At around 9 PM on the evening of June 14^th 2007, we finally arrived at Zurich airport, only one hour later than initially scheduled with our flight via Qatar from Singapore. We took a train to Affoltern, where we were noisily greeted by a starting thunderstorm – or was it firecrackers, as they use in Asia to celebrate big events?

 

For us, a great journey had ended where it began 3 ½ years ago. We had grown even richer in experiences and now our hearts were full of good memories.

 

Heinz’ sister Edith picked us up from the train station and took us home to Merenschwand. We truly enjoyed her and her partner Karl’s warm welcome and hospitality in their house. After a few years overseas, we indeed enjoyed to be back to Switzerland again - at least for a couple of months.

 

We instantly felt, what a Singaporean had once described to us: “One thing I love about Switzerland is the crisp air”. We didn’t quite know what he was talking about back then, but after a long time in the tropics, we both agree; breathing here really does feel different!

 

We had experienced, that freedoms and restrictions for the people are often not set up by the government, but by society itself, through taboos and peer pressure. We visited fully democratic countries, where most inhabitants take themselves much less freedom, than people of some dictatorships. In this case reasonable political leaders managed to rise the amount of individual freedom and quality of life for most citizens during the last few years. We still think that theoretically, democracy is the best form of governing a country. However, in practice we experienced, that many, unfortunately far too many people on our globe are sadly not mature enough for it (also in some western countries). It’s simply impossible to export democracy to countries without democratic traditions, as the West likes to do it. Democracy doesn’t only mean that the majority has to grant rights to the minority, but also that it has to accept a possible landslide loss in elections. All this has first to be learned, before it can become part of the political culture. By the way, once we heard some locals complaining in one of the newly transforming countries: “It’s true; the government gave us now freedom, but we didn’t learn how to deal with it. Right now, we don’t want freedom, what we really want is wealth!”

 

We both agree: every leg of our trip was absolutely worthwhile and rewarding. We both feel, our understanding of most places we visited, is now much different (hopefully better). Many controversial testimonies had led us to think differently about prejudges or clichés people so readily adopt and often are untrue or incomplete because that’s the way the media has put it for its readers... We also realized that the free press in Western societies does not always report the full truth about second and third world countries, as often only those fractions are reported, readers (and advertisers) want to hear about, but the other 80% or so would put many things in a different light...

 

It was very nice to rediscover our home country again and after eating our way around the globe, it was indeed also very pleasant to taste Switzerland’s local specialities again. Especially our consumption of bread, baked sweets, yogurt, chocolate and sausages rose dramatically.

For whatever reason, we were not motivated at all, to visit our friends as yet, during the first few weeks. We just enjoyed that we could stay with Edit & Kari and at our friends Annemarie & Beat’s house in Root. It was also very relaxing to be back in a familiar cultural environment.

 

Otherwise we just visited our parents, (often a good mix between comedy and tragedy at the same time) and sucked everything in (not only food) we might have missed, because we had opted to travel (trying to understand) the world. But we also needed some more time to digest our experiences abroad.

 

As we decided to stay in Europe for the time foreseen, we needed to look for a reasonable car. But it was not as easy as we had hoped for. Reliable “value for money” secondhand cars, as we had found in Canada and Down Under, are not available in Switzerland. Swiss don’t believe old cars can still be reliable. Most consider their new car an “old bomb” already after a few years driving and exchange it against another brand new vehicle. 

 

The dealership sets most of the older cars aside for export, as no Swiss would buy them. If a 8 -10 year old car exceptionwise comes on the local market, the dealer sets the price usually well above sFr. 10’000 (€ 6’000), as he wants to cover the cost for panel beating and extensive service and warranties. Therefore, it’s cheaper to buy a brand new car, if you opt either to a compact car, or a brand without any prestige-value. After running around unsuccessfully for ages, we finally opted for the latter. So we got a brand new Dacia Logan, a Romanian make owned by Renault. The cheapest models, were available for just sFr.10’600, but we paid 5’600.-  more, as we opted for an energy efficient diesel engine, that survives on only 4.7 lt./100km.  We calculated, that we should have amortised the additional cost within three years. Our Version also has some additional luxury as air conditioning. This car is also much bigger than our Twingo, which we drove until 4 years ago. Now we have a mere 510 lt. trunk on dispense for our travel luggage.

 

On July the 11^th 2007, we picked our new 4 wheeled companion up. First we had to get used to driving on the right side of the road again, after having been used to the wrong side, as they do in most countries we’ve visited during the last few years.

 

Three days at Thielle

 

Now, our priority was to drive out into the countryside. So, we combined this three days later with a weekend in Switzerland’s largest naturist club, where we are still members. Our new car drove very well during the first twenty minutes, but then.... we got stuck for almost three hours in a traffic jam! Now we realized that traffic bulletins are maybe not as entertaining, but certainly more useful, than listening to our favourite songs we could now hear from the brand new Memo stick in the car stereo! Needless to say we were annoyed, but never mind; afterwards we still enjoyed the drive through the beautiful Emmental.

 

Due to the jam and our extensive sight-seeing, the reception at the naturist club “DIE NEUE ZEIT” in Thielle had just closed when we arrived. Luckily, the reception team, who was about to leave, felt pity and opened again to check us in.
The ‘ONS Naturist Club’ is a very traditional affair; it still keeps the NO Alcohol, NO nicotine and NO meat rule. We hadn’t been back here for the last 8 years but to both of us, it immediately felt much more natural than most naturist places we had been visiting overseas, during the last 3 ½ years. On this sunny weekend, several hundred, if not more than 1’000 people were visiting, many families with children. Naturists here sunbathe, walk around, go swimming, play boules, volleyball, badminton or some other sport.

Some members and visitors were socializing in the “drug free” vegetarian restaurant “Café des Philosophes”. Others were joining the many lectures on offer: about re-incarnation, spirituality and alternative lifestyle and so on... Soon thereafter, many can be seen in the very popular sauna, engaged in serious discussions about the lectures they had enjoyed before, trying to re-shape the world...  Rules and regulations are not really to our taste, but the alternative atmosphere this creates here, is much more appealing to us, than the socializing with “booze and talking bullshit” culture, we often experienced overseas.

 

After a very relaxing weekend in Thielle, we went back to Central Switzerland again. We chose the slow, but interesting and very scenic route, which was abt. 150km long. It first brought us to Fribourg and then via Schwarzenburg and Riggisberg to the shores of lake Thun, where we drove the more scenic route along its northern shore. After we had driven over the Brünig pass road, it was already around 10 PM. As we had now tuned in on the traffic info of our radio, we learned about another traffic jam in Lucerne, about half an hour down the road. So we decided to stop for dinner in a small restaurant in Lungern. It worked out perfectly to us and we later drove to Edith & Kari’s home without delay.

 

Now, we easily could drive around and see all our friends again, so we did! We just had to make sure, that we allowed ourselves enough time and get some breath in between, as some told us about dramatic changes in their lives, which we needed to digest.

 

We also stayed for three days with Andrea and Peter, an interesting couple we had only met on Borneo last February. As they had also been globetrotting (Andrea is also working for the travel agency “Globetrotter”) for several years, we had many stories to exchange.

 

Five days at Dreiländereck

 

On August 2^nd 2007, we drove to FKK Dreiländereck (meaning edge of 3 countries), a naturist camp situated in southern Germany, close to the border of France and Switzerland. During the next 5 days, we initially wanted to camp, enjoy the site and see some of our friends we know from Costa Natura in Spain, where we previously wintered a few times. But, as we hadn’t seen them for 4 ½ years, especially Christiane and Klaus, but also Bruni and Erhard felt the urge to “organize us”. So we hadn’t too much time, to enjoy this indeed very nice resort. First of all: Christiane organized that we could sleep at their friend Monis’s place. Of course, we enjoyed this special treatment much more than sleeping in a tent.

 

Klaus (he is a Berliner), a retired chef, prove his superb cooking skills daily. What he calls “nur ein ganz normales Frühstück” (just an ordinary breakfast) was probably a combination of everything, Berlin’s top three hotels have on offer on their breakfast buffets. Even in five days, we couldn’t try everything!

 

As Gisela & Klaus from Friesland and Agie & Jürgen were visiting at the same time, just arriving and leaving a few days before us, Christiane and Klaus unexpectedly provided full board for up to 10 people during eight days.

 

In between, Bruni & Erhard did also invite us for dinner and we were invited out by Doris to a Straussi (a German type farm restaurant). On some nights, we had several invitations for dinner. Choosing between many good options was the only problem we had, but we don’t expect you to feel pity.

 

Finally, during our five days, we had met about twenty people we knew from Costa Natura. Many of them are now living in chalets on that campground permanently during summer. Others again, live in the surrounding countryside and were “organized” in our honour to pop in. On top of it, some sightseeing was also organized for all visitors, with a bunch of us enjoying a wonderful ride on a river barge without motor gliding over the tranquil “Inneren Rhein” river in scenic Taubergiessen nature reserve near Rust. Afterwards we visited the town of Staufen, where we all had lunch with entertainment by Thomas, a musician-friend.

