Although Rio was first settled by the French in 1555 the Portuguese first visited the region in 1502 and eventually took hold of the area after defeating the French in 1567. Today, Rio is Brazil's second largest metropolis, after Sao Paulo, with some 6.3 million inhabitants. It is an iconic ocean front city with fabulous sandy beaches, bikini fit men and woman, a plethora of modest football fields, and several public parks. One of these parks is Flamengo, located alongside Flamengo Beach just across the bay from tourist bound Sugarloaf Mountain. In this beautiful beach front park you will find locals biking, jogging, playing football in the sand, cross fitting, and of course cats. Flamengo Park, also known as Aterro do Flamengo, which literally means "Landfill of Flamengo", is the largest leisure area in Rio de Janeiro and consist of nearly 300 acres. Throughout the acreage you will see dozens and dozens of cats with the majority of them being in good health. Most of the cats are friendly and will saunter up looking for a pat and cuddle. You will see them up in trees or cruising alongside the beach. The cats of Flamengo are looked after by dedicated locals who leave food and water for them through out the park, as well as, cushions for them to sleep on.