07.50 My hair is wet, our things are scattered, and our pillows are thin. It is an ordinary morning this summer. We are in Uberaba, Brazil. We are nearly ready for a new day.

09.08 Mysterious things can happen in such simple places like a breakfast room. Christer helped himself to the juice and left the glass temporarily. After he had taken bread the juice glass was gone without a trace. A moment later there was a lady in the staff who carried around a juice glass. Was it Christer´s glass? If it was, why did she take it? How was the breakfast, well, a good variety but nothing steady, hearty and satisfying. Now we will fill with fluids before a short little sightseeing trip in this city.

We used the morning to take a look at Uberaba city.

Avenida Getúlio Guarit, Uberaba.

10.15 There was not much of a sightseeing. It depends mainly on the fact that the city doesn’t have that many attractions. We’ve seen Nostra Senhora das Dores church and we walked both downhill and uphill in this hilly city. It is windy today, but it is still warm.

10.57 We're back in the room. We had trouble getting into the hotel. The front door was for some reason locked. Now the shirts are dry and we are cool. After that we´ll go to our departure location.

11.18 The place is reached. We were offered a taxi just before we went into the bus station. Did we do wrong as we ignored it and walked the last ten metres? When we left, the hotel door was locked again and it was locked behind us as we left. Was it because the reception was not fully staffed or they wanted to keep people out until all the rooms were cleaned? A reflection, are all rooms cleaned every day? Or are only those who had been used cleaned?

Igreja de Nostra Senhora das Dores.

A typical workday for this horse in Uberaba.

11.42 We’ve refilled with new fluid, and soon we will get rid of the ones we had before. After that we will board our bus. It is estimated that the journey today to Belo Horizonte will take seven hours. The bus company we are going to is called Gontijo (http://www.gontijo.com.br).

12.29 We're sitting on the third seat row, to the right to be exact. On the first left row there is a man who keeps holding the curtain. Why not just pull it?

12.56 The curtain has been pulled, the bus has stopped and so has the air conditioning. Outside the bus, it is a huge field. There are brown, dry stems with a light green top. The air conditioning is back, but we stand still. There is a road work and only one lane open.

Green fields east of Uberaba.

Slash and burn.

13.37 The journey continues. We are taking us slowly eastwards through the state of Minas Gerais.

14.16 There has been yet another fifteen minutes stop at another bus station. Christer has photographed some trees with beautiful, intense purple flowers. We are in Araxá.

16.14 New stops, new queue for waiting for oncoming traffic, new road constructions. It's really dry in the landscape here. They certainly need rain.

Beautiful trees behind Araxá bus station.

Cattle feed on the dry grass in Minas Gerais

16.41 I wonder if Brazil's most common jobs are road workers. We stand still and wait again.

17.09 The view here is breathtaking, captivating. There are green rolling hills as far as the eye can see. Can’t the bus stop here instead, so that good photos can be taken? The mountain range here is called Serra Dacanastra.

17.47 It's time for a new short stop. We are in the town Luz. The sun is going down and I made an attempt to capture it all with my camera.

Our bus took a well deserved break.

Sunset in Luz.

18.22 Just now we crossed the river São Francisco. It grows a lot before it reaches the sea farther north in the country. Here it is, however, small and unobtrusive. For us it is about 200 kilometres to go. We will probably not arrive at 19:00 as the schedule says. The delay might be due to all the road works.

21.29 There is much joy. We’ve arrived to Belo Horizonte, Brazil's third largest city. Christer is looking for a dinner place here at the bus station and I try to communicate with a man from the local population. He is curious and in a talkative mood.

21.44 Christer found several places to eat. I said goodbye to my temporary friend and we went to Cortina d'Água. Here we have ordered a sandwich with a soft drink each. Our table is covered with a blanket with countless holes in.

23.22 We became satisfied and paid. Quickly, we walked to our new home, Hotel São Bento (http://www.hotelsaobento.com.br). After a bit of writing and registration from the two men by the reception desk, we went to room 320, a Basic room. Here, I showered and washed my clothes from today. Now we will rest.

23.48 Copa de Brasil is over for this year. Santos are champions. They have just beaten Vitória from Salvador. We saw the end of the match on a TV. Now they are playing a tribute song. It feels like it's been a while since it was recorded. It is sung that Santos are the champions and are playing some instruments (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6ANFRIIvdI).

Thursday 5th of August

08.19 The first morning in Belo Horizonte is here. You get spring feelings here with the birdsong and shower water as cold as spring water. The room area is largely covered with furniture. There is only a small area to walk, stand and place the things on.

09.28 We're back from a well-balanced breakfast. A gentleman dressed in red studied me with curious eyes the things I did. Did I do something different? Did I do something wrong? Do I look like someone he knows? We also firmly believe that a Finnish couple are staying here at the hotel.

