From Carioca beaches to mining mountains - today, our L’Equipee girls hit the road towards a charming small town inland, where they discover Brazil’s colonial past...
A group of Parisian women, called 'l'équipée' girls, who all have a love of vintage motorbikes, are off on an adventure to find out what beauty means around the world. On this leg of their journey, they'll be spending three weeks riding through Brazil. On their way they'll meet women from other cultures to discover what beauty really means. Watch part four of their video diary below...
11 March: All That Glitters Ain't Gold In Tiradentes
At 6:30 am the Ipanema apartment where the 'l’équipée girls' were staying was filled with buzz and activity as the girls packed, studied their roadmaps and checked the final details before hitting the road towards a deeper Brazil, far away from the hustle and the bustle of the cities.
Destination: Tiradentes (Minas Gerais), one of the most charming colonial cities. Now a tourist destination, the town was famous for its abundance of gold. On the one hand, this turned the town into one of Brazil’s richest regions, but on the other, it attracted the Portuguese monarchy, who made residents pay exorbitant taxes. These oppressive economic policies caused revolt among the people and resulted in the Minas Gerais Conspiracy: a liberation movement from the clutches of the Portuguese.
Five Girls Cause A Stir At The Petrol Station
So, after travelling for 320km on the busy BR 0-40 motorway, the girls found themselves surrounded by stunning and well-preserved colonial architecture, with a rich historical past.
When they first entered the door of their rented house in Rua do Chafariz, they couldn’t believe how beautiful it was "I was so excited that I even had a little lump in my throat", Cecile said. However, before reaching Minas, Louise B, Louise D, Cecile, Cindy and Pauline had already made a pit stop at another poignant point in Brazil's past.
They had lunch in a modest restaurant in the center of Petropolis, a municipality in the interior of Rio where Dom Pedro II, the nation's second-king, once built a palace and other aristocrats followed suit. The group had a self-service lunch - very typically Brazilian! Then with full stomachs, they rode on.
Just imagine the stir they caused amongst the local boys every time they stopped at a petrol station! It's not every day you see a group of foreign women driving 70s-inspired motorbikes…
Tune in tomorrow when…
The 'L'equipee girls' will try one of the most surprising restaurants in Minas Gerais before hitting one of the country’s oldest roads – that is, if the rainy season doesn’t stop them!
Win £100 with Marie Claire – just complete our quick and easy survey.