Tag: naked

nudist kayaking down the Ebro River

by J, posted in active naturists

español

Water is definitely the most popular element that invites many to try and practice nudism, and besides obvious swimming/snorkelling or just plain fun skinny-dipping, kayaking sounds like the next best thing to do naked in water. We organized a kayak tour through a naturist forum and got a very good group of people to go down the Ebro River in Spain.

Kayaking is a lot of fun: it’s a good exercise and a great way to explore the area. Although I bet not many people think about it as a naturist activity, it is probably the easiest one to practice on public land (water, that is), as no one can really see from aside whether you wear a swimsuit or not.

We found that we could rent kayaks at the town of Miravet (Tarragona province), which also sounded like a great place to experience Ebro, one of the mightiest rivers of Iberian peninsula. It is a town with long history but is well kept; it was very important during Medieval Ages as a river port. The medieval structure of the town has been maintained till now, and the castle is certainly worth a visit.

When came to rent kayaks, we wore swimsuits, of course; also we were given lifejackets.

But as soon we departed a few meters from the bank, off went the clothes!

The day was just perfect for kayaking, and although we had just tow hours for the whole trajectory, we made a lot of stops to relax and take photos. Aurelio lives in Miravet and knows the area well, so he brought us to an Ancient Roman mill, almost in ruins. This place seemed to be unknown for other travellers.

By the end, we got really tired. I went in a double kayak with my friend David, but it appeared that people that went in single kayaks could move faster. It takes time to learn to coordinate well with your partner, and otherwise, it is more difficult to control a double kayak.

So we definitely enjoyed the rest of the afternoon by the pool at the rural house. Excellent weather, excellent group of friends!

Hopefully we will organise something of that sort next year 🙂

Body painting again and again :-)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Body painting seems to be a nudist party activity du jour. Almost every nudist party provides body paint as a part of their program, and there are some that are dedicated to it specifically. I went to one of the events organised by Social Exposure Media in NYC a month ago, and as always body painting proved to be a great tool for socialising and exposing [love to] our bodies.

Unlike previous parties that I’ve been to, this event provided paint that glowed in the dark! in black light, that is. Body art is not difficult to make intriguing and entertaining, it’s just fun to decorate bodies, but glow-in-the-dark effect makes it surreal!

Maybe this video will be able to show the atmosphere.

Now, there is body paint event on Halloween at SoHo Gallery for Digital Art. That might solve your costume problem! I just hope the city will be fine after Frankenstorm. And I guess people will be even more eager to go out and party! Just sign up, show up and show off! It is a ‘bare as you dare’ event.

hurricane flashback

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

In anticipation of the Frankenstorm, I can’t help recalling last year experience right before arrival of the hurricane Irene to New York City. A friend of mine got a reckless idea of running in the storm. Well, not that reckless, the storm was still a few hours away from the city, and it was a classic calm before the storm. The night was just more humid usual, but there was no wind. And I have never seen the streets of Manhattan so quiet and empty. We headed out to Riverside Park and it started pouring, but still there was no sign of wind.

Our only encounter in the park was a totally wet skunk that was running hastily away from the Hudson River.

Guess what we thought next. That seemed like a unique opportunity to jog in one of New York’s major parks naked, and we didn’t miss the chance!

We ran in the rain up to George Washington Bridge.

It felt fantastic, as if the city was just ours and nothing could stop us… But of course, we had to stop and go back. The storm never really hit Manhattan severely, but we wouldn’t know beforehand. So, luckily, our naked run remained the brightest memory from the hurricane Irene. Who knows what Sandy brings us this time. It is expected to be much longer (up to 36 hours, as opposed to 6 hours of Irene), and it’s definitely not going to be warm, especially if the tropical hurricane does merge with the wintry storm. Also, combination with full moon increases the chance of particularly strong surges, so we should stay away from the river…

Be safe and take care!

Naked men in exhibitions in NYC and Vienna; and sign petition against ban on nudity in San Francisco!