Hotel São Bento

Belo Horizonte

10.45 We’ve been out on the streets and unsuccessfully searched for an internet cafe in the great mall Shopping Cidade (http://www.shoppingcidade.com.br). It is +29 C today and lots of people in motion. In addition there are diagonal streets and you never really know which direction you are heading for. It is easy to get lost here in the centre. We have also seen a police on a horseback who guarded an intersection.

11.40 An internet cafe has been found near our hotel. There are many people in the street right now. If you stop walking you´ll attract the beggars.

12.09 We're back at home for a short stop. A bus note must be written. Then we will head for the bus station. Marmitex that we wondered about the other day when we had lunch in Uberaba might be a buffet plate which is set by the staff.

13.43 We set out on a postcard hunt, searching in desperation. In the end we managed to find some in a kiosk. Now we are back in the Shopping Cidade. Here it will be lunch at the restaurant Pomodoro. We wanted to sit inside the restaurant section but were shown to a few tables outside. Maybe we didn´t dress well enough?

Christer is walking on a crowded sidewalk in Belo Horizonte.

Peter and a temperature data that shows 29 degrees.

Traffic hurtles towards a yellow checkered intersection of Avenida Afonso Pena.

A quiet oasis in the pulse of the city, Parque Municipal.

15.11 It was good and needed. Now we’ve bought bus tickets for the next few days. All that remains is a little stroll. We will probably not be the only ones doing it. On the road between the hotel and bus station, we saw an elderly lady who fell on a curb. Several people dropped everything and rushed to aid her.

15.38 Now it would be great with something to drink. We are sitting on a park bench and are surrounded by the Parque Municipal. In front of us there is a small pond called Lago dos Barcos. In it there are rowing boats, ducks and Ilha dos Amores which can be reached by an arched wooden bridge. On the way to the park we saw a lady with a cane, she fell over a grate. The lady that is, not the cane. It is dangerous to be an old lady here. She was however quickly helped by surrounding people.

16.15 A new park, new bench, new break. Praça da Liberdade is the park's name. There is heavy traffic to our right. People jog around the park and some people are working with an octagonal building. Here in the park you can find some beautiful trees with yellow and red flowers, colourful! We have now reached the affluent part of town, Savassi.

Red flowering trees on the Praça da Liberdade.

An avenue of palm trees on the Praça da Liberdade.

17.16 We're home safe. I think we have the highest hotel room number. Christer bought something to drink and a shower gel. I bought something to drink and a "ralador para pes" or in plain English, a foot file. All this was bought at one of the city's many pharmacies.

18.51 We are reflecting about where and what to eat. We do not have the same TV choice as the "better" rooms. That is what happens when you choose a Basic room.

20.13 We’ve done some shopping at Super Mercado BH. When Christer wanted to pay the clerk instead began to sort the money in the till. We are about to go to the mall for food. The place adjacent to the hotel to offers food but it is full. It's not a big place and it fills quickly.

21.39 We were far from alone in the mall´s food court. The buzz was so loud that we would have needed earplugs. We had food from the restaurant Parrilla. I chose spaghetti Bolognese and Christer went for grilled meat with chips and rice. At the table behind Christer there was a guy with a nail-like thing screwed in the left leg. The leg was completely stiff and fixed. At the restaurant two girls paid with a credit card and a 20 real bill. Was it split payment, partial payment or a tip? Some of the homeless people on city streets have gone to bed. Outside one of the city's banks there was a lady preparing for the night. Consider the contrasts that can be seen.

23.18 We listened to the radio and the station Rádio Guarani. They spoke in Spanish mixed with Portuguese. I have washed my sandals. They were dirty and gave me black stripes on the feet.

Our room key.

Friday 6th of August

07.30 The early bird gets the worm. We are not looking for some worm. But some breakfast will be great. It is excursion time again.

08.25 The walking shoes are on, the small backpacks are packed and we are ready to leave. Wait I have to blow my nose! Christer just wondered if someone has compared me with Elton John this year. It has happened before. However, it has not happened this year. We have incidentally seen rooms with room numbers higher than ours here at the hotel.

08.44 On our way to the bus station we made a stop by a busy road. Along this road there were police cars with sirens and flashing lights. Not two, not three, but nine police cars in a row. Here at the main bus station, men are selling snacks and drinks. One has a chanting, metallic voice, and he cries out, Água, Água, Água! Beside me sits the couple who we suspect are from Finland. Surely it sounds like Finnish when they talk. Soon the bus will take us to Ouro Preto. Today we travel in a green bus from the company Pássaros Verde (http://www.passaroverde.com.br).

Slowly, slowly, we are leaving Belo Horizonte.

