INDIA – Postcard from Margao-Goa, India to Braga, Portugal.

Postcard with stamps posted on July, 20 2011.

(Special thanks to my friend Elton D’Souza)

Where the world highest post office located?

Hikkim branch post office in Lahaul and Sprite district, Himachal Pradesh has the distinction of having the Highest Post Office in the world. Its a small village at an approximate height of 15,000 feet and was opened on 5 Nov1983.

The pin code for this post office is 172114. Hikkim has population of around 600. There is a motorable road till Hikkim. The nearest main post office is at Kaza, located 25 kms away. Around 50 people have a savings account in the Hikkim post office. The post office handles around 15-20 letters everyday.

INDIA – Cover from Margao-Goa, India to Braga, Portugal.

Cover with stamps posted on August, 7 2011.

(Special thanks to my friend Elton D’Souza)

INDONESIA – Cover from Malang, Indonesia to Braga, Portugal.

Cover with stamps posted on September, 23 2011.

(Special thanks to my friend Ms. Irene Chen)

Souvenir sheet

Aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action, World Environment Day (WED) is an annual event celebrated on 5 June every year. The celebration began in 1972 and has grown to become the one of the main vehicles through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action.
 

This year, the WED theme is Forest: Nature at Your Service'. It underscore the intinsic link between quality of life and the health of forest and forest ecosystems. The theme also supports this year's UN International Year of Forests. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) elected India, one of the fastest growing economies in the world that is embracing the process of a transition to Green Economy, as the global host of WED celebration.

In celebration of Indonesian Environment Day 2011, the theme is adapted into 'Hutan Penyangga Kehidupan'. It emphasizes the essence of forest as guardian of the balance between the interest of humans and all other living things in the world. Consequently, maintained forest consevation is required to run that function. Nothing is more precious than harmonius life between humans and environment which includes the beachhead ecosysstem of flora and fauna.

As a part celebration, a stamp series of Environmental Care is issued on June 5, 2011. The stamp Design features pine forest as one of forest ecosystems commonly found in Indonesia.

Centenary Credit Agricola

Stamps (Inland and Europe)

First Day Cover

 2011 is of special importance to the Crédito Agrícola Group that celebrates 100 years of activity. 

Crédito Agrícola – one of the few private financial institutions with exclusively national capital – is proud of having given, throughout its history, a unique contribution to the economic and social development of many regions of the country, generating benefits to the communities where its branch offices are located and to its associate members and clients, gaining prominence on the Portuguese Mainland and on the Autonomous Region of the Azores through an identity that one hundred years later grants it an unparallel institutional and civic dimension. 

Created in 1911 by the Decree-law that regulated the foundation and activity of agricultural savings banks, Crédito Agrícola is an institution that has become deeply rooted in the Portuguese society; today it has a network of approximately 700 branch offices, 5,000 employees, more than 400,000 associate members and 1,2 million clients. 

Agricultural Savings Banks form the basis of the Crédito Agrícola Group, they boost local economies in the regions where they are located and are a guarantee of the close relationship between the Group and its Clients. Locally raised resources are, as a rule, invested in socio-economic benefits for that region. 

At the passage of its centenary, the CA Group stands out not only as a financial institution but also because its universal offer of highly competitive products and services. The specialized companies within the Group enable it to address the needs of an increasingly demanding Client universe. That is why the CA Group assumes the leading role in Portugal as a Relationship or Proximity Bank, at a time when the rebirth of that paradigm makes all the difference. 

Far from seeking only the profit, Crédito Agrícola presents itself as a top of the range Financial Group, not only because of its solidity, but also of how it exercises citizenship, by sharing every year a considerable part of its revenues with other institutions for the development of culture, sports and other socially relevant activities. 

True to its very own policy as regards social responsibility and the commitment to a sustainable future, Crédito Agrícola has in its associate Savings Banks and in its specialized companies the strength of a financial Group that Portugal acknowledges. 

To celebrate its Centenary, Crédito Agrícola has organized a number of initiatives that include, beyond a commemorative stamp and a series of Conferences, an Honour Committed presided by His Excellency the President of the Republic, Professor Aníbal Cavaco Silva. 

