Marathon

Look at their bodies: all muscles, not a bit of fat. Look at their faces: total concentration. More than 33km gone, but still more than 8 to go. And most of the thousands of runners are still in their way in, almost half a race behind...
My compliments to the winners of the São Paulo marathon, run yesterday: Reuben Chepwek, from Kenya (# 8, Michael Mislay, #3, from Tanzania, was second) and Jacquiline Chebor, also from Kenya (Marizete dos Santos, from Brazil, was second). And to all those who participated, even if just for fun.
(The race passes just one block from my home, so that's all the distance I had to run, I mean, walk...)

St. Francis of Assisi Church - Pampulha

Pope Benedict XVI is in São Paulo, and today he canonized Friar Antonio de Santana Galvão as Brazil's first native-born saint. I intended to post a picture of the Pope here today, but his popemobile passed by me so fast I didn't know whether I should watch him pass or take the picture, and faster than I could decide he was gone; all I got was a picture of the back of his head. Oh, well, this is not my first Pope, I hope I'll have other chances...
So, to celebrate the visit, I decided to post the pictures of this church instead.

Located by the Pampulha lake in Belo Horizonte, it was designed by Oscar Niemeyer (who'll be turning 100 in December). Built in 1943 in one of the most conservative Catholic regions in the country, its modern style resulted in it not being consecrated for 17 years. Another reason, maybe, was the fact that both Niemeyer and Candido Portinari, who did all the paintings, were well known communists...
When I visited it, four years ago, it was in a sad state of conservation, but fortunately it has been restored since then.

Jangadas

These fragile-looking rafts are a common site in Northeast Brazil. If you're lucky to catch them returning from open sea, you can buy the freshest fish you'll ever find, and have it prepared right there on the beach, at a price so low you won't believe it...
This day, though, the jangadas were ashore - time for the fishermen to be with their families, at last!

Tropical flavors

At Mercado São Sebastião (St. Sebastian market) in Fortaleza you can find many kinds of tropical fruit that are common in Northeast Brazil. They don't look perfect, spotless and shiny; they look natural, and that's good!
From top to bottom, these are their names (most come from native languages): Jaca (jackfruit); Murici (nance); Pitomba (Eugenia luschnathiana, couldn't find a common name in English); Serigüela (jocote); Acerola; Cajá (yellow mombin?); Sapoti ( sapodilla); Cajá-umbu (this is possibly a hybrid between cajá and umbu); Pequi; and Graviola (soursop).

Engenho - Sugar mill

This is an old-fashioned engenho, where we can see the traditional process for making sugar. First, the sugar cane is pressed to extract its juice, which is then boiled in huge pans, frequently stirred with wooden paddles. The cane pulp, the bagaço, is not wasted, it is used to feed the fire. After hours of boiling, the resulting thick paste is poured into molds and left to cool. The final product is rapadura, pure cane sugar bricks that are also sold flavored with coconut, pineapple etc. Very sweet pure energy!

At the market

CEAGESP is the huge wholesale market that supplies all kinds of fresh food to the city of São Paulo. On Saturdays, the central pavilion houses a farmer's market where anyone can get the best vegetables, fruit, meat, seafood... It's a feast for all senses!

Old house

"Not heaven itself upon the past has power;
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour."

John Dryden, Immitation of Horace