Belo Horizonte

BELO HORIZONTE

I spent one week in this fantastic city and it is safe to say that I am a big fan!

Yet again I was overwhelmed by the incredible Brazilian hospitality after spending one week with my good friend Saulo, Andrea (his wife) and Isadora (their toddler daughter). As I write their family has now been increased to 4 with the arrival of their newborn son Rafael!

FACTS AND FIGURES
Belo Horizonte is a city most tourists now little about so to start I will add a few facts and figures (go on the Shane Daly aka chief terminology!)

1 - Located c 350kms inland of Rio de Janeiro.

2 - It is a city of c 2.5 million people (c 5.5 million in the metopolitan area) and ranks as the 6th largest city in Brazil but the metropoitian area is 3rd in population to only Rio and Sao Paulo.

3 - It is the capital of Minas Gerais State

4 - As like the majority of Brazil, it can get quite warm and during their summer (our winter) temperatures often rise above 30 degrees.

5 - The city and the state is famous for good soil and farming and a lot of the top quality Brazilian beef comes from this area.

6 - The city, again like the majority of Brazil, is very integrated race-wise but not as integrated as some other cities like Rio or Sao Paulo. It does have a strong Italian influence where c 30% of the population have Italian origins.

7 - It has a more European feel to it than the North-East of Brazil or Rio as this is very evident in how people dress more formal than the average shorts and t-shirt you see commonly in Rio and the North-East.

8 - It is a strong business sector within Brazil attracting large multinationals like Google and also many successful indigenious Brazilian firms.

9 - Music wise it is probably the home of Brazilian rock/indie music. The locals do listen to a variety of Brazilian genres but there is a slightly more international influence to the music tastes as there appears to be in the North East of the country. The eccentric Ozzy Osbourne was actually playing in BH when I was there.

10 - Probably the most interesting statistic about BH, from an Irish viewpoint, is the high propensity of bars to people in the city. It is supposedly by far the largest in the country and I am told one of the highest percentages in the world. People from BH like a beer so would have reckon they would love our little country as well.!!!

11 - To most Brazilians, BH is most famous for the best Cachaca`s, which is the most famous liquor in Brazil and the one used in the authentic Caipirinhas, and also the best food in Brazil. One Brazilian friend from another state told me, after I left BH, that when you hear somebody from BH is cooking you food you are in for a treat. I cannot disagree on this point!!!!!!!!

12 - Naturally as BH has no beach it makes up for it with parks. There are numerous parks throughout the city and I was lucky to visit one where the view of the city was class.

13 - It has two famous football teams as in Athletico Minero (Galo) and the smaller team Cruzeiro!!! The main football ground the Mineirao is currently closed for renovations in preparation for the 2014 World Cup. Famous current players from the state or those who played there include Tastao (probably in top 10 best Brazilian players ever), Rivaldo (ex Barca), Tafferel (famous keeper), Jairzinho (world cup winner),  Ramires (Chelsea), Gilberto Silva (ex-Arsenal), Heurelho Gomes (eccentric Spurs goalie). Ronaldo also started his career with Cruzerio even though he is from Rio.

14 - The snacks on offer at the BH bars have to be up there with the best in the world. It is common to be guzzaling a few beers accompanied by a sliced asssortment of carne (steak or meat), linguica (sausage), frango (chicken) and many others....! I got addicted to all of this and would be happy enough to go to a bar just to experience the incredible snacks on offer!!!! It defo beats chicken nuggets and chips in the Dropping Well......!

15 - Last but not least there are beautiful mulheres (ladies) in BH. Arguably the best looking girls in Brazil and at times you felt you needed eyes in the back of your head to absorb it all!

A picture of Belo Horizonte from Saulo`s house

                                    A picture of the Belo Horizonte mountains and countryside

CLASS PEOPLE

Despite all of the above, I think the best thing I can say about Belo Horizonte are the incredible people I met and all the friends I made. I spent my entire week visiting the many bars of Belo Horizonte with the bauld Saulo meeting all his friends and family and can honestly say I did not meet one person I did not like. Everybody I met made me the centre of attention and regardless of my limited Portuguese and some guys limited English there were no issues on the communication front.

I had incredible fun and craic with all the peope I met. Everybody always had a smile, a joke and plenty of banter, which meant there was never any shortage of laughing! Saulo is very lucky as he has a great bunch of buddies who you would be welcome in any company!

Special mention to some of those class people I meet in BH including Bruno, Saulo´s wife Andrea, Saulo`s brother Luiz, Luiz`s girl-friend Lara, Saulo`s brother-in-law Maurcio, Saulo´s sister Rachel, Saulo`s cousin Andre, Junior, Marcelo, Gustavo, Gustavo Paiva, Loo and so many others I could be here all day! Thank you to them all!




