Tag: swimming

בילוי בעירום בשונית האלמוגים. הפעם מפרץ אילת

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

 English

שחיה בעירום במים חמימים בשונית אלמוגים שוקקת חיים זה חלום ישן שלי. ביקרתי במיצרים בשנת 2005 יש שם חוף המאפשר רחיצה ללא בגד ים. זאת אותה השונית רק בצד הישראלי של הגבול. הפעם היתי מצוייד גם במצלמה תת ימית.

שוב הדהימו אותי הצבעים העזים והחיים הטוססים מתחת לפני המים. אחד המראות היותר מהממים שראיתי מעודי. לישראל חוף בים סוף באורך של 10 ק”מ זוהי שמורת האלמוגים הטרופיט הצפונית ביותר.

 

שהותי באילת תוכננה לקצת יותר מ24 שעות. בגלל קוצר הזמן התרכזתי בשמורת האלמוגים בלבד. לא ידוע לי על חוף נודיסטים בצד הישראלי. התקווה למצוא חוף מבודד מספיק הגיע מידידה שהכרתי דרך מדריך גלישה. פגשתי אותה שוב בדרכי לים המלח. היא סיפרה לי על [חוף המיגדלאור] הריק יחסית שבו היא מבלה עם חברייה ואף נשארת לישון שם. מדריך גלישה נוסף שפגשתי הסכים לארח אותי בביתו למרות שהיה עסוק בהכנות לבחינה. השארתי את הדברים שלי אצלו והתכוננתי לצאת לישון בחוף. זה היה בחודש יוני היה חם ולא היזדקקתי לאוהל או לשק שינה.

מונית לחוף לא צריכה לעלות יותר מ-20 ש”ח. קו 15 של אגד לחופים הדרומיים יוצא כל שעה עגולה מהתחנה המרכזית באילת. חוף המגדלאור הוא תחנה אחת לפני האחרונה של הקו. אין שם ממש תחנה אבל אפשר לבקש מהנהג לעצור בחוף.

הגעתי לשם כבר בשקיעה, אבל בגלל ההרים החשכה היה מגיע אפילו מהר יותר. אז הייתי צריך למהר אם אני רוצה לראות את שונית לפני החושך ואני עדיין צריך למצוא מקום לישון. החוף עצמו לא עשה עלי רושם. כפי שאתה יכול לראות על התמונה מעל, זה פשוט קטע של כמה מטרים רחב של מכוסה חצץ החוף נדחק בין הכביש לים (הכביש יש ללכת כל כך קרוב לים בגלל הסלעים). אבל זה לא היה על החוף הייתי אחרי, אז הלכתי ישר אל הים (במכנסיים קצרים, כי הזמן). ונדהמתי מיד על ידי היופי של שונית האלמוגים. זה לא היה גדול כמו אחד שראיתי Hurghada, אבל הוא היה מלא חיים. וברגע שראיתי צלופח מוריי כי היה מסובב לצד באיום אל החור שלה, אני חשה שמחה נתקלו כזה התושב הייחודי של שונית האלמוגים, כי לא ראיתי לפני. בעוד לשנרקל הבחנתי מקום בגבול עם חוף הנסיכה, כי נראה היה גובה גבוה 1m על אשר חשבתי היה להסתיר אותי מן האור מן הכביש, כמו גם להגן עלי מפני הרוח. אגב, החוף היה מלא באוהלים, אבל לא יכולתי לראות אף אחד מסביב רובם. בכל מקרה, זה נתן לי את הרושם מחנאות היה בסדר שם, אנשים חשו בטוחים להשאיר את הדברים שלהם. אז הרמתי את התרמיל הקטן שלי הלך למקום הזה. זה הרגיש כל כך גדול כדי להיות מסוגל לישון בחוץ ללא צורך לכסות! אז ישנתי תחת כיפת השמים המכוכבים ליד הים הדבר היחיד שהטריד אותי היה האור מגיע מן הכביש. ובכן, בשלב מסוים היה גם עכבר קטן ניסה להיכנס לתוך התרמיל שלי, אבל אחרי שאני פוחד שזה כמה פעמים זה השאיר אותי לבד 😉

