So we will start Belo Horizonte...
As not only the Lonely Planet told us but also many other travelers there is basically nothing to do in Belo Horizonte and most people only use it as a place to visit other towns in the same region. Because we had a 16 hour bus ride from Porto Segure (the town next to Arrial D'ajuda) to B.H. we decided not to take another bus the same day even if it was only going to be 2 hours and spend the day in B.H. seeing the little there is to see. Well exactly like I said there is little to see. Right after we got to out hostel we ran in to a Aussie who invited us to come along with him to Mercado Centro (Central Market). There we enjoyed the first of two pretty great meals with him and another Aussie. He introduced us to the Large Pastels, which are basically large rectangle sized fried pastries which can be stuffed with basically anything from the traditional beef or chicken to the untraditional like salmon or hearts of palm. All for the great price R$4 ($2.20) The one thing we were excited for, the Municipal Park, was suppose to close at 6pm. Between 3 and 4pm it decided to rain pretty heavy and when we showed up to the park after the rain closed they said they were closing it for the day because of the heavy rains. So we decided to walk around and see a few cool buildings and a nice plaza area with some fountains.
Emily trying (not succesfully because of her height) to smell the roses in B.H.
After all this we went back to the hostel and the Aussie invited us out to one of the "All You Can Eat Amazing Brazilian Steak Houses." The funny thing about this is I really wanted to go to one of these but for obvious reasons Emily didn't. And I told Emily a few days earlier I was just going to have to wait to meet some guys at a hostel who want to go. And low and behold, I did. At these places they basically come around and serve you large quantities of Beef, Lamb, Pork (the lamb was ok, the Arabs know how to prepare it better, and the pork was also not so good), and Chicken Hearts (which I had around 30 I think). The Beef was amazing though. Emily kind of just watched slightly amused at the three of us guys chomping down on meat while she enjoyed her all you can eat salad bar.
The next morning we took a short 2 hour (I say it was short because compared to our previous bus rides of 16 and 12 hours this one was pretty short) the former Regional Capital of Minas Gerais, Ouro Preto. The town came highly recommended and it lived up to the hype. The town, like the region of Minas Gerais, became really famous in the 1700s because of the discovery of gold in the region. Because this was the regional capital at the time the town is filled with great architecture. There are literally amazing churches throughout this town both architecturally and interior decorating filled with gold leaf. One of the most famous designers from this time was Aleijadinho, who followed both his father and uncle in to the field of design. One of the most interesting things about him (besides the fact that he was born in to slavery) was the fact that in his adulthood he lost use of his hands and continued sculpting things with tools strapped on to his wrists.
Overlook of the city and mountains of Ouro Preto (it means Black Gold)
Arriving in to Ouro Preto
Snack time for grown-ups
The other major thing that Ouro Preto is now for (besides its absolute beauty in the middle of the mountains) was a failed rebellion at the Portuguese that began in the town (this rebellion was pretty much seen as the first calls for the independence of Brazil). The Inconfidência Mineira (Mine Rebellion) was a short lived rebellion, in 1789, by a group of miners who felt that the Portuguese Crown was attempting to take to much tax on the gold mining industry. One of the main leaders (who was the only one executed, the rest were exiled to Africa) was a man named Tiradentes (which means tooth-puller in English, he got this nickname because he was a Dentist actually by trade). An interesting thing I found while going through a museum about the Rebellion was that in their decree to the Portuguese Crown for Independence they actually attached the U.S. Constitution to their list of complaints, even though all books about the American Revolution were previously banned in the colony of Brazil. Besides seeing all of the church architecture and history about the region Emily and I enjoyed the several days of cooler fresh mountain air and the unbelievable views.
The final towns we visited during a visit to Minas Gerias were the towns of São João del-Rei and Tiradentes. We spent very little time in Sao Joao del-Rei (minus sleeping there) except for my favorite part of the trip so far...The Train Museum! Which included a great collection of classic trains from the 1800 and 1900s and a history of the railroad in the region. We then took a beautiful 40 minute train ride to the town of Tiradentes (named after the revolutionary leader, because he was born in a farm nearby). Tiradentes was a small but very exciting tourist town just filled with a great main street and town square. During this period there was also a major film festival going on in this town so everything even seemed a little more alive. There was not much to truly see besides enjoying the town and watching a great sunset over the mountains.
BRETT LOVES TRAINS!
NO, REALLY HE LOVES THEM! HIS BAR MITZVAH THEME WAS TRAINS.
A view of the scenic train ride
The sunset over Tiradantes
Well that ended our trip to Minas Gerais and now we are enjoying Rio de Janeiro...which basically means beautiful beaches, great parties, and trying to give that huge Jesus statue a high-five.
-Brett
No comments:
Post a Comment