This is the manner in which Crédito Agrícola wishes to celebrate this important date, together with its Associate Members, its Clients and its Staff, a celebration that is extended to all the Portuguese of course; 100 years of activity, during which it has walked together with many projects and ambitions, from one generation to the next, in towns and cities, up to this day. 

Technical Details

Date of Issue: 25 March 2011

Values: stamps of N20g (€0,32) and E20g (€0,80)

Designer: João Machado

Printer: Joh. Enschedé

Process: 4-colour offset lithography

Size: stamps 40.0 mm x 30.6 mm

Perforation: Cross of Christ 13 x 13

Paper: White TR CPST331 110g/m2

Watermark:

Sheet: sheets of 50 stamps

Migrator fishes

Stamps

Souvenir sheets

First Day Cover

Diadrom Migrator Fishes

The migration of marine species is a phenomenon that manifest itself in various ways, in daily, seasonal or annual cycles.

Fish that migrate from the ocean to the river or from the river to the ocean during their life cycle are called diadromous and are classified as follows: anadromous fish (live mostly in the ocean and breed in the rivers) and catadromous fish (live in fresh water and breed in the ocean).

Most of these fish are threatened by extinction. In Portugal, the main threats are posed by the construction of obstacles to the migration routes (such as dams and dikes), destruction of spawning grounds, overfishing, illegal fishing and widespread pollution.

The disappearance of these species is a major loss for our aquatic biodiversity, with both economic, gastronomic and cultural consequences.

In order to reverse the situation, it is essential to implement the measures envisaged in the spatial planning policies, improve the quality of the aquatic habitats, ensure the continuity of the rivers, rehabilitate the natural breeding grounds, control pollution and gravel removal, re-establish the natural hydrologic systems and carry out a sustainable fishing management. 

Anadromous fish

Atlantic Salmon, Salmo salar (block)

This species’ situation is critical, with less than 250 individuals, most of which consist of a subpopulation of the Minho River.

Salmons hatch in the rivers where they remain for roughly two years. They migrate to the ocean and when they reach their sexual maturity they return to the rivers to breed, to the same place where they were born.

Shad, Alosa alosa 

The shad, which is an endangered species, can be found in Portugal in the hydrographic basins of the Minho, Vouga, Mondego (that holds the biggest subpopulation), Tagus, Guadiana rivers and, occasionally, in the Douro River.

The juveniles migrate down the rivers to the estuaries, where they grow and mature. At a later stage they migrate to the ocean, where they remain feeding on plankton, returning to the rivers to breed.

River lamprey, Lampetra fluviatilis

This is a critically endangered species; in Portugal it can be found in the hydrographic basins of the Douro, Vouga, Mondego, Lis, Ribeiras do Oeste, Tagus and Sado Rivers. 

It is a very primitive fish, with a simple cartilaginous skeleton and a toothed, cupping shaped mouth that enables it to feed on the blood of other animals. The adults spawn in fresh water, on the bottom of the rivers, dying shortly afterwards. The juveniles migrate downriver to the estuaries and later out into the ocean where they complete their growth.

Catadromous fish

European eel, Anguilla anguilla (block)

This endangered species can be found in all the hydrographic basins of the Portuguese Mainland and in the coastal zones of the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira; it hunts during the night and feeds on crabs, crayfish, molluscs, amphibians and fish eggs. The European Eel spawns in the Sargasso Sea, Northwest of the Caribbean. The larvae cross the ocean in the opposite direction, towards continental waters and complete their maturity in the European rivers, and later, when it is time to breed, they migrate back into the ocean. 

Thin-lipped grey mullet, Liza ramada

This species, that is highly adaptable to the variation in salinity, can be found abundantly along the whole Atlantic coast. They move around in large shoals, in coastal waters, estuaries, lakes and rivers where they feed on algae, invertebrates and waste.

At the end of spring the adults and juveniles migrate upriver to freshwater environments. In the fall the adults return to the ocean to breed. The next generation of juveniles enter the estuaries by the end of winter. 

