Thoughts and dreams of a forever loafer

People my age dream of going to Ibiza and party their souls out with the alcohol amount that would paralyse a horse. But I am more of a peaceful traveller, and moreover, a hungry explorer, feeling guilty when sleeping in and wearing the comfort shoes an octogenarian would find attractive. If you are more like me, I will tell you about a secret place that will soothe your eyes and clear your mind.
I guess you’ve heard of the Algarve coast in Portugal, famous for its beach caves and endless cocktails bars. But I bet you haven’t heard of Ilha Deserta, or Desert Island for tourists, a patch of sand covered in flowers that stretches between the ocean and the canals around Faro. Imagine the roughness of Interstellar’s planets mixed with the heated golden lights of Casablanca and you will have the right picture in your mind. The Ilha has a hiking trail that goes all around the island and takes you to a poetic finish line: the most southern point of Portugal. You can almost feel the African breeze coming from the ocean, the smell of salt water and of never-ending summer.
Standing at the end of the continent, I realised how loud one’s thoughts become in such a quiet place. I remember very clearly sinking my feet in the sand and almost hearing the sand swallowing me, thinking that paradise is definitely a place on Earth and that most wonders happen silently, when we least expect them.
To get to this secluded corner of the world, you just need to get a ferry from a little dock behind the Old City of Faro. Just 30 minutes on the murky canal and voila!, the world shuts down around you. The perfect time to go there is May, not many tourists but many Celsius degrees, and a lovely spring breeze that keeps the atmosphere fresh. If you choose the summer though, remember that Desert Island is truly a desert and no trees will offer shade when the sun gets hot.
I spent on the island only 2 hours, although they felt like a whole Sunday in my mind. But I suggest to stillness seekers to spend there half a day and even more, enjoying a stroll around the Ilha, smelling the prickly flowers, swimming in the ocean and, most importantly, breathing as deeply as they can. Because in just another 30 minutes, you will be back on the lively streets of Faro, on the agitated rhythm that keeps us chasing our dreams to find serendipitous moments like this.