 

Still, we could manage to have at least a few hours to enjoy the beauty of FKK Dreiländereck. The swimming pool is in fact a little artificial pond, situated between the Sauna and a big sunbathing lawn. This family orientated naturist place, owned by the community and managed by a tenant family, feels very natural and attracts many young families. Here, a family with two children pays a fair bit less than a childless couple, but still a bit more than a single person. This is certainly a good way to bring the younger generation back to naturism.

 

Back to Switzerland

 

After 5 very sunny and warm days in southern Germany, we did leave with the arrival of the first raindrops. We drove back to Switzerland to stay for some more time with our friends Annemarie & Beat in Root. We arrived just in time, as we soon realized. Heavy rain poured over central Europe and the same night, a neighbour came up to the house that is situated almost at the top of a hill. He asked us to help him and a member of the fire brigade, to build barriers to prevent the rising creek (normally just a rivulet) from flooding the garages.

 

Luckily, we could warm up afterwards in the cosy warm sauna of Annemarie and Beat’s house, while the river was in check.

 

We just visited a few more friends, before we went back to Edith & Kari’s place. We wanted to support Edith in dealing with Heinz’and her mother’s hip operation, so we decided to stay until the end of August. We also used this additional time to enjoy a bit more of our home country. Among them was a big day-trip that brought us through the Valley of Uri, then over the Oberalp pass road into the countryside of the Grisons. Here, we continued over the Lukmanier Pass into Ticino, Switzerland’s Italian part. While Brigitte had a good look at the architecture of traditional villages along the way, Heinz was more interested in the exhibition centres about the construction of the new Gotthard Base Tunnel. With 57 km, this rail tunnel will be the longest in the world, when it finally opens - about 2017.

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Photos: France Publications

Naturist autumn in France: Lively and Popular

On September 1^st 2007, after 2 ½ very enjoyable months in our motherland, we finally said farewell to Edith & Kari and continued towards France. Due to cool weather, we waved our initial plan to visit the naturist club in Thielle again. Instead, we headed directly south towards the Domaine de la Sablière near the Ardèche valley. As this is a 700km long drive, with lots of sightseeing opportunities in between, we split the trip over three days. On the first day, we explored a bit more of Switzerland and chose a route via the very scenic Berner Oberland. We continued over the Jaun pass to Bulle in the French part. From there, we followed the motorway down to Geneva, where we crossed the border to France.

 

Our first overnight stop was in Annecy, just another 34 km down the road. As it was a weekend, the towns budget hotels were already booked out. It took us about 2 hours and some nerves, to find a place to stay. Indeed, it was very nice to visit this charming town again, which is nestled along the shores of the lake with the same name. Although, it got a bit late, we could still manage to get a superb French dinner in the old town, where we strolled around afterwards and again on the next morning. Annecy’s old town, along canal Thiou is particularly charming and the market on Sunday morning was absolutely worthwhile.

 

In the afternoon, we followed the motorway to Chambéry, where we left it to continue through the Vecors mountain range. Along the way we saw spectacular scenery and charming villages, which made this a very interesting detour. We were quite amazed that most French villages have now a 30 km/h speed limit. Our routing was via Voiron, Romans and Tournon sur Rhône, before we reached Aubenas, where we stayed overnight.

We remembered this place from another visit but right now on Sunday night, it was very, very dead. The manager of the place we stayed, advised us to have dinner at Vals-les-Bain, the village we had passed 10 km earlier. “As this is a thermal resort”, he said “it shouldn’t “close down” on Sunday nights” and there was certainly more than one place to satisfy our culinary desires.
On the next day, we first visited the small, but very charming village of Lanas, a very traditional place, with most houses built of big stones. Over small country roads, we continued to Vallon Pont d’Arc and then to Barjac.

 

Domaine de la Sablière

 

Mid afternoon, we arrived at “la Domaine de la Sablière”, a large and very comfortable naturist resort in a wild and uninhabited area near the Ardèche gorge. The cabin- and camp park is situated in a stunning valley, on the shores of the small Cèze River. To us, it was probably our tenth visit there, but our first in autumn. Now, the atmosphere was quite different to our previous visits. First thing: the camping-areas ‘Mesange+Fauvette’ on the bottom of the valley were now near empty, whereas ‘espace Pinson’ further up the hill, was nearly full.  No wonder: now in September, it takes quite a while until the sun reaches the bottom of the river valley. Second: it was busy, but very quiet. September is an odd month in Europe, as (almost) all European countries have ended summer school holidays now. Therefore, except on weekends, only couples were roaming around la Sablière, and so it was much quieter than in spring and summer, when there are also lots of kids around. We rented a simple “Bambi” mobile-home with kitchen, but without bathroom.

 

After three days, if only to us, the frightening quiet days were gone, as our friends Moni und Bruno joined us. Those two had fallen in love in l994, when the 4 of us visited the Domaine de la Sablière for the first time. In the meantime, they had gotten married in Sydney!

 Weatherwise and from the quiet atmosphere, autumn can also be an excellent time to enjoy this very natural naturist heaven. However, we felt that everything in the resort itself and also many (tourist) businesses in the surrounding countryside are slowly, but surely heading towards the well earned “hibernation”.

The otherwise very well stocked Sablière shop stocked less and less, and some of our favourite restaurants in the region were already closing for the season. It was a big difference to spring, when everything is opening up and the offerings are getting more plentiful by the day.

 

Of course we ventured out to the region’s different restaurants to sample French culinary delights. We also visited the Ardèche gorge and some charming villages like Barjac, Vallon Pont d’Arc, Ruoms and la Bastide du Virac again.

Luckily, we could enjoy excellent and sunny weather, sunbathe or swim in the river with its stunning scenery as a backdrop that makes nudity just normal. Halfway up the valley on our way back to our accommodations, we often jumped in the pool and visited the sauna.

 

After twelve very sociable days, we left Moni and Bruno, who spent another three days there, before heading back home to Switzerland to their working duties.

 

Bélézy en Provence

 

We only changed to the other side of the Rhône River and headed to another rural naturist resort: the Domaine de Bélézy. It was September 15^th and by the time we arrived at around 4 o’clock, people were queuing out of the reception, in order to check in. The poor receptionist told us, that it was like that, since she opened at 8 o’clock in the morning. She had been working here by herself all day long, unlike last week, when the reception was constantly attended by 2-3 staff, but nobody had been arriving. Obviously, there was a reason to this massive show-up of guests; on that very day the prices dropped to the lowest level of the season and we were by far not the only ones, who had been waiting for that. Despite the arriving crowd, we were luckily still given a choice of different Mobile-Homes, as most other arrivals had their own caravan in tow.

 

Also Bélézy feels very different in autumn than in spring. The area with the deckchairs around the big pool looked now almost as busy as a beach in Rimini, but: it was dead quiet! Hundreds; mainly pensioners, were lazily sunbathing and reading. Nobody talked. Everybody seemed to enjoy, that children had to attend school on this time of the year. Somehow, it felt that even the excess noise of turning newspaper pages, would disturb this crowd. The large playgrounds in the centre of Bélézy were deserted, there were no more animations and the tourist information was closed.

Again; it felt very different to our previous visits in April, when children, adolescent and adults alike, were happily playing or doing sports on the fields. Communal BBQ’s were arranged to bring people together, later socialising all through their holidays. It seems that maybe the Management purposely optimizes conditions for those who like to be active and socialise from spring to the beginning of September and after that, for the remainder of the season: for those who like it peacefully quiet. Therefore, in the midst of September, no animation and no communal BBQ’s were offered anymore. We know from some friends, that Bélézy had still been very lively in the beginning of September!

 

The restaurant at Bélézy still served excellent French food for a very competitive price. The shop, which closed after a week, sold many items at a discounted price, but still stocked some fresh fruit every day. Fresh bread was still available at the reception after the grocery store closed a few weeks before the end of the season (probably because so many “campers” carry half of Aldi & Lidl’s range in their caravan from home.).

 

Shopping and dining is also very easy outside Bélézy. The village of Bedoin is only an easy 20 min. stroll away and it has an excellent Shopi-Supermarket and several good restaurants. Every Monday a market is held, presenting a true feast for the eyes and the palate. We also visited some charming villages in the Provence district, many offering some more superb dining options and often great scenery along the way.

After ten very sunny and mild days, we left Bélézy on September 25^th 2007.

 

Port Leucate Naturist Village on the Mediterranean Sea

 

After only a few hours’ drive, mainly along the freeway, we reached Port Leucate on this extremely windy day. Our car’s diesel consumption had risen by more than 10%, as the Mistral blew against us for half of the way, just to be replaced by the Tramontagne, the wind from the other direction, for the other half, obviously none of which was from behind...

 

When we reached Oasis reception at the “Village Naturiste Port Leucate”, the very friendly reception staff handed out the keys to a very nice and well equipped two storey terrace-house. It was situated directly on the étang (inlet) and less than 100 meters away from the beach. This was certainly the perfect place to stay for the next six weeks.

The holiday village had changed a lot since our last visit in 2004. The project of 50 new semi-detached houses and 24 new apartments, called “Les Jardins de Vénus” was already completed. The different naturist villages are now probably offering more than 1500 apartments and holiday houses altogether.