הגעתי לחוף בשעת השקיעה. בגלל ההרים החוף מחשיך מוקדם. הזדרזתי כדי להספיק לראות קצת אלמוגים ולהיתכונן לשינה לפני שמחשיך. החוף לא מרשים כפי שניתן לראות בתמונות למעלה. חוף חלוקים ברוחב כמה מטרים תחום בכביש. הכביש צמוד לחוף בגלל הסלעים הטבעיים המזדקרים לאורך החוף. החוף לא עניין אותי ושמתי פעמיי לים (הפעם במיכנסיים) המפגש עם השונית והיופי של האלמוגים היכה בי מייד. השונית קטנה מזאת שראיתי בע’רדקה (Hurghada) במיצרים אבל היא מלאת חיים. מורנה הציצה אלי מתוך חור בשונית זה ריגש אותי מכיוון שזאת הפעם הראשונה שאני פוגש יצור זה שהוא כל כך מזוהה עם השונית. בעודי בים ראיתי על החוף בסמוך לחוף הנסיכה תלולית בגובה מטר שהגנה מהאורות של הכביש ומהרוחות. על החוף היו הרבה אוהלים שנראו שוממים מאדם זה נתן לי תחושה שאפשר לחנות במקום ולא צריך לחשוש מלהשאיר את הציוד כל החוף. אספתי את התרמיל הקטן שלי והלכתי למקום. התחושה של שינה בחוף ללא צורך בכיסוי כל שהוא היתה נפלאה. ישנתי על החוף תחת כיפת השמים. הדבר היחידי שהפריע היה אור המכונית מהכביש. בשלב מסוים מכרסם קטן ניסה להיכנס לתוך התיק אבל אחרי שגירשתי אותו שוב ושוב הוא הסתלק.

השקמתי עם עלות החמה מכיוון ירדן. איזה כייף להיעורר על החוף ולראות שלוש מדינות בו זמנית.

ארוחת בוקר של פירות ואגוזים. החלטתי להישתזף ערום מכיוון שהחוף נראה שומם.

קמתי להיכנס לים, דרך אגב בתמונה למעלה אפשר להבחין בגדר לאורך קו המים עם כניסות מוסדרות כדי להגן על השונית… טוב הלכתי לים אבל לא העזתי ללכת ערום. הורדתי את בגד הים בתוך המים ונישארתי לבוש בשנורקל בילבד. 😎

הפעם השונית התגלתה במלוא הדרה כשהשמש האירה את השונית. דגים בצבעים בוהקים שחו בסמוך לשונית.

אחדים בניגוד כמו האבנונים (Crocodilefish) למטה היו מוסבים לגמרי וקצת מאימים.

בסך הכל זאת היתה חוויה מרגשת לפגוש מגוון כזה של דגים בשעתיים של צלילה. רובם לא הראו כל סימן של פחד. התמזל מזלי לצלם אותם. אפשר לחזות בכמה מהם במצגת.

שמות הדגים פחות מעניינים. בסופו של דבר הבלוג הוא על עירום בטבע ולא על חיות בטבע. בכול זאת נראה לי שאני אבדוק בויקיפדיה מה בדיוק ראיתי שם. ראיתי את רוב הדגים האופיניים לשוניות בזמן הקצר ששהיתי שם. זכיתי לראות מינים שונים יצורים החיים בגמלין ושיתוף. למשל דג הנקאי (דג ממשפחת השפתניים wrasses בתצלום) המפורסם מטפל בעורם של החברה הגדולים (חלילן needlefish בתצלום). אפשר לראות אותם גם בסרט.

חוויתי על בשרי תוכון (Picasso fish) מנסה לאיים עלי כאמצעי
הגנה על הקן שלו וזה פעל למרות הפרשי הגודל כ :O

כמומן שהכל בעירום. זה נקרה התמזגות עם הטבע.

לצערי פגשתי לא רק דגים ואלמוגים –

מדי פעם ראיתי גם זבל צף במים.

כנראה שזה הגיע מסירות התיירים הרבות. התיירים על הסירות נראו שמחים. הם קפצו מהסירות לים אבל לא נראה לי שהחיים מתחת למים ענינו אותם. אין לי מוסג מי משליך את כל הזבל הזה לים. זה חייב להיות משהו שלא מזיז לו כל היופי הזה שאותו הוא מזהם.

