Americans don’t seem to visit Brazil much, or if they do, they head to Rio.  But, if like me, you have a son who lives in São Paulo six months of the year, Brazil becomes a recurring destination. 

This past week, in addition to visiting São Paulo’s, 35th Biennale, an enormous and powerful art exhibition, Seth and I spent four nights in the state of Minas Gerais, known for its colonial towns dating back to the 18^th century gold rush. With its brightly painted houses, on steep cobble-stone streets and its gold-bedecked churches, the area would be a must-see if they had the right tourist infrastructure.

To me, the highlight of our visit to Minas Gerais was a 345-acre park called Inochin. Located 60 kilometers from Bela Horizonte, (a one-hour flight from São Paulo), it is a botanical garden which includes a number of strategically-placed contemporary art museums plus many outdoor sculptures including a set of four multi-colored Volkswagon Beetles! 

A day and a half at Inochin was not enough to see everything.  I love art and I love nature.  But to have them both in the same setting caused me to run out of superlatives.  You have to see it to believe it. 

São Paulo is 4000 miles from Massachusetts so it is a serious travel commitment.  When I visited in October, 2022, I promised Seth’s friends that I would return in a year and I did.

It’s on my calendar for 2024.