- Bus breakdown in the last few kilometers before the destination
- Short tour through the steep streets of the colonial city
- Visit to the Museum of Sacred Art
We meet at 5.30 a.m. in the metropolis Belo Horizonte a. The usual communication and orientation problems later we sit in the bus to Ouro Preto. But the two-hour journey also goes by not break free. Suddenly we are on the side of the road and nobody really knows what is going on. No information, especially not in English. We do the same as most of the locals and change to a regional bus with bags and bags.
A little later we arrive with a slight delay in Ouro Preto at. The colonial city built on the steep hills enjoys UNESCO World Heritage SiteStatus and is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Brazil. The rich gold sources are almost exhausted today. No wonder, having been estimated between 1700 and 1820 1200 tons of gold were promoted, which corresponded to about 80 percent of the world production at that time. At the height of the gold rush at the end of the 18th century, the city had around 100,000 inhabitants and was the city at that time largest and richest city in the new world. For the colonial power Portugal in particular, these revenues were of enormous importance. So the country was able to buy military aid from England, which in turn was able to drive the industrial revolution forward.
We let a taxi chauffeur us to our next AirBnB place. This time we have a very central location not far from the Praca Tiradentes found a student residence for 9 CHF per night. Ok, the room is also extremely simple and only a single bed for the two of us, but that's fine for the next three nights. After the long journey and short night, we lie down for a while.
Around noon we march up the steep street to Praca Tiradentes, the central square of the town. The most striking feature are the many magnificent baroque churches the city. See you in the moderately worth seeing Museum of Sacred Art around. Here are also some works by Aleijadinhoto admire the most famous artist in the region. Then we seek refuge in a cafe from the falling rain, which flows down the streets in real brooks. Fortunately we have an umbrella with us so that we are not completely soaked. Then we go out to eat early. A real feast awaits us with pepper steak and apple strudel before we go to bed totally exhausted.
