After exploring Ouro Preto, we ventured a little further down the road to a place called Mariana. On the way, we stopped off at one of the biggest mines in Brazil, Minas da Passagem.
The mine itself wasn't as atmospheric as I'd hoped. The guide asked if we all spoke Portuguese, we said no, and he just shrugged his shoulders and carried on. Fortunately there was another couple with us that gave us a rough of translation. We got a few translated comments from another, Brazilian, couple that was down there with us. We were told that people used to get lost in the mine pretty easily because it stretches for 30km, almost all the way back to Ouro Preto. It was once the most important mine in the region, producing most of gold for Ouro Preto and launching it to political and economic significance. He also showed us a place where you can scuba dive through a section of the mine that's now underwater. Sounded cool, but neither of us are divers. All-in-all, it was a bit pricey, and we could only visit a disappointingly tiny amount of cave systems, but we did get to ride in a mine car, which was as awesome as it sounds.
Mariana is pleasant enough, but looks a lot like Ouro Preto. Actually the main reason we wanted to go there was because we have a Brazilian friend with the the town as her namesake.
More churches. . .
. . .squares. . .
. . .and great hilltop views.
The mine itself wasn't as atmospheric as I'd hoped. The guide asked if we all spoke Portuguese, we said no, and he just shrugged his shoulders and carried on. Fortunately there was another couple with us that gave us a rough of translation. We got a few translated comments from another, Brazilian, couple that was down there with us. We were told that people used to get lost in the mine pretty easily because it stretches for 30km, almost all the way back to Ouro Preto. It was once the most important mine in the region, producing most of gold for Ouro Preto and launching it to political and economic significance. He also showed us a place where you can scuba dive through a section of the mine that's now underwater. Sounded cool, but neither of us are divers. All-in-all, it was a bit pricey, and we could only visit a disappointingly tiny amount of cave systems, but we did get to ride in a mine car, which was as awesome as it sounds.
Mariana is pleasant enough, but looks a lot like Ouro Preto. Actually the main reason we wanted to go there was because we have a Brazilian friend with the the town as her namesake.
More churches. . .
. . .squares. . .
. . .and great hilltop views.
We wandered around for most of the afternoon, and then headed back to make plans to move on.
If you only see one colonial town on a trip through South America, I think it has to be Ouro Preto. It has a certain historical character that hasn't been touched by the thousands of people that visit every year. I wish we could have spent more time in the area, visiting some of the more out of the way colonial mining towns, but I'm quite confident we got the best of it in Ouro Preto.
If you only see one colonial town on a trip through South America, I think it has to be Ouro Preto. It has a certain historical character that hasn't been touched by the thousands of people that visit every year. I wish we could have spent more time in the area, visiting some of the more out of the way colonial mining towns, but I'm quite confident we got the best of it in Ouro Preto.
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