[21Archer84]

Oi! BHPians,

It's a first time experience for me documenting something from my life. I wonder if this can even be called a Travelogue, as my only intention is to share pictures mostly and may be some details about the places from the web. The major reason being my bad memory with the names and the history related to the places (writing skills being the second ), however I'll take all the help I could from Google and share the relevant information from my trip to Brazil couple of years ago.

Yes, this trip happened over 3yrs ago and this thread has been sitting in the Assembly line for a couple of yrs now, probably the longest time for even a handcrafted Car. Thanks to work and my laziness.

Especially with the recent announcement that Indians and citizens from few other Nations will not need Visa to visit Brazil, I believe it's time to roll this out of the Assembly Line.
https://indianexpress.com/article/ex...onaro-6089608/


I thought of sharing this experience, only because there may not be much info shared from what I consider it to be one of the Beautiful parts of the planet.

All the pictures were shot with Nikon P900.

Museum of Betraval at Ouro Preto


Enroute the WaterFalls @ Serra do Cipo (pronounced Seho dho Cipo )


Christ the Redeemer from the Helipad point.


Buzios Beach


Birds in Love @ Buzios


I will share the details about the places as I write. But first, let me share some of the not so regular rides I spotted during the stay (not limiting to the one's that belong to the road ).

Vintage Beetle (Clicked from the hotel balcony )

Rivals FIAT 500 & VW Beetle

Google helped me Identify this as the Porsche 356 B Coupe

BOAT

GLIDER

AUDI TT

SLK 250?

PUMA GT 1600




A Cruise


Paddle Surf


Canoeing


KiteSurfing

[21Archer84]

How it started:
When you get an opportunity that you are not expecting it to come your way, what would you do? Ofcourse, grab it right. There was an opportunity to visit Brazil for a work assignment. I had no reasons to deny the offer except for a concern on the safety in Brazil and that we were expecting a baby. My family had no concerns as it was only for a couple of months and will be back well before the baby arrives.
In short I was destined to step foot in South America.

I was joined by another colleague(Ex-colleague to be precise, as I left the company over a year ago)

Travel:
We flew by Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi and Sao Paulo and domestic airlines Gol Airways to Belo Horizonte, our final destination.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belo_Horizonte .

Place of stay:
We stayed in a hotel close to the Centro(City centre/Downtown) of Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon) , capital of Minas Gerais(General Mines).

Belo Horizonte hosts the largest hippie fair in the whole of South America, every Sunday.

Some interesting bits:
i ) Brazilians speak Portuguese ,but few can also speak Italian and Spanish too, but not much English. Google Translator was the only source that could help us have conversations, though most people at work could converse in English.
ii ) Brazil as a country is better than India with the infrastructure being some where in between India and US, only my impressions though. The reason being, there's poverty in Brazil and probably worse than ours. Their slums are called Favelas and nobody dares to go there, you must have already seen it in the Fast & Furious 5, scary for a common man.
iii ) There's high crime rate and some places are best avoided for safety reasons. You must have come across some videos during the recent Olympics where people would just steal stuff from your hands and you have no option but to stare.
iv ) The good and bad part of Brazil is it's people. They go that extra mile, to help you incase of any and then there are few who don't mind robbing you in the light of the day.
Well, I couldn't digest this and was not in a mood to travel without a local. Fortunately, thanks to a couple of very friendly colleagues at work, we had the opportunity to visit couple of places, though I wished to see some more.
v ) Brazil is the largest producer of Coffee. About 2/3rd of the world's Coffee is from here.
vi ) If you are aware of our famous Ongole Bulls, which are considered to be one of the finest bulls, well they are very popular in Brazil for breeding. They are known as Nelore(not a typo) bulls and were imported from us few decades ago and is the most popular beef cattle in Brazil. So, popular that they even export to neighboring nations.
vii ) Their currency is Reais (Real in English) and is pronounces as He-ai.
viii) Native Brazilian tribes are also called Indians. They were considered slaves and it's said that there were a lot of mass-killings due to racism.


Our First short drive was to Ouro Preto (Black Gold) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouro_Preto


From Wiki :

Ouro Preto is a city in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of its outstanding Baroque architecture.

Ouro Preto is located in one of the main areas of the Brazilian Gold Rush. Officially, 800 tons of gold were sent to Portugal in the XVIII century. Other gold circulated illegally, and still other gold remained in the colony to adorn churches and for other uses. In the 18th century, Ouro Preto became for a time the most populous city in the New World, with an estimated population of 80,000 in 1750. At that time, the population of New York was half that number, and the population of São Paulo did not reach 8,000.

