The Part of Brazil I Needed to See - Part 1

I’m beginning to become a believer that as an ex-pat having a blog is essential. It is amazing how many people you meet and how much information you gather from others who know a bit more about a culture or area than you.

This past week I took advantage of an invitation to visit Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, something that would not have even come about if it wasn’t for my blog. Corinne, one of my readers who is always quick to offer me helpful info, invited me there to show me around. When Azul ran a huge sale recently I decided to take advantage of the offer. Not only did I get to see a new area and try new foods, I also got to meet some great people including Corinne, and Eric and Emily.

The last day or so I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts about how my visit to this new area of the country affected me. What I’ve come up with is that it was truly the part of Brazil I needed to see.

I’ve really enjoyed Maringá. Despite my complaints about lack of availability and variety, I like the smaller city feel, the trees, and the Cathedral. In fact, as I walked around today, I had a renewed appreciation for it. The quiet morning and the light amount of traffic were incredibly appealing after visiting Belo Horizonte, a much larger and more populated city.

At the same time, however, Maringá is not very old; a little over 60 years (62 I think). There is a lot of interesting history that surrounds the building of the Cathedral, but it doesn’t hold a lot of history of the whole country. I loved experiencing a place that brought that all together for me.

I will honestly admit that I get overwhelmed with all of the beach, beautiful women and swimwear associations that can’t seemed to be ignored when people mention Brazil. I’ve stopped reading many travel articles about Brazil focused on the beach because writers can’t seem to finish a piece without making some mention of the above either as a joke or slide it in by using parenthesis.

If that is why you visit Brazil, good for you, but I needed to see how the place began, the role the Portuguese played and what makes certain areas of this country the way they are. Belo Horizonte (and a trip to Ouro Preto which I’ll cover in my next post) fulfilled this travel and cultural need for me.

I got to explore a nearby cave, Gruta da Lapinha.

I was taken downtown to see the historic main street and the Praça da Liberdade and the Igreja Nossa Senhora de Lourdes.

I walked around Lagoa da Pampulha and saw the architecture of Oscar Niemeyer.

I also got to check out the Botanical gardens inside the zoo.

And just in case you thought I would be without my favorite things I was even greeted by some large groups of Capivara at the lake!

The food I’ll cover later, but at the market I was able to pick up, or rather lug back, a soap stone (Pedra Sabão) pot carved out of stone from the area. They tell me it will turn black once I season and seal it. Given my love of cooking I couldn’t have found a better souvenir.

It was a wonderful trip that changed my perceptions in so many ways. My only regret is that my husband wasn’t able to see it with me.

There is more to come, but I’ll take this opportunity to send a special thanks to my hosts and all the info they shared with me. I appreciate it so much!