After a big but very sweet breakfast (different cookies, cakes, sweet coffee) prepared by the equally sweet Dona Aidé we took off in the direction she had showed us. But we didn´t get very far - after about 15m Flavio stopped to get all his sweaers, jackets, gloves and everything else he could find to protect him against the cold out of our big backpack. He was convinced that he was going to die or a least lose his nose or ear or other vital parts of his body. I tried to assure him that as far I knew nobody had ever died from cold at 12°C, but he wouldn´t listen. So with Flavio still cursing and complaining and swearing that he´d never come to visit me in Germany in winter we finally set off in direction of Tiradentes.
A couple of km after Lagoa Dourada we saw the first signpost and left the main rain. The ´Estrada Real´ at this point turned out to be a overgrown singletrack going down a steep mountain. A local who was just coming back from his morning run let us know that it would get ´muito peor´, much worse. Very promising. And indeed, it did. Just like Dona Aidé had told us the night before it had rained a lot during the last months and the ground was muddy and slippery. The puddles made it hard to follow the track and eventually we lost it alltogether. We guessed the direction we had to go - and had to cross a little creek in order to reach it. The water was cold but we decided to take off our shoes and wade through it - the water was much too high for cycling. when we reached the other site I sat down to clean my feet but Flavio who had put on his socks and shoes in about 1 second let me know that this was not a ´salao de beleza´ and no time for pedicure. I have never seen him that impatient and grumpy - the cold weather definately had a strong impact on my spoiled carioca.
Thank God the sun came out around 9-10am and with the temperatures rising Flavio´s mood improved, too. By the way we reached colorful Prados he was already back to normal. Prados is Minas Gerais´ carving capital, it seems! The main street is lined with shops and studios manufacturing and selling all kinds of wood carvings and craftsworks. We were really lucky that we didn´t crash into a car or fall off our bikes as we were constantly turning heads to see the life-size carved jaguar, colorful namoradeiras or wooden bananas which just looked too goo to be true! You could spend days in Prados just strolling the main street and visiting the crafts shops. I especially enjoyed that most workshops are open so you could see how the work is done, the various states of development and how the beautiful pieces come together step by step. Amazing!
We found a simple but very good ´lunchonete´ where we had a typical mineiran lunch: all you can eat directly from the iron pots on the wood stove - wow! As usually we attracted curiosity and the owner of the place joined us for lunch to chat about our adventure, the Estrada Real and of course about Prados and its treasures. He came from a little village nearby, famous for its weavings. He told us that there was nearly no unemployment in the region and the economy was going really well. He also told us that on the weekends many Paulistas and Cariocas would come to Prados, buy weavings and woordworks and sell them for the double price in their shops. He himsef was a carver, too, and had just sold a life-size carved ´slave´ for about $R 12.000. Oh yes, I haven´t mentioned those ´slaves´ yet: life-sized carved servants in traditional colonial clothing that are usually holding a tray - a beautifull piece of art of furniture, especially popular in restaurants and hotels.
After the hearty lunch and interesting conversation we set off in direction of Bichinho (´little animal´). There was a lot of road work going on on the way - it seems that Prados is doing so well it will get its own paved road all the way to Tiradents! Houses are well kept, colorful, creative architecture and even the gardens are in great shape - very uncommon for Brazil, from what I´ve seen so far. In some places Prados looks even Swiss or German, so tidy and well kept :-)
The way to Bichinhos is very easy to find -just follow the street signs. There is no way to miss it. Bichinhos is much smaller than Prados but equally charming and also famous for its art works. We saw lots of wood works, carvings, paintings, but also some metal works and weavings. Cute pousadas, cafés and restaurant make it a sweet and lively place. Being very close to Tiradents, on weekends it must get pretty busy here!
We stopped at the sweet little corner store that served as shop, coffee place, ´salao de beleza´ and general trading place of goods and news. We bought some fruits and ´doce de caju´, cashew nut sweets and were surprised to find the lowest prices for fruits since leaving Rio de Janeiro! We had to tell our story, where we came from, where we were going to, how we survived the mountains and got a lot of respect from all sides. When we finally left we could still hear them say ´Que corajem!´ - how corageous! :-)
From Bichinhos to Tiradents we didn´t have to face many climbs - but a lot of cobble stone! After a certain time your ´bunda´will go numb and according to Flavio the unwanted massage will blow your cellulite away ;-) So we arrived in Tiradentes, shaken, not stirred and started looking for a pousada. Even though it was low season it was hard to find a pousada under R$70 for the two of us. We found one that allegedly only charged R$35 per night and breakfast included - but per person, as we found out on the next day. Anyhow, the room was ok and had a big balcony where we could leave our dirty shoes and tent and stuff. We sent our clothes to be washed and took off to explore the historic heart of Minas Gerais!
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