Let me take you on a Trip!
After we left Rio we crossed several montain chains until we got in Belo Horizonte, the capital of one of Brazil largest, more historical and richest states, Minas Gerais. But we mainly went there to pick up my parents who joined us for 7 days and we stopped at many points during this part of the trip.
Which color bug do you want?
Our first destination was this impressive outdoor museum 1 hour south of the capital called Inhotim. I was actually happy to know Brazil has a place like this, a 5,000 acre area with 1,000 employees and 500 works of art and a botanical garden with more than 1,600 different species of plants. We only had one afternoon, but one can easily spend 2 days to see everything. A party for all senses.
Ouro Preto - The HILLS
In the evening we continued our journey to a city that was once the most important city in Brazil. Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was buit in the early 18th century due to a golden rush. In the beginning there was a huge amount of gold in the rivers, later they found more gold in mines and the city by 1750 had more people than Rio or New York City. Because of the abundance of money the city flourished with nice colonial houses, beautiful golden churches and artists produced an abundant amount of sacred art. It was also the nest of the most important independence movement against the portuguese crown that was fiercely crushed in 1789. A man called Tiradentes was beheaded and parts of his body were spread out in the region so people would not rise up against Portugal again. A martyr was born and to this day, April 21st the day of his death, is a holiday in Brazil.
These girls were in every church
Look, The blond one will take our questions!
The colonial Ouro Preto is gigantic and was once the capital of the State of Minas Gerais, but due to the difficulty of access (the city lies on top of several mountains) the government moved to BH at the end of the 19th century. That was Ouro Preto’s salvation. The city has not changed much and there lies its charm. The only bad aspect is that to see it all, you have to be in a very good physical form. The hills are extremally steep and they are all over the city, at the end of the day you are pretty exhausted. Besides Ouro Preto, we went to see a gold mine in a city called Mariana and went to another colonial town called Tiradentes. We basically saw a lot of churches and ate quite a few typical dishes from Minas which are delicious, but really fatty.
Into the depths of the Mine
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Good Friends & Family
The last stop in Minas was to see my friend Helio who lives in Patos De Minas and to have the world famous regional Pamonha: A sort of a large Tamale also made from corn, but more delicious. Think more sweet, less dense, and less dry than tamales had in th USA.
The View from Tiradentes
Minas is a huge state that does not have a coastline, but with so much history to tell, really good food and absolutely gorgeous mountain scenery, it is a special place in this vast country. Besides that, half of the Brazilians who live overseas are from Minas. If you meet one, ask and maybe you can be invited to have some feijao tropeiro.(yummmmmmmm!!!!!).
The Fun Continues
The fantastic four continued the adventure to the middle of Brazil in a little car, but for now you can see some pics of the always cute historical towns of Minas.
Up Next, Brasilia
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