belo horizonte on a budget: my humid, messy, code-filled adventure
i arrived in belo horizonte with a backpack that weighed more than my student loans and a weather app that said 21 degrees but felt like a swamp. the humidity was 97%, which means my hair was a frizzy mess and my camera lens fogged up every time i took it out. i just stepped outside and it's...like breathing soup, hope you enjoy that sensory experience.
my hostel was in some neighborhood that i can't pronounce, and the booking code was 3459138. the receptionist laughed when i said it out loud - apparently it's a local inside joke or something. later, when i tried to call my couchsurfing host, the payphone showed 1076169949 on the screen and ate my coin. brazilian technology, right?
the weather here is something else. i checked the data: temp 21.06Ā°c, feels like 21.75Ā°c, min 20.73, max 21.62, pressure 1014, humidity 97%, sea level 1014, ground level 926. it's so humid that my phone screen has condensation. i heard a local say that this is "minas weather" - humid and mild, but it feels heavier than it looks.
if you're planning to come, bring clothes that dry fast. i learned that the hard way. i wore cotton and it stayed damp all day. now i'm rocking synthetic fabrics like a pro.
belo horizonte is surrounded by mountains, and the city itself is a grid of concrete, but there are pockets of green. i took a bus to the lagoa da pampulha and saw a view that made me forget i was hungry.
that's the valley from the mirante. totally free, just a hike up a hill that locals told me was safe during the day.
overheard gossip at a bar: "the best pastƩis are at mira, but the lines are brutal. go at 3pm on a tuesday." i did, and it was worth it. also, "avoid the markets on sunday - pickpockets love tourists." i heeded that advice and kept my wallet zipped.
neighbors? if you get bored of belo, ouro preto is just a two-hour bus ride away. cobblestone streets, gold-dust churches, and students getting rowdy. i heard it's overpriced now, so maybe just for a day trip.
i relied on yelp for cheap eats. this spot has pastƩis for 5 reais, but the line starts at 11am. go at 10:45 and you'll be first. also, tripadvisor's forum warned me about the taxi mafia at the airport. i took the bus for 4 reais instead. and this budget guide helped me plan my days.
the weather here is a character itself. i checked my app: temp_min 20.73, temp_max 21.62 - barely fluctuates. but humidity 97% means everything stays damp. my sketchbook pages warped. i tried to draw the street art but the pencil smudged.
one evening, i met a girl at a bar who said she's a ghost hunter. "belo has spirits," she whispered, "but they're friendly." i laughed, but later that night, i heard footsteps in the empty hostel hallway. probably just the wind, but with this humidity, who knows?
i took a day trip to a lake an hour away. the bus was crowded, and i paid 10 reais for a ticket. i got to this lake with a boat floating peacefully.
that's the boat by the hillside. i rented a paddleboard for 20 reais and almost fell in, but managed.
back in belo, i explored the mercado central. the smell hit me first - cheese, fish, flowers. i found a bird fountain where a bird was standing in the water.
that's the shot. i bought some spices for next to nothing.
i've been using google maps to navigate, and i dropped a pin at the coordinates -19.6357,-43.8966, which is somewhere near pampulha.
see that? that's roughly where i was when i wrote this.
reviews? i heard from a local that the best acarajƩ is at a street stall in favela rosa, but he said "don't go at night, and don't flash your phone." i went at 3pm and it was delicious, 8 reais for two balls.
i'm leaving tomorrow with 100 reais left. i'll miss the cheap food, the humid air that made my hair curly, and the number 3459138 that got me a bed for the night. belo horizonte, you're a messy, beautiful headache.
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