Day 260 – Rio de Janeiro to Ouro Preto, Brazil

Day 260 – Rio de Janeiro to Ouro Preto, Brazil      05/05/11      Mileage: 264

This morning I went back to the beach and there were even more people out and about than yesterday afternoon. Being Sunday morning, they even closes 3 lanes of the road closest to the beach making way for pedestrians and bikes. Several volleyball matches were already going and it was quite a scene.

Oh, and did I mention that I haven’t seen one overweight person in Rio…not one! It seems like it has to be one of the healthiest cities I’ve ever scene….like a giant Boulder Colorado on the beach! I also made a little time to update the blog, then packed and hit the road around noon.

One last shot of Sugarloaf in the sun….

…and one of Christ the Redeemer and Corcovado.

Once outside of Rio the road started up into the mountains and became twisty good fun full of 3rd and 4th gear corners, then opened up for another 150 miles of rolling hills and 5th gear sweepers. I had so much fun I hardly stopped for a picture…and in fact didn’t. Oops! Anyway, I pulled into the colonial town of Ouro Preto and immediately liked it. I’m not sure what it is about colonial towns that I like…I just do.

The the main square in Ouro Preto…

I also found a room in a super quaint B&B in an authentic colonial period house just off the main square. The owner was very welcoming and made sure that I had everything I needed. So after taking a quick shower I went out for a bite and a few beers. Tomorrow I’ll have a better look around….