A very smiley Gustavo Paiva. This smile was permanent on this man`s face. A great character!




 The 3 boys (Saulo, me and Gustavo Paiva) after a good few afternoon beers and a few snacks!




Bruno, Saulo and mise. Bruno was very grumpy in this picture so we forced him to smile for another pìcture!

                                    
                           Galo`s Number 1 fan Bruno. A great guy and smiling for a change!!!!!!!!!!

Me, Saulo to the right and Mauricio to the left. Mauricio cooked us a great meal that day and he & his wife Rachel (Saulo`s sister) are now also proud parents to their second child in the last two weeks!

The Guerra men. Saulo, his Dad and his brother Luiz. You can see Luiz`s arm is bandaged from his bottle accident the day before (read below). Always with a happy head on him and a great character!

             Saulo, his wife Andrea, Luiz and his girlfriend Lara with little Isadora in her father`s arms!

Marcelo, a Cruzeiro fan, getting a bit of stuck about the 4-3 defeat to Galo (read later). Another good character who was well able to put a few beers away!

Saulo and Loo again celebrating their 4-3 win later that day. Loo may have had a few too many at this stage though!!!

Just adding this in as we have a Steven Webster lookalike in the middle. Go on the Webby!

BARS - MERCADO CENTRAL

As said before myself and the mighty Saulo spent a lot of time in the bars of Belo Horizonte. It was common for us to spend c 10/12 hours a day drinking beers and having the craic. I think he introduced me to at least 15 to 20 different bars over the week and one or two we visited more than once!

The bars that really stood out for me were those in The Mercado Central. The Mercado Central is an indoor market situated in an old building that looked like an old factory but located right in the heart of the city centre. Most people go there to shop at the small stalls or just buy food for dinner. There are also numerous tiny minature bars where people just stand in the middle of the market and knock back the beers. It was so basic but class at the same time. It was common to see one or two stop by for a beer with their shooping trolley! And of course in this environment you meet many great characters and all walks of life. Saulo got cornered by one individual who had a few too many and decided Saulo was his long lost best friend and he had lots to update him on. Poor Saulo had to endure an ear savaging from a particular gentleman or in another words fruit for c 20 minutes, while I on the otherhand was giggling away while encouraging your man to talk more rubbish!

The secret to the place was that the bars are so small and with eveyone drinking in the aisles beside the bars that you had no option to chat to those beside ye and meet tons of gas headers. The fact it was so basic took everybody down to the same level so there was no airs or graces or snobbery, just downright craic and people enjoying each-other`s company. It is safe to say you could meet a different character there everyday if you ventured into it. I loved it!

A pic from above of Mercado Central in the past (above) and today (below) . I had some great pics of the characters and the bars but unfortunately there were deleted by mistake.

FOOTIE FANATICS

Like all of Brazil, Belo Horizonte is a football mad city. As mentioned before, they have two big teams in the city, Athletico Mineiro (aka Galo) and Cruzeiro. Saulo and most of his buddies (not all) are Galo fans but he did have a few Cruzeiro fans. My flatmate at home, a certain Lucas from Salvador, is also unfortunately (for him) a Cruzeiro fan!!!

I arrived in the middle of the State Championship and the weekend I was there both teams played each-other in a big derby. Unfortunately as like a lot of the Brazilian stadiums at the moment the main stadium in the city was closed for renovations for World Cup 2014 so the match was played outside of the city and way too far away to go to.

The atmosphere around the city on the day was electric and the bars were all mobbed with people watching the game and the streets were empty reminding me of what it was like in Ireland when we were in the World Cup. Everybody (guys and girls) were tooged out in the team colours and it was ironic that on numerous occasions you woud see a guy with a Cruzeiro top holding hands with a girl in a Galo top. It is true that ladies have better taste!!!!!!

As luck would have the game was a classic and Galo of course won out 4-3 on the day. Saulo and me had some fun over the next few days slagging all the Cruzerio fans we met but all was taken in good humour.

Saulo also brought me with him to pay footie with a group of his mates. He plays once a week with these guys on a Saturday morning. I didn`t exactly do myself any justice but it was good craic all the same. We finished at 11am and as customary in Brazil it was straight on the beers with pieces of steak thrown in for good measure. I think I could handle those Saturday mornings from now on!!!!!!

Meeting the boys a good few hours before the game starts and the bar was already full of people in the both sets of jerseys!

We were at a kid`s party when match was on but that didn`t stop Bruno from listening to the game on radio. Here he is celebrating the final whistle! Go Galo!!!!!!!!!

