</ul> <p>the rio doce trainan anta leafThere wasnt really anything on here about what I´ve been up to, so here is an update:

  • I went camping in the east of the state of Minas Gerais. I travelled on one of Brazil´s two functioning railways which follows a spectular route along the River Doce (left).
  • There wasnt alot to do at the campsite and I struggled without a car. However, there were lots of interesting ants, and some nice leaves which I took pictures of.
  • Danilo, his boyfriend Hugo and I went on an outing to Ouro Preto, the most historic town in Minas Gerais. There was a dual objective: Danilo was involved in the launch of a new guide book his company had designed, and it was also Ouro Preto´s first gay pride parade. In honour of the event the community centre had been converted into a gay nighclub complete with ´dark room´. Ouro Preto consists of ornate 18th century squares and 12 baroque churches, so the experience at midnight of stumbling around the cobbled streets with a load of drunk homosexuals was slightly odd.
  • I have started my Portuguese lessons at the ´Nani´ language school, which are going well.
  • I am going to the gym and swimming. Its quite good and the instructors are very helpful. However, they´re trying to teach me to swim in Portuguese, and i am finding that trying to understand their instructions,  follow their instructions and not drown at the same time is somewhat beyond me.