São João

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Sean Plamondon Brazil and Latin America
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- Jul 4, 2022
- ☀️ 19 °C
- Altitude: 1,378 m
- Brazil Minas Gerais Ouro Preto São João -20.37606, -43.48276320°22’34” S 43°28’58” W
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
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Sean Plamondon Brazil and Latin America
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- Jul 5, 2022
- ☀️ 19 °C
- Altitude: 1,378 m
- Brazil Minas Gerais Ouro Preto São João -20.376037, -43.48275120°22’34” S 43°28’58” W
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
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