Saulo looks a bit happy and this picture was taken for Lucas (my flatmate). Poor Cruzerio fans!!!!!!

                                                              Another pic for Lucas!

A little pisstake for Marcelo, another Cruzeiro fan, as when he dissapears to the jacks (toilets) we do some improvisation with tooth-picks, for when he returns!

Ronaldo, crying on tv, as he announces his retirement from the game. He was a class player and probably best player of his generation but he gets a lot of stick now in Brazil for being caught with 3 transvestites in a Love Motel!

                                            A footie school in Brazil. Very common sight.


STORIES

I have no real mad stories to tell though I did manage to see the inside of a Brazilian hospital. A group of us were out one night and having serious fun until Saluo´s brother Luiz decided to try and open a caschunut with a bottle of beer and the bottle exploding in his hand/arm and causing him serious cuts on his right arm. The blood was flowing at an incredible rate and all of a sudden the scene around us resembled a Rambo set. Mad stuff and Luiz, being the gas man he is, took it all in his stride and couldn`t hide the smile from his face for the rest of the evening.

Another night out I also had the misfortune of having all my photos from Fortaleza and Salvador deleted from my camera. I also lost some great pics of the Mercado Central. I joined two girls at a table next to us and one decided to take control of my camera while accidently deleting all my photos. To be fair none of us realised what had happened at the time but unfortunatley I am missing some photos in the last couple of blogs.

The young lady who deleted my photos. Muito Obrigado!

Another pic of herself and her friend Arianna agus mise in ze middle.

BRAZILAN HOSPITALITY

I can`t finish this blog without a special mention for my good buddy Saulo. Saulo collected me from the airport at circa 11pm the day I arrived and immeadiatly brought me to a late bar. He pretty much took the week off work and spent the entire week chauffering me around his city or bars to be more exact!!! We had a great time on the sauce, reliving old stories from Oz, me telling him lots of phrases we use at home (he used to love a lot of them including the guy in Mercado Bar "chewing" the ear of him!!!), meeting his many good friends or just talking rubbish about life!

His wife Andrea who was a few weeks from expecting their second child was in constant good humour and had no issues with me being the main influence in her husband being coerced into going from one bar to another to another!!!!! I also got the liberty to get to know better their gas character of a young daughter Isadora. This young lady is full of fun and life and will definitely break a few male hearts in the coming years including her Dad´s!!

I owe a lot of the great time I had in Belo Horizonte to Saulo and the people he introduced to me and there is no doubt he showed me the city and its people in the best possible light. Thanks horse!!!!

 
                                    Mother and Daughter (Andrea and Isadora). A lovely pic!

                                            Father and Daughter...........another great pic!

                                           Saulo celebrating Galo`s win! Happy days!!!

                                                      The family Guerra and mise!


TO FINISH
Belo Horizonte is a class city with great food, tons of great bars, nice parks, beautiful ladies, great footie culture and above all class people! It is not engulfed by tourists mind but by my reckoning this is because it is not located on the coast or beach, as there are many things to attract tourists here if only they were aware of it. I will defintiely be back!!!!!!!!

Tchau for now!

James.

Salvador de Bahia!

SALVADOR DE BAHIA (Salvador is the capital of the Bahia state)

"If you like your homeland, don't come to Bahia"

The above quote is from Dorival Caymmi, one of the most important composers in Brazil. Effectively she is warning all those who love their homeland that it may not be such a good idea to go to Bahia (ie Salvador) as all that love of home will be re-energised into Bahia!

A large percentage of the Brazilians I met have a longing to either live in or visit Salvador. It is like a Brazilian Utopia or Mecca and having been there now on three different occasions I am beginning to appreciate why. It is a city steeped in history and culture while also being famous for its music, dance, beaches, musicians and probably considered the party capital of Brazil!

The city is located in the North East of Brazil above Rio which is circa 2/3 hours flight away. Rio may be the most famous place worldwide for Carnaval but all Brazilians eyes focus on Salvador for Carnaval. They attract the cream of the crop of the musicians and Brazilians from all over the country invade the city for a crazy week of partying! In truth Salvador is famous for partying all year round! There always is something going on like a festival, a street party, a pre-Carnaval event and it has been said that Carnaval is a 365 day event in Salvador!!!



The stands for Carnaval are being put up a few weeks in advance.



