Back to Area page
Back to Home
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Greater Brasil - Mineas Gerais | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
1st - 4th August: After leaving my gear in the Ouro Preto (black gold) youth hostel on the 18th century square, I set about looking for a washing machine while exploring this historic mining town (15000 people) of fountains, cobbled streets, squares and colonial houses. I walk past a couple of lads in the street and ask about accomodation in the university houses spread through the city - Matchec welcomes me in and next thing you know my washing is sorted, my room cost is next to nothing and I´m invited to a party that night. There are about 300 Republicas in Ouro Preto each with about 20 people, most owned by the government (no charge to the students beyond cleaning costs) and complete with views, nice rooms and a bar room or two in each house. I shake about 30 hands at the party and manage to remember about 5 names while sipping the vodka-fruit drinks used in place of beer here. Turns out Matchec is a Mining Engineer! The party starts like a typical engineers party, blokes sipping drinks in a empty yard with loud music and lights flashing, but soon transforms itself into a packed bar. I learn something - guys never look at or talk about a couple having a domestic argument (to the couple) - even afterwards - its like it never happened in the middle of everyone. On Friday I head to Mariana, a town nearby, catching the bus driven by Ayrton Senna through forested hills cut by waterfalls. I enjoy the sights while my knees appreciate the relative lack of hills. It´s good when a local praises your Portuguese.. even when he´s a salesman. The cathedral containes 365 kg of gold (including paintwork) - spectacular - and some of the jewellery is amazing... of course, no photos permitted. I meet up with a group from Rio and we catch the bus back to Ouro Preto together and manage to find a bar with live Pagode (local, like Foro style) music in a quiet square. Watching those young-uns with good knees dancing while the sun kissed the colonial buildings a rosy good night made me feel at peace with the world (and the beer helped too). After they left, I wandered up to a street party where more live music was playing and ran into Julio who I met in the hostel in Bela Horizonte. I lose him while I go looking for an ATM that works, but unfortunately you can no longer take out ANY money from an ATM from 10pm to 7 am due to muggings.. Great. I buy 3 beers on visa from a restaurant and head back to the party where I´m invited to drink with a group of locals.. unfortunately, they´re homosexuals so I have a laugh then head back to the republica. We get our dancing shoes on like the rest of Ouro Preto and head to the one nightclub - choccas, but no atmosphere. We head home and I´m taught how to play The Girl from Ipanema on the guitar - great music.
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
| Daily links | |||||||||||||||||||
|
8th August Back to Area page Back to Home | |||||||||||||||||||
| My Info: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Name: | Craig | ||||||||||||||||||
| Email: | |||||||||||||||||||
| [email protected] | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||