Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We travel to Belo Horizonte by bus, a six hour bus journey made longer by the the drama of a drugs bust on the way. The bus was stopped and police and sniffer dogs were going through the baggage hold for some time. They identified a bag and then the driver came through the bus looking for the bag owner (we are all given a baggage tags to identify them when our bags go on). A sheepish-looking bloke stood waiting while all the passengers stared out the window at him and the police continued searching. He was then taken with the police and we continued our journey without him. Ooh the excitement!
After arriving at our hotel we bumped into a couple, John and Kate, who we had met in Sucre. We knew they were coming to Belo Horizonte and had planned to meet up, but had not realised we were in the same Ibis Hotel (there are usually a few in large cities). We meet up for drinks in a local bar.
Belo Horizonte is a bit of a concrete jungle and not a very attractive place, a bit like a faded beach resort in the Costa Del Sol (without the beach). We walk to an area called Savassi, which is a lively area full of bars and restaurants, keeping a look out for a good football venue to watch the next Brazil game. It's busy already and every bar is full to bursting with football fans. The road is being cordoned off and there are small stages set up for live bands (which we assume is for after the game). After going back to the hotel to meet up with John and Kate we return to this area to find somewhere we can squeeze into. No chance! Unfortunately in Belo Horizonte they haven't thought what a good idea it might have been to have some large screens in the street (well, none that we could find). Instead we stand outside a bar with lots of Brazilian fans to watch, from a distance, a TV the size of a postage stamp. Street vendors are everywhere and there is no trouble getting a beer. The crowd are lively, although we guess half can't actually see the screen and many like to be seen to support Brazil without being too bothered about watching the game. Some of the celebrations of the goals are a bit delayed, proving that. At half time we walk on to find another bar, heading away from the centre. We find somewhere that we eventually get into which has a cover charge. We swallow the charge as the atmosphere sounds great inside. It is rammed and we have to stand right at the back, but at least we have a bit of space around us there. A band plays at half time and then at the end of the game, when the local fans are celebrating their win. A very friendly guy requests that the band have a break from their Braziian rhythms and they play a few Beatles tracks for us. Chairs are pushed aside and everyone is singing and shaking their (sometimes, massive) booties! We chat to lots of people and Suzanne is swung around for a bit of Salsa. She was thinking she had remembered all the moves and looked mighty hot until her latino hunk grabbed a local lady and danced to beautiful sexy perfection! We finished the night off in the Churrusco restaurant across the road, where we met the lovely Greg Dyke, Chairman of the FA, who listened carefully to Stephen's suggestions for rescuing English football! It was a great night, maybe apart from the shots 'Delilah' made us drink in the bar!
John and Kate have been to the Belo Horizonte football stadium before, so we head off with them in the direction of the bus. We buy our wristbands (as bus passes) and the bus comes immediately, we even get seats. It's then a bit of a hike the other end to get into the stadium. Of course, it's a busy stream of fans with some good and some bad costumes. The Coldstream Guards looked particularly naff in their ill-fitting, scruffy outfits complete with drooping Busby's, but plenty of foreigners swooped at the chance to take photos. There was lots of Knight's in their fake chain mail, top hat and tails ensembles made out of the St. George Cross and some men dressed as nurses (any excuse, we suppose). The energy in the crowd feels good and it is great to be amongst it. We find our seats and enjoy the building excitement. With painted white heart with the red cross going through on Suzanne's cheek and green and yellow heart shaped brazil glasses, she's convinced we'll make it on TV. However, its not to be! It's a shame we are not still playing for a place, and in the end, after a tame 0-0 result, we didn't even get a goal to hold our heads high. However, the atmosphere is fun and we are glad we experienced it. There was lots of chanting on the walk back to the bus, some of which was very funny. It was as easy to get home on the bus and, the whole thing is very well organised.
- comments