Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered Brazil in 1500.  He was a Portuguese explorer who wanted to go to India, but the ship was blown off course.  Cabral’s thought he had discovered an Island and named “Ilha de Vera Cruz”.  Later on the Portuguese changed the name to Brazil after “brazil wood”.
 Brazil is the biggest country in South America, and 5th largest in the world.  We are also the only Portuguese speaking nation in South America.
 The Amazon occupies 42% of Brazil, but most people live on the coast.  Brazil’s Capital is called Brasilia and was built in the 60’s.
 Brazil has five different regions and each one has it is own characteristics.  In the Northern states, tourist can see the Amazon with it is rich fauna and flora and also the Indian culture.  In the Eastern states, there are miles of beautiful beaches and some of them are still to be discovered by the tourist.  For example in “Maceio” there is a beach called "Pajucara" where the local people and tourists take a small boat called “jangada” and go 1 mile off shore to snorkel in a natural pool.  Other attraction to a tourist on the North, is Ceara state which has beautiful and interesting dunes. While we are sliding on snow, they are slide down in the dunes as seen in the picture.  In the South, the culture is very different from the North, where most of the population is descendent from European countries. In addition, Rio de Janeiro with its unique Landscape is the number one tourist destination.  The beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema are the most famous in the world. All along the beaches there are fitness stations, bike trails, volleyball nets, and beach football.
     Sugar Loaf is also a nice place to visit; the cable car takes visitors to the top of three different mountains where they can enjoy the beautiful view of the Guanabara Bay. 
     Christ the Redeemer is another big attraction not just for the foreign tourist but also for the Brazilians. The Christ is our version of the Statue of Liberty.
     For the adventurous, there is hand gliding in Sao Conrado beach. 
 The people have different habits, religions, desires, and customs, but when it comes to soccer (football), everyone dresses in yellow and green because soccer is our national passion.