Flounder, Platichthys flesus

Present along the whole Portuguese coast, particularly north of the Tagus River, the founder can be found along the littoral shore down to depths of 80 meters; it lives on sandy or muddy bottoms, feeding on small fish and invertebrate. When they reach sexual maturity (four years in the case of the females or three years in the case of the males), they migrate to the ocean to breed, in the winter and beginning of spring. The juveniles enter the estuary in the spring and beginning of the summer.

Technical Details

Date of Issue: 25 March 2011

Values: stamps of €0,32; €0,47; €0,68 and €0,80 and two souvenir sheets with one stamp of €1,80 each

Designer: Atelier Acácio Santos / Elisabete Fonseca with illustrations of Pedro Salgado

Printer: Joh. Enschedé

Process: 4-colour offset lithography

Size: stamps 40.0 mm x 30.6 mm

Perforation: Cross of Christ 13 x 13

Paper: FSC 110g/m2

Watermark:

Sheet: sheets of 50 stamps

Joint issues Portugal - Korean Republic

Stamps

First Day Cover

The Turtle Ship

As a pioneering type of war ship of the Joseon Dynasty, the Turtle Ship was conceived in 1592 by Admiral Yi Sun-Shin who anticipated a Japanese invasion. The shape and tactical capabilities portrayed by Admiral Yi Sun-Shin himself are as follows:

“Wooden planks are laid on the upper deck of the ship, and on those planks, narrow cross-shaped ramps are placed to enable people to walk through, with sharp spear heads and spikes lodged on the rest of ship’s surface. The bow of the ship is shaped like a head of a dragon, while the stern takes the shape of the tail of a turtle. There are gun ports fore and aft and also six gun ports port and starboard respectively, where large projectiles are loaded and fired. When enemy soldiers attempt to board the vessel, a straw mat is placed over the blades on the back of the Turtle Ship so they cannot be seen. The Turtle Ship will hereinafter be in the vanguard of naval  warfare, with its sharp spear heads and spikes stopping enemy soldiers from climbing onto its back. When enemy ships try to siege the Turtle Ship, it can fire its cannons simultaneously fore and aft, port and starboard.”

Yi Sun-Shin, Korea’s venerated admiral, utilized the Turtle Ship as an assault ship and gained victory in 23 naval battles over 7 years under the spirit of “If you want to live through combat, you will certainly die. But if you want to die at combat, you will certainly live.” The Korean people take immense pride in both Admiral Yi Sun-Shin and his indomitable Turtle Ship.

The Portuguese Nau

The age of the Caravels came to an end when Cap Bojador was rounded in 1487. The prevailing Atlantic winds and currents that enabled this feat, rendered far-away voyages feasible and justified the choice of the Nau as a more suitable vessel for the Cape route. The reason was that it had much greater DW tonnage, it could carry more cargo thus enable larger profits and also more provisions, a larger crew, passengers, as well as cannons for protection against the corsairs. Generally, the Nau had 3 decks, 3 masts (2 fitted with square sails and one with a Latin sail), a forecastle and an aftercastle, and a carrying capacity varying between 120 and 1200 tuns.

Naus that sailed on the so called “Carreira da Índia” (India route) played a leading role on the annual trade route between Lisbon and Goa, initiated with the discovery of the maritime route to India, a voyage that Valignano in 1574 described as being “the longest and most trying voyage there is”. A true odyssey, which documents, in a dramatic way, our “história trágico-marítima” (“tragic history of the sea”), a narrative of dramatic shipwrecks occurred in those times.

Technical Details

Date of Issue: 25 March 2011

Values: stamps of N20g (€0,32) and E20g (€0,80)

Designer: Eunkyung Park (Navio Tartaruga) Telmo Gomes (Nau Portuguesa)

Printer: Cartor Security Printer

Process: 4-colour offset lithography

Size: stamps 40.0 mm x 30.6 mm

Perforation: Cross of Christ 13 x 13

Paper: FSC 110g/m2

Watermark:

Sheet: sheets of 50 stamps