Finally the day had come to start our big adventure! Thanks to the book on only book on the Estrada Real we had found in a library in Ouro Preto, we knew where we would find the first signpost.
From the Pousada dos Bandeirantes we left the city in direction of the Morro do Cruzeiro / campus of the UFOP. The ascent is pretty steep and neither being used to the weight of the baggage on the carrier rack nor the cobble stone streets, we ended up pushing the bikes for a bit. Passing the campus of the UFOP we followed in the direction of the hospital, Santa Casa. Right across the street is the entrance of the National Park of Itacolomi - and the first pilar of the Estrada Real! So now we where officially on the right track :-)
In the National Park we had to pay an entrance fee of R$1 and received further information. Even though we would follow the Caminho Velho, we decided to cycle the first day on the Camino Novo to spend more time in the National Park and then cross over to the Caminho Velho from Ouro Branco. A bit confused by all this we followed a signpost for the Caminho Velho. After a couple of km I somehow remembered this - we went back - but it turned out that we where right. The similar thing happened about 7km later. We followed the signpost of the Estrada Real keeping in mind some instructions of the park staff. They had told us about a big lake, so when after 3-4km after the signpost we neither found a lake nor another post, Flavio convinced me to go back. Once again it turned out that we were right. By now we had made about 10km extra. The Estrada Real inside the park is a wide dirt road winding up and down the typical waves of the Mineiro landscape.
From Ouro Preto to Paraty - the signpost of the Estrada Real show you where you are, the distance to the last and next point of reference, the altitude and some extra information on the region.
About 7km from the last signpost we finally arrived at the lake. Here we met a couple of hippies who were also traveling by bike. The guy, a mid 20-ish Argentinian was typing on his huge typewriter (!) when we arrived. They said they where on the way to Rio but had come from the direction we where going - as Flavio said, they seemed to live ´halfway to the moon´. We asked them about the way to Lavras Novas - 4km further up, as the signposts indicated. The Argentinian warned us that the road was very sandy - but somehow forgot to mention the steep ascend and the rocky road. Even on foot the ascent was pretty steep and there was no way to cycle up the rocks, especially with all our baggage, so once again we pushed our bikes. The odometer showed a frustrating 25km and our aim of making at least 60km per day seemed far away. Finally we made it to the charming little village of Lavras Nova. On the top of a hill it offers great views over the national park - and even better, the best food we found in Minas! At the ´Serro do Luar´ you can eat as much as you want for just R$9! The iron pots are simmering on the woodstove and you have to walk into the kitchen to get your food right from the pots! Perfect! We filled up our water bottles, bought some fruit and nuts in the small but amazingly well-stocked corner shop and left Lavras Novas in the direction of Chapada...
Leaving Lavras Novas we discovered the by know familiar signpost of the Estrada Real on the right and turned in the small trail. Once again we had to push our bikes on rocks and sandy paths. Being prepared to cycle but not to push the heavy bike I was really tired and my arms and shoulders started to hurt. When we found a place surrounded by big rocks, about halfway between Lavras Novas and Chapada, we decided to set up the tent and stay for the night. The rocks protected our small tent against the wind - but nothing protected us against the mosquitos! They were tiny, much, much smaller than in Rio, but much more ferocious, too! Only on the next days we should discover how lasting their bites where. So we descided to stay inside our tent and after playing a round of Shithead we went to sleep.
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