Most Dwellings are rented out and sold through specialised nudist Real-Estate agencies like “Oasis”. However, in stark contrast to the (English influenced) overseas countries we visited recently, some nudist holiday-units are also marketed in the surrounding villages and towns through agencies operating worldwide; like Century 21 or Remax. This is part of the liberal attitude we have in Europe. In their branches Down Under or in North America, the personnel would already giggle or turn read just by the thought of marketing a nudist property!

 

Most shops and restaurants in the adjoining Aphrodite village seemed to close earlier this year. Only the excellent bakery and the fish restaurant were still open. We don’t know, whether the early closings were because the operators didn’t see enough business during the late autumn season, or by the (for this time of the year) exceptionally strong and exceptionally often appearing winds, that certainly blew some of the French visitors away. During our other autumn visits to Aphrodite/Oasis, the disturbing Tramontagne wind hadn’t been so much of a nuisance, but this time, it blew more often and stronger than we ever experienced.

 

 Luckily, just in time, when Heinz’s sister Edith and her hubby Karl visited us between October 7-20^th the winds calmed down and went on holiday as well. In the naturist area, it was now pleasantly quiet, but certainly not dead. The four of us could enjoy the quiet beach almost daily. With only calm winds, it was even enjoyable to walk in the raw along the 1.5 km long beach, or along the inlet.

 

We enjoyed the cosy little “tasting localities” set-up by oyster-farmers next to the nudist settlements. What you get for a few Euros straight from the producer as „dégustation de coquillages“ is a little feast for every seafood-lover.

Most textile resorts around Leucate & Les Barcarès had basically closed down until spring. Only tourist traps have to close after the summer-holiday-folks disappear. Even some ATM’s were firmly closed for the season (with a padlock)!
Luckily, the best rewarded gourmet-temples are not for tourists only and therefore remain open. So the four of us dived in and fully enjoyed the culinary highlights France has on offer.

 

Of course we also made some worthwhile trips to the surrounding region.  One of the highlights, was indeed the world heritage listed fortified town of Carcassonne. The very impressive fortification of the old town consists of a double ring of ramparts and 53 towers. Most of the narrow paths and roads inside the walls are cobble stoned and the buildings are well preserved. It was very charming, but also very touristy to stroll around this “cité” on the Aude River.

Other pleasant towns we visited were Perpignan and Narbonne. The cathedral Saint-Just, dating from 1272 is certainly Narbonne’s most impressive sight. Another trip led us on very small roads to Guissan, where we passed an area with salt-fields. There we sighted some flamingos, as are commonly seen around this area.
Our meal in a Gault Millau rewarded restaurant was afterwards appreciated by all of us, except Brigitte. She was very, very annoyed as this gourmet temple served her garlic-mayonnaise in an ashtray! Only a few weeks later, over the border in Spain, we sighted “that yellow ashtray” again and again; sold as a serving dish mainly for Ali-Oli (garlic-mayonnaise)!

 

Another pleasant trip led along the coastal road to Collioure and then further south into Spain. The first part through the tourist villages (and towns) of Barcarès, Canet Plage and St.Cyprien Plage was not exactly joyful, as they were nothing but lines of hotels, tourist shops and restaurants. The highlight was Collioure, a very charming and naturally grown village, beautifully situated on the Mediterranean Sea. From there, we followed a fascinating coastal road to Portabou, the first Spanish settlement after the French border. The spectacular road led in countless bendings to Llanca, from where we continued inland to Figueras, where Salvador Dalí was born. From there, we headed back to Port Leucate, using the freeway.

 

On October 19^th 2007 we had to rise early, as we had to bring Edith & Karl to the railway station in Perpignan. There we learned that the French railway workers were currently very busy being on Grève (strike), an extremely popular national sport which seems to be a favourite of “La Grande Nation”. Never mind, Kari decided, it’s best to go back to the Oasis-beach as quickly as possible and try it again the next day. Amazingly, his concept even worked out; Edith & Kari had to leave on the next morning, as their train did. So they were quite (un)lucky. We know of a teacher’s strike some 4 years ago, that lasted for more than 6 weeks…

 

One thing that changed dramatically around the Naturist Villages of Port Leucate: The many motorhomes that usually camped illegally on the shores of the inlet, just opposite Oasis village, had disappeared completely. After the local authorities tried for years unsuccessfully, to convince the proud motorhome owners to stay with their expensive vehicles on campgrounds, they finally opted for the hard way to enforce the law.  Now, all over the coast around Port Leucate, if not even all around Languedoc-Roussillon, every entrance to a parking lot or any other place, where a motor home could camp overnight for free, is newly “decorated” with a 2 meter high iron frame. Now all motorhome owners are punished, including those who stay overnight on campgrounds. They cannot park their vehicles anymore, just to visit the beach during the day.

 

Toward the beginning of November, the atmosphere at “Village Naturiste Port Leucate” changed. It seemed to us that probably some apartment owners in Aphrodite & Oasis offered their holiday home to friends that are not naturists, as they probably thought; at this time of the year it will be too cold for naturism anyway. On top of it: by then Aphrodite and Oasis Receptions were closed for the season. However, in 2007 the end of October/beginning of November-period was exceptionally warm, so for the few remaining naturists, there was no need to wear any cloths at all. Some of the ”textile” families obviously didn’t now know where to look to, whereas most naturists just had great fun watching them…
Surely we enjoyed the exceptional warm weather as well, so this was just the perfect final to our 6 weeks at Oasis, which we enjoyed very much.

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Photos: Journey from F, Costa Almeria, Vera Playa, Spring excursion, Flowers Publications

Natsun in Vera Playa: Naturism in the change of seasons

From Port Leucate to Andalucia

Just 4 days before we left to Spain, Christiane & Klaus, whom we know from Costa Natura visited us for two days at Oasis. When we told them that we wanted to visit the nudist resort of Natsun in Vera Playa, they were convinced, that we would want to leave after two days maximum, as they had seen construction sites only, when they passed by 5 years ago. To us, this promised brand new and nice accommodation, so we were looking forward to move south.

 

On November 6^th 2007 we left Port Leucate and ventured towards southern Spain. We chose the inland route, which brought us first through the Pyrenees. Just before reaching Andorra, we took the turn off towards La Seu d’Urgell, from where we took road Nr. C14 through beautiful landscapes down to Lleida, where we stayed overnight. From there we continued trough the impressive Ebro River valley along road N211 and N420. We found some very impressive Rock formations, just before reaching Teruel. From there we continued on the N330 southwards. Overnight we stayed at the small village of Ayora. On the next morning we continued via Lorca to Aguilas, where we hit the Mediterranean Sea again. Now it was only 40 km along a spectacular costal drive to the naturist urbanisations of Vera Playa, situated between Garrucha and Villaricos on the Costa de Almeria, Andalucía, where we had pre-arranged an apartment for the next five weeks.

 

Arrival at Natsun

 

At Natsun’s reception, we were given the key to a very nice and big top floor apartment with an even bigger balcony overlooking the pool and the beach. So we started to explore the surroundings and we were pleasantly surprised to find many good walking opportunities just at our doorstep. Even now in the middle of November, more people were still sunbathing on the long naturist beach than we had expected. As most beachgoers were Spaniards, we didn’t feel like being in a foreigner dominated ghetto. At around three o’clock in the afternoon, the autumn winds usually made sunbathing on the beach a bit too chilly. We put on some cloths and either walked the five kilometres along the beach into the nearby village of Garrucha, went around the naturist urbanisation or made some strolls to the countryside just behind Vera Playa.

Natsun in Vera Playa is that sort of place, many people get “addicted” to and before we even realized, the “roving spirits” had become “stationary rovers”! Every time we were “scheduled” to leave this paradise, we took advantage of our freedom and extended our stay. So our initial 5 weeks became finally more than 50! We immediately fell in love with this place, so that we soon waived our initial plan to continue to Costa Natura, where we had spent a few winters some years ago.

 

The spirit of Vera Playa

 

What makes Vera Playa so special? It’s the openness and tolerance of the Spanish society. After dictator Franco died in 1975, the Spanish society, especially the younger generation, started to break many taboos from the old times. Some of those were reversed and became constitutional rights soon thereafter. For example, nudism is not punishable any more since 1978, but a Constitutional Right. (Surely) we hadn’t seen anybody naked outside the nudist area and the beach, but this very liberal approach means in practice, that everybody has the right to be nude in any public place (like beaches, rivers, lakes, open fields, paths, roads, streets, plazas, parks, etc.), but not in private places (like restaurants, shops, etc) as they have their own regulations.

 

Therefore, the “naturist urbanisations” of Vera Playa are integrated borderless into neighbouring “textile” urbanisations. The main road leads for 1.5km along the naturist urbanisations and only the main access road into the “naturist quarters” has a sign indicating “Zona Naturista”. Neither the beach, nor any of the roads leading from the nude to the prude sections of Vera Playa, has any signage indicating that the naturist area ends (or starts) here. Just next to it is the Shopping Centre “Centro Hispania”, which allows good views to the neighbouring nudist area from its car park and rooftop terrace.

