Ouro Preto (translated)
One of the best trips that the School of Nations can provide us, besides the NR (Nosso Recanto, sports tournament), is the trip of the historical cities. A trip we make in the eighth year, to the historic cities of Minas Gerais. The purpose of the trip is to teach content, beyond the classroom, especially art and history, of course. We visited the cities of Mariana, Congonhas and Ouro Preto. The city of Ouro Preto was discovered around the 18th century, the region became a great gold discovery point. For this reason, the city began to fill with miners behind the metal. Taking the Court to the city. These cities are composed of churches, museums and art.
On the first day of the trip, we embarked very early, at dawn heading to Belo Horizonte. When we got there, we took a bus and made a stop for coffee, from there we went straight to Inhotim, a collection of contemporary outdoor art. We spent the whole day there, at the end of the day we took the bus and went to Ouro Preto. We settled in at our hotel and had dinner.
On the second day, we woke up early to take a tour of all the main sights of Ouro Preto. We visited museums such as the Museum of Independence of Minas Gerais, we went to churches, like the Church of São Francisco de Assis and we enjoyed the fair, rich in handicrafts, impossible to leave without buying something! We do this tour walking, so we can appreciate the city more, observe the details of an old city and climb the hills too! We had lunch in a restaurant with delicious typical foods and we returned to the hotel.
On the third day, we also woke up very early to go to Mariana and Congonhas. In Mariana, we visited the Passage Mine, a mine that was founded in the 18th century, with approximately 35 tons of gold. We entered the mine by a trolley, similar to a cart, and we saw the jobs left by the miners and we also saw objects used by them. In Congonhas, we appreciate the works of Aleijadinho, a great artist and architect of Brasil Colonial, in the Church, in Bom Jesus de Matosinhos Church. We appreciated the Church, but by the time we went it was under renovation, but still beautiful, we can also appreciate the chapels of Passos das Paixões, scenes of the Passion of Christ. We had lunch there and returned to Ouro Preto, where we have leisure options such as going to the pool, the fair …
On the last day, we returned to Belo Horizonte, before going to the airport we went to the Minas Gerais Vale Memorial, which tells the story of Belo Horizonte in a very different and fun way, with several videos and films, as well as theme rooms. We had lunch at a restaurant across the street and went to the airport. When we arrived it was already night.
Ouro Preto is a unique experience, plus you learn a lot by actually seeing a little of what happened, seeing objects used by the Court, enjoying art in churches. It's an opportunity to get to know your colleagues and teachers. On this trip we can experience a bit of our history, not just seeing images from our book. It is an enriching journey, in addition to learn about the history of our country, and about classical art. A very memorable trip!