Itamarati Assistência Técnica
IN THE PICTURE: Repairing and upkeeping your cameras and lenses in Brasilia
By Welf Herfurth
Novice and professional photographers find servicing and repairing cameras in Brazil difficult, it is especially so in Brasilia. There is a place, however, where you can take care of every phase of camera repair and maintenance for both electronic and mechanical models: Itamarati Assistência Técnica. It is one of the few stores that specialize in servicing and repairing photographic equipment in the capital; the owner Pedro can also look after your monoculars and even telescopes.
Despite Canon still selling photographic equipment here in Brazil, all the service facilities are in São Paulo. Nikon announced in 2017 that they will stop selling all their photographic equipment and closed its service facilities in Brazil in 2017.
That meant that if your Nikon photographic equipment needed to be serviced or repaired, you had to wait until you return overseas or send it to the service center in the US.
Located in Trecho 7, Feira do SIA do Distrito Federal in Guara, finding the store can be a bit tricky as it is hidden away behind Feira do Paraguai in SIA. Just look for the window displaying cameras, vintage equipment, and parts — a trip through the history of cameras that is a treat in itself.
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Espaço Aroeira — A Lago Norte find where it is easy to get lost
A place to enjoy nature, the outdoors, quaint shops, good food, and where you may even find yourself wonderfully Zen
By Welf Herfurth
You would be forgiven for not knowing about one of the most charming places in Brasilia— Espaço Aroeira, as you come into the Setor de Habitações Individuais Norte, SHIN, plant nurseries to your right, at the beginning of Lago Norte. In fact, I have been going to the plants stores nearly every two months for at least 5 years and did not know it was there. Espaço Aroeira is located at the back of all the nursery stores. I set foot in it for the first time recently, and wow.
At the entry to this little oasis is the outdoor seating from Café Auoreira. It is a beautiful little café that has a limited menu, but what they serve is excellent and very inexpensive. In their outdoor seating area you are surrounded by beautiful plants and a little pond (with a warning sign that you might get an electrical shock if you enter the pond).
About 30 meters from the entry, there is a charming little alley with several colorful shops selling everything from artisan bread, organic cosmetic products, fashions, arts, crafts, and house decorations. The owner of the bakery Revoluções Pães Artesanais is happy to speak in French or English to you; he makes his products in a woodfired oven that gives his bread a rustic taste.
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A bit further down the alley there are several big, covered spaces that are used for things like yoga sessions, arts and crafts courses, and other activities. One of the more unique workshops is offered by Together Cafés Especiais where you learn the art of roasting and preparing coffee.
At the end of the alley, delightfully camouflaged by the trees and the plants is the restaurant Cozinhas da Terra. Surrounded by huge trees and a wall of green plants is a big outdoor seating area that a German biergarten. The cuisine is Brazilian, and they serve dishes from all corners of the country. It looks delicious and it is rather affordable, but make sure you make a booking as this place is quite popular.
In all, it is a wonderful place to visit, a place where you can get lost in nature and the setting and the shops and the food, and easily make an afternoon of it.
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