חוויה מתקנת מצאתי על החוף. כשחזרתח בשחיה לחוף. מתוך הים הבחנתי בבחור יושב עליד התרמיל שלי. בעודי מתכוון ללבוש את בגד הים הבחנתי שהבחור יושב ערום. שמחתי לפגוש נודיסט על החוף והרגשתי מספיק בטוח לצעוד במערומיי על החוף למרות שהחוף בוא לא באופן רישמי חוף שאפשר להיסתובב בו ערומים. שוחחתי עם הבחור והיסתבר לי שהוא חשפן מצ’ילה והוא מגיע לחוך לעיתים קרובות וראה לא פעם נודיסטים נוספים בחוף. האם המזל הביא אותי לחוף הזה מבלי שהיה לי מידע כלשהו ולמרות שכולם אמרו לי שאי אפשר להשתזף בעירום באילת. אולי יש לי מין חוש או ראדר למקומות כאילה. חוש שאני קורה לו נודאר. ‘nudar’ 🙂

Hebrew text by Dror

Vita Nuda at the Lighthouse beach, NY

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Vita Nuda Northeast is a part of network for young adult nudists. During summer, they organize regular beach parties. The favorite spot is Robert Moses beach aka the Lighthouse beach in Long Island, NY.

Not all Lighthouse Beach is clothing-optional, but just walk around and you’ll figure it out. Maybe something like this could be a clue for you 😉

Vita Nuda’s parties are always fun and bring together a lot of people from the area.

Besides chilling and grilling, there are always some fun activities.

Body painting is of course one of the favorites (even if it means that you need to wash in the ocean when it’s a little rough and chilly).

And there is always plenty of hula hoops, it’s almost like Vita Nuda’s trademark. If you see some naked people with hula hoops, it’s almost certainly someone from or inspired by Vita Nuda group 😉

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Some go for traditional beach bats, though.

But one of the parties featured aqua-ball, something I’d never even seen. When I saw the ball, I was totally eager to try to conquer the waves in it!

It was quite an effort to get it to the waves, but it was totally worth it! In the end I felt happily dizzy and my friends took their turn.

But this was not the only aqua-ball. There was another, that you are literally sealed inside… and try to walk on waves. This one certainly needs some assistance, with pushing it towards the waves and on the other hand keeping it under control with the rope.

Frankly, it did feel a little creepy being inside an enclosed ball, but again it was too much fun not to try.

Just look at this video!

When I was working on it in iMovie, I found there was a number of preset clip-makers, one of which was called ‘Surf Kid’ with the idea that surfing is not only for big guys. While aqua-ball sounds more childish, I actually found it quite challenging, so the video below is not entirely a joke 😉

Looking forward to aqua-ball and more parties with Vita Nuda next summer!

Naked Spring Bash with Florida Young Naturists

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

This post was actually about to be published in my old blog, but right when I clicked the ‘publish’ button, Google suddenly deleted my blog… irrevocably. Well, enough complaining, now the blog is back, and several months after the first attempt this post is finally out! It is actually a good time, because Florida Young Naturists group has just announced (through their Facebook page, their website is not updated) the next Naked Spring Bash in April this year. So here is the original text, I leave it unchanged:

One of the reasons why I haven’t posted last weeks was because Joe visited me, and we went to South Florida for few days and had a lot of naked fun in the sun. We actually spent most of our time there naked: the CouchSurfing hosts we stayed with were also nudists, we went to the famous Haulover Beach (that is where the World Record Skinny-Dip took place) and got a chance to swim in the buff in a couple of other places, but most strikingly we visited a nudist colony Sunsport Gardens for the Naked Spring Bash organized by Florida Young Naturists. I came across their website a couple of years ago and thought it would be fantastic to join the group of naked peers that organized numerous fun events. I was reminded about FYN once again at the Nude Year’s Eve, as two of its members were there as well. The program for the Naked Spring Bash sounded really cool and after the long and cold winter we were craving for the sun and warmth, so it was amazing that Joe and I could go there together.

Too bad we didn’t get in this video, but they’re right, you can do all kind of fun things there!

The event included all kinds of activities.

I loved the drum circle around the fire on the first night. There was a dozen of drummers and other people were dancing around the fire. I got a frame drum of pandeiro type, the same as we use in capoeira, which I practice, so I could play and dance at the same time. And of course there was body art.

Joe got Sun and Moon from me,

but he took an easy path and “painted” handprints on me 🙂

Spring Bash participant were given a free spot for camping by the pond, and when we woke up, we got a chance to meet a couple of its friendly dwellers.

Then we went for a walk around the gardens with beautiful tropical and subtropical plants.

The tiny island in the pond was quite picturesque. Then there was some pool time and lunch, naked lunch of course. I was disappointed though, that they mostly provided fast-food and served it on single-use ware. I’d expect a naturist venue to be at the frontier of health- and eco-consciousness.

In the afternoon, there was a short excursion through the bit of tropical forest that belonged to Sunsport Gardens. We were very pleased to find this forest with many native plants of South Florida, and we went there on our own a couple of times again.

