Belo Horizonte & Ouro Preto: Exploring Brazil
Olia!
Imagine a cold, rainy, early morning at London Heathrow Airport. Yes, that’s me sitting in a departure lounge, waiting for my flight. I have been eyeballing South America for a long time and finally decided to pull the trigger. Destination: Brazil. For my first visit, I chose a place that’s not particularly “touristy” — a city called Belo Horizonte and a nearby town called Ouro Preto in the state of Minas Gerais. I wanted the challenge of looking for and creating my own unique images of a lesser-known place rather than going to a well-visited place like Rio de Janeiro and getting the same images as everyone. By doing so, you also get the benefit of being able to better experience the culture, people, and food ( which is amazing ), without being surrounded and bombarded with all that tourist trap stuff.
Upon landing in Belo Horizonte, I was met with the same rainy weather that I just left at home in the UK. Arghhh. For a moment, I thought I hit a heavy rainy season and will waste my time here. But a quick weather check-up showed nice weather in the upcoming days. It did not lie.
Now, let’s talk quickly about security in Brazil and South America in general. As it is known, this country does not have a good reputation for being super safe, and therefore, you must take some precautions when venturing out to take images. But also don’t let that scare you away from enjoying the country, experiences, and of course photography. Always follow your common sense when you go out: don’t wear jewellery and expensive-looking clothing. Dress down. Try to fit in with the crowd. Don’t look out of place, confused and lost. Walk around confidently and with purpose. Leave all valuables at the hotel, take some cash for the day, and if possible try planning what subjects you’re going to photograph so that you could take just a camera body and one lens or two at the most. I would also highly recommend getting yourself a small sling bag, like a Think Tank Retrospective, Turnstile bag, or Peak Design Messenger, that enables you to be fast and discreet when you are walking around the city. A comfortable, small city daypack with side access, will do too. Needless to say, gear insurance will help to keep your mind at ease.
In terms of transportation, I would recommend using Uber App. Very cheap, quick, convenient, and probably the safest mode of transport. Renting a car is definitely an option, but traffic there is crazy and I wasn’t feeling that adventurous on my first trip to South America, LOL. I stayed in an area called Mangabeiras, which is in the southern part of the city. Besides this residential area, other safe areas are Savassi and Lourdes. It’s where all the bars, shops, etc., are located. That’s where you want to stay. I used an AirBnB to find myself a cheap room.
As always, before the trip, I did some research just to familiarise myself with the city, in terms of where to go and what to see. I made a shortlist of some places that I was intending on exploring and taking travel photographs of. Some of them are Praça da Liberdade -, which is the main city square. Mercado Central de Belo Horizonte — indoor market, where you can find people selling food, crafts, spices, and much more! The next stop on my list was Lagoa da Pampulha. A lake on the northern side of the city with parks, bicycle rentals, and some interesting modern architecture by Oscar Neimeyer. Plenty of opportunities for great images. On my last day in the city, I went to a place called Mirante do Mangabeiras. It is a park with an overviewing platform up in the hills, where you can see the entire city panorama. What a view! Stayed there until sunset and blue hour and got some great images. And get some mosquito spray!
After exploring Belo Horizonte for 4 days, I jumped on a bus and drove to a small town called Ouro Preto. It is an old colonial mining town, about 90 min drive from Belo Horizonte, with many period churches, squares, and cobbled streets. Amazing baroque architecture and charming restaurants. You feel as if you are in some small Italian or Portuguese town! A perfect place for architectural and street photography. Definitely worth a visit and you won’t be disappointed. Several spots worth visiting are Praça Tiradentes — a central square. Church of Saint Francis of Paola ( Igreja de São Francisco de Paula ). Off to the side of the central square, you’ll find a small outdoor market and more stunning views. Allow yourself to be lost and spend some time just wandering the narrow cobbled streets. I did not have a chance to visit, nearby is another similar town called Mariana. You want to put that on your list as well. I stayed at the hotel called Hotel Recanto da Serra. A really nice place with an infinity pool and rooms in charming tiny houses.
Conclusion: It was my first trip outside Europe to another continent, so didn’t know what to expect, but all in all, I had a great time in Brazil, especially on my first visit. And if you’re into street and architecture photography and love exploring big cities and old historical towns, love South American cultures, then it might be a place for you!
Tchau!