Ouro Preto is a small town in the brazilian state of Minas Gerais that most foreigners still do not know about, which is odd, because it is one of the richest colonial ensembles in the americas and it is a UNESCO world heritage site for reasons that become obvious within ten minutes of arrival. The streets are cobbled and steep, the churches have gold leaf from the eighteenth century gold rush that built the town, and the whole thing is set on a slope of the serra do espinhaco that makes every walk feel like a pilgrimage.
If you have thirty five hours, which is the standard friday night to sunday morning window from sao paulo or rio, here is how to spend them.
Friday Night: Arrival and Cachaca
Drop your bag at a pousada near the Praca Tiradentes. Do not stay in the new part of town. The whole point of Ouro Preto is that the historic center is the destination. Walk out into the plaza in the evening. The air will be colder than you expected. Find a bar with a clay floor and order a cachaca from a minas gerais producer. The state makes some of the best cachacas in brazil, and the bartenders are trained by a kind of hereditary patience.
Saturday Morning: The Churches
Wake up early and walk. The churches of Ouro Preto are the main event and they do not take long if you are disciplined. Sao Francisco de Assis, sculpted by aleijadinho in the second half of the eighteenth century, is the one you will remember for the rest of your life. The soapstone angels on the facade look like they are listening. Nossa Senhora do Pilar is the second stop. The gold leaf inside is not subtle. It is not trying to be.
Saturday Afternoon: The Food
Lunch should be comida mineira, the regional cuisine, served somewhere with long wooden tables and a woman behind the counter who runs the dining room like a captain. Feijao tropeiro, frango com quiabo, couve refogada, farofa, and a small pitcher of pinga for anyone who wants. You will not be hungry again until dinner.
Saturday Night: The Alleys
After dinner, walk the alleys. Ouro Preto at night, with the lamp light on the cobblestones and the mist on the rooftops, is a different town than the daytime one. The students from the federal university turn the plaza into a quiet kind of nightlife. Nothing loud. Everything old.
Sunday Morning: One More Church, Then Go
Before you leave, walk up to the Igreja de Sao Francisco one more time. Not to tour it. To sit on the steps for ten minutes and watch the town wake up. That is the image you will take home.
Thirty five hours. A heavier bag. A slower heart rate. A better weekend than you were expecting.
