Leaving Salvador in north-eastern Brazil, we flew south to Belo Horizonte (known as BH). We were going to BH because it has the nearest airport to Ouro Preto, a UNESCO World Heritage town that we wanted to see.
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| The Obelisk in Praça Sete de Setembro, near our hotel in Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
But first, we wanted to see some of BH. So, after getting a bus from the airport to the BH rodoviária (bus station), we walked up Avenida Afonso Pena to our hotel. On the way, we crossed the impressive Praça Sete de Setembro.
At the centre of this busy Praça is an obelisk, erected in 1922 to celebrate one hundred years of Brazilian independence from Portuguese rule.
Our hotel was nearby, and while the surroundings were a bit scruffy, the staff were very friendly, pointing out the beautiful sunset seen from the hotel restaurant windows.
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| A beautiful Belo Horizonte sunset |
Once in our room, we unpacked and were relaxing, when we noticed excessively loud noises from a woman in the next room. She seemed to be really enjoying herself - not that we are prudes, but it was very loud.
So after a phone call to reception, we were moved to a higher floor which, much to our delight, had a far superior view and was quiet.
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| Night-time view of Praça Sete de Setembro from our hotel room |
The next day, we did a mammoth walk around BH city. It is the capital of Minas Gerais State in Brazil, and has a population of around 2.5 million (2017).
It is the first planned modern city in Brazil. The city plan was based on Washington DC, with wide tree-lined streets radiating out from large green spaces in the city centre.
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| Market day in the wide tree-lined boulevards of Belo Horizonte |
Sounds good….maybe…..but as we walked around, we noticed that it’s like Salvador, with a huge discrepancy between the various neighbourhoods in terms of housing and presumably, incomes.
In BH, there are whole city blocks that have homeless people sleeping in the streets, the streets are tree-lined but full of rubbish, there is prolific graffiti, and every corner and lamp-post smells like a latrine.
But then if you cross the road, the tree-lined streets are clean, the architecture interesting, with no graffiti, and there is a totally different feel.
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| Municipal Park - many dozens of homeless people shelter here |
In one large park on the tourist trail, we saw many families enjoying themselves. Their recreation was right next door to homeless people who were sleeping in their makeshift shelters under the park trees and bushes….and there were so many of them!
It seems like this 'planned' city has drawn more people that it can cope with over time, and one result is a high level of unemployment and homelessness.
But the 'planned city' also has some interesting architecture, mostly reflecting a contemporary rather than historic feel.
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| Top L: Centro Cultural Centre; Niemeyer Building Lower L: Cine Theatro Brazil Vallourec; Museu da Mineralogia |
Several buildings caught our eye, but our favourites were the round Centro Cultural Centre, the curvy Niemeyer building, the art deco Cine Theatro Brazil Vallourec, and the colourful Museu da Mineralogia.
We had a great day walking around this big city, and visiting key sights. Sure, it's a bit scruffy, but it was also vibrant and interesting, with lots of parks, squares and museums.
The next morning we caught a bus to Ouro Preto for the day. This town used to be the capital of Minas Gerais State before BH was built.
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| Ouro Preto view |
Ouro Preto means ‘black gold’, and it was founded at the end of the 17th century during Brazil's gold rush.
During the 18th century, over 800 tons of gold were sent to Portugal from Ouro Preto. However, it is believed that a lot of gold was retained in the town (illegally), and used to create wealth for the locals and the churches.
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| Steep and pretty street in Ouro Preto (UNESCO) Brazil |
The wealth is still evident in the architecture. Although only 100 kilometres from Belo Horizonte, it is really quite different.
Ouro Preto is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it's said to be one of Brazil's best-preserved colonial towns with its baroque architecture and cobbled streets. We had a great time wandering around there.
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| Houses and streets in Ouro Preto (UNESCO), Brazil |
We found very quaint, and well maintained and colourful houses and shops at every turn, and there seemed to be a Baroque-style church on every corner.
There were people everywhere, and masses of cars trying to go up and down the very narrow cobbled streets.
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| Some of the amazing Baroque churches in Ouro Preto (UNESCO), Brazil |
Parking was at a premium and we were wondering why this particular Saturday was so popular. A young woman told us that it was a Brazilian holiday weekend.
On 7 Sept 1882, Brazil became independent from Portugal, so it's the Independence Day holiday. We now know why so many streets in Brazil are called Rua 7 de Septembro, as in the famous Praça Sete (7) de Setembro we'd seen in Belo Horizonte.
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| Praça Tiradentes, the main square in Ouro Preto (UNESCO), Brazil |
Despite all the people, we had a lovely time wandering around the town. After an interesting day, we walked back up a rather steep hill to the bus station for our trip back to Belo Horizonte.
The next morning, we caught bus from Belo Horizonte to Rio de Janeiro, our next destination.
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