The Northeast offers clear skies and beautiful beaches. It was the first region of Brazil settled by Europeans (first by the Portuguese and later by the Dutch). The Northeast has a coastline with more than 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles) of soft white sand. The pictures below speak for themselves. What is not seen by most tourists is that the innerland of the Northeast of Brazil is the poorest area of the country, where society still leaves in a system with aspects of the colonial times in many places. As described in the Lonely Planet Travel Guide, unlikely most places in the world, each destination in Brazil must be faced as a different country.