The word “Brazil” often brings images of:

1. Scantily clad bikini models balancing large feathered headdresses and tiptoeing on stilettos that look like they were originally made to act as weapons,
2. Football (soccer) teams sporting green and yellow jerseys dripping with sweat as they kick, bounce and run with a grass-stained ball, and
3. Amazonian jungles with more lush green flora and fauna that would take months to list in full.

Combine the three, and you get a rather odd picture. Brazil is an amazingly diverse country built on Portuguese culture, Catholic beliefs, a love of art and life, appreciation for nature, and a fascination with a ball. For its incomparable selection of traits, we’re making Brazil the destination of the month for August.