What a day(break)!

No time to write now - late for choir, but Copacabana beach was just too beautiful for words at dawn today.

Adding a bit now (Thursday). We woke very early when some idiotic, unsolicited message caused my mobile to bleep loudly. After that, the tick bites caused by over-exposure to our beautiful new mongrel prevented me from sleeping again. So what does a blipper do under those circumstances? Head out to shoot the dawn, of course.

The beach was exceptionally deserted - all the usual crack-of-dawn joggers seem to have decided it's winter and far too cold for them to venture out (it must have been right down to about 22o C), so I was a bit cautious about producing my phone or point-and-shoot. I started to leave as a figure approached, but it turned out to be a Japanese tourist (in one of the pics) who seemed as mesmerised by the dawn as I was. And I left again when the sky seemed to have turned into an ordinary everyday sky - only to turn back when I looked over my shoulder and saw la vie en rose again.

I stayed for an hour and left with a big smile on my face. Just as well, because the good mood had to last all the way through another afternoon shuttling between bank and notary's office (these are simply licenses for printing money in Brazil, and contribute hugely to the Brazil cost and difficulty in getting anything done here). I was also frozen to the marrow by the time we emerged from the bank and its air-conditioning, and had to dive into sweaters when we got home.

Ah - saw a new bird (to me) on the beach. A very fine fellow, but he was avoiding paparazzi, so I only have blurred shots of him. I'm adding him as an extra photo - can anyone tell me what he is? I haven't had time to research it yet.
P.S. Hah - I've discovered that he's a Southern Caracara - thought he looked like a bird of prey! He has obviously turned into a beach bum.