Journey on the Estrada Real: Encounters in the Mountains of Brazil — Second Edition

In 1697, the Portuguesebuilt the Estrada Real — the Royal Road — to bring gold and gems down from the mountains of Minas Gerais. The Estrada Real is still there — a dirt road winding through the cultural cradle of Brazil. It connects historic baroque cities, from Rio de Janeiro and Paraty to Ouro Preto and Diamantina. When Glenn Alan Cheney hiked the northern half of the road, he witnessed the waning days of a culture clinging to the 19th century while being thrust into the 21st. He spoke with people who remembered the days before electricity. He touched vestiges of slavery. And with the Tocquevillian eye of an astute foreign observer, he recorded details of a culture fading into history.