balneario ‘El Tambo’ de Papallacta, Ecuador

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Por un coincidencia, mientras ayer estuve preparando esta entrada sobre una salida con el grupo Nudismo Ecuador, hace un año, ellos fueron al mismo lugar, y pues empiezo con las fotos de su encuentro recién.

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… y continuo con la historia de mi visita: Hace pocos años tuve la idea de viajar a Ecuador o a Perú y, por supuesto busqué opciones para el naturismo. Me pareció que ecuador tenía una comunidad naturista más vibrante con algunos grupos activos. Tuve que cancelar y posponer mi viaje un par de ocasiones, pero hace un año finalmente fui allá y efectivamente encontré una buena cantidad de naturistas locales.

Hay un par de grupos en Quito que se reúnen semanalmente en una piscina con sauna y hacen salidas -con menor frecuencia- a piscinas termales fuera de la ciudad. Aunque Ecuador está ubicado (ya lo habrán adivinado) en la línea ecuatorial, la capital y algunas otras ciudades grandes, tienen un clima marcadamente frío, por estar en las montañas. (Quito es la segunda capital más alta del mundo). De manera que las termas naturales son la mejor opción para hacer nudismo al aire libre. He estado en contacto con uno de los grupos nudistas locales Nudismo Ecuador – desde hace un tiempo, así que, cuando mis planes tomaron forma, me asegure de coordinar un encuentro con ellos. Y salimos una docena de nudistas, entre hombres y mujeres, a una piscina de aguas termales en Papallacta al noreste de Quito.

No hay piscinas naturistas oficialmente calificadas, pero algunas admiten a grupos nudistas con cita previa. Este es el balneario de El Tambo. Si quieres disfrutar del nudismo, coordina con Nudismo Ecuador mediante e-mail.

Junto al estacionamiento hay un sendero de piedras (un poco resbaloso a causa de la llovizna),

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en el que rápidamente nos desnudamos y solo las ovejas nos miraban. Parecían un poco sorprendidas.

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A esta altitud de 3.500m sobre el nivel del mar hasta algunas plantas eligen protegerse con una capa de tejido algodonoso.

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Así que, como hacía frío, especialmente bajo la llovizna del Páramo, rápidamente nos metimos en la piscina.

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Aunque alguno prefirió calentarse corriendo alrededor de la piscina.

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Pero, una vez dentro del agua, todo fue de lo más relajante… hasta que llegó el resto del grupo y decidimos jugar con una pelota. Habían inventado algo propio y yo tenía mucha curiosidad.

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Mientras que el volley es muy común en los sitios naturistas

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este era más parecido al rugby: anotas tocando el área del gol del equipo contrario.

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Ya que tienes que correr en el agua, los pases son más frecuentes en este “deporte”,

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y hay menos riesgo de golpes y lesiones.

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Nos lo tomamos muy en serio y celebramos la victoria =)

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Luego del partido, ya con más calor corporal, nos arriesgamos a hacer una corta caminata por el bosque, a pesar de la llovizna.

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Algunos de los picos montañosos están cubiertos de nieve y hubiera sido fabuloso verlos mientras caminábamos desnudos o desde la piscina, pero había una espesa capa de nubes bloqueando la vista. (Típico de la zona).

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Fuimos hacia abajo, al río.

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En la orilla había un Ojo de Agua termal

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con dramáticos colores parecidos a luces de neón.

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Toda esa humedad da como resultado una muy densa vegetación.

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Algunas plantas florecían,

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y los troncos de los árboles estaban cubiertos de helechos, musgo y líquenes.

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Luego de la caminata llegó la hora de regresar a Quito, pero esa ducha de agua caliente fue increíble!

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A pesar de que no hay reconocimiento oficial del naturismo en Ecuador, los nudistas locales son realmente muy activos y mi viaje demostró que hay muchas opciones para esta práctica.

 

 

thermal pool ‘El Tambo’ in Papallacta, Ecuador

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By coincidence, as I was preparing yesterday this blogpost about an outing with the group of Nudismo Ecuador a year ago, they went to the same place; so I am starting with a few photos from their recent trip

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… and continue with the story of my visit: A few years ago I got an idea to travel to either Ecuador or Peru and of course looked up options for naturism; Ecuador seemed to have a much more vibrant naturist community with a few active groups. I had to cancel and postpone my trip a couple of times, but a year ago I finally went there and indeed found a good bunch of local naturists. There is a couple of groups in Quito, with weekly gatherings at a pool with sauna and less frequent outings to thermal pools outside the city. Even though Ecuador is situated (you’ve guessed it!) at the equator, the capital and a few other major cities have pretty cool or even chilly climate being high up in the mountains (Quito is the second highest capital city in the world), so hot springs is a natural choice if you want to hang out naked. I had been in touch with one of the local naturist groups – Nudismo Ecuador – for a while, so when my plans solidified, I made sure to coordinate to meet up with them. So a dozen of us went to the thermal pools of Papallacta east of Quito.

