Ireland is not a country that springs to mind or the imagination when one talks about naturism. So, many might be surprised to learn that there is a thriving naturist organisation in Ireland. One will ask ‘How can this be?’ Ireland, a small mainly Catholic island, in the Atlantic Ocean and the most western fringe of Europe, normally covered in cloud, always raining and wind swept is surely far too cold and wet for any sane person to disrobe and practice naturism.

Nothing could be further from the truth. It might rain a lot and it might be cold on occasions but the same is true of other main centres for naturism worldwide. For example: France, the world’s most popular naturist destination, has been known to experience torrential rain and floods during the holiday season. Scandinavian countries are also a lot colder than Ireland a lot of the time.

Naturism in Ireland has been with us for many centuries. It is recorded that in ancient times the Irish went into battle naked and unashamed and fought furiously. Naturism was officially first introduced in 1963 with the founding of the Irish Naturist Association and in honour of the Association’s 50^th years in existence Ireland was given the privilege of hosting the 34^th International Naturist Congress in September 2014. Although Irish Law did not permit public nudity at that time the occasion had the full support of the Irish Government and was also supported by the semi-state bodies, the Irish Tourism Board and Fáilte Ireland. This was an enormous boost to the naturist movement in Ireland as for its first fifty years the membership was not great. The Association was very much inclined to ‘keep its head down’ and just enjoy its lifestyle quietly and under the radar. Members frequented a number of beaches around the country but very secluded, mostly on the East coast. Although public nudity was prohibited by law the authorities turned a blind eye and no prosecutions were ever brought against members of the Association. Most Irish people seemed to enjoy the freedom of no clothing whilst on their foreign holidays, in France or Spain. A brief history of the INA is documented on our website at
https://irishnaturism.org/history-of-naturism-in-ireland/  

In the past twenty to thirty years Ireland has become a much more open minded and culturally diverse society. As part of the ongoing liberal attitudes new laws were passed by parliament in 2017 which now make being naked in public no longer illegal or a prosecutable offence. The CRIMINAL LAW (SEXUAL OFFENCES) Act 2017 now states that “A person who exposes his or her genitals intending to cause fear, distress or alarm to another person is guilty of an offence.” Accordingly, for an offence to be committed the person exposing him/herself must intend to cause fear, distress or alarm to another person. In other words being naked in itself is not illegal under this law. The law is now similar to that pertaining in the United Kingdom. However, in Ireland the local Authorities have not erected any signage to indicate that nude persons may be present. This does/could lead to some clothed people being a little alarmed on occasions. Accordingly, INA does advocate that discretion is practiced where one is unsure or where one is requested to ‘cover up’. We have renewed our approaches to local Authorities and are hopeful that progress will be made. We have also met with the police (An Garda Síochána) who have agreed to advise their members that naturism is not illegal. We are committed to bringing legal protection for naturists in Ireland and total clarity for everyone along the lines of the guidance which British police have issued to their members – see here.

In recent years with the changing attitudes and liberalisation many more are accepting of and taking part in naturism in Ireland. Indoor facilities, swimming pools, saunas, Yoga/meditation retreats and other such facilities are accepting our bookings for naked events. Presently there are ten water sports centres where INA/BN and INF members partake in organised swimming, sauna, jacuzzi and steam room events all year round. Naturists also make use of traditional known naturist used beaches and outdoor swimming areas. Currently there are some thirty-three documented beaches in the Republic of Ireland. There are also a number in Northern Ireland and these are documented on the British Naturism website at: https://www.bn.org.uk/activities/placestogo/. 

That being said, there are very many other secluded beaches and small coves around the coast where, with discretion, one can happily disrobe and enjoy the freedom, sunshine and clear Atlantic and Irish Sea waters on bare skin.

We might not be the best known naturist destination in the world but we are probably the best! Come and see!

The post Naturism in Ireland is Alive and Well appeared first on Irish Naturist Association.

For our next outing, we decided to visit South Connemara.

So we decided to head to the beautiful, picturesque village of Roundstone. I had read articles on how stunning the beaches were in Roundstone but nothing prepared is for the amazing experience. It is a natural haven.

