Pitufa.at

The small island is dry and almost free of any vegetation (like some of the Canary Islands) and doesn’t seem very inviting at first, but unlike in the Canaries, the weather is really hot and there are only few tourists around. We’re anchored next to the village Palmeira, which also doesn’t look like much from the sea, but the small houses are colourful, the cobbled streets clean with plenty of palmtrees and flowers in the gardens. The people here are friendly without being pushy. We’ve found some small bars and the yachties meet every day around 6 for a few beers, chat, give on information and have a good time. Most of the yachts are French, some are British and, weirdly enough, our neighbour is a 150-ton Dutch minesweeper from the 60s, converted into a cruiser (www.van-straelen.nl). It seems that most stay longer than initially intended and we also start considering exploring the islands for a longer time. The pace of life is very relaxed, everybody’s got plenty of time (whe n the policeman says the guy from the immigration will do the clearance for the yacht in 20 minutes this may mean tomorrow or the day after tomorrow) and we’re also getting into the general attitude of deceleration. It’s the first time that we don’t feel like being in transit rushing along. We really like it here