Starting 3:30 AM for an 18 hour day-tour. 5 hour drive, each way.

Barreirinhas sleepy town.

Parque Nacional dos Lencois Maranhenses covers around 155000 hectars (1500 sq km, 580 sq mi). There are thousands of lagoons that fill up
with fresh rainwater during the wet season. The water stays due to a layer of solid bedrock under the sand.


Toyota 4X4, the mode of transport for the day.



After a 30 min drive its time to cross Rio Preguicas.









And then around 45 min of this.



And then... wow.





Powder white.





Crazy...

And windy. And hot.

It is actually not a desert by definition. It is one of the wettest parts of the region and gets around 1300 mm (50 inches) of rainfall
per year on average. A desert gets no more than 250 mm (10 inches).










Life always finds a way.

Because the sand shifts and moves all the time, there is no fixed location of canals and lagoons from year to year.






Lagoa Azul.

Local guide, miss Manu.

A carcara.



Time for a dip? OK.

















Wind battered top of a dune.

















Oh so clear water, pure rain.



Dune-sledding.













Lagoa da Paz.







We probably saw less than 1% of the park during the 3 hour walking tour.

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