In a couple of places there were tables and benches, so you could have a quiet lunch in the forest as well.

The plants were diverse, there were some bamboos, but most of the forest was pine and palm trees,

some of which we tried to climb.

As to the Spring Bash itself, there were also volleyball matches, sauna, disco… but we were too busy enjoying it to take pictures 😉

On the last day of the Spring Bash, most of the people went to Haulover Beach.

But besides having nice company at the beach, when we went for a swim we were accompanied by a school of small fish… Either they mistook us for their parents or thought we’d simply provide them shelter from sharks 🙂

In any case, they followed us for half an hour!

I was quite surprised to find out that Haulover Beach was just one of two official clothing-optional beaches in South Florida.

But when we were driving around we found a couple of secluded spots in mangrove forests, where we went skinny-dipping too.

famous Black’s Beach!

by αNaturist, posted in Uncategorized

In the mid-November, I was lucky to go with my new colleagues for the biggest conference in my field, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, and that time it was held in the sunny San Diego. Of course, it wouldn’t have been me, if I hadn’t planned to visit a nudist beach there, especially such a famous one as Black’s Beach. And I was double lucky that on the warmest day during my stay, when it was over 25ºC, the program seemed the least interesting so I skipped most of the day and headed to the beach (see the map for exact location).

As soon as I reached, it was pretty clear why this beach is so famous: it is, obviously, one of the biggest clothing-optional beaches and the view from the cliffs is stunning! It reminded me of the beaches of Meco in Portugal and Ga’ash in Israel.

I was surprised that on such an unusually warm day for November it was relatively empty, although it was Sunday, but I noticed some naked sunbathers immediately.

There are several trails leading down, and apparently I chose not the easiest one, but it was fun.

And I saw some lizards on the way down, apparently the enjoyed the sun too.
Soon I was walking on the soft beach sand, and look how the waves create a beautiful ornament of black and gold.
Then I saw that besides sunbathers there were surfers too!
But not naked :-/
Well, the water wasn’t too warm… But actually, first time I heard of Black’s Beach was because of the Nude Surfing Event. (check this link for more info)
Here is a video of one of the surfers.
Now, I’ve found that they actually arrange naked surfing lessons from July till September! I want to do that!!!
… but coming back to my calm day at the Black’s Beach, I was looking for a nice spot to lie down. I stayed near bushes and soon found that I had some neighbors: a rabbit (could not manage to take a photo of it) and a California ground squirrel that was quite tame and obviously was attracted to my nuts. (I mean I had some almonds with me 🙂

But then I got to know a bit more communicative neighbor, local visitor Alex. We chatted for a while, and it was him who disillusioned me by saying that such a hot day was not common that time of the year even in Southern California… But I still thought to myself that I might have made a mistake not applying for job at Salk Institute which is located practically on top of Black’s Beach, hehe. The idea that one can walk to such a beautiful beach for a lunch break sounds tantalizing! I did go to a lake for lunch breaks in my first year in Berlin until our lab moved, but even then my work was not that close to a naturist retreat like here.

Later in the afternoon I went jogging all along the beach and this gave me the real impression of how huge the beach is! But, apparently not all beach is officially a clothing optional area. When I ran in the northern direction one elderly man waived to me and told that I was way beyond the nude-friendly area and might get fined! If I understood correctly, the clothing optional part ends to the north of these rocks. But there was no sign. In any case, I didn’t feel bad, as only 2 or 3 people saw me in that section of the beach and there were either coming from or heading to the clothing-optional part, so I doubt they would be shocked by seeing a naked jogger.
Other people that I met gave me much more pleasant news. I saw one guy practicing some capoeira moves, but unfortunately he had to leave soon. I still haven’t mentioned that I did swim there too. The water was a little chilly, but I could stand it for 20-30min, amongst few others. And then, the only neighbor of mine, who went for long swims too, was coming from the sea almost crying. Don’t worry, he wasn’t bitten by a shark, those were tears of happiness as he saw a school of dolphins right next to him! He said it was one the most beautiful moments in his life, and I was very disappointed at myself that I left the ocean just about 10min earlier… I have swum with dolphins once, but that was in murky waters of Rio Negro in the Amazon basin so I couldn’t really see them underwater…
And when I was going back at sunset I saw a group of people playing volleyball, in the buff of course. This beach certainly seems to be perfect for many kinds of naturist activities 🙂

Before I was going to wear my clothes, I saw a threatening warning ‘Unstable Cliffs. Stay Back’
And I did so and enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets 😎

One of the next (colder) days, I went there again with my colleagues for a short hike in Torrey Pines Park. When we went down to the beach I took some more photos, like this one with giant algae brought by waves on the shore.

