Return to Brazil 2017

I was nearly at the end of my holiday and I returned to Rio. Copacabana to be exact. It was pleasant walking along the front but it wasn't as exotic as I had imagined. For a start the day was cloudy and the distant bay was hazy. I would have loved to have experienced a blue sky and a clear view of the hills overlooking Rio. There were lots of beach bars offering fast foods and beer. I resisted. Reaching the fort at the end of the beach, nearly at Ipanema I espied a bike shop and couldn't resist entering. It was very triathlon orientated  stocking Specialised, Pinarello, and Cervelo. I returned  on a road parallel to the beach with many shops and found a little restaurant tucked away between shops and up some short stairs. I chose tilapia again but was denied a beer as they didn't sell it.  I discovered that they can quote a price for a meal but at the end add a further ten per cent service charge and that this is legal. After all I had heard about Brazilian coffee I had...

The descent from Petropolis to Rio was exilharating giving views of the surrounding mountains. It was good to be on a coach and not have to worry about watching the road. I doubt the coach exceeded 40  kmsh (25 mph)  for most of the descent. Eventually we reached the suburbs of Rio passing the favelas and uncompleted houses which are very common. Buzios has a number of beaches and knowing that my accommodation was distant from local transport I had hired a car to travel the 180 Kms. It was another journey of constant speed changes enforced by radar and the savage speed humps. I am sure that paying constant attention to the speedometer detracts from road observation and safe driving. The chalet was only 200 metres from the beach, a walk along a sandy track and on to the beach, It seemed endless with very few people. The area in general is very popular and I visited other beaches, Manguinhas, Rasa And Tucuns and was surprised how quiet they were. Armaçao de Búzios on the oth...

It was a wrench to say goodbye to São João but I was scheduled to be in Petropolis where I had booked a car to visit Teresopolis the following day. It was a four and a half hour journey costing 89 reais (£22) with a few stops in towns along the route and a longer stop for refreshments at Juiz de Fora. I was impressed by the food on offer. None of the dried out food on offer like UK services and a good selection of fruit. Petropolis had two bus stations, One on the periphery of the town for inter city routes and a one in the centre for the city services. It was a fifteen minute journey to the hotel and I thought the bus was going to fall apart on every bump in the road. The hotel was ok, nothing special but it was clean and economic. The restaurant was on the fourth floor and the staircase reminded me of that in the film, The name of the Rose with Sean Connery. Petropolis is about seventy Kms from Rio and 800m above sea level. As a result it is much cooler than Rio. It ...

For anyone who would like to see the photos I took they can be viewed at https://drive.google.com/open?id=19t9sUm0ldobWxr8EMKB__nQqLZoJuApu There are 1400 spread over 18 folders. I will try to title the folders so you know the area they were taken.  will try to incorporate some into the blog but that may be some time.

I am sorry I have not uploaded any photos yet. It's going to be a mammoth task editing and selecting which to show. But they will appear in due course. I promise. I am still completing the blog. It started off as all blogs do with good intentions but I fell behind. I reckon I have another 6 posts to make. Then I can start on the photos.

Another change of location. Monday I was relocating to São João del Rei about 190 Kms south. Although the bus station was only a kilometre distant I called Uber again. I had previously visited the bus station so I knew where to go. It was on two levels with several platforms, one for local, the other for long distance. Case loaded and receipt given we set off on the two and a half hour journey. It was a long climb out of Belo Horizonte on the BR356 a federal highway. The standard of driving seemed so much better than around towns and I was much impressed by the coach drivers professionalism. The coach arrived at São João del Rei where I had arranged to be met by Edson, the brother of my host. Rose, my host, She had an interesting house in the historic part of the city. The style and colours reminded me of the nineteen thirties. A simple house on one level but very clean. Breakfast was quite simple. Coffee from the thermos flask that every house seemed to use, some bread and chee...

While in Brazil the previous year I had met Vanessa and Vivianne, sisters, along with their children. They had invited me to visit them if I came to Belo Horizonte. Vanessa was interested in photography and I had packed an old flash and lens to give her along with some sugared almonds and some liquorice all-sorts for the kids. We were supposed to have visited Ouro Preto the next day,some 80kms distant but Vanessa explained this wouldn't be possible since her son had fallen behind with school work and she had to help him. We had a pleasant lunch and talked about many things. Brazilian politics, the roads and driving, cost of living. A teacher earns between two to three thousand reais a month and Pablo's school fees were 1200 reais each month! Instead of Ouro Preto she suggested we visit the nearby church of Sao Francisco de Assis, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, a world famous architect. In the morning she said there was a Feira hippee being held close to where I was staying and...

I awoke refreshed. There was a great view of the city from the 13th floor. Nelma, my host, spoke with an accent that I found easy to understand. She spoke slowly as is the way in Minas (the State of Minas Gerais). Ana, the other guest came from Ceará, a State to the North and it was difficult to understand her, even on the rare occasion that she spoke slowly. She was 30, attractive and in the process of opening another restaurant in her town. I was surprised when she asked if I would like to accompany her and see some of the city. She said she wanted to go to the market and we walked there asking directions as we went. It was a completely different market to that which I expected. The Mercado Municipal was a grand building housing many different businesses. Vegetables and fruit, cheeses, butchers......not just everything you needed to eat but live birds, hardware, spices, china, wines and even a shop with many different types of cachaça (aguardente - firewater) which the girls insist...

It was painful having to wake at 04.45. It was too early for the hotel breakfast. The taxi arrived and took me to the Pedro Nolasco station. The train didn't leave until 07.00 but I had to be there an hour beforehand. Once through the ticket checks the carriage was comfortable and spacious, two seats on one side and just one on the other, reclineable with 220 volt charging. The train and tracks are owned by Vale, a company with worldwide mining interests and had been built principally for the transport of minerals.  I would see many trains of 200 fully loaded mineral wagons pulled by two huge diesels. Most of the track was single with sections of double track to allow trains to pass and it was a narrower guage than the UK. The distance between Vitoria and Belo Horizonte is about 500 Kms in a straight line but the line takes a detour to the North passing the city of Governado Valadares making the journey closer to 700 kms. Shortly after leaving Vitoria, breakfast arrived.  ...

My flight to Vitoria was at 11.13 so I made my way to the airport. It wasn't a direct flight and involved a three and a half hour wait at São Paulo. The second flight to Vitoria was more interesting as it followed the coast line give glimpses of the long sandy beaches. I can't  remember the name but there is one beach purported to be 240kms long. Vitoria is quite large and I had chosen a hotel close to the train station. It was an error. The taxi driver told me it was in a dodgy area and when I arrived they told me the restaurant only opened for lunch. The room was not great. And the shower was cold so I had to ask to use that of another room. What do you expect for £16? I was hungry and needed to eat so I emptied my pockets and took only 20 reais (about £5) with me. I didn't see any restaurants, just dirty bars. I chose the least objectionable and chose a type of chicken rissole and a beer. I wished I had taken my little compact with me to record some images. I returned ...