Belo Horizonte

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(6.8.06) The last stop on my Brazil trip was fantastic. In only two and a half days I accomplished a lot thanks to my friend and host Carol. She picked me up from the Belo Horizonte airport about an hour or so away from her home. After settling into her house she showed me around some places in the city, parks, some of the government buildings like the Governor's Palace and the Secretary of Education building. Then it was onto Praça de Papa, where the Pope celebrated Mass at one time. There you could see a beautiful view of the city. Even better was Mirante, a tourist spot high up where you could see the gorgeous city horizon. Belo Horizonte means just that, beautiful horizon. The city, even the state is filled with lots of hills and valleys, quite a difference from where I am from. Around sunset she took me to Alta Vila, an 80 meter tall tower with another nice view of the city. In the evening we went to Frade, an outdoor restaurant/bar where I met a number of her friends, some old Disney Cast Members. There I enjoyed a caparinha, a drink made with pureed fruit and cachaça, alcohol made from sugarcane. It's a famous drink of Brazil and this was not the first time I had it. In fact, the hostel in Rio made a good one with lime.

In Ouro Preto
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The next day I went with her family by car about an hour to Ouro Preto, a city known for its famous gold and silver rush. The name means black gold because the explorers found black rocks with gold inside. It's a historic and nice city which reminded me much of a European town possibly in Italy with cobblestone streets, steep roads, and small shops. The town has many churches! And lots of them had a ton of gold covering the inside. One church has 440 kilos of gold gilded on the carvings inside. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed anywhere. We had a wonderful lunch at a place called Casa dos Contos which had a buffet of super Brazilian food!

Belo Horizonte means just that, beautiful horizon.

Top of the World
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On our way back we stopped at this place called the Top of the World which is 1,450 meters above sea level. Hang gliders take off from that point and for R$100 you can fly with them. It was a breathtaking sight. That evening I went with Carol and her friend to a place called Mundaka to celebrate her friend's birthday. It wasn't anything that fantastic. I met a couple more nice people, tried Skol cerveja and then headed to a club called Andy's Pub. The line was so long but Carol got us in by telling the bouncer (hate that word) that this was my last night in Brazil. The place was packed and you were always being bumped and shoved around by the crowd. It was not the sort of environment I enjoy. There was a band playing Samba music and everyone was smoking! Not an unusual occurrence in Brazil. We soon left after that.

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The day before I left we went to this huge market with about 1,000 booths selling all sorts of things. We took a walk in Parque Municipal and then headed to Mercardo Central which was a large indoor market. I first encountered lots of animals for sale including birds, ducks, chickens, and peacocks. We then went to Pampulha, close to Belo Horizonte, a gorgeous city with a small amusement park, lake, and church designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Carol and I sat on the lake and drank coconut water. Then it was back to her place for some lunch and then off to the airport.