As I touched down in Sao Paulo today it was great to hear news of the first Brazilian in space.  According to the BBC Lt. Col. Marcos Pontes took with him a Brazilian flag and a football shirt – to help his team in the World Cup (like they need any help!). A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying the first Brazilian into space docked with the International Space Station on Saturday two days after lift-off from Baikonur. Apparently Pontes will spend nine days on board, while a Russian and a US colleague accompanying him will stay for six months. Sounds like a nice holiday..

Pontes’ flight coincided with celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont‘s successful flight of a fixed-wing airplane in Paris in October 1906.

Porque eu toquei para baixo no sao Paulo hoje era grande ouvir a not

So did the tourist thing and went down the market to look at paintings; Shirley had bought from an artist in Sao Paulo last time she was here so we went back to see her. I was busy taking pics of little dogs and their owners, and was priming the camera for another shot when it happened..one of the market traders with a stack of paintings of cheesy Brazilian landscapes launched into a volley of accusations that I was taking pics of her beloved work. She even managed to wrap up her accusations with a general diatribe against foreigners stealing all things Brazilian. Well, little did she know that firstly I was happy to have the chance to show my pics via the digital Z700