A British woman attempting to fly a single-engined plane over both poles and around the globe has arrived in Buenos Aires, nearly halfway through her quest.
After her latest leg from Brazil, Polly Vacher was greeted with champagne, roses and military marching music played by an Argentine Air Force band. The festivities began as soon as her Piper Dakota plane touched down at a military airport.
She arrived in Argentina from Port Alegre, southern Brazil, now 24,000 miles into her odyssey since her May 6 departure from Scotland. Over her six-month journey, she has flown over the North Pole, Alaska, and North America.
"I'm nearly at the halfpoint mark!" she said after climbing down from the orange-and black plane.
After one more landfall at the southernmost tip of South America, her next stop is expected to be Antarctica.
The trip is an attempt by Vacher to raise money for World Wings, an English aviation organisation that provides scholarships for disabled pilots. Vacher flew around the world in 2001, raising £190,000 for the group.
"There are two objectives," she said. "One is the personal challenge. The other is to raise awareness that disabled people can lead a useful and full life."
Vacher and her husband joined the organisation after learning to fly in 1994. World Wings counts Queen Noor of Jordan as one of its patrons, and the wings of Vacher's plane are emblazoned with the names of 1,400 others who gave at least £25 each, including the Prince of Wales, who saw Vacher off on her voyage.
Vacher's route called for crossing dozens of countries during a 10-month trip. She also said she intended to land in Antarctica at one of the continent's research bases before continuing on to New Zealand on her way around the world.
The most challenging part of her trip so far, Vacher said, was the flight to the North Pole in early May. Her plane can fly for 16 hours without refuelling, and the flight over the pole and on to Canada lasted 14 hours.

Impressive effort indeed.

My brother-in-law is disabled. He told me that he was invited to apply to this organisation for a scholarship as he has all the right credentials. Imagine his disappointment when after sending off all the forms he was informed he's too old. If this is the the case, why did they encourage him to apply in the first place. ???