This weekend saw the gringo’s adventuring beyond the walls of Vitória
for the first time! We had heard about a train trip that goes through the
mountains and being fond of trains, decided to check it out.
Our driver and tour guide for the day picked the 4 of us up from our accommodation
at 09:00 on Saturday and we headed for Viana station about 25 km south-west of Vitória
on the road to Bolivia. The train departs from Viana and heads through the
scenic Espírito Santo mountains to the towns of Domingos Martins, Marechel
Floriano, and the final stop of Araguaya. Train and mountains is a bit
misleading, think more one carriage and gentle rolling hills, not snow-covered
towering peaks. The distance covered is about 50 km and takes about two and a
half hours. Not quite a high speed connection but rather an enjoyable amble
through the hills. We were the only English speaking gringo’s on the train
amongst all the local capixabas, but our
friendly guide Osni provided a translation of the commentary for us. Capixaba is
the name for inhabitants of Vitória, much like Capetonians or Durbanites, and
is slowly being taken over by the whole state of Espírito Santo.
The trem, made its way through
lovely forested area, over a river complete with wrought iron bridge and
through tunnels blasted out of granite. At Domingos Martins station we all
clambered out of the train for a quick look around the station and to purchase
some home‑made local treats. A very spritely looking 102 year old man was
waiting to greet everyone and hand out the local town news and events paper. We
saw two women sitting in a doorway and popping a piece of bubble wrap between
them; I don’t think much happens in this small town. Very sneakily, snack boxes
were handed out on the train after the stop at Domingos Martins ensuring the
local residents were able to sell all their home-made goodies.
The trem
Boibs at Viana station
Hilly countryside
Bridge going over the river
Tunnel through the granite hillside
Train tracks!
Boibs on the train
(Osni, our guide, standing in the background)
Andy and Bron comparing purchases at Domingos Martins
At the next stop, Marechel Floriano, we said goodbye to the friendly
conductor and climbed aboard our minibus for further exploring of the area. We stopped
off for our first view of Pedra Azul before heading on for lunch. Pedra Azul is
a ~1900 m high granite rock that apparently looks blue sometimes. It actually
looked more green due to moss or algae growing on it. On the right slope is a
peculiar piece of rock jutting out that Andy so aptly commented looks like a
giant petrified lizard climbing up.
Pedra Azul
Lunch was at the lovely Arosa Paço Hotel, served in the favourite
Brazilian self-service buffet style. Here we were at ~1200 m about sea level
and could really feel the difference in air temperature, it was much cooler
than sea level Vitória. From the hotel we enjoyed more views of Pedra Azul and
the antics of some shy monkeys in a nearby tree sucking the nectar out of yellow
flowers.
Boibs with Pedra Azul in the background
Arosa Paço Hotel
Monkeys!
....more monkeying around
After lunch, we were driven even closer to Pedra Azul for a more close-up
look. We stopped at a local strawberry farm but strawberries were available due
to the rain had in the week. We were also taken to Fjordland. A Norwegian businessman
brought out some horses from Norway and set up the very touristy Fjordland with
good views of the blue rock and the opportunity to ride said horses. The horses
themselves are a lovely honey colour and so chilled and friendly. We skipped
on the horse ride but enjoyed clowning around on the wooden horses instead.
Pedra Azul and petrified lizard
Bron, Pedra Azul and Norwegian horse
Norwegian horses
Horsing around!
Bron, Tim, Andy, and Justin
After Fjordland we were taken to Domingos Martins. The town was settled
by German immigrants in the 1850s and a German influence remains in the town
evident in the architecture of the buildings and homes and by the ‘willkommen’
sign at the road entrance. The town is divided in two, the part where the Lutherans
settled and the part where the Catholics settled. The Lutheran side of town
seemed much more built up than the Catholic side, but the train station is in
the Catholic section. I’m not sure if the divide means much today. We had some
time to wander through some touristy shops. We were hoping to find some good
German fare here such as lebkuchen and pretzels but were disappointed; the
German influence doesn't go that far anymore. There was a very German looking
pub which showed promise of good German food, we will have to come back hungry
and with more time on our hands.
The final stop for the day was the lookout point at Vista Linda. We enjoyed
the view of the hills in the fading light of the day and then an espresso to
keep awake on the way home!
Views from Vista Linda
All in all it was a fun day out and we enjoyed going beyond the borders
of Vitória to see what else the state of Espírito Santo holds. For Bron, who is
geographically and directionally challenged, it helped to put Vitória in
context. We drove through the old city centre on the way out in the morning and
this really helped to locate where our apartment is relative to Justin’s office
and the rest of the town. Somehow looking at a map just isn’t the same. We did
feel a bit purposefully led to touristy places in the hopes that we would part
with a lot of reais which is a bit
sad.
On Friday we head to Lima, Peru to wait for and receive our new
Brazilian work visas. The plan is to be there for a week but this is likely to
be extended due to delays in the visa process. Watch this space!
See you next week from Peru!
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