For our first travel venture during the Covid-19 pandemic, we chose to visit Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, the most famous landmark in the state of Maranhão in Northeastern Brazil. Given the circumstances, we were lucky to have the park (almost) to ourselves.

“Lençóis” means “sheets” (or rather more morbidly, “shrouds”), which is an apt description of this unique, eerie landscape made up of desert white sand dunes and rain-filled freshwater lagoons. Pictures do not do this place justice at all: it is well worth making the long journey (a 4-hour drive from the airport in the state capital, São Luís) to see this amazing place for yourself. Do pack long-sleeved, UV-proof clothing: there is really nothing but dazzling, sun-reflecting white sand around. We learned this the hard way - our factor 50 sunscreen did little to prevent sunburn, leading some locals to note our resemblance to camarão (shrimp).

Due to strict local conservation laws (and their non-incidental economic benefits in this otherwise desperately poor region), you can only enter the national park on a guided tour: most visitors will stay in the nearby town of Barreirinhas, which has decent facilities, and take 4WD tours into the park from there. You will probably be taken to see the aptly named Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon) and Lagoa Bonita (Pretty Lagoon) and, if you visit in the right season, swim in the lagoons among the beautiful water plants. The lagoons fill during the rainy season (January-June) and then dry up again during the rest of the year, so our visit in August was perfectly timed.

As you can imagine, walking around in the Lençóis is not particularly easy: once again, think loose white sand and unrelenting sunlight. At Lagoa Bonita, you will be rewarded with the most beautiful sunset imaginable, though, and your friendly guide will be waiting to drive you back.

While in Maranhão, do not forget to sample the state’s most famous culinary contribution: Guaraná Jesus is a unique soft drink based on a secret recipe developed by a local pharmacist (named Jesus). The drink is known both for its bright pink colour and its powerfully chemical taste: colour and taste are of course entirely natural. At least one of your writers is absolutely on board.

While in Barreirinhas, we took the opportunity to go for a slow river cruise on the aptly named Preguiças (“Laziness”) River, where you can stop off to meet the local tropical (above) and not so tropical (below) wildlife.

Near the Preguiças’s mouth lies the enormous Caburé beach: the dilapidated beach shacks are testament to better (economic) times, but it is still an amazing place to feel the full force of the Atlantic waves and the constant, hot Northeastern wind (swimming for the brave only).