Almoçomos na A Favorita

We went to a  great restaurant for lunch yesterday with Marjory and Eduardo, called A Favorita.  It was delicious and relaxing, with a great atmosphere, delicious wine and food.  It became one of my favorites.  Thank you again to Marjory for the wonderful hospitality.

Inhotim

An hour away from Belo-Horizonte there’s an amazing garden and gallery hybrid space called Inhotim.  Set in the red Minas Gerais country side, it used to be a farm, and has been converted to an amazing complex, with gardens designed by Roberto Burle Marx and different galleries featuring different contemporary artists over the 45-hectare space.  It was amazing–meticulously maintained and cared for, with interesting, thought provoking art.

It was hard to capture how extraordinary the complex was in photos, but here’s a few just to present an idea.

Also, I was totally smitten by these natural wooden benches they had everywhere.

It’s also interesting to be in Belo-Horizonte after seeing more of the country and traveling through the northeast.  It’s a beautiful city.   I was  a little burned after the Fortaleza experience, but Belo-Horizonte is elegant, set into the rolling hills of Minas Gerais.  Marjory and Eduardo’s house is stunning. huge and glassy, with beautiful views.  We went to dinner last night on Rua Curitiba, a street that looked like Jardims in Sao Paulo, with leggy twenty-something girls in mini-skirts and high heels, and chic restaurants.

On to Belo-Horizonte

We made it off Tinhare and away from Morro de Sao Paulo. We almost didn’t. After the bumpy VW ride to the edge of town, we hired a ‘taxi,’ a guy in a tank top and board shorts with a wheelbarrow, to cart our bags through the sandy town where cars aren’t allowed (and wouldn’t fit through the narrow passageways anyway). We arrived at the dock twenty minutes later to see the huge line for the boat we had to get on in order to make our flight to Belo-Horizonte this afternoon. We were both feeeling sick and dehydrated in the heat and ran down the pier to get on line for the catamaran. We were blocked at the gate by a guy who told us we had to stop and pay the dock tax. We paid a 10 reais island tax on the way over. Now we had to push through a mob of people to pay 62 centavos. Worst system ever. As we joined the line, it moved forward, until it stopped two people ahead of us. Apparently tickets are open ended and don’t correspond to a specific boat. After being pushier than I am comfortable being, we talked our way on. And here we are at the Salvador airport, excited to go see Marjory and Eduardo, Rafa and Izabella.