And these are sandpipers; the smaller ones always run somewhat clumsily trying to escape the waves, while the bigger one stay calm.
And once in a while there were flocks of (probably) pelicans…
So overall, Black’s Beach seems to be perfect for nature lovers and active beach-goers. I hope to go there again, perhaps for a class of naked surfing!

snorkeling naked in coral reefs again! (Red Sea, Israel this time)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

עברית

I have been dreaming of swimming naked in the warm and full of life waters of coral reefs ever since I visited Egypt in 2005 and went snorkeling at a clothing-optional beach there. Finally I could do it again on my trip to Israel, and this time I had my waterproof camera with me.

And again I was amazed by the colorful and vivid underwater scenery, certainly one of the most stunning I have ever seen, even though Israel has less than 10km of seashore at the Red Sea and it is the northernmost tropical coral reef.

I had a little more than 24 hours in Eilat, so I didn’t want to spend my time on anything else but snorkeling there. I couldn’t find any information on a nudist beach in that area, but the first hint that I could go swimming naked there came from a girl who I got to know through CouchSurfing and who I was going to visit later on my trip at the Dead Sea; she said she liked a relatively empty Lighthouse beach where she sometimes stayed overnight with her friends. I found another couchsurfer in Eilat who agreed to host me even though he was busy preparing for exams, but I just left my stuff at his place and decided to go to the beach overnight. Given that it was late June and it was very hot, I wouldn’t even need a tent or a sleeping bag, so I loved the idea!

Lighthouse beach is before the last stop of the bus line that goes along the coast from Eilat’s central bus station to Princess hotel at the border with Egypt. There is not official bus stop, but I asked the driver to let me get off.

I came to there already at sunset, but because of the mountains the dusk was coming even quicker. So I had to hurry if I wanted to see the reef before the darkness and I still had to find a place to sleep. The beach itself didn’t impress me. As you can see on the photo above, it is just a several meters wide stretch of pebbly shore squeezed between the road and the sea (the road has to go so close to the sea because of the rocks). But it wasn’t the beach I was after, so I went straight to the sea (in my shorts that time). And I was immediately astonished by the beauty of the coral reef. It wasn’t as big as the one I saw in Hurghada, but it was full of life. And as soon as I saw a moray eel that was twisting menacingly next to its hole, I felt happy to have encountered such a distinctive inhabitant of the coral reef that I hadn’t seen before. While snorkeling I noticed a place at the border with Princess beach that seemed to have an about 1m high elevation which I thought would hide me from light from the road as well as protect me from wind. By the way, the beach was full of tents, but I couldn’t seen anyone around most of them. In any case, it gave me an impression that camping was OK there and people felt confident to leave their stuff. So I picked up my small backpack and went to that place. It felt so great to be able to sleep outdoors without a need to cover! So I slept under the starry sky next to the sea and the only thing that disturbed me was the light coming from the road. Well, at some point there was also a small mouse that tried to get into my backpack but after I scared it a couple of times it left me alone 😉

I woke up with the sun that was rising over Jordan. What a great start of the day to wake up at the sea with 3 countries in your view.

I had some fruity-nutty breakfast and decided to sunbathe naked as I didn’t see anyone around.

But soon I was ready to get into the water. BTW, on the water above you can see that there is a fence next to the sea and there are designated entrances into the sea which is an absolutely necessary measure to protect the coral reef… So here I was, going to the sea again but I didn’t dare to walk naked. I entered the water and then left my swimming trunks at the rock and continued swimming totally naked (except for the mask with snorkel 😎

With the sunlight, the coral reef looked of course even more stunning and many fishes were colored in an amazingly bright manner.

Some, like the crocodile-fish below, were on contrary barely noticeable and looked rather menacing.


But overall, it was a fantastic experience of seeing such an incredible variability of fishes during just a couple of hours, and most of them do not even try to escape when you come closer. I was lucky to capture most of the fishes I saw on my camera.
Here is a slideshow with some photos.

I didn’t bother putting names of the species, as my blog is about naturism and not naturalism after all, but I for myself, I was happy to find a list of fish species of the Red Sea coral reefs on wikipedia; apparently I have seen most of the typical species in such a short tour! And I was happy to see even some interspecies cooperative interactions: the famous example of cleaner fish (a type of wrasses on my photos) taking care of the skin of their big fellows (needlefish on my photos).
And here is a video with some of them.

