One of the interesting things about the state of Minas Gerais, Brasil (which literally means "general mines"), is that it has a great deal of history associated with the discovery of gold and other precious stones and metals. Similarly, because this gold was pretty much going to Portugal, a great deal of the wealth was preserved in the many Catholic churches and in the colonial architecture of the mining towns of the highlands of Minas Gerais.
Igreja de São Francisco
There is a historic steam-powered train that runs between São João and nearby Tiradentes..if I were to have had another day, I would have been psyched about this. As it was, we went into the train station to check it out, and I was amused at its orgins! Imagine shipping a steam engine to the highlands of Brazil from Philadelphia in 1893 and the ruckus it must have caused upon its arrival.
My housemate, Sara, in front of...another church.
It was nice to be in a quiet town out of the city for the weekend...where people hang out in parks on Sunday and sit on their stoops to watch the people go by. It was also wonderful to get to meet all of Sara's family...grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, Ringo the dog, and Pepita the parakeet. Homemade mineiro food is awesome, and Brazilians love to lay around and watch soccer and take naps. There was an eclipse on Saturday night that we sat and watched from the rooftop for nearly an hour. The full moon from the bus window on the way back to B.H. last night was also a sight to behold.
1 comment:
Glad to see you are back, I was really missing your posts.
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