this place was heaven on earth. this is the national park of lencois, in the state of maranhao. the park is 100% covered by the mile after mile of light coloured sand dunes, dotted throughout by fresh-water lakes created during the rain season which lasts from january to june. it is mile after mile of sand mountains, an amazing landscape of pure sand and crystal clear waters. the colours are amazing, vibrant and pure, blues and aquamarine greens, reflecting the perfectly blue sky and varying depending on the depth of water and any vegetation which grows in many of these lakes. generally, they are not very deep, and in many the water is absolutely clear. i had the awesome experience of diving into some of them, eyes wide open to a mesmerising display of rays of sunlight filtered through the water and reflected on the sandy sides and bottom of these bowl shaped lakes. one of my favourite experiences was to slide down a slope of sand, until i was half in the water, and half outside the water, lying back on the sand, my body at a 45 degree angle with the earth, half submerged in the water, half outside the water, the most perfect lazy chair, and absolutely peaceful. this place gets few, very few tourists, and there are no cities, no roads, nothing near it to spoil any of its pure essence.