A few years ago, the municipality of Vera built barriers to mark the ends of the naturist section on the beach, but they were removed after naturists and textiles alike protested against it by walking demonstratively in big groups into the other section.

 

In Vera Playa, naturists and textiles obviously mingle very well with each other on the beach. The stretches 500 m north and south of Natsun are mainly used by naturists. A few hundred meters further south it’s fairly mixed and then it gets more and more textile. Beach walks are very popular among everyone and nobody cares if those wearing bathers walk a few hundred meters into the naturist section, as naturists walk a few hundred meters into the textile section. This is totally accepted and nobody stares, it’s totally natural for everybody. Surely, there are some teenagers wearing bathers in the naturist section, but other teenagers are sunbathing fully naked in the middle of the textile crowd and also here: NOBODY stares at them and nobody tells them to wear more or less.
In North America or Down Under, probably at least half of the textiles would peer, and the others would call the police we guess! We think that it is this tolerant and natural environment that encourages so many single women of any age to go naked at Vera Playa to be even with nature. Here in southern Spain it got so obvious, that in some Victorian influenced countries, the society itself breeds and later prosecutes its perverts! Peeping Toms are a big exception in Vera Playa and usually rather immigrants from the other shore of the Mediterranean Sea (or the UK) than Spaniards.

English invasion

 

Vera and Garrucha are Spanish villages with a long tradition. Most Spaniards either dream of owning a holiday apartment or already own one. In Vera Playa, the vast majority of (textile & naturist) holiday flats are owned by Spaniards, often residents of Madrid or Barcelona. On the other side, some of the nearby villages like Antas, Mojácar or Turre are very, very British. In some, the majority of registered residents are UK passport holders. Those immigrants are “supplemented” by Latvians, Rumanians, French, Dutch, Germans, Scandinavians, Ecuadorians, Chinese and even Indians, so in those places, the Spaniards are a minority in their own country. Consequently, there are lots of foreign, mainly English-run businesses around. In many shops it’s easier to practise English rather than Spanish. Fish & Chips or Cornish Pies can be found very easily. Apart from many (sports TV polluted) English bars and pubs, there are also entire industrial areas (Poligono Industrial) where almost all businesses like builders, hardware stores, pool maintenance and so on are owned by British expats. MR. UK doesn’t sell only baked beans and tinned spaghettis, but also lots of Asian spices and unbelievable but true: “original Spanish Paella” made in UK! 

Ordinary Andalucian food is normally wholesome, but not that much of a culinary delight. Fish is fish, meat is meat and almost everything, including Fries, is prepared with Olive Oil. This is normally very healthy, but rather the contrary if used for deep frying. Thanks to the many British immigrants, Vera’s surrounding has now attracted a good selection of Chinese Restaurants (unbeatable value for money) and Indian restaurants, plus some excellent (but not too expensive) upmarket places, aiming at those Brits (and other expats) seeking a delightful dining experience rather than cheap crap.

 

Also Bingo- and Quiz nights are held regularly and we even sighted a note board at a post office, where everything was posted in English only. Before Christmas, flea markets and fund raisings for charities are held around the English communities in southern Spain, exactly as we had seen it Down Under. Also here, participants wear elk antlers in plush and red Santa caps. Even the Royal English legion has many branches down here!

Winter in Vera Playa

 

The winter in Vera Playa is dominated by pensioners (and dropouts) from Northern Europe enjoying the relatively mild winter climate along Southern Spain’s coastline. On four out of six winter weeks it’s possible to sunbathe stark naked for a few hours each day (in a wind sheltered corner) even though night temperatures can fall very close to freezing, even on the coast. But also the “bad weather days” are normally fairly dry (naturally, there is no rule) but they can happen for two consecutive weeks, just to be replaced by a mainly sunny winter month.
Whether people experience good or bad weather during the winter in southern Spain is often a matter of one’s own attitude. Those with nothing better to do, than desperately waiting for the sun again, as soon as it’s hidden behind a cloud, are probably less satisfied with the weather than those who know many other things to do.

 

In winter, most of Natsun’s terraces are dominated by (big) satellite dishes. Whenever new winter guests arrive, the thing they usually do first, is setting up their satellite dish, before unpacking anything else. Many are convinced that they couldn’t come here, if they wouldn’t have the possibility to receive their favourite TV stations from home. Most of the other winter escapees were probably convinced that we only didn’t set up a satellite dish on our patio, because we wanted to save money! Therefore, during our first few weeks at Natsun, we were offered several times receivers and satellite dishes. We stubbornly refuse to use dishes anywhere else than in the kitchen. To us, cooking and eating is already an evening filling program. We hope that people still grow wiser by compiling experiences outside the TV environment with all its soap-operas!

Shall the society become ever more brainless? We were already amused when we spotted fruit jam in Australia a few years ago, that was declared to be at least 99% fat free! The best we know of so far is a packet of peanuts we bought here in Spain. It had a warning in ten different languages: “Product may contain traces of nuts”.

During the winter period, we felt a bit like being in a ghetto dominated by foreign long term visitors who come here every year. Some of them seem neither willing to speak any word of Spanish, nor to adapt at least a bit to the Spanish rhythm of life. Sometimes life penalizes them, as some restaurants serve excellent dinners after 8 pm, but pretty average if not even bad fare beforehand!

A few excursions

 

Vera Playa is already a sight in itself; sometimes we had to kick ourselves for motivation to discover the sights around (the fact that we discovered such a lot during the 8 ½ years before our stay here had often functioned as a good excuse). The surrounding landscape is very barren and dry. Nevertheless the mountain ranges and marble mines around Tabernas are all very fascinating.  It also happened that we drove along a track and suddenly a large golf-resort came into view. Aguilas, nestled on the sea 40 km east, is a very nice town. The coastal drive from there, via Vera Playa to Carboneras is truly spectacular. Also the white washed villages of Mojácar and Bedar, as well as Cuevas del Almanzora are worthwhile.

Bedar’s typical Andalucían cemetery is especially interesting. The ancestors rest in small buildings containing “rooms” just big enough for a coffin. As some graves offer superb views over the mountain ranges or the sea, many families secure a grave at a good location long before their time is due... If the owners move to another village (before the inevitable has happened) they just put a “se vende” (for sale) sign with their phone number on the grave and buy a new one wherever they settle down.

Most tourists (not all) rave about the markets in the surrounding villages. We got the impression that most veggies that are grown here are being exported only. In Spanish markets, the section with (rather old fashioned) cloths is usually way bigger than the one with vegetable & “comestible” stalls. After seeing big colourful and varied markets across Asia and also France, Spanish markets appear to us pretty unexciting with such a limited food section and selection; probably we’re just too spoiled.

 

Along the freeway to Almeria and Murcia there are many plastic tunnels under which vegetables and fruits are grown. This region of Spain also got the nickname ‘Costa Plastica’. In this very dry and sunny area, the water for the huge orchards and plantations is fetched in large artificial inland lakes. Most labourers working the fields and greenhouses come from Africa, Eastern Europe and South America.

 

When touring around, we often stopped in small villages, where the local bar is the only place to get a quick cheap lunch. There, smoking seems to be compulsory for the locals and television is omnipresent, with the volume usually greater than the tolerance levels of the human ear. The floor of a Spanish bar is usually covered with used napkins, although you can also find a collection of other objects such as cigarette butts, olive pits or seafood shells. Any good bar incorporates these elements of decoration - if you don't find them, either it's not a good bar or you’re not in Spain!

 

The Spanish way of life

 

Spanish people like to be out and about, to see what’s going on and to be seen. They always dress up, even if going out only for a few minutes. In government offices, dressing up is important for being taken seriously. Spaniards spend a good part of their income in improving their appearance. They are a very proud bunch of people. Even along the naturist beach they walk with pride, but “au natural”. Otherwise, you can’t tell them apart from other Europeans any more once they disrobed.

 

Spaniards are very sociable people. Not only a hike or a visit to a restaurant, but also shopping, ordering a new telephone line or visiting the doctors is often done within the circle of family and friends. Once we found a notice posted in a dentists waiting room, which politely asked the patient to enter the consultation room without the family or friends.

 

At the time when many northern Europeans start dinner, Spaniards just finished their lunch. Later, when the foreigners switch off their TV-sets and go to bed, the locals start cooking dinner, or go out and about; children and adults alike. As this is a normal part of Spanish life, there is no reason to be particularly quiet when they come home between 1 and 4 o’clock in the morning, it’s just as normal as coming home between 8 or 11 pm in the rest of Europe.

Every time when some of our country mates who regularly spend the whole winter in Southern Spain (but don’t speak any Spanish at all) complain about the incredible noise those “bloody Spaniards” made again on the last long weekend, we would like to sink in the ground. Spaniards are not noisier than other Europeans; they just have a different rhythm of life!

 

We fully agree with our exceptionally well integrated German neighbours Waltraud & Dieter who say it bluntly: “Those who can’t cope with the Spanish rhythm shouldn’t come here in the first place!” Surely, it’s easier for them and for us to integrate, as we tend to eat late and go to bed late anyway.