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

A short exhibition about Russian gay men who fled to the US is now on display in a small gallery in Manhattan, 287 Spring. Sorry for the late alert, but this Sunday is the last day and I just visited it today. I had a chance to speak with the photographer, Alexander Kargaltsev, and he told me the idea to show those men naked, besides the aesthetic value, had a symbolic meaning. They fled from Russia, because they were confronted with aggression and misunderstanding, and new laws in many regions, including seemingly progressive Saint Petersburg, make it practically impossible even to mention such issues in public (the so-called bans on gay propaganda). Although US is still lagging behind in terms of equality in some basic right to its homosexual citizens, these asylum seekers at least can now live openly in such cities as New York, which is symbolised by their nudity – open and free – next to some well-known sights of the city or simply on the roofs. The story made it to Huffingtonpost, and even with uncensored photos. Also, the exhibition is free and the photographs are easily visible from the street. This publicity, however, made some of the models decide to withdraw their photographs, as they didn’t want to risk security of their family members who stayed in Russia.

Its worth noticing though, that they, as any other people in New York, don’t actually have the freedom to be unclothed in public, so their nudity is really not more than a symbol. San Francisco’s legislature seems to be much more liberal in this respect, but this harmless freedom is at risk even there. Sign a petition against proposed ban on nudity in San Francisco!

Vienna hosts even two exhibitions with naked men on display in different art forms, from sculptures to paintings and photographs, and not in a small gallery, but in two major museums: Leopold and Lentos. But surprisingly, Viennese dwellers turned out to be not ready to see [male] nudity on posters in the city.

Go figure what’s wrong with it… or better go check it out and show some support. You could actually even visit it naked! Here is a link to the video from the naked day at Leopold Museum: http://www.stern.de/kultur/kuriose-ausstellung-nackt-im-museum-1973612.html

Queer Woods of Pennsylvania (part II)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

In my previous post, I promised to continue about queer woods of Pennsylvania that were only going to get queerer, so here is where we ended up on another hot summer weekend: not a haunted house this time, but a lively campground, ‘the Woods’, oriented to gay and lesbian clientele. As you can expect from the name, it is located in the woods in the rural part of Pennsylvania. Most people stay in trailers or cabins, but you can also opt for a tent. The atmosphere is very laid-back, so clothing-optional policy only helps to ease your mind; on the other hand, they organise themed weekends, so you’re likely to find company with similar interests. Needless to say, it was a nudist weekend, when I was there with more than a dozen of naked friends.

One of the obvious things to do in the woods is, of course, hiking, and ‘the Woods’ provide plenty of room for hiking au naturel.

There are designated trails on the territory that belongs to the campground, but when we ended up at the edge of the Christmas tree farm, it was hard to resist posing in front of those in my favourite attire… I wouldn’t mind this kind of Christmas!

This guy in fur coat was clearly overdressed. It wasn’t a white Christmas!

Or was it?

There was a field full of chamomiles.

The field was so big, it seemed easy to get lost there!

So we returned to the campground for lunch and some relaxing time by the pool. There is also a small lake, but surprisingly very few people use it. Maybe this funny warning note is to blame for that.

Of course, it didn’t stop me from swimming there. To me, presence of fish is rather a sign of a healthy lake.

Shallow area in the middle of the lake indeed had numerous nests of sunfish.

But you can also explore the pond without getting wet: a pedal boat and a canoe are provided as well.

You can also see it as a work out: first legs,

then upper body 😉

And maybe some balancing exercises on a small rock in the middle of the lake?

I wasn’t the only one to claim the rock, but its true owner is this pond slider turtle.

Next to the pond, there was a sunlit meadow full of daylillies.

Activities don’t stop at ‘the Woods’ at night. They even offer a midnight hike! Many people have actually joined. Just watch out for ticks (it’s actually good to stay naked, so they cannot hide in and under clothes). The nights when we stayed were very warm, but in case it cools down, there are two hot tubs and a huge fire as well.

What else do you need to stay warm than a bunch of naked friends and a fire?

