The streets are sand.
Boys play baseball with driftwood for bats.
The only two vehicles are a garbage truck and a water truck. Life is slow and simple on Los Roques archipelago, but as the world begins to discover what until now has been one of the best-kept secrets of the Caribbean, the pace may be picking up. Thousands of tourists from Canada, Germany, Italy, the United States and other countries are arriving, captivated by the pristine chain of 42 islands surrounded by coral reefs and 300 other tiny islets and sand cays. The sea is shades of turquoise, aqua and emerald. The white sand is as soft as powder.