connect to exit node through Tor

[Csaba Kiraly]

Hi,

I have a problem opening a TCP connection directly to a node which is 
also a Tor exit node (using 0.1.2.19).
I have an experimental setup with 3 OR nodes, the middle one running 
several Tor instances
OR1, OR2_a, OR2_b, OR2_c, OR3

and I have a constrained path setup:
EntryNodes OR1
StrictEntryNodes 1
ExitNodes OR3
StrictExitNodes 1

When I connect from a client to any server other than PC3, Tor happily 
creates (or re-uses) a circuit of
client -> OR1 - OR2_x - OR3 -> server

When I try to connect to OR3 itself, I get:

Jan 29 13:06:06.244 [info] choose_good_exit_server_general(): Found 3 
servers that might support 1/1 pending connections.
Jan 29 13:06:06.244 [warn] No specified exit routers seem to be running, 
and StrictExitNodes is set: can't choose an exit.
Jan 29 13:06:06.244 [warn] failed to choose an exit server
Jan 29 13:06:06.244 [info] circuit_get_open_circ_or_launch(): No safe 
circuit (purpose 5) ready for edge connection; delaying.
Jan 29 13:06:06.244 [info] connection_edge_process_inbuf(): data from 
edge while in 'waiting for circuit' state. Leaving it on buffer.
Jan 29 13:06:06.808 [info] choose_good_exit_server_general(): Found 3 
servers that might support 1/1 pending connections.
Jan 29 13:06:06.808 [warn] No specified exit routers seem to be running, 
and StrictExitNodes is set: can't choose an exit.
Jan 29 13:06:06.808 [warn] failed to choose an exit server
...

Is this normal behaviour? I though a connection which remains inside Tor 
is preferred in the case  the destination is an exit node.
E.g. in 
https://tor-svn.freehaven.net/svn/tor/trunk/doc/spec/path-spec.txt I 
have seen this:
"We can also cannibalize clean circuits when the client asks to exit at 
a given node -- either via the ".exit" notation or because the 
destination is running at the same location as an exit node."

Regards,
Csaba