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Published: March 29th 2008
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From Ouro Preto we travelled to Sao Paulo via Belo Horizonte. We had a few hours to kill in BH but unfortunately the weather was horrible! We ended up cowering in shops, cafes and even, forgive us, MacDonald’s for an ice-cream!! It’s a shame as the restored train station was nice and there are probably other parts of the city we would have liked.
Anyway, we arrived in Sao Paulo at 6am after what was, hopefully, our last long, long distance bus! Thankfully the
Plaza Hotel were more than happy for us to check in at a ridiculously early time. The hotel was a good find and is located right in the heart of the city centre.
Sao Paulo is a city steeped in history, especially regarding immigration. Millions of people came here over the last two centuries, the majority from Japan and Italy. In the district of Bras we went to visit the
Immigration Museum. From the Metro station we had to walk about 15 minutes through a less than desirable area, including crossing a rather smelly footbridge over the railway. The museum was excellent though, and even the hoards of school kids visiting didn’t spoil it for us. There
were countless displays of items such as old passports, suitcases and boarding cards. The photos gave you a good feel for how life was for an immigrant, most of whom went on to work on the coffee plantations. Alongside the museum is a train which you can ride at weekends. The platform was used to welcome immigrants as they made their way up to the city from the port at Santos.
Continuing our look into Brazil’s immigrant history we went out to Liberdade where most of the Japanese community still live. They have their own museum on floors 7, 8 and 9 of the Japanese Cultural Centre. Take note, it’s not open in the mornings! We had to kill time wandering along the streets of oriental shops and supermarkets. We even had lunch in a fantastic Chinese restaurant where we seemed to be the only tourists. The museum is very good but you can’t take photos in there. After visiting, you can’t help but wonder what state this country would be in but for the Japanese immigrants. There were some videos to watch too but with a Portuguese commentary it was too difficult to follow. It got even harder
Passports
This immigrant was from Hungary if you picked up the telephones for the Japanese version!!
An hour on the train and then a further thirty minutes on a bus you find the town of Paranapiacaba. This is definitely a sight for railway enthusiasts, but good enough for anyone to spend a few hours. The train from Santos was winched up a steep escarpment via 5 separate funicular or rack-and-pinion lines. This place is at the top but any sea mist drifts up the valley and engulfs the town - with alarming regularity on the day we visited! The railway museum was very well done and didn’t require a guide or information plaques. It was great just to wander around. The size of the wheels which operated the winch system was extraordinary! Within the town itself the old railway workers’ huts have been converted into shops and cafes. There is even a clock tower which was, apparently, modelled on Big Ben in London, but you have to use your imagination to see the similarities!!!
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