Black Gold, but no Texas Tea

Millions of my readers are probably wondering what happened to me, not having blogged for over a week. The plain and simple truth is that we've just been having too much fun! So, while I apologize for not keeping everyone informed like I had originally intended, I should have known not to embark upon such a demanding task. I've tried to keep journals at various times in my life and have never lasted more than a couple of weeks. Again, sorry; but let me now fill you in on today's adventures in Ouro Preto ("Black Gold"), a beautiful and quaint town in Brazil's state of Minas Gerais.

We arrived here last evening, having rented a compact car at Belo Horizontes and driven two and a half hours through gorgeous (pardon the pun), verdant mountains to the Hotel Luxor. It was a little late to take pictures, so we went down to the hotel's restaurant and each had delicious meals. Robin had Frango ao Vinho Branco and a dessert of Sorvete Simples (of course), while I had a Salada de Palmito, the Lombinho de Porco a Miniera, and a regional specialty dessert called Doce de Leite com Queijo Minas. All the food was very good, the service was great, and dining room had a pleasing ambience with its stone walls over two feet thick!

Ouro Preto is a small 300 year-old mining town that is based in a valley but has houses and churches that sprawl up the surrounding mountains. From our window, we can see four ancient churches and hundreds of houses on cobblestone streets. This morning, we went out to explore this beautiful town, but we probably should have explored more about what we were getting ourselves into before we journeyed forth.

Some of you may be familiar with the hills of San Fransisco. Multiply those hills by ten and you'll have an idea of the steep inclines we have here! I had read that there was a lot of walking to do, and we had been told (the night prior to our trip) that there were a lot of hills. Understatement! You would almost need to have trained for an Iron Man event to tour this city of uneven stone steps and cobblestone walkways. Not surprisingly, the four and five-inch heels we saw women wearing in Santa Catarina are non-existent here. Driving is not something I'd recommend either, unless you have a more powerful car than our 1.0 litre Fiat. In fact, after trying to drive around this afternoon, we decided to take a cab to dinner tonight. The twelve reals was worth less stress. I'd prefer to be beamed out of here tomorrow when we leave, but the technology isn't here yet.

Having said that, the museums and churches here are exquisite, with elaborate sculptures, carvings, and paintings contained within more rustic exteriors. We were not expecting to find such treasures within. Many of the stone and wood carvings were performed by a crippled man named Antônio Francisco Lisboa, an architect and artist with the nickname "Aleijadinho" (Little Cripple). Awesome stuff here.

Most of the shops here cater to tourists and sell the same products, much of it imported from China and Indonesia. One business of note, though, is the gem trade. Because Ouro Preto was a mining town several legitimate jewelers sell beautiful jewelry and handicrafts made with indigenous imperial topaz, tourmaline, ruby and emerald, plus many more "gemmas". Robin really enjoyed seeing all of that. I prefered the stickers, coffee mugs, and t-shirts that said stuff like "I (heart) Ouro Preto" and "My Parents Went to Ouro Preto and All I Got Was This Stupid T-shirt". Just kidding about the last part, but I'm sure you could find them if you looked!

We had some fun here, too. While in the Museu de Ciencia e Tecnica, we were accosted by about twenty twelve year-olds who were on a field trip. One of them heard Robin and I talking and, like bees to the slaughter, we soon were surrounded by wannabe English speakers. After several minutes of exchanging names and nicknames like "Nickito", "Chicken Face" and "Big Head", their teacher (or the museum director, we're not sure) led them out of the room. Each time they saw us they would yell something in English, usually something challenging like "hi" or "goodbye".

This evening, we ate at what was supposedly the best, yet inexpensive restaurant in Minas Gerais, according to the latest Fodor's guide. I'd have to agree that it was probably the best place around, what with the presentation and quality of the food, great service and genuine cloth napkins (something you don't find too often in Brasil). The only problem is that it was R$200! The glass of wine that Robin and I split (two glasses - as if...) was R$18 alone. Andre, our waiter who spoke fairly logical English, spoke with us from time to time and, after dinner, gave me permission to play the grand piano there in the restaurant. The hotel owner dimmed the lights and sat and listened along with others in the lobby and out on the sidewalk. Andre also gave us a tour of the hotel which was fabulous. If you ever wish to visit this part of the world, I highly recommend staying at the Hotel Solar do Rosario. Just remember to wear hiking boots.