Experiencing Brazil Civilization and History

Paul Shoul sets the mood with his beginning paragraphs explaining his trip to Minas Gerais Brazil in his article, Minas Gerais: A Toast to the Heart of Brazil. Explaining the music, the humming conversations, the location, the people, the poetry. He depicts the beautiful scenery of homes and landscapes around one of the most beautiful and fun locatins in Brazil. Shoul's article depicting his travelling experience is beautiful and thorough with a mix of everything and an amazing assortment of pictures...it has been by far the hardest blog i've had to write because there are so many interesting aspects to his voyage.

He has one of those deep accented voices that makes the most mundane of things seem a prophesy about tortured love. Even if I cannot understand a word of Portuguese I am ready to believe whatever he says. His poetry floats out the window onto the balcony and over the golden town flickering at dusk.

Expanding from a business and convention center, tourism is growing as more people are starting to discover this part of the country and its rich culture and history. It boasts a great gastronomy, the largest outdoor market in Latin America, art museums, historic cathedrals beautiful parks and by the way is also known as the “the bar capital of Brazil.”

The nightlife spreads out onto the sidewalks with countless small tables filled with students drinking from ice buckets filled with quart bottles of skol or other beer. Brazilians like their beer really cold. They are very strict about it. What a great scene.

The main attraction are the countless waiters swarming the room with skewers laden with meat; the action is fast. A bartender mixes drinks for you at your seat from a rolling bar on wheels. There are over 26 cuts of meat that are brought to your table continuously until you give in. It’s hard to pace yourself, but the best cuts are brought to you last, so try to hold out. It was over-the-top amazing.

You need to have your other senses engaged: sweat mingling with the wind and sun on your skin after climbing to the top of the Ouro Preto hills, the thoughtful silence of the miracle room at Congohas, the brilliant colors of Tiradentes or the sudden cold, dense quiet that overtakes you as you descend 1000 feet into a gold mine.

But the best part is the trip over 1,000 feet down into the earth on rail tracks in a small wooden trolley that resembles an antique roller coaster with open seats held by a single cable attached to a huge gas powered motor that appeared to be from the 1800's. It reminded me of a scene in one of the Indiana Jones movies, and there was plenty of gold at the bottom. They would never allow this in the states and it was a blast.

Travelguide for Georgia, the Country

David Rich's article on Georgia, the country, seems more like the perfect travelguide, recommending certain aspects of the country and giving tips on airlines as well as hotels. is a detailed article on the wonders of the country Georgia, from the wine, to caves, to weather, to museums.

The entire van, including the diminutive granny next to me, was uncorking bottles and my poor little cup was inundated, which meant the next two hours passed with a blur. I vaguely remember stops every half hour to purchase additional bottles, whole roast chickens, and fabulous Georgian bread hot from the kiln, shaped like a pig with two tails. We arrived in Tbilisi, I seem to recall, exceedingly happy.


Its tree-lined boulevards converged on an ancient town crammed with old churches and pointy towers bisected by a great river, the name of which I could never remember how to spell or pronounce: Mtkvari. This was typical of Georgia, which has a language similar to no other country on earth and uses an alphabet that looks faintly Thai, which is to say cursive lower case and incomprehensible to Westerners.


I’d suggest skipping the Stalin Museum in his hometown of Gori, Georgia, which chronicles his earliest roots from the rustic house he was born in to photos from a religious education at the Gori Seminary to the excellent railroad car he rode to Yalta to shape modern Europe along with Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The museum was a sickening eulogy to the rosy side of brutality, concealing the beast. The most satisfying exhibit was Stalin’s Death Mask.


Gori was partially redeemed by an ancient cave city ten miles (16 kilometers) east at Uplistsikhe, founded in 1000 B.C.E. and the residence of Georgian kings when the Arabs invaded, 150 caves remaining of an original 700.

In its heyday Vardzia housed 50,000 people, naturally centered on a church, that of the Assumption. Georgia’s most impressive and spiritual church is located at its ancient capital a few miles north of Tbilisi at Mkskheta, the grand Sveti Tskhoveli Cathedral built in 1010 on the site of the first Georgian Church founded in a very early century.

Walking in History in Maresha

Maresha, Israel is an old city 40 miles southwest of Jerusalem with years of relevant history, (being mentioned in the bible) with breathtaking archeological caves. A city with beautiful, historical sites and part of the Beit Guvrin National Park with it's 2000 year old caves has become a popular visitation site for tourists. This profound location is mentioned in AFAR magazine written by Gayle Keck. Take a look at all the amazing adventures you can experience and take part in enjoying in Maresha.

"Between the 4th and 2nd centuries B.C., Maresha's inhabitants excavated limestone blocks to use for construction on the surface. In the resulting caverns, the softness of the rock made it easy to carve out water cisterns, basement storerooms, workshops, quarries, and spaces for raising doves-all away from the scorching heat above ground."

"Today, Maresha is part of Beit Guvrin National Park, and you can wander through its well-preserved underground labyrinth on your own."

"Walk through the cool, cavernous rooms and you'll see olive mills and oil presses, chisel marks left long ago by masons, baths cleverly designed so water pourers couldn't gaze upon bathers, and dovecotes with thousands of niches for nesting birds."

"To dig deeper, spend a half day wit Archaeological Seminars (archesem.com) excavating, sifting rubble, and examining ancient pottery alongside experts."