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Ouro Preto

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    • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
      1
      Day 7

      Ouro Preto - Day 2

      July 5, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      Started the day driving the insane vertical streets of ouro preto to see some more of its famous churches. Which got me lost in many different places. Its incredibly confusing, and the hills make it really difficult to read the map. But its a fun type of being lost because every street is full of beautiful old european style buildings.

      Then started making my way to the nearby town of Mariana. Just before reaching Mariana, i stopped at an old gold mine that is only used for tourists now and also for divers in the subterranean lake down there. They converted and old mining cart into seats and we were lowered down 315 meters down the tracks into the mine. Unfortunately the tour guide didn't speak english but it was still a neat trip into a mine. The underground lake was a striking blue color.

      From there, continued to Mariana. Smaller, more quaint version of Ouro Preto. I walked around for a while and realized very few places were open because it was a tuesday. Decided to head back to ouro preto and maybe return to Mariana on Wednesday instead as i could see thats when most businesses were re-opening

      Got lost again on the way back. Nothing new here haha.

      I found a nice outdoor patio near my hotel and met Iuri and Maira. Iuri eventually had to leave so maira and i went to another spot for food and a few more drinks before ending the night relatively early.      Read more

    • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
      Day 6

      Ouro Preto - Day 1

      July 4, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      Leaving Rio area today and driving 6 hours into the interior mountains. Which turned into a 7 hour drive because i made one small wrong turn. The highways and roads are so complicated in Rio and impossible to know which ramp is the right one sometimes as there will be several lanes all exiting at once to different roads. My gps will say exit right and there are 4 options to the right haha. And then finding a way back to where i need to be is even worse. Very challenging!

      Once outside of Rio, it was smooth sailing. Very good roads through the mountains and almost always a divided highway. Finally reached Ouro Preto which is a gorgeous town built on the top and steep sides of a mountain. All narrow steep cobblestone streets, and quaint European buildings. And lots of huge ornate churches.

      Arrived later than i wanted. Sun down is at 5:30pm here so i quickly picked a hotel that i had just drove past and set off exploring before it got too dark. Walked around the main plaza and tried to find a nice restaurant but almost everything was closed. Seems most things are closed on mondays. But then stumbled across a really nice cellar gastro pub with a hobbit sized door :) And made this my home for most of the evening before getting a good night's rest from a long day.      Read more

    • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
      Day 8

      Mariana

      July 6, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      The goal to start the day was to drive to the tiny village of Lavras Novas and hike to a canyon. The drive there had dramatic scenery with lots of red rock and high up in the mountains. I read that a specific hotel in the village is helpful with hiking maps so i popped in there and got some directions and off i went

      The trail was very rocky and lead me up and over a mountain. It didn't seem like the right direction for a canyon hike but there were trail markers every so often, so i assumed i was on the right path. The trail took me far down the other side of a mountain and eventually to a fence that said private property. So i re-traced my steps all the way back to my car.

      The lady at the hotel said it would take about 2 hours and thats exactly how long it took me. So either i was on the wrong trail that coincidentally took 2 hours, or the hotel lady and i had a miscommunication and i ended up exactly where i was supposed to go :) It was really scenic, just not what i was aiming to do.

      The hike back was extremely difficult and i was exhausted. I was planning to drive back to ouro preto but i decided i needed to sit down somewhere for a beverage and relax for a bit. Shortly after sitting down, a very nice couple Antonio and Cleide from Sao Paulo asked me where i was from and this kicked off a really nice conversation about all our travels and brazillian life. Amazingly, Antonio once drove from brazil to alaska and back, driving both coasts of north america and all across canada too. An unbelievable task that Antonio says is only possible because he is mentally disabled to try such a thing haha

      They had ordered some local food and asked me join them and try it, and i happily accepted. Very tasty pork stew (i think). They are such nice, warm people. It was so wonderful to meet them and especially after my frustrating hike. I stayed far longer than i had planned because it was such a nice conversation with great people. But it was about an hour before sundown and i had an hour's drive to get to mariana so i had to get going too. I try very hard to not be driving anywhere at night.

      Got to mariana just before sundown. Quickly found a hotel in the old town and made my way to a local brewery in the central square. Then had a nice salmon liguine at an italian restaurant nearby. Met a very nice local there named Mirian and we chatted over a few drinks. And home early as i had a 6.5 hour drive back to Rio in the morning.      Read more

    • Brasilien
      12
      Day 17

      Ouro Preto

      September 17, 2023 in Brazil ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

      Wie der Name sagt, sind wir in der Stadt des schwarzen Goldes. Diese sehr gut erhaltene Kolonialstadt besteht aus vielen Barockbauten, Kirchen sehr steilen Kopfsteinpflasterstrassen und vielen einheimischen Touristen. Unsere Anfahrt gestaltete sich ziemlich abenteuerlich. Wegen einer Strassensperrung jagte uns das Navi durch die steilen und engen Gassen der Stadt.
      Heute standen der Besuch einer alten Goldmine und diverse Kirchen auf dem Programm. In einer der Kirchen wurden 426 Kilogramm Gold verbaut (gefördert durch Sklaven aus Afrika).      Read more

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    • TravelerA Small World
      Day 86

      Ouro Preto

      October 9, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Nice little town from the epoch when brazil still was a portuguese colony. Interesting to see the good, but mainly the bad from those times. The first independency revolution started here and there is a nice museum with it’s history. Though very touristic Ouro Preto gains back his charm due to it’s the university.Read more