In any respect, we get along very well with our good humoured neighbours. They showed us the best restaurants; we could also use their internet access and their sun-sail. Brigitte took care of their plants while they were away working in Germany.

Except baking, growing and planting flowers was one of Brigitte’s big hobbies during our stay at Vera Playa. At one stage, our terrace was decorated with almost 100 flower pots. Unfortunately she got a bit discouraged after a while, when she realized how easily plants attract living little plagues; she moaned: “I wanted a garden, I didn’t want a zoo!

Meanwhile, Heinz was assembling some self-made furniture for our patio, with wood Brigitte had collected from the rubbish. All that was still necessary were some additional rather expensive pieces for a couple of hundred Euros from the furniture and wood-work-shops.

 

The legacy of the Franco era

 

Spain, obviously being a western country, has developed to its present modern state mainly thanks to the EU who helped it to transform from a suppressed, almost third world country, to a modern state very fast, in some respects too fast! We shouldn’t forget; it was only in 1975 when the Spaniards finally got rid of the Franco junta. After 40 years of dictatorship and no democratic history at all, it’s almost impossible that the mentality of people and local governments would change as quickly as the EU was able to raise living standards and helped to put a modern infrastructure in place. Therefore it’s not surprising that bureaucracy and corruption are still alive in Spain. Building permits are often issued (faster or only) after a bribe has been paid and even local governments sometimes build their infrastructure on land, that was not designated to be built on.

 

Almost weekly, the press reports that the provincial government issued some demolition orders for buildings that were being built without legal permits. Affected are not only holiday homes, but also big and fully operational shopping centres and even a (not yet operational) Club Med. In most cases, nothing happens, but in some rare exceptions, the Government states an example. Meanwhile, more and more Majors and local councillors end up in prison for corruption or misuse of public funds. Of many Spanish villages and towns, not only local council, but also many of the city halls office clerks end up having a “holiday” behind iron bars, just to share this destiny a few years later with the new government who replaced them! It certainly needs another generation, until all of the Franco epoch’s bad government habits finally belong to the past.

 

The lack of democratic history is also apparent in common people who have still not changed their way of thinking completely. Many still don’t dare to oppose against unfair treatment they received from the government, as they are still in fear of retaliatory measures...

 

Not that surprisingly, the church supported the dictatorship also in Spain, and vice versa. So for a long time Catholicism was forcefully imposed by the government. Spain’s pre democratic governments are responsible for some of the world’s worst inquisition crimes; not only in Spain, but also in the Americas and the Pacific, where Spanish troops “helped” the missionaries holding forced baptisms!

Today, religion is still actively practised especially among the older generation. Maria, José and Jesus are very popular names and many towns or villages have street names like “Calle Isabel la Católica”.

 

The modern state

 

It’s almost unbelievable, how swiftly Spain transformed into a modern wealthy state went. Around 1985, traffic in big parts of Andalucia was still dominated by donkeys and for most locals, owning a car was not more than an unreachable dream. Now, cars are as common as in the rest of Europe, and they are not cheap old cars. However, the small roads in the villages are not built to cope with it.

In Spanish country villages, some side roads are so narrow, that a car and a pedestrian can hardly pass each other, but this is no reason, not to park on these roads. Spaniards are real masters in seeing spaces for parking; their fantasy is certainly not as limited as ours! Even during peak season, there was never a lack of parking spaces. Many roundabouts were used to park all around and in its centres. Also all along the sides of any road, sometimes even the middle, zebra crossings and also footpaths are quite popular parking opportunities. Double line parking in front of stores and restaurants is common; if one is locked in, he just needs a bit of insisting by tooting his horn and sooner or later he will be freed! This is almost the only reason, Spaniards would use their horn, but otherwise they are very relaxed drivers! Even if someone blocks the entrance to a big parking lot, because he stopped in the middle of the road just to chat to his mate who came by in the other lane, most locals patiently wait until the ad hoc conference finishes.

 

Spaniards (or rather their cheap labourers washed up to their shores) are very fast when building new roads. While Swiss still argue about the least disputed alignment and how many more millions should be spent to make it last for two centuries, the Spaniards are already happily using the new road for five years. Not surprising, that some of the former landowners are still not compensated for the expropriated land by then. Only foreigners reproach them that the new addition to the road network already had to go through some major repair during the first few years of use - Spaniards are just happy that the construction was completed so quickly!

 

As a direct result of Spain’s transformation into a wealthy country, prices rose substantially. Overall, the cost of living is still a bit cheaper than in France. But according to statistics, prices for food in supermarket- shelves are already more expensive than in Germany. In our experience, basic no frills products (quantity) or fish are still quite a bit cheaper than in the rest of Europe, but everything a bit more sophisticated (quality) is often substantially more expensive than further north. Electronics cost about 50% more in Spain than in Switzerland. Some identical products on sale in the same supermarket chain in France, (neither French nor Spanish made) often cost more than double in Spain. Basic restaurant meals are still very cheap (if focused on quantity rather than quality) but quality meals (except Chinese) cost more than in France, but still don’t match the creativity. Fine Spanish dining focuses on high quality ingredient and generous portions rather than fancy preparation.

Prices to buy or rent properties are still relatively modest around eastern Andalucia and a far cry away from the overheated prices on the Costa del Sol.

 

 

In 2005, the average Spanish salary rose above EU average for the first time. In 2007, Spain’s GDP per head was 5% above Italy’s and 3% below France’s.

But wealth is not evenly distributed in Spain. Andalucia has Spain’s biggest unemployment rate and except for the heavy seasonal tourist industry, there are not that many other employment options. Therefore, some salaries are still fairly low in this part of Spain. Andalucia relies heavily on its wealthier country mates from northern Spain, with many industries abound.

On one hand, the Spanish industry today produces many good quality High-Tech items, like for instance major components for the modern Airbus Jets or prefabricated elements for giant bridges, like the Öresund link between Denmark and Sweden. On the other hand, caused by the rising cost of labour, manufacturing of cheap products is not possible any more. Spain has a few manufacturers aiming at producing low priced products like electric household appliances, but more often than not, the price and also the quality is very cheap, so for budget items, “made in China” products are usually the better bet.

 

A good proof how much the economic situation improved is, that the Spanish Army lowered its IQ requirements in order to fill the about 82’000 positions in its regular army. After this desperate move didn’t bring results, the Spaniards started to recruit foreigners, mainly from its former colonies in the Americas!

 

Natsun & Vera Playa

 

Natsun, the naturist urbanisation we stayed at Vera Playa is owned by Jan and Hedy, a Dutch couple with two children. They operate it very personal (and at moderate prices). We stayed at the three storey building called “ELCANO III”, which offers Natsun’s most sophisticated accommodation options. Most apartments are facing south. Only a nicely landscaped large pool separates the building complex from the beach. The apartments are very generously sized, some 4m wide to 13m long, with a large balcony facing the sea. The interior is very functional, with Spanish style furniture and many decoration elements. All apartments are equipped with glass ceramic stove and a big fridge with a good size freezer compartment, perfect for a long stay. The work surfaces in the kitchen is unfortunately “polluted” with a microwave oven, taking most of the space (ours made a long hibernation in the wardrobe together with the TV). We considered the impressive 1mx2m table with 6 comfortable wooden chairs in our (and most other) apartments a big asset. Only if it comes to small kitchen accessories like bowls or cutlery, it’s not always as well equipped as one would hope for. This little inconvenience (sometimes caused by tenants who redistribute everything movable to other apartments when visiting friends) seems to be even worse in other resorts.
As we stayed a bit longer than the average visitor, we invested in some additional luxury, like an Italian espresso machine, a shaker, a baking oven, table-ware and cutlery that matches our taste and copes with our extensive cooking.

The section we stayed in was only about four years old, but Natsun does also offer accommodation in older buildings: “ELCANO I & II mostly only rented out during the peak of the season.

 

Also on the naturist beach is “Vera Playa Club Hotel” that doesn’t only offer 4-star comfort, but applies rules and regulations: it requires guests to dress up when attending the restaurant. No less than long trousers for Gents, which we find ridiculous for a naturist resort!

 

The Hotel and the two older buildings of Natsun were the first naturist developments on this part of the coast. When they were completed, they stood for a long time by themselves on a long stretch of sand. During the last decade, more and more naturist urbanisations were built around them, offering now altogether about 2000 naturist apartments.

During the last few years, holiday developments for “ordinary textiles” were added, now surrounding the “Urbanisationes Naturistas”. There are no barriers between those and the naturist urbanisations and as the Spaniards are very tolerant, this blends all right.
Seeing the many construction sites around Vera Playa on the beginning of 2009, you think that the financial crisis hasn’t arrived here as yet. Currently, dozens of kilometres of roads are being built between the hills in the hinterland (starting 500 m behind the beach) to develop land for thousands (rather tenthousands) of holiday dwellings. Nevertheless, the Costa de Almeria is still by far not as developed as the Costa del Sol. As all these massive developments want to be sold, the marketing is not always as honest as it should be. We heard about several cases where naturists discovered that their new purchased naturist apartment was actually situated in a textile urbanisation and vice versa; a very annoying situation in both cases.

