The Brazilian state of Maranhão in the country’s northeast is rich in both landscape and history, encompassing dense Amazon rainforests in its interior and beautiful long stretches of beaches along its Atlantic coastline. Its largest city, São Luís, is the only Brazilian state capital founded by the French, though quickly thereafter it fell into Dutch hands before finally landing under Portuguese rule. Today it’s a vibrant metropolis of more than a million people, known for its colorful Bumba Meu Boi festivities and its picturesque old city center, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its many preserved historic buildings. 

Set just off the shores of São Luís in the Baía de São Marcos are a lush pair of islands with tremendous possibilities. Separated by just 150 meters are Ilha de Santa Rosa, a larger partially developed island of 13.64 acres, and Ilha da Maré, a smaller undeveloped island of 3.13 acres. On Ilha de Santa Rosa sits a stunning seven-bedroom home with its own private beach and several coconut trees. The island has mobile phone and internet signal coverage, a generator for electricity, and even its own small chapel. The home will be delivered unfurnished, allowing you full reign to put your own imprint on this lovely property. Perhaps best of all, Ilha de Santa Rosa boasts an artesian well with water of pH 7.7, which could generate a business worth millions of dollars a year if industrialized.

Just across the Baía de São Marcos is the historic town of Alcântara, home to both fascinating colonial ruins and a key site for Brazil’s space program. Closer still — just 45 minutes away from the islands — is São Luís International Airport, offering flights to São Paulo, Brasília, and several other cities, making getting here a Brazilian breeze.