The Rio 2016 Torch Relay travelled deep into Brazil's history on Thursday (5 May), taking a nostalgic trip through UNESCO-listed cobbled streets as locals welcomed the Olympic flame with traditional country hospitality.

For a second day, the torch continued its journey in the rural state of Goiás in the centre-west of this giant country. First stop was farming town Itaberaí, where the flame was pulled in an ox-drawn cart. Locals here live close to land and were keen to share their culture with the wider world.

Olympic Torch fever reaches Brazilian countryside

The relay then moved onto the historic Cidade de Goiás, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This picturesque colonial town, full of charming white stone houses, was founded during the gold rush years of the early 18th century and was the capital of Goiás state until 1937. Far from the hectic pace of urban Brazil, the town is so well preserved that is often used as a set for period films and television shows.

Locals here even serenaded the Olympic flame as it passed by their windows ...

The former capital burst into life on Thursday with the arrival of the torch, especially when 83-year old Silvia Curado, who has been winning over the locals with her sweets and pastries for some 60 years, got her hands on the Olympic torch. "I never dreamed this could happen," she said after completing her stage of the relay. "It was wonderful to hold the torch. It was a gift from the gods."

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Local historian and blogger Maria Antonieta Ramos Jubé Carneiro, a sprightly 80 years old, was another lucky torchbearer. "It was one of the best moments of my life," she said.

There must be something in the air in Cidade de Goiás that makes for a long life. The town's most famous daughter was poet Cora Coralina, who published her first collection at the tender age of 75 and lived another 20 years. Her house today is a museum that pays tribute to her simple life and verse. Olympic mascot Vinicius paid a visit on Thursday.

Goiás and the current state capital, Goiânia, take their names from the Goyaz indigenous people who inhabited the area before the arrival of the Europeans. Some 80 years after it was founded, Goiânia has grown into a bustling city of some two million souls, but still preserves the friendliness of a country town. Having more green space per inhabitant than any other Brazilian city probably helps.

The pace shifted up a gear as the relay approached this young and dynamic city on Thursday. An eclectic group of torchbearers awaited, including the unlikely figure of Brazil's air guitar champion. One of the torch's first scheduled activities was to take a ride in a brand new cable car that has been constructed in one of the city's many parks.

Later in the evening, two rising young stars in the sertanejo music scene, João Neto and Frederico, will carry the torch. Goiânia is one of the centres of Brazilian country music, or sertanejo, and the city has been celebrated in many a country song.