10.55 We are now, after two hours on the bus, at the bus station in Ouro Preto. For once we arrived by bus at a bus station without the large backpacks. Nor should a coach patch be written. We will visit a town which grew up and flourished in the 18th and 19th century. The city is one of Brazil's biggest tourist destination and in 1980 it was Brazil's first World Heritage site on UNESCO list. The city was the centre of gold rush in Brazil during the 1700´s and in 1789 it was the starting point for Inconfidência Mineira, a failed attempt to break away from Portugal and the formation of Republic of Brazil. Ouro Preto was the capital of the state of Minas Gerais from 1822 until 1897 when it switched to Belo Horizonte.

11.15 We walked from the bus station to a church, Igreja São Francisco de Paula and we are looking down towards the town which we are about to take a closer look at. We are about to walk down a steep hill. Down there, we will try to locate a post office to send our postcards from Belo Horizonte.

11.23 There are really steep streets here. It is also uneven bumpy cobblestone streets. How cars and taxis still make it here is really a mystery. We have now passed a hostel and a cemetery. I hope that they are not related.

11.41 The postcards are mailed in a small post office, and we stand in the sun and the breezy wind in a public square in front of the Museu da Infonfidência. The Square, well it's called Praça Tiradentes, he is back the old tooth extractor and revolutionary. It is a beautiful, impressive Square.

A nice view of Ouro Preto.

Igreja São Francisco de Paula.

The steep streets of Ouro Preto.

12.38 It takes some effort to take a stroll in Ouro Preto. You can either walk uphill or downhill and the cobbled streets have large stones. We looked for a suitable lunch place and chose to end up at Maximus where we are now sitting upstairs overlooking the steep main street Rua Direita. Here we enjoyed a buffet which was weighed and paid for. By another table there are four policemen, a lot of police officers on the move today! Before we stepped in here a dark-skinned gentleman said to me, "Hello Mr. Elton John!" and laughed. He thought I looked like Elton John and was wondering about my name and lineage. So it has happened again.

13.04 To my left is the Igreja Sao Francisco de Assis from 1766. The Church as the whole city is amazing. The town is not entirely surprising on the UNESCO list.

Rua Direita, Ouro Preto.

Museu da Infonfidência.

Christer is standing on Praça Tiradentes.

Market with local crafts.

13.26 A new break, a new wall and a new church, Igreja Nossa Senhora do Carmo. It's hot! Time for the Malaysian wet wipes which was purchased in 2008 to make an effort. They are cool, nice but getting a bit too dry now.

13.50 A young guy sat down close to us and said something as he patted his stomach. Did he sell his t-shirt, or did he want food? Now we are having a wall break at Igreja Nossa Senhora das Mercês Misecórdia. Here it is shady, cool and deserted. It is absolutely perfect. A bug ran over where I've just written. Now I see a lady carrying a basket on her head. Soon it is time to return.

14.19 Now we've put us on top of a staircase located on the crest of a hill below the church Igreja São Francisco de Paula. It felt in the whole body to walk uphill. We are at the same church as we were at 11.15. It felt in the whole body to walk the steep road up here from the city centre.

14.52 We are now, after having purchased drink at the bus station, back on the top of the stairs. More people have been added. Ice cold drinks in a hot body hurts in the chest.

15.34 We left the church steps in favour of the bus station. Here we washed the faces and are now waiting for our bus. By the church, we saw a thrown cigarette package. Even Brazil has horror pictures on cigarette packages. The one what we have seen now warned about gangrene with a horrible photo attached.

15.55 On the seat cover you can read the following: Não é permitido fumar cigarro, cigarrilhos, charutos, cachimbos o outro qualqueu Produto fumigero no interior do Veículos. Why it is estimated up all the incense you can not smoke. Is not "No Smoking" shorter and more simple?

Buses looked better in the old days!

Igreja São Fransisco de Assis.

To climb this hill was a manhood test. It is steeper than what is visible in the photo. We promise you!

Christer in front of one of the church doors at Igreja São Francisco de Paula.

17.44 It's been a fantastic day in Ouro Preto, one of the highlights of the trip so far. What a lovely town! Unfortunately, it is hard to walk around in and not recommended for the sick and old. We are now back on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte. We are not alone here. I hope the rush hour traffic does not slow us down that much.

18.32 It went well despite the traffic. It also ran smoothly to take food and have it weighed at Cortina d'Água. So we are back at the bus station restaurant and will try their buffet.

19.12 Well balanced, nutritious and downright delicious. Now we have been to a pharmacy and bought the drinks for tonight. It's nice to come home after a long day out.

21.17 Now it is time to read about the facts about tomorrow's destination, Rio de Janeiro. The city has much to offer.

23.10 We listened to Good Times, mixed hits from the past on the radio. Most recently was the "Captain of Her Heart. The program managers translate the English lyrics into Portuguese.

