Blogs from Minas Gerais, Brazil, South America
September 8th 2011
Ouro Preto - nice town in the mountain, saw a lot of churches and a good opera... Mariana - also nice, was at a puppet show and a good brasilian concert...... read more
January 25th 2011
Projektet jag for till Brasilien for att delta i ar helt plotsligt fardigt och det har ar (ungefar) inlagget jag tankt skicka till CISV Umeas blogg for att beratta om vad jag haft for mig i tre veckor: Oi tía! Ett trettiotal barn som skriker efter uppmarksamhet, ris och bonor ris och bonor ris och bonor, utmattande lekar i utmattande tropisk sol samt sprak och kulturbarriarer av ett slag jag aldrig tidigare upplevt; de senaste veckorna har pa manga satt varit tuffa men det har trots detta varit helt fantastiskt att ha borjat 2011 med att vara "tía" at ett gang elvaaringar fran en sk favela i Vitória, Espirito Santo, Brasilien och jag ska har gora ett forsok till att beratta varfor. Jag har deltagit i ett International People's Project, som ar CISVs program for dig ... read more
Precious memories from Ouro Preto
Published: January 10th 2011South America » Brazil » Minas Gerais » Ouro Preto
January 10th 2011
Ouro Preto is a beautiful old colonial town settled in the hills of Minas Gerais state, about 9 hours North from Sao Paulo. I joked with Sarah that she should have noticed that the locals all had huge calf muscles. We only spent two days in Ouro Preto and it was a significant work out as we walked up and down the many cobblestone hills that form the streets (Ruas) in this beautiful town. The name of the town means ‘black gold’ in Portuguese, referring to the dark clumps of minerals that were mined and that contained the gold. In the 1700s Ouro Preto boomed with the precious commodity, leaving the town with today’s historical treasures—17 beautiful and some quite elaborate churches dispersed throughout the city. At that time, Ouro Preto was the richest Brazilian city ... read more
Ouro Preto, Colonial Gem
Published: November 30th 2010South America » Brazil » Minas Gerais » Ouro Preto
October 16th 2010
Nestled in a valley and surrounded by forested mountains, picturesque Ouro Preto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has a gorgeous setting for its perfectly-restored, 18c colonial center. Its narrow, uneven, cobblestone streets wind up and down the steeply-pitched hills and ravines on which the town is built--totally charming, but hard on the hips and knees. The steeples of 23 Baroque churches can always be seen over the white-washed colonial buildings with their bright, colorful doors and window frames and red-tiled roofs. And, like the rest of Minas Gerais state, it had some of the best food in Brazil. Originally named Vila Rica de Ouro Preto (Rich City of Black Gold), its mines produced more gold than any other city in the new world and was thought by some to be the long-sought El Dorado. It was ... read more
August 19th 2010
We have spent the last 3 days in Ouro Preto, a small town 426km north west of Rio. We travelled by bus over night for 7 hours. Given the warning from several of Ellie's family members who have embarked on similar night bus journies from London to Edinburgh we had our reservations. However, it would seem that in a country as large as Brazil night bus road trips are common place, and hence the buses are fitted out appropriately. We had extra wide, comfortable, almost fully reclining seats. The only discomfort on the trip was as a result of the Brazilians´ habitual use of air conditioning regardless of the outside temperature, which was approaching single figures. The town itself is lovely; narrow, winding, cobbled streets flanked by colonial architecture. Ouro Preto is said to be South America's ... read more
August 10th 2010
So ihr lieben oder Oi! wie der Brasilianer kurz sagt, gut 1 Monat bin ich jetzt schon hier und hab aus reiner Faulheit noch nichts von mir hören lassen. Schande über mein Haupt! Und auch jetzt schreib ich ehrlich gesagt nur mal wieder auf den letzten Drücker, aus Angst gar nicht mehr mit dem Erzählen hinterher zu kommen. Denn in gut 2,5h fährt schon unser Bus ab. Ziel: RIO DE JANEIRO!!! :) Ich weiß gar nicht wo ich anfangen soll und werde auf keinen Fall noch alles zuammen kriegen, was passiert ist, aber ich geb mein Bestes: Also, los ging das ganze Abenteuer natürlich am Flughafen in Belo Horizonte. Völlig planlos wie ich nunmal angereist bin hab ich mich mit nichts weiter als einer Adresse von meinem Hostel mit den örtlichen öffentlichen Bussen auf die Suche ... read more
Sao Joao del Rei and Tiradentes
Published: July 12th 2010South America » Brazil » Minas Gerais » São João del Rei
July 8th 2010
Sao Joao del Rei is an historic city some 4 hours southwest of Ouro Preto (with the only bus leaving at an annoying 7am). Compared to Ouro Preto and Mariana, it is definitely rougher around the edges, as it more industrial than the other historic cities of Minas Gerais. But the historic centre has been well preserved. But very similar to Ouro Preto, just not as nice. As I arrived on a Saturday, it was actually much busier than either Ouro Preto or Mariana, with the city filled with coaches of tourists. I had 2 days in Sao Joao, which was definitely enough, as I pretty much visited everywhere in the city itself on the first day, with the highlight being the San Francisco church. The following day I had a nice bus to Rio leaving ... read more
Beautiful Ouro Preto and Mariana
Published: July 9th 2010South America » Brazil » Minas Gerais » Ouro Preto
July 2nd 2010
Ouro Preto is the prettiest town I’ve seen so far in South America. It really is beautiful. It was built towards the end of the 17th century to serve as the capital of Minas Gerais state, doing so until Belo Horizonte was constructed. As it declined in importance, it has preserved its small town charm and its baroque architecture - it feels a bit like stepping back in time. Ouro Preto means Black Gold in English. Due to the rich mining heritage of the area, a lot of the towns have mining-related names - Ouro Branco (White Gold), Bauxita (Bauxite, or Aluminium Ore) and Diamantina to name but a few. Even though the town is quite small, it is extremely touristy (orientated more so towards Brazilians than international visitors), with so many hotels, pousadas (B&Bs), souvenir ... read more
Belo Horizonte and the State of Minas Gerais
Published: July 2nd 2010South America » Brazil » Minas Gerais » Belo Horizonte
June 26th 2010
First impressions of Belo Horizonte were very good. The bus trip from Brasília to Brazil’s third largest city was another efficient journey, arriving in Belo Horizonte in the early hours. The hostel I had booked online was in one of the nicer areas south of the city centre. The person who runs it was incredibly friendly, letting me in at a very early hour and then giving me lots of advice on what to see in the city. All in Portuguese, and I understood everything he said, albeit I needed him to repeat the odd sentence. But I’m definitely more comfortable with the language now, even if half of the words I say are Spanish and not Portuguese. The important thing is that I can normally convey a message and understand the person I’m speaking to. ... read more
Photo's - Ouro Preto
Published: March 5th 2010South America » Brazil » Minas Gerais » Ouro Preto » Chapada
March 5th 2010
Hello, here are some pictures from our two days in Ouro Preto. Cute mountain village built in 1700's. It's an old gold minning town and plays a significant role the history of Brazil.... read more
