Belo Horizonte (pron. with a "ch" sound at the end), the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, is the 3rd largest city in Brazil and has a population of about 4.1 million.
These first pictures are from a scenic overlook in the mountains that
border on the South; the city seems to go on forever in all directions.
The neighborhoods along the mountainside have a beautiful view of the city
and seem quite sumptuous themselves. This home in particular is in the
neighborhood of maybe $150-200k.
The Reais (pron.
hay-ice) is about 30cents to our dollar, and due to their continuing rapid
inflation the value of goods and services is about a third to half compared
to here in the Estados Unidos (so yes I did some shopping too!)
The streets in the city are all tree-lined, and without zoning there is a
continual cornucopia of shops, apartments, and businesses.
The view from the rooftoop of my hotel:
Only 15 minutes outside of the city there is practically nothing,
but the occasional home or (very) small town:
© 2003-2006 Clifford Farmer, All Rights Reserved.