Next time I'll be better prepared ...

A local shop supplies the very latest in riot police fashion. To be fair, there is a major police station on Tiradents square. Talking of security, I've been spending too much time in the local branch of HSBC today (more of which in next post) and noted the paranoid defenses. Was kept waiting far too long for someone to open the door marked "disabled" (a very rare concession in SP, which basically means anyone who has to push any kind of wheeled object on these impossibly unfriendly sidewalks and entrances). As ever, there is no sense of urgency. On subsequent return visits, sans push chair, I kept getting stuck in the revolving door, which was having a hard time understanding it's raison d'etre. The security guards floating around had suspicious eyes and wore bullet proof vests. I was reminded of the couple of occasions I have seen armed guards delivering cash to banks in SP. They actually had their guns drawn, looking for all the world like some kind of desperadoes from the Wild West. On second thoughts, that seems an entirely appropriate description of all money men in Sao Paulo.

PS: Oh, how I miss my iPhone camera. The one on this iPad is pretty useless and I feel daft using a great big tablet as a camera.