             Crowds flock for a pre-carnaval event



A pre-carnaval event with a band playing on top of a trio-electrio (aka truck)


Salvador is famous for its African influence, where a lot of pagan African traditions are common. Their local dish is Acaraje which is a like a street snack always served by a black lady in a traditional white dress. Acaraje is pastry dish made of Brazilian fritters with black-eye peas and chickpea flour. Please don´t ask me to explain that!!! Other ingredients in the snack include shrimp, tomatos and onions. I have had a few and by and large I like it but it is a bit like Guinness as there are good and bad Acarajes depending on where you get served!



                 Bahian Lady prepares Acaraje   


The Brazilian slave dance called Capoeira is commonly practiced here. Capoeira stems from an African traditional way of fighting and in typical Brazilian spirit they have now merged it into a dance. It is similar in some way to marital arts where two people meet face to face on their honkers circa 5 feet in distance from each-other and in short pretend to attack each-other accompanied by a musican playing a stringed instrument next to their moves. It is incredibly difficult art-form and only practiced by those well versed in the art as you need to have incredibly flexible and have great rhythm to make the required moves while also to avoid the oncoming dance moves towards you. In short, it is an art form that incorporates martial arts, dance, gymnastics and music. It is an incredible fusion of movement, flexibility and speed. Click on this link for a live view of Capoeira.......................................
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H0D8VaIli0

                                           An image of Capoeira. Pretty impressive!!!!!!!!!


Salvador´s African influence is evident in the high percentage of darker skinned people who live there. I don´t say "darker skinned" to avoid being racist but in Brazil you get everything from very black skin to very white skin and lots of different variations in between. The country is probably the most integrated country race wise in the world and as a result you meet lots of different skin types and looks. The dark skinned girl is called a mullata and many men only aspire to hook up with a mulatta and it is common to hear a Brazilian guy say at Carnaval time "Boa Mulatta" replacing the customary "Boa Calvador" (boa means good by the way!).

Salvador is famous for its beaches. There are numerous beaches in the heart of the city and many more on the outskirts of the city and surrounds. The ones in the city even though my most standards are really nice are not a patch on the quality of the beaches outside of the city. I spent a day in my friends Lucas`s Uncle and Aunts house in an area called Praia do Forte, which is a beautiful beach resort. The beaches in the city are always busy and have a real buzz and character to them. Whatever you want on the beach you can get! The beach culture in this country is so much stronger than any other I have ever seen. The beach is a way of life in Brazil and you will always see people drinking beer on the beach, or eating the huge variety of snacks on offer, or playing ball, or volleyball, or just posing in their speedos or g-strings!!!! I picked out this quote from a fellow gringo which explains it well.........

"It's impossible to stay in Brazil without spend some time on the beachs: you can choose a quiet deserted place but all the brazilians love to stay on beaches with 'barracas' ( beach bars) drinking fruit shakes (vitamins) or "bem gelada (ice-cold) cerveja", eating fish or shrimps, playing beachvolley, football, fishing, doing capoeira, surf, windsurf or kitesurf......sport is a way of life on the beach as well as the music that you can hear everywhere."



The beach in Salvador..........everything is available here



                 More of the Brazilian beach culture



                  Brazilian Artists on the beach!




A lady selling beer on the street at the entrance of the beach. It`s very common for Brazilians to drink on the street whatever the hour! If only we could do this at home!


Salvador is also famous for music. As mentioned before all the best musicians come here to play at Carnaval but I get the sense for Brazilian muscians that you know you have made it when you have played Carnaval in Salvador. Brazil has an incredible variety in genres in music and pretty much every city has a particular type of music that is unique to its city. Salvador is famous for Axe Music which incorporates various Afro-Caribbean beats. Salvador is also where samba-reggae originated. On top of this you get numerous street bands as well and it all adds up to an incredible mix of sound and dance, which probably is the main reason why the city is such a party location.



          Greeted by music at the airport



An impromptu street band playing the streets with an audience behind following them!


For all its great things, Salvador does have a sinister element to it. It is probably the most likely place for a gringo to get robbed. The main tourist area where all the historical buildings lie is called Pelorinho. I know "the little big man" (aka John Whooley) stayed there many moons ago. Pelorinho is now very dangerous for tourists but for some unknown reason they all seem to stay there. I met 3 French guys who told me that everybody in their hostel was robbed (and some on 2/3 occasions) in the 2/3 weeks they stayed in the area. Luckily, I had no such issues but I stayed near the beach in a really nice barrio called "Barra". Sometimes at night you did feel you needed eyes in the back of your head but then again nothing happened to me!

This part of the trip for me was very different to my travel experiences up to this as it was to be the start of a circa 4 week spell of hanging around with friends from Brazil. I hardly encountered any gringos in this time!

