As I wait here at the Ouro Preto rodoviaria or bus station (on free WiFi!!!), I figured I might go ahead and share how I spent my day in Mariana and Ouro Preto.
Located in the heart of Minas Gerais, Ouro Preto is a UNESCO site and home to one of the most prestigious universities in Brazil. It gets its name from its reputation for being a paradise for gold or ouro. Today, little gold remains in Ouro Preto, but it remains a very popular tourist spot in Brazil and one of Brazil’s biggest exporter of precious stones. (I think Minas Gerais, in general, is one of the world’s largest exporter of precious stones). Mariana is a small town right beside Ouro Preto and can be reached in 20 minutes by car.
Ouro Preto is approximately 2.5 hours away from Belo Horizonte by bus and around 9 hours by bus to Rio de Janeiro. (Yes, it’s going to be a long night for me…)
From Viçosa, it was only a 2.5 hr bus ride and costed me around R $35. Boarding the bus at 8:00AM, I managed to catch some more sleep before getting off at 10:45AM. Though it arrived 15 minutes late, this is actually a pretty good time considering that the bus will stop to pick up and drop off people in very small towns and literally at the side of the highway.
At the bus station in Mariana, a very kind man helped point me to the local bus (R $2.70) I needed to take to get downtown for the train station. Miraculously, I made it purely by asking, as my data was down due to my crappy phone. (See Brazil Tip #1 post)
Before taking the train, I went to the historical part of the town and toured some churches. Just beautiful. Due to Junina festivities, I also got to see some amazing life-sized floor “paintings” made out of coloured wood chips and shavings. Just beautiful.
Worker laying down wood chips here. Huge plastic bags filled with various colours lined the streets!
However, since I was still carrying my 40L pack in 29*C weather, I couldn’t explore very much. I stopped by a self-service restaurant right in front of the tourist information Center and ate a great meal. (R$35 per kilo of food!)
And yes, I took a train to Ouro Preto. So to explain, even though there is a quick and easy bus service, there is an option to take the journey through a train catered to tourists. It’s called Trem da Vale. There are two options for the train. The first option is the Convencional fare, which is a cheaper fare, but you only see the view from a small window. The second more expensive option is the Panôramico or Panoramic fare. It is more expensive, but the view is amazing. There is also only one carriage that has panoramic windows, so be sure to book early if you would like that.
Today, all tickets were at half-price due to the holiday tomorrow. Luckily, despite the demand, I managed to snag one of three remaining tickets. I also managed to sit by myself since people often buy in pairs. (Double win!)
Trem da Vale with panoramic windows (on left) and Mariana Train Station (on right)
The train ride lasts for about an hour and you have the chance to reconfigure the seats to sit in groups of four.
After the train ride, I took a local city bus to the Ouro Preto bus station to buy my ticket back to Rio de Janeiro (R$91) and to drop off my luggage in the lockers. (Buy a token from the snack shop on the bottom level for R$11).
I then walked to the heart of the city, Praça de Tiradentes or Tiradentes Square. The walk takes around 10 minutes. Ouro Preto is so beautiful. It really deserves its reputation as a UNESCO site. But it is also extremely hilly and steep.
Bring running shoes and prepare to get sore calves if you aren’t used to climbing.
Praça Tiradentes
Hills. Hills. Hills!
Igreja São Francisco de Assis
Like in Mariana, I visited churches and also went to an outdoor market that sells one of Ouro Preto’s most famous souvenirs — soapstone goods. I’m hoping my mug makes it back to Canada in one piece!
Feira da Pedra (Rocks’ Fair or Handicrafts’ Fair) where you can buy beautiful hand-carved and hand-painted goods. It’s right beside the São Francisco de Assis church!
Afterward, I went to a mining museum really close by to the Igreja da Inconfidencia. At first, I was skeptical because I followed a city tour guide into an obscure part of town. But, it turned out to be really amazing, and lots of people went. The tour guide started off by talking about Ouro Preto’s history of slavery and how the mines were operated completely on unfair and inhumane terms.
However, by studying how mines were created, the tour guide also mentioned the ingenuity of the slaves to get air circulating within the dark and damp mines. In total, the tour lasted 40 minutes. Be sure to take a jacket or a sweater with you into the mines because it does get quite cold (even for a Canadian like me!). Also, the tour is only available in Portuguese.
After the mines, I took a kombi or passenger van back to Tiradentes Square for R$5. I ended off my evening listening to smooth jazz over a hot cup of tea and eventually walked back to the rodoviaria. At 7:30PM, it was quite cold and dark, so taking a taxi would have been better. I was really frugal, however.
All in all, here are the costs of my trip:
Transportation:
Viçosa – Mariana: R$37
Trem da Vale: R$ 35
Ouro Preto – Rio de Janeiro: R$ 91
Kombi: R$ 5
Bus: $6~
Food:
Lunch: R$ 14
Dinner: R$ 20
Touristy stuff:
Souvenirs: R $65 (I bought something expensive!)
Museum: R $15
Other:
Luggage storage: R$ 11
Total: R$ 299 or $105 (CAD)
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