In the listening/speaking class I taught last year at the University of Minnesota, our textbook included a unit entitled “Fascinating Planet.”  That chapter featured national parks and protected areas around the world, including Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in Brazil.  I had never heard of this place, but it sounded pretty cool: acres and acres of dazzling white sand dunes, which become dotted with blue and green and turquoise lagoons during the rainy season.

A few months later, when I accepted an English Language Specialist position to work in northeastern Brazil for 5 months, I realized that I would be living about 7 hours from that national park.  A goal was born: visit Lençóis Maranhenses.

And I did!  After presenting at a conference in a nearby town, some friends and I drove to the national park, where we enjoyed hiking up and down the dunes and cooling off in several of…