Ouro Preto is about a 100kms from Belo Horizonte. It's the heart of Brazil's mining industry with a lot of Gold being excavated from this part of Minas Gerais. Popular for it's Mines, Churches and also the Carnival.

Here's some more history lesson from Wiki :

Villa Rica de Ouro Preto (19th century).
Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (meaning Black Gold) was originally called Vila Rica, or "rich village", the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil's golden age in the 18th century under Portuguese rule.

The city centre contains well-preserved Portuguese colonial architecture, with few signs of modern urban development. New construction must keep with the city's historical aesthetic. 18th- and 19th-century churches decorated with gold and the sculptured works of Aleijadinho make Ouro Preto a tourist destination.

The tremendous wealth from gold mining in the 18th century created a city which attracted the intelligentsia of Europe. Philosophy and art flourished, and evidence of a baroque revival called the "Barroco Mineiro" is illustrated in architecture as well as by sculptors such as Aleijadinho, painters such as Mestre Athayde, composers such as Lobo de Mesquita, and poets such as Tomás António Gonzaga. At that time, Vila Rica was the largest city in Brazil, with 100,000 inhabitants.

In 1789, Ouro Preto became the birthplace of the Inconfidência Mineira, a failed attempt to gain independence from Portugal. The leading figure, Tiradentes, was hanged as a threat to any future revolutionaries.

In 1876, the Escola de Minas (Mines School) was created. This school established the technological foundation for several of the mineral discoveries in Brazil.

Ouro Preto was capital of Minas Gerais from 1720 until 1897, when the needs of government outgrew this town in the valley. The state government was moved to the new, planned city of Belo Horizonte

My friend from work and his dad were courteous enough to take us here. Thanks to them.

Some clicks from the places we were able to see. We couldn't go into the churches, though I wished I could, due to time constraints. The architecture and the detailing is just amazing, especially the way they've been maintained and given importance, wish we Indians could show some respect towards what we have.

Church San Francisco de Paula






The church of São Francisco de Assis








Some Souvenirs


Bylanes - simple yet amazing architecture


She is not a real lady


Tiradentes Square from the Museum of Betraval


Info about Tiradentes Square from wiki:
Praça Tiradentes is a square located in the city of Ouro Preto, in Minas Gerais. It was the place where the head of the martyr of independence, Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, Tiradentes was exposed (1792) in Vila Rica, now Ouro Preto. In the place where the pole (present day Tiradentes Square) was, today stands a monument to the Martyr. It turns out that interestingly, the bronze statue of Tiradentes has its back to the governor's official residence.

I don't actually remember, but my friend mentioned a story about this man, he's considered to be a hero IIRC. A very sad end though.



Notice his hand hiding behind? It's actually been tied.




Museum of Betraval. Cameras were not allowed inside , so no pics. However it had some amazing stuff from the bygone era. Just shows how much of history is hidden with in this little town


Igreja Nossa Senhora do Carmo



Narrow lanes


Another church


Commemorative Plaque


Evening prayers at the Church




people showcasing the Ginga , ancient tribal martial art form. You must have also heard of it from the movie PELE.


An albino Boxer


I don't think there's a place without Indians.


Figurines atop the structures






Now the P900 Zoom test




And one final click as we leave Ouro Preto

[21Archer84]

One of the collegues suggested we should visit Serro do Cipo with him, which was at a distance of around 100kms from Belo during one of hte weekends.

Serro do Cipo is a national park with amazing natural beautiful and wildlife.

The park is classified as IUCN protected area category II (national park). It has the objectives of preserving natural ecosystems of great ecological relevance and scenic beauty, enabling scientific research, environmental education, outdoors recreation and eco-tourism.[2] Protected species include]] the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), cougar (Puma concolor), white-necked hawk (Buteogallus lacernulatus), the lizard Placosoma cipoense, the fish Characidium lagosantense and the butterfly Nirodia belphegor

However, we couldn't see any of the above mentioned mammals though.

It rained the other day and the park has river streams passing through it atleast at a couple of locations and if you don't cross it in time, you are most likely to get stuck due to the high tides from rain. It so happened with few people the previous night and they had to camp at a safe place. We were told that couple of sights were prohibited just because of this reason.

