No, this is not a ski run and there are no moguls, but this ride to the Diamantina mesa plateau and the village of Diamantina promises to be just as thrilling.

This is an adventure into Brazil’s colonial, cultural, economic and natural history.  The heart and soul of Brazil lie in the States of Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, and situated between the two is the State of Minas Gerais, the core of the country’s mineral wealth.

For two exciting weeks, we will travel across the mountains of Rio and Minas Gerais and into Bahia, where the Portuguese first landed in 1500 and the beaches have changed little in the past half millennium. Similarly, the silver, gold and diamond rush towns (some UNESCO World Heritage sites) we will visit seem little affected by the passing of hundreds of years.

We will venture down dirt roads, passing through coffee plantations and traversing canyon regions bigger than many nations.

You will be torn between wanting to stop to take yet another photo of the natural beauty and not wanting to let off the throttle as we wind through a region of the country few Brazilians have even experienced.