I got to hang around with my good friend Lucas, who a lot back in Dublin will know well, especially those from the Castle. I had a great time with Gigongo (Lucas nickname over here....he will hate reading that!!!!!!!!) and his family really made me feel very welcome, which I am very grateful for. Everybody in his family made me feel part an extended part of the family from his parents, his sister, his cousins (one called Felipe who is a rare Brazilian rugby fanatic by the way), his uncle, his aunt, his neighbours and last but by no means least "minha avo" which translates in English to "my (his) grand-mother"!



Lucas and me at a music festival doing our Dara Lernihan impression. We had a good few beers that night!!!!!!!



       Lucas later that night after a few too many!!!!


I have now left Brazil but I can safely say that you can't beat the warmth and the friendliness of the Brazilian people. Nothing I have experienced elsewhere is even close to compare. In general Brazilians are so open and so sharing. If you stay in a house they really want you to enjoy the experience and they never leave you to fend for yourself. Whatever they have in their house is available to you and they are actually disappointed with you if you do not take advantage of their hospitality. There are so proud to have you and the most important thing to them is your company and your friendship and they never ever ever ever consider what you may be costing them etc........ They really know how to live life and rarely think in an individual manner and are fantastic for including everybody socially and making people feel comfortable and at home. Lucas` family really epitimised this and I can't thank them all enough for their great hospitality. Me personally and we in Ireland have so much to learn from them!



             Mise and "Minha Avo"!!!!!!!!!




Myself, Lucas and his Father Sid who is a big Flamengo football fan with the Flamengo flag!




Lucas and his family...........his auld man doesn´t look so pleased to be in this picture!!!

I was also lucky to meet in Salvador my good old Brazilian buddy Anderson, who I made in Ireland but who is now back residing in Brazil. Fair aduse to Anderson, as in typical Brazilian fashion, when he heard I was visiting Brazil and was unable to make his city, he decided to travel to meet me in Salvador, which he took 3 flights to get to! Thanks bud! I know a few of ye have met Anderson and when in Dublin we use to serenade him with the Man United "Anderson chant"! Anderson spent c 3 years in Dublin, where he openly admits he had a great time. He even admits to crying the entire flight when leaving Ireland, so maybe we are not that bad after all!!!!! Interestingly, he is in the process of opening a travel agency and a hostel in Rio in the heart of Copacabana. He shared some of his ideas with me and they are very impressive so touch wood we will all be heading to Anderson's pad for the World Cup in 2014!!!!!!!!!!



         Catching Anderson off guard with this shot!



            Anderson pulling a few shapes!


One other great thing I will say about Lucas and his family is how they immediatly accepted Anderson as a long lost friend and even the little (or maybe not so little) things like collecting him at the airport when arriving and then bringing him to airport for his flight home while staying in the airport until he got through customs. Class people but then again this is Brazil and this is par for the course in most cases!!!



Myself and Anderson in the airport before he heads home

Lucas really showed me around the city and we got to go to a big outdoor concert with tons of the best Brazilian artists. I was fortunate to see "Maria Gadu" live who is one my favourite singers. We also went to a local derby footie game between Vitoria and Bahia. Vitoria is the team of Lucas' family and fortunately they won 3-0 on the day! The locals will not mind me in saying that neither of the teams would be among the best in the country but the passion for both teams is evident in the stadium and throughout the city. You see at least 40/50 people a day wearing their teams jersey.



                Crowds outside the ground



Me outside the ground having a bit of craic with the Team mascot! Lucas` Uncle is to the left getting a giggle out of it!



The Vitoria fans put up their local banner before the game starts!




                   The banner being taken down




               Vitoria fans celebrate a goal!




Inside the ground with one man and his dog............a well dressed dog at that!



Lucas´ father shares his Flamengo flag with mise!


I got some Portuguese lessons in Salvador but with me spending all my time with Lucas, I was lazy in practising my Portuguese. I got lessons from Flavia who was vey helpful and set me on the road to slowly start picking up the language. I really am struggling with the pronunication but am starting to get a little handle on it now! I met Flavia at a couch-surfing event, where I also was lucky to make good friends with Gabriella and Gustavo. Again more cool Brazilians who I am still in touch with it. Lucas also introduced me to a few of his friends including Paulo and Rafael and again dead sound guys who I am still in contact with.  It is so easy to meet cool people in this country as they are plentiful!



Flavia, mise and a mad header we met outside the bar where I took Portuguese lessons!



The Mercado Bar where I met the couch-surfing group and took Portuguese lessons


I spent two weeks in Salvador and had a super time. I won't hesitiate to go back to experience the wonderful variety of Salvador culture in beaches, music, dance, party, football, great food and cool people. Not a bad combination for a place to visit and I would encourage anyone reading this to do the same

Until next blog,

James.