A dream...

The Estrada Real - or Royal Road - is a historic route linking the gold and diamond mines of Minas Gerais to the ports of Paraty and Rio de Janeiro. Its more than 400 year long history began with organized expeditions of adventurers, called ´bandeirantes´ because of the flag - ´bandeira´ - they were carrying, searching for gold, precious stones and Indians to enslave in the interior of Brazil. In the late 17th century gold was found in the region that today is the city of Ouro Preto. When the extraction of gold reached a certain limit the crown of Portugal ordered that the trails used by the bandeirantes to reach the coast to be expanded into a road, assuring the transport of gold and other minderal riches to the port and manufactured goods and slaves from the port to the mines. The existence of one main road only also allowed the Portuguese crown to control and tax the extraction of mineral riches in its colony, Brazil.

The original route of the Estrada Real leads from Ouro Preto to the port of Paraty - therefore called the Caminho Velho - the Old Road. More than just a road, the Caminho Velho also is the main axis of first settlements in Minas Gerais. Fazendas and villages developed all along the Caminho to offer shelter and provisions to the travelers. When further north in Minas Gerais diamonds where found, the Estrada Real was extended to in what today is the city of Diamantina, giving name to the Caminho dos Diamantes - the Diamond Road.

In the early 18th century the Portuguese crown ordered the building of a new and shorter road - leading from Ouro Preto directly to the port of Rio de Janeiro. This road came to be known as the Caminho Novo - the new road and replaced the Caminho Velho as the tradition link between mines and port.

Today a great part of the Estrada Real is still intact and traveling the dirt roads and cobble stone streets, visiting the incountable little chapels and gold overloaded churches the history of the Estrada Real comes alive. Some of the villages you will pass have been founded by Portuguese bandeirantes, others by descendents of African slaves and many of the most important churches in the region bare the legacy of an artist that combines both Portuguese and African influences: the sculptor Antônio Francisco Lisboa, known as Aleijadinho. Born to a Portuguese carpenter and architect and his African slave, he became one of the most famous artists of barrock art in colonial Brazil.

The history of the Estrada Real is a history of fearless adventurers, of gold fever and greed, of human suffering and religious art. I remember exactly when and where I first read about it - it was in the board magazine of a GOL flight from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo in July last year. In the book section of the magazine I read a short review of a book of photography about the Estrada Real. The history of this historic route intrigued me and since then I dreamehad the dream of traveling from to Ouro Preto to Paraty - be it by bus, car or - which seemed very unlikely - by foot or bike. I didn´t expect my dream to come true so soon, but when I mentioned it to Flavio... one dreamer became two and the dream became a plan :-)