Southwards of Brasil from Recife is Belo, not a coastal country but very well known for its historical significance. It is the capital of the state ‘Minas Gerais’, the region of the mines owing to its huge reserves of iron, gold and other gemstones.
As I land in Belo and head to board the cab, a chill breeze hits me. It was 16 degrees there. Coming from Recife, that was like ‘oh my god!’ 😀 Reached my hotel, checked in and crashed.
First morning in Belo. Woke up to a lovely sunrise, great view from my room.
Heading down for breakfast at around 7:45 and the temperature is about 16 degrees, damn it is going to be cold 😀
The day’s plan was to visit the historic city of Ouro Preto.
Very scenic route to the place dotted by hills and valleys. As we reached Ouro Preto, it was foggy and quite chilly. The weather gave a nice vibe to the age old place.
The most important thing to do in Ouro Preto is to walk around along the cobbled and winding pathways of the little town, visiting the many churches and museums. The place is a slice of Brasilian history talking about the era of mining settlements, slavery and the struggle for freedom from colonisation.
This place also has a tradition of installing a clay model of a lady overlooking the street from the window of a house. This is a way of indicating that the lady is eagerly awaiting the man of the house to come back from work or something to that effect. A very interesting one indeed 😃 The model is very realistic and from a distance, indeed looks like someone is sitting there and watching!
Great place for shopping 🛍️ too. I am not a window shopper and I get lost at having to make up mind on what to buy 😀 However, I still ended up buying a few magnets and trinkets to carry back home as memories.
And of course, with all the walking around one does get thirsty and hungry. For quenching those the place is filled with lovely cafés and eateries.
By noon, the foggy weather slowly gave way to bright sun ☀️. Some nice cloud formations starting showing up in the sky adding a bit of drama to the images.
At around 4 pm we decided to head back to Belo. It was a day well spent. Ouro Preto is must visit and I highly recommend it. I enjoyed the place thoroughly.
It was Monday and time to get to the office. As I was waking up, couldn’t help but notice the lovely sunrise again, dramatically colourful! Belo seems stunning with the cloud formations and the brilliant colours thrown out during sunrise.
After a good breakfast, headed to the TW office in Belo. The office incidentally is in a Shopping Mall, yes! 😃, on the 6th floor of the building with a pretty good view.
After a quick look around the office space, we got together for the sessions and intense discussions, broke for lunch followed by further discussions.
Evening, enjoyed the lovely sunset from the office before getting back to the hotel.
The rest of the weekdays were full-on work followed by some fun in the evenings. On one such evening, the team decided to visit a typical Bar in Belo, with great food, was a lovely place. Belo is indeed known as the land of Bars 😃
Below is one of the many sessions. Putting them here to prove that things were not all fun but work too 😊
Some memories too; Polaroid image to add to the mural at office.
Went for a sumptuous lunch at a Vegetarian restaurant, which incidentally had a version of Gobi manchurian on the menu. But, was unlucky as that dish was served only at dinner! Albeit that, the food was excellent and the place was lovely too.
Last day at Belo, got to visit the amazing football stadium of one of the popular clubs of Belo, the Clube Atlético Mineiro (Athletico Club of Minas Gerais) (CAM), a quick tour of the stadium followed by a visit to the Central Market for some local food and savaories’ tasting and some shopping.
Onwards to Porto Alegre.
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