Third day in Brasília

On our third day in Brasília (March 5) we wanted to see the Museu Histórico de Brasília. We took the bus and got off at a stop near the Congresso Nacional. We have an English tour booked there for tomorrow afternoon but took these pictures of the buildings today. Two narrow towers are joined in the middle by an interconnecting skyway, and they appear to be growing out of an enormous bowl. A half dome lies to the left:

We were looking for the Museu Histórico de Brasília and believed it to be in the vicinity of the Supremo Tribunal Federal:

We thought the museum was the green building on the right side of the court where these people are heading, but when we walked along the sidewalk towards that building, security stopped us and told us that access was for employees only:

The green building was part of the Supreme Court and had no public access. The security personnel did not understand English and did not know where the Museu Histórico de Brasília was. This was my experience with language throughout Brasília. I had no real problems communicating in the Spanish-speaking countries of Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, yet in Brazil–and granted, this was in Brasília, not so much a tourist hub as Rio de Janeiro–the Portuguese population didn’t speak much English. I also managed to pick up quite a bit of Spanish as I was in those Spanish countries for a longer time, while this was only my third day in a Portuguese-speaking country.

We consulted our map again and I figured out that the Museu Histórico de Brasília just had to be over there instead and we found it, but it was a nondescript and narrow building that looked more like a memorial or monument than a building you could enter and explore. I recall seeing this museum in the Brasília book I had recently read but had totally forgotten what it looked like. Had I remembered, we wouldn’t have attempted to go into the Supreme Court building. One entered the museum via a dark narrow staircase and inside were long dim walls lined with Portuguese statements outlining the city’s history. We did our best to decipher the Portuguese but it was an anticlimactic way to show off an urban history. Quite a dull way to present the history of Brasília in text-only exhibits.

Museu Histórico de Brasília. The entrance was on the right of the base, by the ramp. The entire building appears to be balanced on a small pedestal. The twin towers of the Congresso Nacional are behind it:

We like to see international embassies and most of them were in the Setor de Embaixadas Sul, which was nearby, so decided to walk over. The Canadian embassy was at the end of a long row so we hoped to end up there, and perhaps go inside if we were allowed to. The American embassy was being wholly renovated and we couldn’t see much, however what little we were able to see of the US embassy was a lot more than what we were able to see of any of the embassies that came after it. All of them–France, Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, United Kingdom–were hidden behind high fences and we were lucky if we could even see the national flags. Quite a disappointment, as most embassy buildings are beautiful to behold. It was so hot out and I was not in the mood to walk further to the very end where the Canadian embassy was. It might be sour grapes but I am sure that the Canadian embassy was just as hidden away as all the others.

We headed back after having our lunch in the parking lot of the UK embassy. This time we walked through the grass in front of the embassy fences instead of taking the sidewalk back. Right ahead of me I came across a deep hole, square-shaped and big enough to swallow me whole. This was dangerous, and no warning sign or barrier tape in sight. I can imagine a clueless texter taking a sudden plunge into the abyss.

Mark also wanted to go to the Museu de Arte de Brasília. We saw the sign for it yesterday as we visited the Royal Tulip and Brasília Palace hotels, and we definitely knew now which bus route to take to get there.

The museum (above) was cool, genuinely needed as the day was so hot. Before we even looked at the exhibits we went to the washroom to refill our water bottles. The museum was free, and displayed the usual paintings and sculpture as expected plus–what interested me more–ephemera about the city in display cases. I liked looking at the old brochures that were printed to commemorate the founding of Brasília.

After the museum we walked to the shore of Lago Paranoá and I noticed two capybara sculptures in the water. I believed they were sculptures because they were motionless. What an ingenious trompe-l’oeil effect, sticking two capybara sculptures in the water. I couldn’t help but stare at them yet when one of them started to move I realized then that they were real. As I got closer to the shoreline I could see a couple dozen of them lounging on the sand.

You may have to click on the central red play button twice to start the videos:

When the herd of capybaras walked from the shore into the water, we started to head back but it seemed these enormous rodents were more interested in following us:

We went to our hotel’s outdoor observation deck and Mark took some pictures of nighttime Brasília:

Brasília Shopping mall: