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Diamantina was almost exactly as the guide books had described. A small colonial town comprised of cobbled streets, lined with old colonial buildings and churches, all overlooking a steep-sided rocky valley. One of the first things we noticed when we arrived was just how steep the place was, as our taxi went almost vertical on its descent into the centre in search of a hostel. When we arrived, the hostel listed in the guide book didn`t exist! Luckily, there was a small family run pousada across the road, which welcomed us in with open arms, possibly owing to the fact that there were no other guests staying there!!! We spent the afternoon wandering around the streets and churches soaking up the sunshine, but it soon became apparent that there wasn't too much more to entertain us.  The place was eerily silent and there were hardly any locals about, let alone tourists, and all of our aimless wandering seemed to land us right back in the main square. We decided to leave the next day and after braving the steep walk to the top of the town where the bus station was situated, we bought tickets to Ouro Preto (another colonial town) for 6am the next morning.  After a quiet dinner in a local restaurant, we asked the receptionist in our pousada to order us a taxi for 5.30 am, since we weren't going to brave the huge hill with our backpacks on half-asleep the next morning. He assured us that it was all fine and we happily went off to bed, since we had an early start. The next morning, not only did a taxi not arrive, but none of the pousada staff could be found anywhere. We tried walking around the streets nearby to flag one down, but there was literally NOBODY around. Next door to our hostel was the town's police station and since we were getting desperate, Rakhee popped inside to see if they could get us a taxi or take us themselves!! Inside, for some bizarre reason, all the town's policemen were having a meeting and so they said there was nothing they could do, and there was no way of calling a taxi at that hour of the morning. Still adamant that we weren't going to walk up the big hill with our backpacks, Marisha went into the hostel and made so much noise that eventually the owner woke up. All he had to say, however, was that of course there was no way of getting a taxi at that hour. All we had to say, was why on earth did you tell us you could get one last night then??!?! Feeling a bit guilty, he offered to drive us up to the bus station, which seemed fair since it was literally a 5 minute drive! He disappeared back inside and when he finally came out, he said he couldn't find his keys!!! By this point we were getting very agitated and the thought of missing our coach and being stuck in Diamantina was not a good one!! Meanwhile, the police meeting had ended and officers started pouring out of  the station and jumping into their cars. All forty or so of them stared at us and a few gave us some pitying looks, but not one of them seemed prepared to drive us just 5 minutes up the road to the bus station!! The pousada owner  finally found his keys and came back outside, but his car was trapped in the driveway by all the police cars. FINALLY, the capitain suggested that one of the officers just give us a lift, since if we didn't leave that second, we were definitely going to miss our bus!! Since the town was so small that there was hardly any crime and no meeting at 5.30am can therefore have been that important, it was hardly rocket science and we will never quite understand why they didn't just give us a lift the first time we asked!! The pousada owner apologised again, and we jumped into the back of a police truck, our bags bobbing about in the back as we raced up the hill to the bus station. A police escort first thing in the morning definitely warranted a picture opportunity, but since we were in such a rush we didn't have time!! Exhausted from the dramas of the morning, we slept most of the way to Belo Horizonte, where we changed buses to continue on to Ouro Preto?
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