Philippines 2008 Tourism - scuba diving destinations

This is the picture side of a pre-paid postcard issued on 3rd November 2008 featuring a favourite scuba diving destination in the Visayas - Bohol. There are 10 postcards in this set featuring popular tourism sites.

This is the reverse side of the postcard, with the photo of a clownfish peeping from its anemone home.

A set of 7 stamps were also issued on the same day on the same theme of tourism. This one features Tubbataha Reef, a UNESCO heritage site and a top scuba diving destination located in the middle of the Sulu Sea. Scuba diving here is done from a live-on-board that sets out from Puerto Princesa City, capital city of Palawan Island. This is one of my must go destinations.

Saudi Arabia 2008 Red Sea Diving

This block of 4 celebrates the 75th Anniversary of Saudi Aramco in 2008. It was on 29 May 1933 that the original oil concession agreement was signed between Saudi Arabia and Standard Oil of California, that will lead to today's Saudi Aramco. The stamp with the scuba diver probably features recreation in the Red Sea.

Boyle's Law

This stamp is part of a set of 10, released by the Royal Mail on 25 February 2010, to commemorate the Royal Society. Well, the long-haired guy on the stamp is Robert Boyle, who discovered Boyle's Law, which is so important to understand for scuba divers. This is the scientific phenomenon that requires us divers to wear weights and an inflatable device (the buoyancy jacket, mate), and for us not to hold our breath when using scuba equipment underwater.

Robert Boyle was also featured on an Irish stamp released in 1981.

Cayman Islands 2009 Christmas

Released on 22 October, the Cayman Islands 2009 Christmas stamps reprised the stamps issued in 1997, showing Santa Claus enjoying himself in the tropics, with scuba diving, golf, and lazing in a hammock by the beach. This one, with the highest denomination of $1.00 shows Santa scuba diving with a buddy, hovering above a stingray.

Liechtenstein 2010 Water Rescue

On 1st March 2010, Liechtenstein Post issued a set of 2 stamps for the 3rd series of the Voluntary Civil Protection Work featuring mountain rescue and water rescue. The sheet shown here is for the water rescue stamp, the bottom left half of the stamp shows scuba divers conducting a search, while the top right half shows 3 divers conducting rescue work, one of them towing a rubber raft containing a victim securely tied down. Water rescue service in this country is rendered by the rescue specialists of the "Bubbles" diving club, the work include search and rescue of missing persons, salvage and cleaning of groundwater wells.

Belgium 2008 Smurf Duostamp

This is from a set of Belgium Duostamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Smurf or Schtroumpf as known in francophone countries, in 2008 (issue date: 18 May). This one shows Gargamel, the evil sorcerer, in snorkelling gear, trying to catch a Smurf in water; with him is his equally evil cat, Azrael. The actual stamp is the reddish perforated label on the right, the left label is for the illustration - the basis of the Duostamp in Belgium.

North Korea 2009 Turtle sheetlet of 4

The scuba diver is found on the right border of the sheetlet. The stamp is part of a 4-stamp issue on reptiles, the other 3 stamps feature a chameleon, a crocodile and a cobra. The stamps are released in sheetlets of 4 stamps, and only the turtle sheetlet has a scuba diver on the border. The 4 stamps were also issued in a stamp booklet format, but no diving theme there.