    • Brasilien
      Day 10

      Ouro Preto

      August 20, 2019 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Auch Ouro Preto (= Schwarzes Gold) ist UNESCO - Weltkulturerbe. Alte Herrenhäuser, Kirchen und Klöster verschmelzen hier zu einem Barockensemble. Die Stadt erhielt ihren Namen, weil man 1698 in der Umgebung angelaufene Goldnuggets gefunden hatte. Mitte des 18.Jh machte der Goldrausch Ouro Preto zu einer wohlhabenden Stadt. Auch begann hier, die von Tiradentes angeführte Inconfidencia-Rebellion gegen Portugal.
      Früher eine der reichsten Städte der Welt, begegnet uns der Reichtum in den goldverzierten Kirchen und im Zentrum.

      Zu Mittag essen wir in einem brasilianischen Restaurant - es schmeckte alles hervorragend. Allerdings machte mich ein Gericht stutzig , welches die erweiterte Bezeichnung "...ora-pronobis" (=bete für uns) hatte. Sogar der Zuckerrohrschnaps war im Preis inbegriffen.

      Nach dem Essen besuchten wir das Museum de Mineralogie mit einer außergewöhnlichen Mineraliensammlung. Sogar ein Edelstein aus Österreich wird hier ausgestellt.
      Den Abschluss des heutigen Tages bildete der Besuch einer alte Goldmine. Hier konnten wir sehen, unter welch unmenschlichen Bedingungen sogar Kinder beim Goldschürfen mitarbeiteten.      Read more

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    • TravelerJuju - WorldWideWeg
      2
      4
      Day 7

      Maybe the coolest Place on Earth?! *-*

      September 9, 2019 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

      Heute haben wir es erstmal wieder etwas chilliger angehen lassen, lange geschlafen, ausgiebig gefrühstückt, Ivans & meine Flüge nach Rio für morgen gebucht usw. - das war denke ich auch nötig, denn wir hatten irgendwie alle das Gefühl, dass sich eine Erkältung anbahnen könnte, was nicht so brauchbar wäre (also generell so) 😅

      Nachmittags fuhren Ivans Papa Murilo, Ivan und ich dann ins niedliche, wunderschöne Dörfchen Ouro Preto, in dem Ivan mal ein halbes Jahr studiert hatte. Wie es immer so ist, war allerdings der Weg das Ziel - zwischendurch stoppten wir nämlich an einem Ort, der einfach nur magisch und extrem beeindruckend war (so beeindruckend, dass Ouro Preto selbst dann leider etwas langweilig wurde haha 😅). Das "Jeca Tatu - Museu e Arte" ist ein abgelegenes Bistro in einem alten Stallgebäude mitten in der Pampa und über und über vollgestopft mit Sachen aus der Vergangenheit (und dem ein oder anderen Truthahn ^^) - man kommt einfach aus dem Staunen und Entdecken nicht heraus, mega cool 🤩✨

      Die Fahrt nach Ouro Preto und zurück war dann allerdings auch noch recht abenteuerlich, da sich Murilo andauernd verfuhr, was bei einem Dörfchen, deren schmale, extrem steile Gässchen eher für einzelne Pferde als für Autos gemacht wurden, nicht ganz so praktisch ist 😅 Dafür fragte er dann umso öfter Passanten um Rat, was mich nochmal tief in die brasilianische Kommunikationskultur blicken ließ - so höchst emotionale, langwierige Gespräche gäbe es in Deutschland höchstens Mal zur Hochzeit oder Geburt, hier ist es auch bei einer neutralen Wegbeschreibung durchaus üblich 🤭🤭 Sehr sympathisch irgendwie ♥️

      Das Abendessen war dafür sehr lecker und die Rückfahrt verschlief ich dann einfach ✌️ #NoProblemISurvived

      Ps. Ab morgen bin ich dann in Rio und weiß noch nicht genau, wie ich an Internet komme. Möglicherweise folgt der nächste Blogpost dann erst wieder in ein paar Tagen! ✌️      Read more

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    • annalovestravelingOrdem e progresso
      Day 10

      Semana Santa celebrations

      March 31, 2018 in Brazil ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

      If you have looked at the map of this trip, you might be wondering why I took the long trip to Ouro Preto, which definitely is not just "on the way". The answer is: because of the holy week. Leaving alone that I didn't want to spend Easter on an overcrowded beach full of drunk and a little intrusive Brazilian machos (just my very prejudicial expectation), I had also read that Ouro Preto was the best place in Brazil this time of the year.
      The official Semana Santa agenda, though not even close to including everything that is going on, includes numbers of processions, services, liturgies, orchestrations and other Easter traditions.      Read more

    • annalovestravelingOrdem e progresso
      Day 9

      Up the cobblestone hills

      March 30, 2018 in Brazil ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

      It took me one bus, two planes and a shuttle to get to the colonial town of Ouro Preto, but ur was worth every second. It is just exactly the kind of town I like: small with cute houses, hills, cobblestoned alleys, a lot of culture and great restaurants.
      Together with Nicolás, an Argentinean from the hostel, I added various kilometers and god knows how many churches to the count. My hiking shoes do serve me well here.      Read more

    • TravelerWelcome to the jungle
      22222
      Day 87

      Ouro Preto

      January 15, 2023 in Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

      La ville des églises

      See translation

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Ouro Preto

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