 

Disaster nearly struck

 

Things could have turned out quite different around here. On January 17, 1966 one of the worst nuclear weapons-incidents of the entire Cold War had taken place off Spain's coast near Vera Playa (another one happened in Greenland, where we’re going to go in summer). During an aerial tanking manoeuvre, an American B-52 bomber and a KC-135 tanking aircraft collided in mid-air at 9’000 meters and both planes exploded in a giant fireball over Palomares. Of the four hydrogen bombs in the hold of the B-52, one fell into the water somewhere off the coast, one landed unharmed in a tomato field near the village and from the other two, luckily only the non-nuclear fuse detonated, causing bomb fragments and plutonium dust to rain down on the impact site.

 

In a huge cleanup effort, 1’590 tons of contaminated material were excavated and sent to the US for disposal. Two months after the incident, the Spanish information Minister and the US Ambassador went demonstratively for a swim with their families near the crash site to reassure the public that everything is save now. Geiger counters were installed around Palomares and on the beach in Vera, to record the ambient radiation. After no radiation was found for several years, the go-ahead was given for new developments including the large “Zona Naturista”.

 

The population and the environment still went through a radiation measurement program, by which a nasty surprise was uncovered only in 2006, because of snails. Not all of the contaminated material had been transported to the US, but some had been buried in two small trenches near the crash site. Consequently, Palomares was decontaminated once more this time in a joint American/Spanish cleanup effort and declared clean in march 2009. Luckily, the people of Palomares do not suffer a higher cancer rate than the average Spaniards - only the snails where affected, but this is certainly their fault: nobody told them to go walkabout into the drenches where radioactive soil is hidden!

 

The inhabitants of Palomares feel safe; some even think that the whole story about the snails was over accelerated as justification for the nuclear agency to keep working! When our neighbours once measured the radiation level in Vera Playa with a Geiger counter on pure curiosity, they were astonished to discover that radiation in Vera Playa was several times lower than the natural radiation in the Bavarian forest! No reason to worry.

More information in the following article: New York Times (November 2008)

 

The real disaster

 

To us, Vera Playa’s biggest annoyance during our entire stay was the strike of the truck drivers, because they felt that petrol prices got too expensive. Within three days only, they managed (with the massive help of the Spanish population, who hoarded whatever they could get hold on) that most supermarket shelves around the country got empty.  But, if petrol would really be too expensive, Spanish oranges wouldn’t get cheaper on their way to the consumers in France and Switzerland. On top of it, some of Vera Playa’s permanents wouldn’t drive their cars several times a day for less than a few hundred meters (some less than fifty) just to visit their favourite bar (where they probably moan on the table for regulars about the high petrol prices).

 

Shopping

 

While staying at Natsun, shopping is a breeze. Two mobile bakers regularly pass by in the morning and the cafeteria “Paso Doble” in the basement sells bread all day. The big Consum Supermarket (just outside the naturist zone) is within easy walking distance and offers the area’s best selection in fresh food. Here you can pick and weight your own vegetables or buy meat, fish, sausages and cheese from fresh food counters. Within a 10 km radius there are also several Mercadona Supermarkets, Intermarché and Lidl.

The town of Garrucha, only 5 km away has also several qualified opticians offering ‘rip offs’ to those believing in designer brands and real bargains for those who insist that they don’t need brand names to improve their self-confidence.

Those who are happy with the tabloid press find a selection of papers and magazines from all over Europe, but those looking for a paper a bit more serious and cosmopolitan like the “International Herald Tribune” have to look more insisting.

If it comes to non food items, like clothing, lamps or furniture, we discovered very soon that most offerings around Vera reflect the more traditional taste of the older generation. The younger generation prefers the big shopping temples in Aguilas, Almeria or Murcia, where branches of the same stores as found in Paris, London, Frankfurt or Shanghai sell the same modern Chinese made items that can be found all over the world.

 

Visiting a traditional Spanish store is also a very interesting experience. One of the most typical we know, is a large Ferreteria (hardware store) near Mojácar. Although, during the year, it’s mainly frequented by English residents, you’re in for a very typical traditional Spanish shopping experience. Around Christmas it’s as Spanish as it can be! On two rather large floors, almost everything you can think of is on sale. By navigating through the narrow corridors, it’s not always an easy task to find what you are looking for, especially the smaller items are hard to find. Don’t worry, just ask one of the sales attendants and they immediately will show it to you, either well hidden beneath or buried underneath something you’re not looking for. You’re trying to find a new coffee-maker but think their selection looks a bit modest? No need to go to another store to have a bigger choice. Just lift those unappealing looking coffee-makers off the shelf, wipe the dust off whatever you see behind it, and another row of brand new shiny coffee-makers will appear. You can do this again and again, until you find your favourite model.

 

At Christmas time, the narrow corridors in this hardware store (and many others) are tested to capacity. In Spain, major investments like a new toaster or hand mixer are discussed within the circle of family and friends. They often will then come along, so shopping is more about socialising than about buying. It’s not uncommon that three generations including their friends visit a store together, helping those who are willing to invest to make the right decision. Passing these large groups is a major task, made even more challenging by the fact, that piles of cardboard boxes containing all those irresistible X-Mas offerings block the corridors further. Exhibition space is very sparse, but you shouldn’t make your choice from the (often untrue) pictures on the boxes. Just ask and a friendly sales attendant will open the box and show you the desired item. Don’t worry if the content is broken, as the attendant knows immediately that you won’t buy it. She will put it back into the box, seal it again and put it back on the shelf. You just need to bring a little bit of extra time, as she will do this for you again and again, until she finds a set without any broken pieces at all.

 

Peak season in Vera Playa: busy but calm

 

Everybody, including our Spanish friends thought we’re very tough to spend the peak of the summer in a holiday resort that is popular with Spaniards. By the end of June, the vast majority of foreign residents around Vera Playa were already hiding back in their home countries to escape the incredible noise the Spaniards supposedly are expected to make during their summer holidays. But to us, being in Spain without spending the summer holidaying among the locals would be like being in Paris without seeing the Eiffel tower. So we were excitedly waiting for the crowds to arrive.

On May the first, the beach was suddenly bustling with thousands of sun seekers and therefore we thought this could already mark the start of the season. But after this long weekend, the locals went back to work as suddenly as they had arrived. In the middle of June, Live-Savers started patrolling the beach.

 

Now on the weekends there were regularly a few thousand nude bathers worshiping the sun, but during the week, they were reduced to a few hundreds. In stark contrast, the textile section was still near empty during the whole week including the weekends. In the middle of July it was still the same situation and we were already thinking, whether the season will arrive at all? Suddenly, building teams arrived to accomplish last minute renovations to those restaurants and souvenir shops that had still been closed up until then. Slowly some ice cream kiosks and additional sun beds with umbrellas were brought to the beach. Beginning of August everything was finally functioning. Probably due to prediction of traffic-jams, the first weekend was still not much busier than the previous weekends, but on Monday and Tuesday thereafter the masses finally arrived!

Natsun is the only naturist resort in Vera Playa which is popular year around, due to its setting and competitive pricing. The other naturist resorts have a few guests most of the time, but Vera Playas textile resorts are definitely near empty for 11 months a year. In August finally, every holiday accommodation was occupied.

 

So, we didn’t need to go on holiday, holiday practically came to us. So now we were curiously sitting on our terrace, prepared for the unbearable noise our friends had predicted we would have to endure.

We waited and waited for the noise to arrive, but it was only slightly noisier than during off-season. That’s weird; peak-season in a Spanish resort, and we hear no disturbing noise at all! Something must be wrong with us! We decided to act; cleaned our ears and listened again: Now, on a few nights we heard a little bit of noise from a disco near the Vera Playa Club Hotel, but it always stopped before 1 o’clock in the morning.

We had to listen more carefully! Oh: children could be heard regularly even after midnight, playing on the lawn and on the playground. That’s not disturbing; it’s a sign of life! As Spanish children are allowed to stay up late, they are invisible and inaudibly before 11 o’clock in the morning; Spanish parents are very clever Tapas-eaters!

We still tried desperately to find some disturbing noise. Maybe it helps if we lean over our terrace. Really, this worked; now we hear and see people eating and chatting until late at night, but the conversation level was very moderate - probably our own conversation about the unbelievably quiet Spaniards produced more noise! After we were already convinced that all this talking about the noisy Spaniards is just rumours spread by foreign agents, we learned otherwise: At nine o’clock in the morning, the two mobile bakers announced their presence by repeatedly pressing the horn (disturbing people’s sleep)! In off season they arrive one hour later... Seriously: the thing that annoyed us much more than that were all the barking dogs brought along by holidayers – at least they were banned on the beach.

 

On the beach in front of Natsun, there is one of several Chiringuitos (a simple Spanish beach restaurant). Additionally, since Easter, Natsuns new and popular café bar Paso Doble offers internet access and serves tapas as well as simple meals. Fortunately, Natsun and its surroundings don’t have a night time drinking venue. This certainly helps to keep the atmosphere calm and quiet. On top of it, also in Spain, naturists are in general more civilized than the bulk of the holiday makers. The noise level in the nearby textile resort town of Mojácar-Playa, a big tourist resort for beach goers from Europe’s largest English speaking island, is much more disturbing. During summer nights girls (wearing hunting gear) and guys (in sluggish jeans) crawl noisily and drunk from pub to pub and from one Irish bar to the next!