Saturday 7th of August

06.59 I replied to Christer´s question and told him that the time is almost seven. Seven is also the estimated number of hours it takes to travel to Rio de Janeiro from here. Seven is also, if you count this, the number of remaining mornings here in South America. Seven is also today’s date.

08.07 Yes, we are getting ready to leave yet another accommodation. This has been a great place. What awaits us in Rio?

08.48 It is not the most luxurious bus we're going with. It has no seat belts and my seat is going backwards at the slightest contact and touch. We can hear the Água-man that we heard yesterday. He goes on about the water.

09.06 The lady in front of Christer was helped by the bus host to push back her seat all the way. This resulted for Christer, to have some space for legs, to squeeze the legs on both sides of her seat. Our bus is about to leave the station building for the long journey to the south. Today we´re going with a company called Cometa (http://www.viacaocometa.com.br). There has been a lot of different Brazilian bus companies on this trip.

11.47 The road it bends and the bus heels. Now we encounter a car with a container which it says Hamburg Süd on. A signpost informed us that 224 km is remaining of this bus trip.

Our strange bus takes a break. It´s lunchtime!

12.26 There will be a half hour lunch break on the Grail Silvio's. It feels nice to have fresh air and that we are standing still for a moment. We do not really know where we are right now but we should be around half way. By the way, haven’t we stayed in a Grail Workplace earlier this year? The name seems familiar.

13.03 The lunchbreak is over. Thankfully it seems that the road has straightened out. There are now about 2-3 hours left until we get to leave this uncomfortable bus.

14.23 We just read "Grota de Jacob" on a road sign. It is steep, green areas on both sides of the road.

Sometimes you do not know where you are. "Outside of the bus" is probably the best description of where that somewhere is.

14.39 Wow, there are views everywhere we turn. We have made it into the state of Rio de Janeiro and just left Petrópolis behind us. We behold a deep, green, hilly valley. It is times like these you wish you drove your own car being able to stop at all these amazing places and views. To take photos through the bus window is never good.

15.34 Finally, I sit at the bus station Novo Rio in Rio de Janeiro. Christer is looking for bus tickets for the journey away from here. We will be staying far away from the bus station so we need to fix it now. Along the way, we have seen both Sugar Loaf mountain and the Statue of Christ on Corcovado. We will get to see them again in the near future.

15.49 Christer is back with grim news. He has not found an office that has tickets to the next destination, Paraty, nor any exchange office or a restaurant that offers buffet food.

16.11 Things are getting brighter. Christer left again, found another floor and returned with purchased tickets to Paraty.

16.50 We arranged a taxi through a taxi booth at the bus station. Usually you pay before leaving in such a booth. The girl just left the booth and presented us to a driver. We went by taxi to the accommodation. I gave the driver a 50 real bill which is far above the cost. He then said thank you, put the peddle to the metal and left. I stood there without change. Now we live in room 307 at Surrealismo Art Hostel Rio (http://www.arthostelrio.com). It is time to nest in. The beds have names like Bacon and Dali. We have two of the beds in a quad. One of the beds is empty. The last one has a German hidden behind a Brazilian flag.

17.57 It is time to eat again, dinner. We’ve not eaten since breakfast. It was ten hours ago. Now we are at Pizza & Grill and enjoy a buffet-weighted (por kilo). We live in the district of Flamengo and the restaurant is one of many along the main road through here.

18.14 A little further away it seems to be a children's party. Is this the new trend? In the past years we ran into the newlyweds very often, though after marriage will there of course be children and with them parties. Now we are about to find out where the metro is and if the store next to our home accepts our backpacks.

The common area at Art Hostel Rio.

Peter is looking at some information on the board at Art Hostel Rio.

19.19 We have found the metro. It was, as it usually is, hidden underground. The food store welcomed us without backpacks. Then we headed back home. We asked if we could borrow a padlock to lock in the backpacks in our locker in the room. They had run out of locks and we got a tip where they were sold. At first we didn’t find a place which sold padlocks. The ones we found later were to big. The backpacks were locked up in the store cupboard and now we have purchased and are back home.

20.00 Our 15 Minutes of free internet is utilized. Now we are sitting in the living room, patio, or whatever it is. We are writing postcards and drinking beer. Soon we will make a plan for tomorrow.

21.19 It is planned for a great day tomorrow. We are going up at Sugar Loaf Mountain. Now we check the most convenient way to get to the base station. It seems to be the metro and then a connecting bus. But the thing is that plans and reality not always match.

21.57 There is a new deal for tomorrow. We will get to the street Praia do Flamengo and jump on the bus 107. It should takes us directly to the starting point, the base station.

It´s nice to relax after a long day of traveling.