And to top it all up, the campground boasts a decent night club, well-decorated and with good sound. Unlike at Sunny Rest, another naturist club in this part of Pennsylvania, most people were dancing in the buff.

The choice of music didn’t necessarily fit my taste, but I surely enjoyed the night.

It was a fun retreat, special thanks to Ryan for organizing it!

Queer Woods of Pennsylvania (part I)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Once, on a hot summer day, we went for a hike in the woods of Delaware Water Gap. We just picked a random trail on the map and had no idea what lied ahead.

Blackberry bushes provided a sweet start! But in about an hour after we left the road, we noticed some houses in the middle of the woods. Who would live there without proper road access??

Right, no one! Those were haunted houses!

What was especially weird that there were some gardening tools and equipment around, as if the settlement was abandoned in haste.

There is definitely an interesting story behind all that, perhaps a car with several bullet holes in the door could provide a clue as to what might have happened…

The door was invitingly open, but I don’t think it is going anywhere!

We left the place puzzled; in a few minutes we were more keen on pretty plants around us,

and soon the trail brought us to the Delaware River.

We couldn’t find a proper trail to get down to it, so we had to go through the bushes and ferns. But we managed to get a nice spot for a lunch break and just needed to make sure we would remember where to go back to the trail.

Wait for the next blogpost, those Pennsylvanian woods will only get queerer 😉

Black light body paint party in NYC tomorrow + a couple of announcements

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Tomorrow, the Gallery Bar in East Village will once again turn into naked dance and body paint extravaganza. I’ve been to a couple of their previous events, and they were a lot of fun. This time it’s going to be a little crazier, as the paint will be glowing in the dark!

Curiously, these events are organised by Social Exposure Media, which isn’t a nudist group, but they manage to get a good turnout of happy naked people, I bet many of whom are first-timers. The webpage with info of the party is courtesy of Young Naturists America, however.

I also would like to add that my silence in the last weeks was mainly due to two amazing travels, which will definitely make several excellent entries for this blog 😉 One of them, as you can guess from my previous announcements, was of course Burning Man. Meanwhile, my friend Juan finally got his first blogpost published, congratulations! Soon we’ll add English translation.

Stay tuned!

Fire Island

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Finally I am adding info on this famous getaway destination. New Yorkers, especially from LGBT community, flock to Fire Island, and for a good reason, or rather many reasons. On the one hand, it provides a totally tranquil and rustic environment, with its wooden houses and deer walking on the roads instead of cars. On the other hand, there is a number of bustling bars and a pretty big dance club, as well as special performances and private parties. Many rental houses are clothing-optional too, especially by the pool.

And of course, this narrow stretch of land between the bay and Atlantic Ocean is a lot about the beach. The part of the beach between Pines and Cherry Grove is commonly known as clothing-optional.

The beach turned out to be a good place to make friends. That’s where I got to know David, who showed me a backflip and thus inspired me to take a gymnastics class. Also I got to know two sweet dudes with a dozen of kites. Their parrot seemed to like me, or at least I was able to tame him, although at first he appeared somewhat crazy. It was so nice to get it as a present in the end! But I preferred to keep my distance from the shark, however.

Burning Man ticket for sale, plans and Tacoboy’s Beach Fest at Sandy Hook

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

I’ve already announced that I’m going to Burning Man this year, a crazy festival of artful, creative and positive spirit that several friends of mine say is the most memorable event of their lives. BREAKING NEWS: guess what, I’ve got an extra ticket to sell! Last year was the first time when the organizers had to limit the amount of tickets and it was quickly sold out. This year, they tried a new lottery system for selling tickets, and I was among the lucky ones who got two tickets! Unfortunately my supposed-to-be burner companion has got a new job and cannot join me anymore. So I’ve decided to give it a try and see if there is anyone interested among my readers!

Let me know by e-mail or leave a comment here if you want to get the ticket! I don’t think I need to advertise this sought-after item, but FYI the ticket is from the cheapest tier and in the good spirit of Burning Man I am selling it face value.