There are no officially designated clothing-optional pools, but some admit naturist groups with prior arrangements. This one is called ‘El Tambo’. If you want to enjoy it sans clothes, coordinate with Nudismo Ecuador by e-mail. After parking, there is a short pebble walkway (quite slippery from the mist),

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on which we stripped off right away, as from then on only sheep could see us. They seemed a bit a amused,

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as at this altitude of 3.5km asl, even some plants prefer to have a wooly cover.

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So, yes, it was quite chilly, especially in the mountain mist, so we quickly proceeded to the pool,

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although some preferred to gain some body heat from running around the pool first.

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But once we were in, it was pure relaxation… until more group member arrived and we decided to play a ball game. The invented it on their own, so I was curious to try!

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While water volleyball is common at naturist resorts,

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this one is more reminiscent of rugby: you score by touching the “gate” area of the opponent team.

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Due to having to run in water, passes are more common in this game,

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and less chance of injuries from tackling.

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We did take it seriously, so the victory was well celebrated =)

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After the game, we were certainly warm enough to venture out for a brief hike, even though it was drizzling.

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Some of the mountain peaks around are covered in snow – it would have been even more amazing to see them while hiking naked or enjoying the pool, but there was a thick cloud blocking the view (typical for the area).

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We went down to a small river,

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and on its bank there was a natural thermal spring

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with contrasting, almost neon, colors.

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All that moist results in dense vegetation.

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Some plants were blooming,

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and tree trunks were covered in ferns, moss and lichens.

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After the hike, it was already time to go back to Quito, but that hot shower felt amazing!

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So even though there is not much official recognition of naturism in Ecuador, local naturists are certainly very active, and my further travel proved that there is plenty of opportunities for naturism!

Discounted tickets for the ferry to Sandy Hook :-) Let’s show up in big numbers and play some ball games!

Sandy Hook is undisputedly the favorite summer gathering spot for nudists of New York, New Jersey and even Philly. For New York City dwellers, there is a convenient ferry (rightfully called SeaStreak) that departs at two locations in Manhattan, but the cost ($45) may be discouraging. Luckily, this year there is not just one but two discounted ticket options. After some pressure, SeaStreak has release a coupon for $30, as in previous years.

Seastreak ferry coupon 2014

But this year, you can buy an even cheaper ticket with Groupon for $25, which is limited to only one per account, however. Nonetheless, there are two independent links that allow buying two tickets actually (or is there more?) – go and get ’em:

Groupon Seastreak Ferry to Sandy Hook 1 and Groupon Seastreak Ferry to Sandy Hook 2!

I’ve written about Sandy Hook on multiple occasions, so just use the “search” option to your right on this website and get inspired for some beach activities. Volleyball is a must, but after playing some touch rugby at Sunny Rest resort, we’d like to add rugby to our beach routine too! Given the ongoing World Cup, football is also on the list. Come and join us 😉 Why naked? Because what’s the purpose of clothes at a summer beach? None! Rugby and soccer players don’t usually wear protective gear anyways (besides mouth guards, but they are not necessary for touch rugby), so what’s the point in wearing anything at all? Run free and enjoy!

Active Naturists team gets gold at the Bouncing Buns trail race :-)

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Last weekend my friends and I teamed up for the naked trail race at Sunny Rest naturist resort in Pennsylvania, and we scored two trophies, including the absolute first! Yes, one of us, Casey, ran that tough 6km trail in just 27 min 47 sec. David brought another trophy for the 4th male under 39 years old (8th total).  I was 13th, but I was happy I could run the race at all, as I wasn’t sure how my ankle would feel still not fully recovered from the injury that I got after I was run over by car in January. This was my third year attending the race, and although the route have gotten shorter from 7 to 6km, it has also acquired some steep slopes this time. Probably for this reason, besides the injury, my result was 3min longer than last year despite a shorter track (32:16). It’s a pity another prize-winning ‘Team America’ from last year didn’t show up this time, but there was more than enough competition with 159 participants.

I was also recognized by one of the readers of my blog, who actually said he was inspired by it to participate in the race. This kind of comment is probably the best praise I could expect from my blog, this is what keeps me motivated to run it!

After the award ceremony, we ate lunch and I was glad to find out that the restaurant at Sunny Rest has improved tremendously and offers now a diverse menu of pretty good quality. Then we rested from the race in the pool and hot tub… but not for too long, as we also wanted to play volleyball. We had a few fun matches but needed even more rest afterwards, so we mostly hung out at the sauna and hot tubs in the evening. Next day, our activities started with yoga at the lawn near the tenting site followed by a short hike, partially on the trail that was used for the race.

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The outskirts of a field proved to be a good spot for nude photography.

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We also played some touch rugby in the afternoon, inspired by the recent match of Nude Blacks in New Zealand.

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We played with just 3 players in each team, but it was still a lot of fun.

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We all concluded that we should play it more often, so maybe we’ll build up a team some day. And maybe it will be as successful in rugby as in running? 🙂

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