Brazil Day 11 - Arrival in Diamantina

After a delicious breakfast with our host families, we met at 7:30am at the Itabirito train station to load the buses. Unfortunately, we left the city in dense fog, but about an hour and some altitude later, we caught a breathtaking view of the fog covering Itabirito between the mountains. Ahead of us was a long journey to Diamantina, our next destination. João Carlos Rosolini, our tour guide who had joined us in Itabirito on Saturday, accompanied us. Despite the many kilometers we had to travel, the scenery kept us from getting bored. We passed by the impressive capital of the state of Minas Gerais - Belo Horizonte.

Belo Horizonte has about the same population as Berlin, and this city also reminded us of the stark contrasts that exist in Brazil. Next to the many rundown huts of the poorer class, the modern skyscrapers tower above. After leaving the city, we entered a landscape that most would not have expected to exist in Brazil: vast, savannah-like land with dry shrubs and grass. In the midst of this environment, we stopped at a rest stop around three o'clock in the afternoon, where we could help ourselves at the buffet and stretch our legs. Our guide, Melissa, also joined us there. She would lead us through Diamantina.

Finally, at around 4:30pm, we arrived at our destination and were distributed to our accommodations. The boys were placed in a seminary with Mr. Kammel, and the rest of us were hosted in several hotels and pousadas, all of which were sponsored. Diamantina, like Belo Horizonte, is located in the state of Minas Gerais and has around 44,000 inhabitants. In 1999, the city's historic center was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, so it was always a real adventure to navigate the old streets with the buses. These streets were made up of loosely arranged stone slabs that were often uneven and randomly placed.

After a short stay in our accommodations, the Diamantina music school gave us a welcome concert in an old beautiful church. The concert, which started at 8:00pm, began with an organ prelude. Then, the music school choir performed some classical pieces. The grand finale was a performance by the rhythm group, who introduced the Samba rhythms of the subsequent choir pieces using tambourines and other Brazilian instruments. This was the crowning conclusion to the wonderful concert. During the subsequent meal at the 'Apocalipse' restaurant, there was also time for a birthday serenade for Levin. Afterwards, we were taken by buses to the hotels and the seminary, and after the long day, we fell into bed exhausted and tired.