20 Feb 2012 – Arrival in Belo Horzizonte
Early in the morning, Cassio brought me to the airport since I took a flight to Belo Horizonte. The bus drive would have been definitively too long, when even the flight was more than 2 hours. In Belo I stayed at my parents friend Martin, a missionary from Germany. Luckily he is speaking German cause my Portuguese is still not more than 3 or 4 words. Here we are, probably still better than the life of the most Brazilians but not like the apartment at the beach though.
21 Feb 2012 – A real Shower for Men
Michael, Martin’s son, and I drove to the Tabuleiro Waterfalls (273 meter high). All in all they were about 3 hours away. 2 hours for 150 km on asphalt and 1 hour for 18 km on clay. It was like in the rainforest, palm trees everywhere and potholes like calderas. But we had the right car for it, not fast but big, very big! Only one car was better than ours guess what on the pictures. It was also the first time that I tried a “coco verde”, a green coconut, its great refreshing drink with a little snack inside. And btw, after not wearing my t-shirt I lost it somewhere… only 3 left!
22 Feb 2012 – INHOTIOM - What a Museum
Ok, let’s go, first museum on the trip!
“Inhotim is a continuously evolving place where art exists in a uniquely intimate relationship with nature. Located in Brumadinho, 60 km from the State’s capital of Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Inhotim has a garden area of 97 hectares. Part of the beautifully crafted landscape was designed in collaboration with renowned Brazilian artist Roberto Burle Marx. It is complemented by a comprehensive living library of rare tropical plant species and an art collection of international relevance.” - http://globalartmuseum.de
Martin went with us and it was probably the best and largest museum I’ve ever seen!
23 Feb 2012 – Time to chillax
This day I just went to Belo Horizonte’s city centre but it was very very boring and nothing to show. In the afternoon I went to Martin’s house and just relaxed the rest of the day! (3 Idiots – Good Indian movie!)
24 Feb 2012 – Ouro Preto (European History in Brazil)
The next highlight Ouro Preto.
“Set amid splendid mountain scenery, Ouro Preto is one of Brazil’s most beautifully preserved colonial towns. Exploring its hilly, cobbled streets is like a jurneying back into the 18th century, when its baroque churches and picturesque plazas were the crown jewel of the Minas Gerais gold-mining town.” – Lonely Planet.
I went with Michael and his wife through the streets of Ouro Preto. That there is also a lot of rain in Minas Gerais you can see at some streets. In Ouro Preto, I visited a historical gold mine and took a lot of pictures. Aaaand tried the legendary acai fruit from Amazonas, looks curiously tastes very good.
The days in Belo Horizonte got to the end. All the time I asked Martin about his life as missionary in Brazil. He told me a lot of interesting stories of what he has done, seen and where he has been to. For sure, he is living in another world than I do but this time was also a part of discovering the world.
Thanks to Martin and Michael!
Next stop Rio de Janeiro - Part II …
