Petropolis - March 23rd

Our full day in Petropolis starts with the completion of the sightseeing that we didn’t get to do the previous day.  Although it turns out there isn’t that much more.  Amazingly after the massive thunder, lightning and rain storm we had the previous evening the streets are not too wet, and so we are able to walk alongside the canals (built as storm drains) that run down the centre of all the main roads as we look at some of the more spectacular colonial style buildings in town.  But none of them are open to the public, including the current presidential summer residence.  Where the royals used to come here to escape Rio, the current presidents come here to escape Brasilia.  Because we aren’t going to visit there I can’t say who is getting the better deal.

One house that is now a museum is the house of Santos Dumont.  He is one of the great pioneers of aviation and the man who popularised the wearing of wristwatches.  Needless the say the Brazilians are quite proud of him and have a museum in his house.  The only problem is that as a practical man who was also not very tall, his house is tiny.  Still it is interesting and has some good exhibits from his life.  Although it has to be said that our hotel, named 14 Bis after his plane, has almost as many artefacts.

Once we finish with Santos Dumont there is really only one sight to see, a large shrine to Our Lady of Fatima which overlooks the town and provides great views.  However the road up to it looks like it goes through a flavela, so we decide not to walk up.  I think it is for driving only.

Because we are finished early we go back to our hotel where we plan to lie by the swimming pool (something that we have never actually done on this trip, even though a few places we have stayed in have had them) but as we get there it starts to rain, so we take a siesta.  In the evening we go out for a meal, which is a very large and very good steak dinner, and then we take a taxi back to the hotel on account of me nearly breaking my toe on the way out of the hotel.  Again this night there is an unbelievable amount of rain.