And I was happy to experience an interaction of one of the fishes with me! That was a Picasso fish trying to intimidate me protecting its nest. And it worked, despite its size :O

And did I mention I was naked too? That’s what I call to be connected with nature 🙂

Unfortunately, fish and corals were not my only encounters:

Once in a while I saw some rubbish floating…

Most likely it comes from those tourist boats… I saw plenty of them; people seem to have lots of fun there, jumping from boats to the sea, but probably they don’t bother looking at beautiful underwater world. Otherwise I cannot imagine how someone could throw garbage into the sea knowing that there is such a marvel right under the surface.

But then a very pleasant surprise came from above the surface! When I was swimming back to my place, I noticed a man sitting close to my stuff and I was preparing to put on my shorts before getting out of the sea, but then I noticed he was naked too! I was quite happy to see a fellow nudist, so I felt even more comfortable staying without clothes, although the place wasn’t known to be clothing-optional. I spoke to the guy, who turned out to be a strip-dancer from Chile, and he said he went there quite regularly and saw some other people naked too. I was quite thrilled that I managed to find that spot just by chance, although everyone told me there was no nudist beach at the Red Sea in Eilat. I thought I might have some special sense, radar, for such places which I called a ‘nudar’ 🙂

Ga’ash beach in Tel Aviv

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Tel Aviv is often dubbed as one of the hippest and most exciting cities of the Mediterranean and the whole world; and as a proper mediterranean city, it offers a few sandy beaches. However, the centrally located beaches are crowded, so if you want to take a breath off the bustling city AND take off your clothes, you should head to the north of Tel Aviv to Ga’ash beach. It is also the most famous gay-friendly beach in Israel. I don’t know how to get there by public transport there, but I was lucky to be brought there by local nudie fellow, who was recommended by a friend in Berlin.

Seemingly endless, Ga’ash beach has enough space for all. In July, when many find the heat in Tel Aviv almost unbearable, it also gets very hot at this beach in the afternoons, as it faces the West, but it’s hard to find anything more relaxing than soaking in the warm waters on the edge of the sea. (if you’re afraid of jellyfish, that’s also probably the deepest you can get into the sea, because jellyfish are abundant in Tel Aviv during mid summer; very bad timing they have!)

But if you are a true active naturist, you shouldn’t lie too much, move your ass and go for a run! 😉

The soft sand is perfect for running barefoot.

The beach lies along sand cliffs,

which provide scenic views,

so of course we couldn’t resist from going for walk by one of the hiking trails.

There are indicators of hiking trails, but it would be difficult to get lost given proximity of the sea.

In some places the sand was very hard but smooth from wind, and the combination creates some cozy corners.

Too bad we couldn’t stay there till sunset. It was time to go back to the beach, and then to the city…

Nu York, Nu York! (Jacob Riis Park beach)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists
As I mentioned previously, I was looking for a job and went for an interview in New York in May. Now, I am finally in the Big Apple and have been settling in quite good so far. At last, I feel I have some spare time to fulfill my promise to update my blog with the new stuff from this summer! First, however, I have an autumn surprise. I was worried there wouldn’t be a possibility to hang out naked outdoors within reasonable distance from NYC… Luckily, a good friend of mine told me about an ‘insider’ nudie spot within New York City Transit area; a picturesque beach where nudity is practiced too!
naturist 0000 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA
I must add immediately, that the majority of people there are not totally naked , and many say one should be careful with police raids, but others convince me there is no problem with that. So, mostly, this beach attracts gay men, many of whom wear rather amusing (to my taste) kinds of swimming trunks – I have not seen such a diversity of swimwear anywhere else (probably not the best comment to a nudist beach). Nevertheless, it is probably as nude as it gets within New York City boundaries. Most of the people seem to be regular visitors who know each other, so it was difficult for a newcomer like me to stay unnoticed. Even though sometimes I felt like I got too much of unwanted attention, it was good to get to know locals. They are very friendly, and it is common to share food and drinks (or sun lotion) with your neighbors there. And ethnical diversity reflects the multicultural scene of Brooklyn and the whole New York City.
naturist 0001 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA
It is Jacob Riis Park, a part of seemingly endless sandy beach line, but the gay and nudist-friendly part is at the border with the private sector section and with a former nursery home at the background.
naturist 0004 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA
The ocean may be very rough at high tide but is usually calmer at low tide. I wouldn’t advice to swim too far if you are alone. Luckily, I’ve found a company of a good swimmer Hassan, who was also nicknamed as a mayor of the beach. naturist 0002 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA
Be careful with a strong current at high tide, as it may bring you quickly westwards: it is difficult to swim back then, and there are remains of wooden pierce which may become a real threat if you get hit by a strong waive. Nevertheless, if you are careful enough and have a companion, it can be a great fun to swim under such high waves.
One day, there were also a lot of jelly fish, but it is not a problem for tough men 😉
naturist 0003 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA
(well, the jelly-fish were all dead and did not sting, hehe)
So, I am happy to tell you yes, there is a place for naked beach time and swimming in New York City! And the weather was good enough even in mid-October, which is another good surprise after Berlin. (Though my first summer in Berlin, in 2006, was also amazing in terms of the weather: if you look at my post about Berlin and nearby areas, there are photos from Warnemünde at the Baltic Sea made in October! But I heard here in NYC it’s a norm unlike in Berlin.)
PS Did you notice what I was drinking on the photo above? The famous “Naked” smoothies 😉
Perhaps another candidate to sponsor this blog besides japanese “Kirin Nuda”
naturist 0005 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA

