Portugal's Coastal Fortresses and Electric Trains

A pair of 2025 stamps from a set showing coastal castles and fortresses in Portugal. On the left is the 15th century Fort of Sagres near Vila do Bispo, way down in the south-west corner of the Algarve. And on the right is the 15th century Caminha parish church, way up in in the north-west corner of Portugal's northern district of Viana do Castelo. The postmark commemorates the 60th anniversary of electric train service along the 8km segment of track between Porto's Campanhã station and Ermesinde.

Diplomatic Relations between Portugal and Egypt, FDC

The souvenir sheet on this cover, first-day postmarked in Lisbon, commemorates 50 years of diplomatic relations between Portugal and Egypt. Thank You Pedro! The stamp on the left shows the Douro River with Porto and the Luiz I Bridge in the background. The stamp on the right shows the Nile River with Cairo in the background. There are a pair of postmarks on this cover. The one on the left has the official date of issue. But the one on the right has a later date and we're not really sure what that date represents.

500th Birth Anniversary of Luís de Camões, Portugal FDC

Portugal's greatest poet was Luís de Camões. His death on 10 June 1580 is commemorated every year with a national holiday known a Portugal Day. That's how famous he was. He led an adventurous life and spent many years in Africa and Asia before being taken by the plague. I'm sure some of what I've been reading about his life has been heavily romanticized over the centuries but I still find it very fascinating. Thank you Pedro.

Senhora da Hora, Portugal

The postmark implies it was sent from Matosinhos: a municipality on the northern edge of Porto. But the extra postage label says Senhora da Hora which was a civil parish to the west of Matosinhos. The 2023 stamp on the left commemorates the 100th birth anniversary of opera singer Maria Callas. And the 2023 stamp on the right commemorates the 100th birth anniversary of pioneering aeronautical engineer Alberto Santos Dumont.

200 Years of the Post Office in Portugal

A pair of stamps from a set of four commemorating the 200th anniversary of the post office in Portugal. Not the establishment of mail services. CTT was founded in 1520! This is just the anniversary of the first physical post offices in the country, around the same time as the first house to house mail services. Thank you Pedro, for this nice FDC.

Solidarity with the Ukrainian People, Portugal FDC

The stamp shouldn't need much explanation. Any time I see blue and yellow now I think of Ukraine. And wheat on the first-day postmark: that reminds of Ukraine too. I believe money from the sale of this stamp in some way goes to aiding the people of Ukraine.

The 5 cent stamps are from a numismatics (study of coins) series from 2021 and show a gold coin minted between 1495 and 1521 during the reign of King Manuel I.

Thank You Pedro. A very nice cover!

Discovery of Antarctica, Portugal

The stamp sheet from Portugal is from an issue that commemorates the discovery of Antarctica. The stamps on the sheet show several species of fauna that inhabit the Antarctic region, above and below the water line. Only about 10% of an iceberg rests above the surface of the water.

It took centuries to fully "find" Antarctica. Some places were even discovered multiple times and given different names due to the poor accuracy of navigational instrumentation at the time. GPS would have helped. And a way to share information, like the internet.

Thank you Pedro for this excellent cover!

Legend of Nazaré, Portugal

Europa 2022 from Portugal. In 1182, Dom Fuas Roupinho was hunting one day and caught sight of a deer. He gave chase but the dear was really the devil in disguise. It attempted to lead him over a cliff to certain death. Roupinho knew there was a small grotto nearby where a statue of Mary was venerated, so sensing danger he prayed for intervention and his horse stopped just before going over the edge.

What I found just as interesting as the story was the statue itself. It still exists and resides in a chapel in the town of Nazaré, named after the statue which was originally in Nazareth prior to the 5th century.

Thank You for this cover Pedro! And I am very impressed with the perfect placement of this sheet at the edges of the envelope.

Centenary Of The League Of Combatants, Portugal

Started in 1921 and formally recognized in 1924, the Liga dos Combatentes is a war veterans organization. It honours those who gave their life for Portugal. Gives dignity to those who fought and survived. The organization also seeks to preserve the memory of the sacrifices made. All for the good of the veterans and their country.

On the left is the Chapterhouse (Sala do Capitulo) at Batalha Monastery (Mosteiro da Batalha) which houses the Portuguese Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where two unknown soldiers from the First World War are entombed. And on the right, the victory parade in Paris at the end of the war.

Thank You for the cover Pedro.

Porto, Portugal

 

Lajes Das Flores, Portugal

Lajes Das Flores is a municipality in the southern half of the Azorean island of Flores.

Porto, Portugal with Canadian healthcare slogan

Covers

Over the past month I've received a few covers from fellow European collectors:



Eric from France sent me this cover with several recent engraved stamps. I've always liked stamps produced this way and LaPoste does a really good job with them.



Adolf from Germany sent me a cover featuring a stamp that commemorates the Luther memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg. It was cancelled at the International Stamp Show in Essen (May 2009).



Andre from Portugal sent along a cover bearing some stamps from Portugal's "exotic fruits" series. I really need to get back to Portugal for a visit some day soon.