Serra do Cipo

The Serra do Cipo (SAY-ha do see-PO) is in the middle of nowhere. Really. Look it up on Google Maps - there is not a road or city or anything within miles. Just lots of mountains, waterfalls, wild horses, overgrown "hiking" trails, and one ex-military Brazilian with a rather large machete who used to live in Boca Raton but now makes his living as a park ranger named Tony.

We stayed at a small pousada that was nestled in the foothill of the mountains. The picture above was the view out our window. It was pretty rustic - goats and all manner of poultry had free run of the place - but still beautiful and very quiet.

This waterfall was called the Veu da Noiva, or the Bride's Veil. It's actually located in a YMCA campground, and is popular with swimmers and cliff divers. No, I didn't go in, but Matt was brave enough and he had a great time.

Click here to see all our pics

Live Blogging from Carnaval

So, despite that fact that Matt and I are holed up in Belo Horizonte during Carnaval, as far away from the craziness of Rio as we could get, we were still really excited being in Brazil during this time. No, we weren't planning on going out and doing anything crazy, we're still total nerds. But we were really excited about getting to watch the parades on TV.

If you've never seen footage of the Carnaval parades in Rio before, I suggest you check out the clip below immediately. It honestly makes the Macy Day's Parade look like it was produced by a 2nd grader. Here's how it works: There are 12 samba schools in the main parade, each with between 3600-4100 people in them. They have 82 minutes to traverse the 1/4 mile length of the Sambadome, during which all of those 4000 people dance and sing while carrying what looks like 50 extra pounds in costume weight. Every school has a theme which their costumes and floats revolve around loosely. First comes the commisao da frente, which are a small group of dancers who have a very precise, choreographed dance they perform. Then the flag carriers, a man and a woman, and trust me you haven't seen a hoop skirt like the one she's got on since Gone with the Wind. Eventually, the bateria appears, which is the huge collection of percussionists that keep the beat for the entire parade.

I wondered why Carnaval is never really broadcast on television in the United States. And trust me it's not because of lewdness, because I've seen worse on cable. I think it might have something to with the enormous liberty that these schools take with history, nations, and people. For instance, the following is a list of all the characters that I saw samba last night: Wizards, Dick Tracy, Pancho Villa, Aliens, Jack Sparrow, Buddha, Batman, Moses, Flappers, Pharoahs, Michael Jackson, Marines (I think my favorite), Druids, Conquistadors, and the Flames of the Inquisition (I kid you not). They seem to be equal opportunity offenders at least.
Still, I don't think I've ever seen that many happy people, even at Disney World.

Sometimes, while in Latin America, you often find yourself critquing the organization, bureaucracy, and just the general togetherness of the people here. But no more. Perhaps they don't believe in informational dissemination quite the way we do, but one thing's for sure: they can sure as hell put on a parade.

Congonhas

About an hour outside of BH, in the middle of an otherwise ugly, industrial town lies the magnum opus of one of Brazil’s most famous artists, Aleijadinho. The artist, whose name literally translates to “little cripple,” suffered from leprosy and eventually had his hands and feet amputated. While the traditional biography of Aleijadinho has been recently disputed, it is believed that the sculptures of the 12 prophets surrounding the church were carved by Aleijadinho after having lost the use of his hands. True or not, the story of Aleijadinho and his sculptures at the Church of Bom Jesus de Matozinhos remains inspirational for many mineiros and is the most important site for Christian pilgrimage in Brazil.

Inhotim

About a two hour bus ride outside of Belo Horizonte, across the mountains, past an industrial wasteland, and through too many tiny villages to count lies a jewel of the modern art world: Inhotim. Imagine a place landscaped within an inch of its life, dotted with seating straight out of a Crate and Barrel catalogue, and then scattered with oversized art installations. Like all wonderful things in the world, it is the result of more money than someone knew what to do with. And even though you constantly have the painfully guilty feeling that this wealth could have been better spent alleviating other, more pressing problems in Brazil, it is still truly an amazing place to behold.
My favorite ‘work’ was called the Sonic Pavillion (pictured above) by an American artist. This was a large, circular building that crouched upon a hill overlooking a beautiful landscape below. Microphones had been dropped 200 meters into the earth, and then the vague sounds of the shifting earth were broadcast into the building. The glass walls were glazed so that the viewer could only see directly in front of themselves, unless they were standing in the center of the room; then they could see the full 360 degrees. It was an amazing experience: You are rooted to the earth, inescapably so, but your vision of the path ahead is clear and far, though hampered by tunnel vision. Unless you center yourself, and then...then everything becomes possible.

Click here to see all our pics from Inhotim.

Pampulha

Pampulha is a ritzy suburb of Belo Horizonte about 20 minutes outside the city center. Normally planned developments aren't really our thing, but this particular one was built by one of Brazil's foremost architects, Oscar Niemayer, in collaboration with one of Brazil's most well-known visionaries, Juscelino Kubitschek (yes, that's a Brazilian name). The result was a man-made lake with a 12 mile circumference dotted by little gems of modernist architecture. The building to the left is actually a church, believe it or not, and one of the most distinctive buildings in Brazil. Visiting it was actually a little shocking, even for the non-religious. Realizing that it was built almost 60 years ago makes it impressive. All in all, it was a nice break from the overly ornate churches of baroque Portugal and colonial Brazil.

Another Niemeyer building on the lake was the Casa do Baile. Now used as an architectual museum of Belo Horizonte, it was originally created to host dances and parties. Overall, Pampulha provided a refreshing, if strange, contrast to the omnipresent skyscrapers of Brazil and serves to remind you that this country can be about so much more then beaches and soccer.