Secluded beach in Saronida, near Athens

by αNaturist, posted in Athens, naturism, naturist beach, nude snorkeling, nudist places, skinny dipping

I wrote about flat rocks of Limanakia, about 1-1.5 hours from Athens city centre, but if they seem too busy, you can follow further from the city and find some small secluded beaches like this one shown on the map.

You can go there by the same bus as to Limanakia – E22 – but further, till the last stop actually. Then walk along the sea-shore, passing through an urban beach first, until you reach a place of your choice.

It is simply amazing to find such a nice hidden spot 2 hours away from the buzzing centre of Athens;

perfect for a romantic beach day.

The water is crystal clear, so the place is great for snorkeling.

Of course, we swam naked.

But we wouldn’t be active naturists, if we just swam there.

We also played frisbee

and beach bats. As the beach itself was quite small, we decided to play in water. It made it more challenging and fun at the same time.

PS Given that this place is not a municipal beach, its cleanliness depends on you! Unfortunately we found some garbage on this beautiful beach. We took away what we could, but it’d be easier if everyone just took everything with themselves…

Glyko Nero Beach/Sweet Water Beach in South-West Crete

by αNaturist, posted in naturist beaches

Almost all beaches in south-west Crete are clothing-optional, except perhaps only central town beaches. Many of them are connected with famous E4 hiking trail, so you can walk between them… or maybe swim?

Well, I’m joking, Anidri and GLyko Nero beaches are quite far from each other. Glyko Nero Beach (Sweet Water Beach), as its name suggests, has some underground freshwater springs. Thus this place is ideal for camping. Just dig a half-meter hole in the send, if there are not any already, and you’ll get fresh cold water. Regardless, you won’t die from hunger or thirst there anyway, as there is also a tavern. As the beach is turned to the south and surrounded by high walls of steep rocks,

view 0000 Glyko Nero beach, Crete, Greece

it can get very hot there unless there’s a strong breeze from the sea. But there are some trees providing good shade,
view 0001 Glyko Nero beach, Crete, Greece

and also a plenty of umbrellas from the tavern.

We spent most of the time swimming.

 

naturist 0001 Glyko Nero beach, Crete, Greece

The sea water is very clean and has intense dark-blue color.

naturist 0000 Glyko Nero beach, Crete, Greece

Unless you hit the freshwater spring at the water edge, it is also very warm; and certainly, this beach has one of the clearest waters I’ve seen.

view 0002 Glyko Nero beach, Crete, Greece

 
Even late in the evening it was so warm, we couldn’t help laughing about advice that we received on the previous day that we should take warm clothes and gloves for the night.
naturist 0002 Glyko Nero beach, Crete, Greece

At night, thanks to the cliffs surrounding the beach, it is very quiet and dark there, because no light comes from neighbouring town. Perfect to watch stars! As there was no moon, they were so bright that Milky Way even reflected in the water! And when we looked in the water, we saw that it was full of flashing “stars” itself. Bioluminescent plankton was so abundant (at least in the end of September, when we were there), that anytime I moved my hand in the water there were flashes around, as these organisms respond to mechanical disturbance with glowing. This is why they also flash a lot, when waves break onto the shore. I would highly recommend to swim at night (with goggles) to see how the water glows around you and your swimming buddy.
However, be careful with the above mentioned cliffs – don’t build you camp to close to them, because once in while some rocks were falling down, sometimes because of the goats jumping. They like coming to this beach to drink fresh water in those man-made holes, and you can see their incredible ability to walk on nearly vertical cliffs. 