 

The atmosphere on Vera Playas large naturist beach feels very natural. Thousands of beachgoers, often large family groups, enjoy sunbathing, swimming, playing beach ball, building sand castles or walking along the beach, the most popular activity. As Spain is very family oriented, up to four generations are visiting the beach together. Spaniards are a very relaxed and tolerant bunch of people. Sometimes the granny wore a bathing costume, obviously enjoying being surrounded by her children, grandchildren and their children happily frolicking around her in the buff.  The big majority of beachgoers striped off, but sometimes the odd family could be seen, where the only nude sun seeker was the one that should at least wear some napkins. During August, about 95% of beachgoers were Spaniards, but still: the noise level was much more moderate than on many foreign dominated beaches.
The beach was most crowded at around 13:30h and again at 18:30h. During this time the beach probably looked like a big meat loaf from a distance. On the other hand, siesta is taken seriously by the Spanish society, even while on holiday, it’s strictly observed.  Therefore, from the thousands of beachgoers, only a few hundred are enjoying the sun between 3 and 5 pm. It seemed that the unwritten rule of society is obeyed even stricter by those wearing bathers. Therefore, it’s regularly possible even in August to have several hundred meters of sand to yourself on the textile section, but just during siesta time!

 

In another respect, Vera Playa is quite different from the naturist centres we visited outside Spain. Within the naturist area, nudity is of course also normal away from the beach, but only for those venturing out in a mission; e.g. straight away from the apartment to a café, the rubbish bins or the beach. But those who do a little detour in the buff (still within the naturist zone) in order to reach their destination feel a bit as outsiders!

 

Year around, the area here is very dry and during summer there is usually no rain at all. From time to time, even without any storm, there was a week with impressively big rolling waves. On those days everybody captured his admiration of the power of Mother Nature with the camera. Those powerful waves sometimes wash away big sections of the beach, but the government fights back by later placing truckloads of new sand to the worst hit areas.

As in third world countries, beach hawkers (mainly from Africa) are invading the beach during the summer holiday. At least they are not as insisting as those in Asia, except to those who naively engage in conversation...

During the summer holiday period, life at Vera Playa is much more lively and refreshing than during the rest of the year. Until late after midnight, lots of Spanish families are promenading with their children on the “Paseo Maritimo” and take advantage of the ice-cream kiosks all being open now, after some are closed during the day.

Here, and also on the beach it was eye-catching how many Spanish couples adopted some Chinese girls. To us it seems that, as in many other countries as well, also the Spanish adoption law requires so many conditions, that a “shopping trip” to Asia seems to be a good alternative... In ten year’s time or so, probably many Asian tourists will be astonished, how many “Chinese” women sunbathe naked on Spain’s naturist beaches.

 

One warm summer night, while we were sitting on our terrace at half past midnight, we heard some noise from the rooftop terrace of our neighbours (who weren’t there then). After seeing a man screwing on the TV antenna, we shouted at him and asked what his justification is? He calmly replied that he is adjusting the antenna. Brave and stark naked as she was, Brigitte immediately went up to the rooftop to chase him away, as she didn’t believe him at all. Heinz thought that a gang is maybe using a dirty trick to distract us, so he first moved everything of value, from the terrace into our apartment and locked it properly, before helping Brigitte hunting the suspicious intruder.

To Brigitte’s big surprise, the man didn’t even attempt to escape. Instead he had a Laptop connected to the antenna and insisted that he is the urbanisations TV technician who got the order to adjust the antenna, as TV reception in some apartments wasn’t as good as it should be. When asked why he is doing this job after midnight, he introduced himself as Christobal and replied: “I’m a naturist as well and prefer to spend the day on the beach. Now it’s simply too hot to work during the day”. Brigitte wasn’t fully convinced, but next morning Jan, Natsun’s owner, confirmed that it is quite possible, that Christobal works in the middle of the night on the rooftop. Later we met him often on the beach, sometimes chatting with him for a while (trying to improve our Spanish a little bit). He said he knew we’d make trouble when he learned that we were Swiss – they surely would never work voluntarily at such an odd hour.

 

Unfortunately, most of the Spanish neighbours we had were rather reserved; therefore we didn’t have as many free Spanish lessons in the buff as we had hoped for. If foreigners stayed in the apartment next to ours, they were often more socialising!
In general, it’s very rewarding to speak at least some Spanish. Most sales attendants are very likely to start a small conversation, while serving foreigners trying to speak some Spanish. Learning Spanish is not that difficult, as some words can be used for several meanings. For example: “mañana” can mean “morning”, “tomorrow”, “tomorrow in a week”, “tomorrow in a month”, tomorrow in a year”... Unfortunately it’s not always that easy: A “Piso Piloto” for instance is not a pilots dwelling but a show flat.

 

During our stay in Vera Playa, we realised in what a short time most tourist related businesses need to earn their money. In nearby Garrucha many restaurants and souvenir stores only opened in August, just to close again in the middle of September. Therefore it’s not surprising that tourist-traps are predominant during the summer. From the many small beach restaurants and sun bed rentals along the beach, most were open from “Semana Santa” (Easter week) to the end of September. Except in August, only those on the naturist beach could make reasonable business, as the textile beach was only frequented during “Semana Santa” for a few days plus around August for maybe 5 weeks.

The vast majority of visitors to Vera Playa are Spaniards, followed by French, Dutch, English and Germans. We realized that the people who grow up in southern Spain need a few degrees more to feel warm than people from Madrid or northern Europe. Many Andalucians we had seen stark naked all summer long, suddenly wore layers of clothing while walking along the beach that was still dotted with brave unclad “Madrileños” and foreigners enjoying the autumn sun!

 

In contrast to resorts dominated by Germans and English, the owners at Vera Playa are allowed to alter their holiday units year round. This is more sensible (and produces less noise) than the accelerated “no building time” regulations in German resorts. This often results in “do-it-yourself-lovers” running an extra loud mower all day long parked but unused on their lawn, just to hide the construction noise in the background!

 

Among friends

 

Our time at Vera Playa vanished very quickly. During the winter period, many of our friends we know from our previous stays at Costa Natura, came for a short visit, enjoying (or enduring) Heinz’ extensive cooking and spoiling us with presents like Dutch cheese or German sausages. Some, including Gisela & Klaus and more surprisingly Christiane and Klaus who previously had predicted that we wouldn’t stay here for more than three days, liked it immediately that much, they reserved an apartment here for next winter. For others like Bruni & Erhard, this was out of question, as they are owners at Costa Natura.
We also made new friends like Brita & Holger, or a Swiss man who as a single parent, regularly took not only his own children but also his neighbours’ and even his apprentices along to naturist summer holidays. Those children and youth later told their parents so excitedly about it, that some later also became naturists and joined him. He is a good example that naturists, who talk openly about being a naturist, might share this hobby often with their friends and relatives. The sometimes bad reputation of naturism is to a big chunk caused by those participants that don’t talk about it outside the resorts and clubs.

Also in our circle, after identifying ourselves as naturists, some friends admitted that they enjoy naturism as well, others said  it seems very natural to them although they didn’t try it yet and some were a bit sceptic in the beginning, but tried and enjoyed it later. We also met up with Birgit & Norbert, a nice couple who booked an apartment for a month. Beforehand they asked us for some advice about Natsun after discovering on our Web Site that we know the place.

Of course we soon became aquainted with many holidayers, whether they came here for just a few days, a few weeks or months. Some days we met that many known faces on the beach, we should almost have organized a raffle in order to know whom we should talk to first.

 

We had several times friends visiting, sharing this comfortable holiday place for a few weeks with us. At the end of May we drove the 140 Km to St. Javier Airport near Murcia and fetched Annemarie & Beat, with whom we could stay several times whilst in Switzerland. Although they have a sauna at home, they were at first a bit sceptic about naturism, but they wanted to give it a try. Without hesitation, but a bit worried they stripped off immediately. It didn’t take long until they discovered with relieve, that the atmosphere among the other “nudes” is much more natural and also quieter, than the atmosphere they experienced in the textile resorts they had been visiting during the previous years. The naturist life appealed to Annemarie & Beat obviously so much, during daylight they hardly wanted to make an excursion, and (almost) daily they worshipped the sun to its last sunrays.

Beat went for a second opinion to a local dentist who was recommended to us by Natsun’s Dutch owners. He immediately saved € 2’000.-(two thousands) as the Spanish dentist found the dental treatment recommended by his Swiss colleague was absolutely unnecessary for now and a waste of money.

 

Beginning of August, Magy a former office mate of Brigitte, visited us for 4 days. Together with her partner, who unfortunately had already died in the meantime, she moved to southern Spain a few years ago. At nighttimes, she runs her own restaurant specialized in chicken-dishes, about 200 Km away from here. During daytime she often visits the local naturist beach. We were glad to meet again after five years and of course she was also interested in discovering the beach and the restaurants at Vera Playa.

