Los Roques

A light flight from Maiquetía, a barefoot check-in, and the slow recalibration the whole trip runs on. Gran Roque is the only inhabited island: sand streets, painted posadas, no cars.

A walk to the lighthouse for the sunset, then a posada table of whatever came in on the afternoon boat.

A peñero out to Francisquí, snorkel the channel, and a long lunch on a strip of sand with nobody else on it. The day is shaped by water and shade and not much else.

Back before the light turns, slow enough that the boat ride itself is part of the point.

The famous sandbar walk at Cayo de Agua, where two islands are stitched together by a thread of sand you can wade across.

A full slow beach day, with the bonefishing flats on offer for anyone who wants a rod and a guide.

A last swim off the village beach, a coffee with the boats coming and going, and the light flight back. You leave on the archipelago time it took four days to learn.