The park offers public to view a souple of waterfalls apart from some of the wildlife, atleast the birds that we encountered. We could either rent a bicycle or hike to the falls. My colleague suggested it's better to hike than rent a bicycle.
Reason : You can enjoy the nature better if you walk and won't if you ride. We were okay with his idea but worried if we could return before dark. We started for the falls around 12PM IIRC and they were 8kms away and to add to that I felt there could hardly be 20-30 visitors in the park that day.
With some encouraging words from my colleague , we leave for the falls with a map guide of the Park to have some reference. The place was just amazing, with just some tire tracks for the path and occasional sign boards it was all about nature. Enjoy the pictures.

[21Archer84]

We had just a couple of weeks left before we were to return for India. My dearest Brazilian friend from work(same guy who took us to Ouro Preto), was willing to drive us down to Rio and eventually Buzios, a Beautiful Beach town. Well, If not for my wish to visit Christ the Redeemer, we would have left for Buzios directly, which would have saved us some travel time and some tense moments in Rio.

I say tense moments, because I have seen footage on Youtube where tourists are robbed in daylight. My friend too suggested not to carry any gadgets. Though most of the city is heavily guarded with Police, I did not feel comfortable until I reached Christ the Redeemer, which was filled with tourists.

Rio is about 550kms from Belo and Buzios another 150kms from Rio.

































View of the Christ Statue from the road (had to zoom)



We arrive at a HeliPad point from where we could get a view of the Ocean, and also the Christ statue.





Looks very close, yet we were far.















We can only take our personal vehicle upto a point to visit the Christ statue, after which we need to ride in a Van, due to safety concerns i believe as there were sharp bends and narrow roads on the way to the Top.

They had Mercedes Sprinters as the ride.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[sainyamk95]

Great pictures!

Originally Posted by 21Archer84

An albino Boxer
Attachment 1597833

I believe that's a French bulldog.

[21Archer84]

Originally Posted by sainyamk95

Great pictures!



I believe that's a French bulldog.

Thanks for appreciating.

My bad!! Thanks for correcting.

[ayankm]

Excellent photos. I have stayed a couple of years in Brazil and your photos do rekindle a lot of fond memories. It was a great experience living in Brazil, learning the language and being part of the mass.
Did you experience going to a churrasco? It's a must in Brazil.
Not to mention taking a ride in SP metro and a walk down Copacabana in RJ.

[21Archer84]

Originally Posted by ayankm

Excellent photos. I have stayed a couple of years in Brazil and your photos do rekindle a lot of fond memories. It was a great experience living in Brazil, learning the language and being part of the mass.
Did you experience going to a churrasco? It's a must in Brazil.
Not to mention taking a ride in SP metro and a walk down Copacabana in RJ.

Thanks.

I didn't really experience the true Brazilian life, and I regret. I didnt go to SP and specifically wanted to avoid Copacabana, mainly for the fear of getting robbed . Wish I had better control over my fears.

However, I wish to go back someday with my family and visit the Iguassu Falls and experience the Amazon if possible.

[autospeaker]

Originally Posted by 21Archer84

Thanks.

I didn't really experience the true Brazilian life, and I regret. I didnt go to SP and specifically wanted to avoid Copacabana, mainly for the fear of getting robbed . Wish I had better control over my fears.

First of all, thanks for rekindling my memories
I lived in Brasilia for more than a year from 2013, till just before a day football WC started in 2014. One of the best times in my life, I would say. Brazilians are mostly nice and accommodative. Had visited RJ, Manaus (Amazon), Itiquira falls and places in around Brasilia. Never had any sorts of troubles. In fact, Copacabana is one of the nicest and a relatively safe place. Favelas are bit of an issue though!

Obrigado!

[21Archer84]

Originally Posted by autospeaker

First of all, thanks for rekindling my memories
I lived in Brasilia for more than a year from 2013, till just before a day football WC started in 2014. One of the best times in my life, I would say. Brazilians are mostly nice and accommodative. Had visited RJ, Manaus (Amazon), Itiquira falls and places in around Brasilia. Never had any sorts of troubles. In fact, Copacabana is one of the nicest and a relatively safe place. Favelas are bit of an issue though!

Obrigado!

Obrigado. Good to hear that fellow BHPians stayed in Brazil. It's a fascinating place and their love for nature is just amazing.

OT: Please share pictures from during your stay, if you are okay with it.
With the recent announcement that Brazil has opened it's doors for Indians to visit(Visa on arrival), will help fellow BHPians to know more about this beautiful country.