Curitibanese Aventuras: Belo Horizonte

A holiday allows me a long weekend. The trip goes to Minas Gerais - the region of the gold mines, of the golden rush and the historical colonial towns. A region of food as well, of warm and welcoming people.

BH, its hilly topography, its rock quarries and condominios

Landing at the airport of BH (Bay-Haga is the short name for Belo Horizonte, given by its people), it is a brise of warm air. Coming from a cold and rainy city as Curitiba, it is a pure pleasure! The airport is like an open street where arriving passengers almost land on the side-walk where the busses accost, where leaving passengers take a coffee before moving on.

The bus to downtown drives right before Pampulha, the administrative city of Oscar Niemeyer. This guy has worked in most of Brasilian cities, it seems. Same pure, white, neat architecture here as well - slightly dramatic in the evening lights.

Lá em casa

From the center, I grab a cab to the pousada Lá em casa - the cutest, homiest, nicest place you could dream of. Not long before I get chatting with the receptionist Lidiane and an other visitor Prissila, finding out that we are all CouchSurfers.

1: Prissila in the hamac corner | 2: Lidiane making pop-corn

Friendly people! Lidiane have been travelling in Europe, CS for some time already - Prissila travels the world with her boyfriend Fabrice. They have just started their trip some days ago. I leave for the evening entertainement - Couchsurfing meeting in BH. At Maletta a bar downtown - great night with fun people there!

Saterday, has a dense program. An early start with a good breakfast...with doce de leite! And on I go to walk the city, down Santa Teresa's streets, the district where I am staying - a bohemian district, I was told - and reaching the center. BH's center is easy to situate: the plan is typical squarred with big avenues, that the smaller streets meet at an angle of 45°, the whole ensemble is delimited by avenida do Contorno - an inner ring beyond which develops the other city districts and where lives the rest of the 3 mi. inhabitants of BH.

First impressions of BH
- the skyscrapers, architectural surprises, the viaduct and the rail-way, the aging concrete facades -

The Parque Municipal is full of life: passers-by, teenager on school excursion, kids riding monkeys, rollercoasters, pipoca sellers, turists, cops, homeless, lovers... The walk is agreable under the shadow of the trees and palmeiras, in some 28 degree's morning temperature.

Down to the rodoviaria, along a main axe, up another one, passing the Praça Raul Soares - a hot and huge round-about/square next to the Mercado Central - cheio, cheio, cheio! full of people, colours and smells - and the Minascentro - some kind of culture and convention center. Dwelling in the streets of BH, you get quickly tired of the heat combined with the hilly town - subi e desce!

Hilly BH! Coloured and contrasting...

Various facade styles...

Underground BH: the gallery Maletta and a shopping gallery
-Maletta is rather calm, quiet, dead at day-time, with mainly second-hand books and antiquities stores, and a smell of old dusty stuff; heavily crowded of young and grunch people at night time! And full of bars.

Painted BH...tagged and coloured - nice!

Central market: so many smells in here

Coffee break is thus a good friend to the turist! Kahlúa café especiais is then the perfect place: here I found typical coffee from Minas - did you know that the finest organic coffee here is one where the bean first is eaten and digested by a Jacu-bird, then only it is collected to make coffee: café do Jacu. The taste should be exquisite! But too expensive for me to give it a try sadly...

Kahlúa

The royal palm tree on the squares:
1: Igreja, hidden between the royal palm trees | 2: Praça da Assembleia

After a quick lunch with Prissila and Fabrice, my new travel friends for the day, we head for Praça da Liberdade, where is located the governor's palace and the Edificio Niemeyer - beautiful modern building, in concrete, glass, wood and tiles, with a beautiful curve that might remind of the COPAN in São Paulo. Then up and down, we reach Praça da Assembleia. Here the streets are more wide and the buildings spread - functions seems more to be offices and services, whereas the other streets had more of a mix between housings and smaller commerce. The perfect square grid here is also more loose. Before aiming back for the pousada, I make a last stop at Praça da Estação, where is the Museu de Artes e Oficios. I didn't visit though as time was starting to get short, but the building is already something. There on the square I overlooked a cop pursuing a thief - meu deus! You don't wanna get in their way. I saw as well a man stealing the tires of a fine car, at daylight, very open about it...

Edificio Niemeyer

Praça da Estação at dusk when highrise and statues blend together

Around the train station, the buildings are more shabby and you feel the less desirable, less secure atmosphere of the neighbourhood. But many people are gathering a bit further - I walk there to. It is a fair of Brasilian comic strip! Super interestinga and fun exhibition.