Micos e Mirantes

“To him the stars seemed like so many musical notes affixed to the sky, just waiting for somebody to unfasten them. Someday the sky would be emptied, but by then the earth would be a constellation of musical scores.”

-Machado de Assis

In choosing Belo Horizonte, I was keenly aware that the lack of a beach meant that very few other people would be wishing to go there on study abroad. As I mentioned in my last blog entry, why spend 6 months in Brazil if you can't enjoy sun, beaches, and scandalous swimwear? And indeed, most people do choose to study abroad on the coast, in places like Rio or Florianópolis that are much more touristy, and reminiscent of the "essential" Brazil. Here in BH, there are only 2 other American university students, as well as a number of high school exchanges through Rotary who I see every once in a while. What I didn't expect was that there are 51 other study abroad students here along with me from other countries. 

Out of the 54 study abroad students (I'm like 90% sure I didn't completely make up that number) at my university, 50 of them are living in the same neighborhood, within easy walking distance of campus. Guess who's one of the lucky 4 not living that close? That's proven to be a huge hassle not only money-wise, but also with social life, as it's so much easier for everyone else to just get together on a whim and find a party, while I have to transit at least an hour in order to get anywhere. Want to stay out past 11:30 when the buses are closed? I either have to wait until 4:30AM when they start up again, or pay $15 to take the taxi home. Not to mention how great it is waking up before 6 every morning in order to go to class.

Okay, done complaining.

Despite the geographical issues, I've somehow managed to find a really wonderful group of friends on campus, many of whom are into similar sorts of things as me- hiking, climbing, swimming, and generally just being outdoors. And the occasional outing to the club on weekends, but I don't take pictures of that.
Two weekends ago, a group of us decided to get together to visit the Parque das Mangabeiras, the largest green space within the limits of Belo Horizonte. Perched on the edge of the Serra do Curral, a steep ridge jutting out above the center of the city, the park is a remnant of the Atlantic Forest, a set of tropical rainforest on the Brazilian coast that's been separate from the Amazon for most of its existence, and therefore has developed a unique ecosystem and incredible level of biodiversity. A huge amount of the species found here are found nowhere else in the world. It also has the misfortune of lying directly on top of virtually all of Brazil's population hubs, and therefore has been completely eradicated in most of its original territory, and fragmented in most places where it remains. The Parque das Mangabeiras lies right smack in the middle of Brazil's third-largest metropolitan area, and is well-frequented by Mineiros (residents of BH), so most of the parts we visited didn't really have the whole "untouched wilderness" feel. Nonetheless, walking in the shade of ancient trees instead of skyscrapers, and listening to the sound of birds and monkeys instead of car horns and sirens is incredibly refreshing. Best of all, I found out that Alejandro, one of my friends, is also a photography aficionado, which made the adventure way more fun.

The city center where we met up. The level of development in (some parts of) Belo Horizonte still feels weird to me after spending 5 months in the third world. 

 The most popular part of the park is a large open space with grassy fields for picnics or football, tennis courts, an amphitheatre, and a large pond complete with fountains and koi. However, behind that are several kilometers of walking trails  through the forest, leading to places such as waterfalls, picnic areas, and overlooks. The best part? They're accompanied by my favorite feature of the park:

MONKEYS.

Black-Tufted Marmosets to be exact, because it bothers me if I can't figure out exactly which species of animal I've taken a picture of.

We soon learned that the local monkeys have virtually NO fear of humans, probably because they're very well-fed by park-goers. It's probably not all that great for them health-wise, but it does make for great picture opportunities, so I'm not complaining too much.

The aforementioned lookout; the lookout I visited in my last entry would be hidden just behind the hill on the left.

Alejandro enjoying the view

ID: Black Vulture.

These guys also apparently pretty used to human presence. And kind of adorable too, in a very different way.

ID: Rusty-Margined Guan.

We stopped for a rest in a picnic area midway through, and were quickly surrounded by a pack of marmosets who seemed to thing that we were walking food machines. Which, to be fair, is probably what most humans passing through are. We didn't provide any handouts, but we DID take the opportunity to bust out our cameras. 

God, the baby was adorable.

To say they were curious would have been an understatement.

Like I said.

After harassing the monkeys for a while, we continued on the path, enjoying the peacefulness of the park. At least when we weren't dodging buses careening past us on the path, since apparently Brazil has a different idea of "walking trail" than what I'm used to.

The "trail".

I found these Nephila spiders over a small waterfall, busily destroying the local insect population. In America, we know them as Gold Orb Weavers, which are lots smaller and make perfect circular webs. In Bolivia, they're the size of my hand, and like to build their webs at around head-height in the jungle, something I found out the hard way. At least in Brazil they were "only" about 2-3 inches across, and seemed to enjoy bugs more than human face.

Which doesn't mean they're not incredibly sinister-looking.

Taking a rest by the bride.

And every part of the way, we had "spectators".

 Finally, we were able to figure out a way to get off the main road; we found a hiking trail going uphill along a little mountain stream, which formed lots of waterfalls and pools perfect for swimming in. 

Los colombianos

 We stopped for a little while to swim in a small pool, and stayed there until the park ranger yelled at us and told us the park was closing. Every once in a while, we were interrupted by crashing noises off in the jungle, as a large group of coatis crossed the stream right in front of us. Unfortunately, I was never smart enough to have my camera set up for a good picture. 

With pictures like this, I might as well just send in my résumé to National Geographic right away.

ID: Slaty-breasted Wood Rail

Our view as we walked out of the park.

After leaving the park as it was closing, we walked downhill through a ridiculously well-heeled neighborhood, with houses that would put most places in the United States to shame. Overall, it felt more like a neighborhood in California than anywhere in Latin America, complete with Priuses (Prii?) in the driveways and ridiculously-dressed-up pedigree dogs sitting in the windows. But then, maybe that just means I should widen my preconceptions of what Latin America looks like. 
Eventually we arrived at the Praça do Papa (Pope's Plaza), a beautiful little park overlooking the city. Apparently Pope John Paul II came here once several decades ago to give a speech, and it's been known for that ever since. Lots of families gathered on the grass below to have picnics, while young couples spent time up at the top part (pictured below) enjoying the view and making out shamelessly. 

Finally, we decided to climb up to the Mirante das Mangabeiras (Mangabeiras Lookout), the same place I visited my first weekend in Brazil, in order to see the city at night. In my opinion, almost every city looks beautiful from above at night, and BH is no exception. Sometimes it's fun to complain about the place we're living in, but it's nice to be reminded that there's beauty everywhere you look.

The last picture I could take before my battery ran out. Preparation is key...