naturist 0004 Glyko Nero beach, Crete, Greece
But we had fun climbing those rocks ourselves too

naturist 0006 Glyko Nero beach, Crete, Greece

and then were diving from them.

naturist 0007 Glyko Nero beach, Crete, Greece

To get to Glyko Nero beach you may use a small former fishing boat which comes from Hora Sfakion directly to the tavern twice per day at about 10:00 and 17:00, or like we and many hikers, come by E4 hiking trail. From Hora Sfakion, you can also first go by car in the direction of Loutro till the sign E4 Glyko Nero/Sweet Water Beach. However you get there, you’ll surely love this beach!

naturist 0005 Glyko Nero beach, Crete, Greece

Samaria Gorge and beach at Agia Roumeli in South-West Crete

by αNaturist, posted in naturist beaches

Samaria Gorge and beach at Agia Roumeli provide a perfect combo of adventure and secluded relaxation. Samaria is the longest gorge in Europe, 12.4km, so be prepared to walk for several hours. The good news is that you don’t need to carry water with you (maybe just keep half a liter with you), as there are springs at regular distances. It is a very popular national reserve with regular buses departing from Hania and other towns of Crete. It is better to ask in advance if the gorge is open on the day you want to go there, because it may be closed under some weather conditions.

First, you will descend by very well organized hiking trail with magnificent views over the gorge and mountains around.

view 0000 Samaria gorge, Crete, Greece

The second part of the route lies in the river bed (during summer Samaria River comes to the surface only in some parts) between vertical rock walls up to 300m high.
view 0002 Samaria gorge, Crete, Greece
That is especially impressive in several points where the cliffs from both sides get really close to each other, just few meters apart! It can be dangerous as the signs say, and we heard once quite a terrifying noise of falling rocks somewhere aside.

view 0001 Samaria gorge, Crete, Greece

During the first half of our walk, the trail was often overcrowded with tens, if not hundreds, of people literally rushing one by one. Later we realized why they were in such a hurry: the ferries from Agia Roumeli, a village in the end of the gorge, leave to Hora Sfakion and Paleochora at about 16:30. This is why almost all hikers try to walk the whole way in about 6 hours. Luckily we were going to camp in the end, so we spent almost 10 hours in the gorge and could enjoy all astonishing views.

So, during last 3 hours of our walk, after these settlements, our only encounters were feral goats and kri-kri, Cretan subspecies of wild goats, endemic to the island.

view 0003 Samaria gorge, Crete, GreeceAfter eating in a tavern in Agia Roumeli, we went to look for a camping place. A small pinery just left of the isthmus of the Samaria River was already occupied by half a dozen campers, so we continued looking for a place for our tent further on the beach in the dark… and we found it! An entire cave had been waiting for us exclusively 🙂 What was especially pleasing was that the floor in the cave was of fine dry soft sand, whereas the beach itself was mainly covered by pebbles, many of tennis ball size, very inconvenient to walk on. The cave had accumulated the warmth of the day, so not only did we not need to go inside our tent, we even did not need to cover! Watching the starry sky from the cave felt like in a cinema. The only problem was that the noise of waves echoed in the cave and thus doubled, so don’t expect quiet, but the sound of sea is your thing, you’ll be happy.

 

naturist 0000 Agia Roumeli beach, Crete, Greece

In the late morning next day, a few people came to the beach, but the cave remained pretty much our own.

naturist 0007 Agia Roumeli beach, Crete, Greece
With quite strong waves, the water there gets full of air bubbles, and it gives it incredibly intensive light-blue color… somewhat resembling the Greek flag =)

naturist 0004 Agia Roumeli beach, Crete, Greece
Further to the east lies another beach Agios Pavlos with an old church from Byzantine times, but unfortunately we did not have time to go there – it’s good to keep something for the next time, we thought.

Right next to the cave, there were some interesting rock formations.naturist 0002 Agia Roumeli beach, Crete, Greece

While swimming around, we found some rocks offshore with sort of bathtubs on them.

naturist 0006 Agia Roumeli beach, Crete, Greece

How cool, after a bathtub, you can dive into the sea!

naturist 0003 Agia Roumeli beach, Crete, Greece
And getting back to our cave I couldn’t resist imagining myself as a caveman.

naturist 0000 Agia Roumeli, Crete, Greece

Though it was also nice to just lie down and relax there…

naturist 0001 Agia Roumeli beach, Crete, Greece

Hopefully this place will remain as beautiful and unspoiled as we found it!