by three paralympic athletes - wheelchair tennis player Yui Kamiji, boccia player Shunsuke Uchida and powerlifter Karin Morisaki -  in what was the closing act of the inauguration of the 16th Paralympic Games, an event that since 1960 (with a few interruptions) has been running alongside the summer Olympics, proving that Citius, Altius, Fortius is a truly inclusive motto and that achievement is a question of character and will, no matter what hurdles one has to overcome.

Officially designated Tokyo 2020, the games were held in 2021, from 24 August to 5 September, sadly on empty venues, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To celebrate the Summer Olympic and Paralympic games, and especially the torch relays of both, Japan Post issued two 84 Yen stamps in se-tenant format on 10MAR2020. These stamps as far as I could investigate are only available as part of a minisheet with 5 pairs of the two stamps.

Ban-no kindly sent me a super cover graced with a special card also issued by the Japanese Post to celebrate the inauguration of the games. Thank you so much Ban-no

The card, also highlighting the paralympic torch relay, contains the paralympic stamp as well as  a special cancellation mark (first day of issue, I presume) illustrated with an image of  Someity, the games mascot.

The stamp contains an image of the elegant torch used in the relays that were organised in several locations in Japan and was also set alight in England in the village of  Stoke Mandeville on 19 August, birthplace of the games that were to be later called the paralympic games.

The regular cancellation mark tells us that the cover was sent from Shinjuku - Tokyo.