I just boarded an overnight bus from Ouro Preto to Rio. Ill get there at 06:00, take a bus to my hostel, drop my bags off (I'm hoping they'll be nice and let me take a shower), then probably head to the beach (and then promptly take a nap once I can check in). This is the third overnight bus I've taken in my life. The first two were in 2007 in argentina - cycling between buenos aires and Mendoza. This bus is nice, and my front row seat reclines to about 150 degrees (or 30, depending on your perspective). Not as nice as the double decker argentine busses though, which reclined 180 degrees and had a legit hostess who even led a few bingo games. Anyway, the bus will do, I'm listening to Ben Harper's "Fight for your Mind" - a rhodes college flashback - and two beers to help me go to sleep.
Yesterday the crew drive to Ouro Preto and walked around for the bulk of the day. Dave and Cassia left in the evening to go back to BH, while Tim, Caitlin and I stayed the night in OP. A huge rainstorm hit the town around 8, so we stayed at our pousada and read books. When the rain stopped, Tim and I went out for a beer.
OP reminds me a lot of where I lived in Mexico - Guanajuato. A couple centuries ago, the area around OP produced 90% if the world's gold (which in turn went straight back to the Portuguese motherland). So OP, in the
middle of some very hilly country, got built up with lots of baroque churches, cobblestone streets, etc. It's very pretty. OP has 60,000 residents (smaller than Guanajuato) and a university. The vibe is much more low key than Guanajuato. I'm glad I stayed the night.
[as I type, ben Harper's "burn one down" is playing... Great song]
On Friday morning (today) we got a late start (why rush?) and walked around the whole day. The highlight of the day was walking a hell of a long way up a hill to a cross perched outside the city. After a dinner near the town square and the aforementioned beers, tim and Caitlin walked me to the bus station. they'll stay another two nights before heading to rio.
I really enjoyed hanging out with those two over the past couple days. Tim is one if Dave's friends from Bowdoin (sp), and they live in the San Juan islands where tim is a biology researcher and Caitlin is an emt. They're good people, and are relaxed travelers - we were perfectly content to take time in the evening to read, and time in the morning to sleep.
Ok, my hands are getting tired from typing on my iPhone. A few random observations before I go:
- Brazilians have this delicious cheesy rolls everywhere. Someone could make some money by selling them in the states.
- I've learned I can speak Spanish and the Brazilians understand me, but when they respond in Portuguese I only get about 5% of what they say.
- sitting at cafes and listening to live acoustic guitar is something I should seek out more. Love it.
- The US soccer team plays panama tomorrow, and I'm sure that nobody around here will care at all. Regardless, I'm going to wear my Clint Dempsey US jersey and try to find the game on tv.
- I'm reading Keith Richards' autobiography. That guy did a lot of drugs. I mean, a lot of drugs.
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