 

On September 9, Angelika & Karsten, an interesting easy going couple from Denmark permanently living at Costa Natura, paid us a three day visit. Every winter, the two are globetrotting with almost no luggage around Asia, where we met twice during the last 5 years.

On the same day we said farewell to Angelika & Karsten, we went to the airport to pick up our friends Moni & Bruno. During our first naturist holiday together in 1994 they got together and later married in Australia. We regularly meet up for holidays, sometimes for six days only, sometimes for an entire six weeks. This time we had 2 ½ weeks together, during which we enjoyed the beach, made a few small excursions to the surroundings and visited some restaurants in the evenings.

Our last visitors arrived mid October at Almeria’s Airport, 90 Km away; Heinz’ sister Edith with hubby Kari. When we told them 1994 about our first naturist holiday (with Moni & Bruno) they couldn’t really imagine it for themselves. But after joining us in 1999 for eight days, nudity became so natural to them, that they visited us in the meantime on five naturist holidays.

 

Just three weeks ago, they came back from a trip around Iceland and they could give us some valuable travel tips. On return, they could take advantage of us knowing our way around the restaurants, in culinary-wise not that appealing Andalucía, as we already separated the ordinary from the extraordinary. As Edith & Kari always keep themselves busy, they could only stay for 10 days.
Natsun’s service was excellent: they provided bed linen and towels to all of our many visitors.

 

There were, however, a few visitors we didn’t like. At certain times of the year, sparrows got almost a pest. They were quicker shitting on our terrace, than we were able to clean it. The chance to ever get rid of them is slim due to the fact that many holiday folks feed them with unhealthy stuff...

 

Spring excursion

 

Beginning of February, spring arrived in Andalucía so we wanted to take advantage of the area’s famous almond blossom as long as we are still here.

Trix and Gernot told us about the beautiful mountain range called Alpujarra and therefore we went out on February 8, 2009, to discover it for ourselves. Before we left, we contacted Magy, our friend with the chicken-restaurant in La Herradura. This gave us a chance to meet again and we could stay there for a few nights.

After we started our trip via Sorbas and the ‘Desierto de Tabernas’ we soon saw the first snow-capped mountains. We rode on the A348 into the Alpujarra Mountains and spared the northern route along the Sierra Nevada for our way back.

Not only the almond trees were beautiful to look at, also the scenery was very nice with changing landscapes all the times. Here it was high rocks, there it was green hills or cultivated land. Then again it could be rugged and raw with hardly anything growing. Colours changed just as much; from grey to ochre to almost red or the strong brown resulting from iron in the rock.

We could stop every few kilometres, but because there were so many bendy roads, it took us all day to reach Magy’s place. When we reached the Costa del Sol at Motril, we were suddenly surrounded by dense traffic, the first time for a few months. Here we realized how much more tranquil the area around Vera is.

We arrived at Magy’s, just in time to join her and her friends for dinner at a restaurant where they served white asparagus.

 

Next day, we went out on our own to explore the spectacular coastline towards Nerja and later some white washed villages in the hills further west. We came to beautiful Competa and later on to Alhama de Granada, which thrones spectacularly on top of a cliff, which was washed out from the river below.

Next day, Magy had her day off and played tourist-guide for us. She directed us into the Sierra de Guajares, where we went for a long walk in the mountains. After lunch in a typical Spanish restaurant, we later drove back along a pass road lined with almond plantations in full bloom.

 

On Wednesday, we went sight-seeing to Malaga. After ticking-off all the “must see” buildings, we steamed up the hill of Gibralfaro fortrified by Alcazaba Castle. The view reached from the blue sea to the green hills and snow covered mountains behind. However; in front of all that, a desert of concrete made of ugly high rise buildings was an eyesore. But also this is Andalucias Costa del Sol, even though the clusters of white washed villages clinging to the hills were much nicer.

 

That night, Magy’s restaurant was open again and so we could experience the nice atmosphere it had when guests were there. We chose some of the chicken specialities and enjoyed Magy’s service.

Next morning, we said farewell and went on our way back through the Alpujarra Mountains. First we drove up a pass road that afforded unlimited spectacular views. It was absolutely worthwhile, even though we had to turn back as the road was closed further up.

After driving through the thermal resort of Lanjaron, we visited a few small villages that were recommended to tourists for their beauty: Pampaneira, Bubion and Capileira. The only difference we noticed to other less famous white washed villages was, that they had countless tourist-shops and restaurants.

 

Our next stop was Trevélez, situated on an altitude of 1750 m, which makes it the highest village in Spain. Snow along the streets was helping to make it noticeably cooler than previous places. Finding accommodation was more difficult than expected, as most of the many hotels and hostales were closed for holiday, for renovation or because they didn’t expect enough guests or didn’t want to heat the rooms. We asked various people for advice but it was fruitless.
Looking around, we had noticed a building with expensive looking rental apartments and soon that seemed to be our last hope. Curious how high the price would be we rang the bell. We were lucky and actually got quite a luxurious room for € 40 and the best of all: it was heated with a modern floor heating system!

Relaxed we walked around the snow covered village a bit more. Many buildings in Trevélez house nothing but big legs of ham hanging in “secadores” in the clean cool mountain-air to dry for up to two years. The most expensive of these approximately 7 kg heavy pig legs, fetch up to € 700. These originate from white pigs that lived under oaks in Extremadura province.

Trevélez is a very touristy place and its souvenir stores sell, apart from many irresistible but useless items, also those famous hams, trouts and Soplillos, a local Meringue speciality with almonds.

 

On the next morning, we passed many white washed villages again, where the streets were still used to park on, despite the difficulty for cars to pass. However, the high standard of minor roads between urbanisations is impressive.

The “scenic” road we chose at the end of our tour was a big exception. It was cut into a straight, if not even overhanging rock face along Rio Adra’s gorge. The track was about three meters wide at best and full of pot-holes. The landscape, in contrast, was of such beauty that we were glad we didn’t turn, even if we would have found a chance to do so somewhere...

This gorge stays in our memory as no ordinary road ever would. Once we reached the artificial lake Beninar, the valley opened up and the road became wide and civilised again and all the magic had vanished. That drive through the gorge was a fascinating end to our tour and we returned to Vera Playa very happy.

 

Final thoughts

 

We frankly enjoyed our stay at Natsun in Vera Playa in any respect. It is certainly one of the better naturist places we know. Nudity feels very natural here, just the way it should be. This is also thanks to the openness and tolerance of the Spanish society.

There was nothing to complain, although the weather was almost boring: just sunny every day!

 

We are not aware what generated it, but meanwhile we have itchy feet again. Meanwhile we have plans to travel to areas with much less boring weather. We now intend to visit the Faroese Islands, Iceland and Greenland this summer. Afterwards we’d like to spend next winter, as well as the following summer in Scandinavia. After getting so much sun in southern Spain, we should withstand the harsh and cold conditions and probably even enjoy the weather’s different moods; which is certainly all but boring near the arctic!

When we arrived at Natsun, we just looked for a reasonably warm naturist place to escape winter at least a bit. For continental Europe, it is quite mild here. However, winter is noticeably cool here too. Vera Playas biggest draw card: the beach, can only be fully enjoyed during the warmer half of the year.

To us, the best time at Vera Playa was between April and November. We preferred the summertime, because then we were surrounded by Spaniards; by the lively Spanish way of life, which was even more appealing than we had imagined!!!

 

Farewell from Spain: on an inland route back to France

 

On April 7th we finally left our sunny paradise in southern Spain and drove towards the French border. Again we chose an inland route, away from the highways.

The landscapes we came along were again as fascinating and diverse as if we drove across various continents at once. Sometimes the soil was dry and red and then there were alpine pine forests or fertile farmlands. All those tourists who know nothing but the coastal highway, don’t know what they miss out on.

 

Upon reaching Jumilla Pass, temperatures had dropped from 20°C to 10°C. Needless to say, our socks and jackets were on the bottom of our baggage. After passing a high plateau with tall pine trees, we arrived in a village called Sinarcas around 8 P.M. After taking a hotel room we had a look around the village. Now we soon realized why the Señora was puzzled, after we had told her that we were not yet sure, whether we would eat in the hotel’s restaurant or somewhere else. We had booked into the hotel with THE restaurant … the one and only!

 

One last time we could experience Spain as Spanish as it can be. The next morning, almost the entire village population squeezed into the bakery that barely measured 2m². We went along and brought our „panes con chocolate“ (chocolate buns) afterwards over to OUR restaurant. It seemed the entire workforce squeezed into here too, to have their mid-morning sugar-fix. Some people ordered ‘Tostadas’, others brought their own sandwiches or something from the bakery along. One man tried to distribute apples to everyone “because they are so healthy” he said. Some just smiled about him and preferred to fill their glasses with wine and water.

The second day brought us near Teruel, where we could admire many beautiful rock-formations in all sorts of colours. The Ebro River valley with its artificial lake was also a very impressive sight.
After Lerida we took a new Motorway and hoped it would bring us quickly to France. At this point the landscape became less spectacular and more inhabited, meaning: full of concrete. Unfortunately we came through town centres twice, which always takes a while as is generally known. So it was almost 9 P.M. and dark by the time we reached the French border.