They say time flies when you're having fun - I think I've come to disagree. I think time flies more when you're doing the same mundane thing. You zone out and go through the motions, and before you know it time is gone.
I wouldn't say this is how traveling is. I've been in Brazil just a few days shy of a month, and I can honestly say it feels as though I've been here for months. Maybe because each day is full of new experiences, so each day feels like a week, even when I just work all day, even a trip to the coffee shop becomes an adventure.
After the challenges of traveling Brazil without a CPF number, there was a part of me that wanted to throw in the towel and head back to my comfortable travel places. But, I told myself I'd give Brazil five more days...and thankfully, I did. (Sometimes all we need is some sleep and good food to feel better. ;D) I got out of the big city and headed to the little college, colonial town of Ouro Preto.
The drive was beautiful, and promising. The graffiti of the city gave way to rolling hills and little farm villages. I would say at this point that Brazil definitely has some of the most beautiful scenery of any country I've traveled to. That's one of the reasons I love bussing during the day - you get to see the parts you'd never see if flying or taking a night bus.
When I arrived in Ouro Preto, I was greeted with countless churches, cobblestone streets, and unique little colonial buildings...we all know what my favorite places look like. :-)
Ouro Preto, which means Black Gold, is known for it's prosperity during the gold rush in the 17th century. It is nestled amongst the nooks and crannies of steep hills (and we are talking STEEP), with countless old mines available to tour. It has become a popular tourist town, with lots of nearby hikes in nature with waterfalls, as well as it's famous soap stone market - vendors carve the magnesium-rich stone into all kinds of shapes and sell them daily in a little market set up outside one of the countless churches.
Along the streets you'll find cute shops, each marked with a unique sign hanging outside.
You'll find lots of shops with trinkets and souveniers, cafes with Brazilian chocolate, bakeries, restaraunts, and "republicas" - basically, fraternities and sororities. Since Ouro Preto is a college towns, a lot of the "pousadas" or places to stay, are with college students! I had the fun experience of renting a room in a house full of guys (sorry I didn't mention that part, mom.) The guys felt like brothers and were so sweet, respectful, and helpful - and super fun (maybe a little too fun for my old go-to-bed at 10 pm 30-year-old self.)
After my bit of a nightmare getting going in Brazil, it was such a relief to have them to help find places and get around. They even set up a cable so I could continue to teach when the wifi kept going out in the rain. (Unfortunetly, my new laptop doesnt have an ethernet port so I ended up switching airbnbs, but it was a great experience nonetheless.)
Right down the street from the republica were countless bakeries, and they told me I had to try "pao de quijo" - Cheese bread. Basically little balls of bread and cheese, they were definitely everything they're cracked up to be. Little breadballs of delishousness.
I stayed in Ouro Preto for about a week, and one weekend. On my weekends, of course, I love to go hiking. I connected with a fun tour guide and another hiker and we headed off into the back hills from Ouro Preto to Lavras Novas. Not too hard of a hike, and the weather, landscape, and nature was beautiful.
About halfway through it started raining. Luckily, right around the time we arrived at a waterfall. So, we stuck our stuff under a rock and went swimming in the river, in the pouring rain.
Thankfully, the rain around Ouro Preto was usually pretty temporary and passed in about a half hour. The area was beautiful - though, the area we walked in around the waterfall was completely empty. Our guide said that usually this entire area is a big river and we could see where the water usually flowed. In the last few months, it's been much drier than ever before and the river has almost completely dried up.
And a few fun shots from the hike:
A mound of little bugs. Not ants, just weird little bugs. ;D They build HUGE houses and the dirt is hard as cement. (Okay maybe not that hard, but its pretty indestructable.)
And a big centipede.
And another little waterfall...We got to take off our shoes and make our way across this river.
A few hours later, we reached our destination: Another cute little toursit town called Lavras Novas. The town was full of more shops and adorable little buildings and churches.
And, my favorite part: All of the garbage cans set up around the town were painted cows!
We also stopped for a typical Brazilian lunch - an amazing all-you-can-eat buffet with a lot of foods that I have no idea what they were. But, I tried them all, and most of them were delishous! :)
So, even though I had expected to stay a few weeks, I ended up taking off a little sooner than planned - I left just 8 days after arriving and caught the bus to Rio. Ah, Rio De Janeiro, the one and only. But, that's another story for another day. Until then, enjoy the streets, churches, and charm of Ouro Preto:
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Praza Tiradentes in the Main Square
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A typical street market.
One of the most amazing sunsets ever - a rainbow appeared over one of the churches on the hill. (Unfortunetly, my camera refused to capture it.)
Little ladies in so many windows. More than once I had to do a double take thinking I was being watched. :-)
The enterence of one beautiful churches.
That's it for now. Until Rio. :)
