São João del Rei is the grandest of the Minas Gerais mining towns and also one of the most functional, which was why we had to spend a night there en route to our next destination, Ouro Preto. (The only direct bus heading that way left at the always desired 5:00 am.) So, we snagged a hostel near the station and had a brief look around the town.
Founded in 1713 in homage to King John V of Portugal, wherever you walked you practically tripped over her another beautiful church. It’s famed for its colonial Portuguese architecture and is a university town.
The Church of San Francisco was started in 1774 and is one of the main landmarks of Brazilian colonial art, becoming famous for the beauty of its architecture, the richness of its carving, and the work of Aleijadinho. He is one of the greatest names for Baroque architecture in the Americas.
Like in Tiradentes, 30-minutes away, parrots squawked and flitted throughout the city.
It was a very peaceful and lovely city.
We’ve never seen this set-up on a local bus, but in Brazil. It’s kinda nice that the driver doesn’t have to deal with money and the fare taker gets a cushy seat. Once you’ve paid your fare, you’re ushered through an awkward turnstile. It’s a good thing this guy sits there because we usually got stuck with our bags on and needed a shove. ($1.20/each from Tiradentes to São João).
A local bus stand.
Street scenes as we enter the historic center.
A Portuguese church erected during the golden age of the “Rococo”-style, the 1730’s-1760’s. This Late Baroque style uses exceptionally ornamental and dramatic styles of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gold gilding and whites and pastels.
Church of Our Lady of Mercy is one of the most important, and highest churches in the city.
The historic hospital
A view from Lady of Mercy. While sitting here we saw yet another toucan shooting across our direct line of vision. The city had a scenic skyline other than the eyesore building dropped in the middle of the frame. That’s gotta go!
You can find the Great Kiskadee all over Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, as well as other places in the Americas. He’s very noisy.
A statue of St. John the Baptist. We thought maybe it was he who the town was named after but were incorrect.
More Catholic. More gold. More glam.
And if these big churches weren’t enough, they stuffed baby churches in between their houses. 🤣
And yet another…Church of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Gonna need some sin to balance at all this goodness. Craft draft beer (called Chop here) served on the street for $2. Yep, that’ll do it. Nothing better on a hot day!
One addition about São João del Rei? It has really beautiful historic bridges over what in theory should be a lovely river. However, it’s simply a concrete canal.
Looks like a good public works project.
Check out the palms on this one. (San Francisco again)
Speaking of palms, time for some more acai. And, the more we get off the beaten path, the cheaper it gets. This one was 16 Reais or $3.20. 😋
But accommodations were still about the same. To stick with budget and be close to the station, we chose our first mixed bed dorm in awhile at Hostel Dom Bosco for $24/night. Fortunately, considering our 4 am wake up call, we were the only guests.
They were ready to go at 5 am at the bus station with the usual bready snacks and sugar-dumped coffee.
The bus ride to Ouro Preto took four hours, plus an additional hour we had to stop because it got overheated. It cost another $36 and no, did not give us a discount for the engine problems. 🤣 At least it was comfy 👍🏻
