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Ouro Preto.........black gold. A wonderfully quaint little town which is a maze of steep cobbled streets (some so steep they were an effort to climb) All of them terraced with old, colorful Portuguese style houses. The town was a joy to walk around. Also lots of churches (catholic naturally) of Baroque design which we enjoyed.
Oro Preto mined gold at the beginning of the 18th cent. and just into the 19th cent. The gold was found embedded inside the iron hence the name. Very wealthy for just over 100yrs before the gold went and it fell into decline. Eventually rescued by World Heritage.
For much of the time the mines were run on black slave labour. They too built their own church which is pretty much along the lines of the others but much less ornate and with a few black saints.
Before leaving we took a trip down one of the mines.
Now we're off to Rio (where to tell the truth I am writing from now) Will write again in a day or two and tell you what we think.
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