Meanwhile, I was trying to pick a theme camp to join at Burning Man and chose one that might not be the most artistic but definitely is one of the most handy camps: Playa Bike Transport. Apparently, bicycle is the way to go at Burning Man, and this camp provides bikes for rent and free repair service during the event. The idea to learn bike repair is especially appealing to me, because I plan some long bike trips.

Needless to say, I’ll spend a lot of time naked there – perhaps I’ll be your naked mechanic? But I still need to think of a costume for night time, as it gets really cold after sunset.

And just a couple of weeks ago, I got a bit of  a taste of Burning Man at Sandy Hook beach. One of the famous fellows from the so-called burner community, Tacoboy, organized a mini-fest there with potluck food and drinks, hula-hoops, some music (just as loud as it was allowed at this place), give-aways and lots of smiles. There was a couple of other groups that brought some decorations.

We spent a lot of time hula-hooping, as well as playing volleyball and frisbee.

As we were a lot of people, we didn’t play with just one frisbee, but with two. Simultaneously 🙂

The game provided plenty of opportunities to take photos à la discobolus statue.

But the hollow frisbee also proved to be a nice decorative tool.

As if all that wasn’t enough, we topped it up with some gymnastics! I’ll write more about our beach gymnastics classes in one of the following posts, but for now I’ll post a photo of our awesome foursome handstand.

naturist-0074-gymnastics-@-Gunnison-Beach,-Sandy-Hook,-NJ,-USA

Can you believe that the girl on the photo was able to do her handstand for the first time on that day? David, who was in charge of our acrobatic frenzy, must be a really good teacher! And again, such unexpected (and free!) class of gymnastics with a naked instructor is totally in line with Burning Man spirit the way I imagine it.

running nude: the most human form of exercise

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

I have written many times that I like running naked, but after I came in third in my first ever naked race, it is a good time to tell why I think running naked is not only fun, but actually is the most natural activity for a human being. We just need to let the International Olympic Committee know. Actually, the Ancient Olympic committee must have known it.

Current evidence suggests that long-distance running was crucial in human evolution. Did you know that humans are the best long-distance runners among all animals? We can outrun even a horse! And one of the keys in our success as long distance runners has been our nakedness. Here are the links to a scientific peer-reviewed article on endurance running and the evolution of Homo [a genus to which our species, Homo sapiens, as well our ancestor and cousin species belong], as well as a short summary in the same journal, Nature, and another one from BBC.

Selection towards endurance running apparently shaped our body from bones to skin. It made us essentially two-legged and our legs longer than in any other ape. Not only skeleton changed, so did musculature, thanks to which we have prominent buttocks: we barely use gluteus maximus muscle for walking, but it is very active during running. Finally, our bare skin, as opposed to fur or feathers in other famous runners among animals, such as cheetahs, horses or ostriches, is an adaptation to prevent our body from overheating during running, as it allows us to sweat effectively with the whole surface of our body. So even though we are poor sprinters compared to many other animals, in the long run – quite literally – we could beat any of them! This ability was and still is used for hunting animals by exhausting them, the so-called persistence hunting.

Thus, people running in clothes, even light ‘professional running’ clothes, is evolutionary nonsense, a totally backward idea so to say. Sometimes you get questions how it feels with ‘things’ swaying and flopping. I’ve never had any issues or discomfort with that, and, at least from a male perspective when you think of it seriously, it’s difficult to see it as a real problem (you may get some insight on this issue from a female prospective from a blogpost on Young Naturists America). In the Bouncing Buns race almost all men ran totally bare, and most women without bras, so I assume most of the participants felt fine running naked. I could imagine it might be an issue for men who always wear tight underwear and for women always wearing bras, if their scrotum and breast are not used to supporting themselves, but that actually doesn’t sound healthy. On the other hand, when I told a friend about me participating in the naked race, he suggested that additional “pendulum” might be actually advantageous if you synchronise the swing with the forward move 😀

I suggest you to test this hypothesis on your own. Go for a good long run, naked run, like a real human 😉