Taking the road west of Roundstone for about 2 miles until down on the left you see the sign for Gurteen Bay and beyond that the infamous Dogs Bay. Two large back to back beaches with soft golden sand and aqua blue water. But most intriguing of all from a naturist point of view, walk over the headland from Digs Bay is a small sanding cove wedged in the middle of the headland (and get hidden) from the main beaches.

Here you can enjoy an amazing naked experience, sunbathing and swimming in a stunning and remote location. As I understand it, other naturist explorers have found and written about Puppy’s Cove before but believe me nothing prepares you for its beauty.

Just bring a towel, sunscreen, and a bite of food and a bottle of water and you have all the ingredients for a perfect naturist day out.

Connemara, here we come.

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Pam, can you tell us about your first contact with naturism? When did it all start for you?

I found out about naturism when I visited Mark Walsh at his office, Mark is the Event Organiser for British Naturism (BN). I saw one of the BN magazines and a brochure for an upcoming event. I decided in that second that I wanted to be a part of this and jumped at the opportunity to attend the 2017 Alton Towers weekend.

What does naturism mean for you? What is the appeal of it?

Naturism has made me more aware of how we should treat ourselves and others. We should be so proud of our bodies in all of the stages of our life. I love the freedom, positivity and empowerment that comes from being nude. It enforces loving your body and its imperfections.

Can you explain a little bit about your naturist work? What does it entail?

I’m very lucky to get to be a part of the BN Events Team. Helping to plan and manage the events is one of the most rewarding things. Seeing the community come together and celebrate is probably the best part of the job.
I’ve also been part of the YBN (Young British Naturism) leadership team for just over a year, and work on the promotional side of the organisation which has included radio/tv interviews and exhibitions, not only in the UK but also on Irish tv, such as the Elaine Show on TV3 (28 April 2020) or the Jennifer Zamparelli program on RTE 2FM (11 June 2020), to name the most recent ones.

To sum it up, what are the benefits of naturism?

Naturism has become a massive part of my life, I tell everyone about the lifestyle, community and the benefits it can bring mentally and physically. Many people struggle with body confidence and low self-esteem. Naturism helps us to move past looks, shape and size, to value ourselves and others on personality and character.

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Inch Strand is located halfway on the southern edge of the Dingle Peninsula in county Kerry. It boasts a 5 kilometre long beach which is flanked by an extensive sand dune system, which is ideal for the walking or hiking enthusiast. Inch’s name is derived from the Irish word Inse, the genitive case for Inis, meaning Island. From this linguistic artefact we can see that at one point back in the distant past Inch Strand started out life as an island in the middle of Castlemaine Harbour.

So how did Inch go from being an island to a sand spit?

Two processes contributed to the joining of the former island to the mainland – the deposition of sediments from the bay area and the presence of Marram grass in the island. Firstly, the sediments flowing from the River Maine into Castlemaine Harbour, upon meeting the tidal forces of the Atlantic Ocean, deposited themselves at the base of the existing island, making it grow in size. The tidal forces of the Atlantic also played its part in depositing sand from the seafloor in the area of the island. Eventually, over a long period of time, with the continual accumulation of sand and sediment, a spit of sand gradually formed between the island and the mainland of the Dingle Peninsula. And so began the early stages of Inch Strand as we know it. The second formation process in Inch’s creation was the presence of Marram grass on Inch. A coastal species, suited to the saline nature of the seashore, Marram grass is important in the formation of sand dunes. It plays a vital role in stabilising the dunes, its fibrous, matted roots binding the sand down, which helps to encourage the colonisation of other plants. The long, rigid blades of the grass also act as a sort of windbreak, catching any sand blown off the seashore and allowing the captured sand particles to settle at the grass’ base, causing the dunes to grow and spread bit by bit. In the case of Inch, the result to date is almost like a mini mountain range of undulating sand dunes running along the spine of Inch Strand, from the mainland to the tip.

Is Inch Strand made up of only sand dunes and beaches?

Marram grass has the ability to create a varied selection of ecosystems which in turn benefit a wide range of coastal species. Marram tends to be found on the newly formed dunes on the shoreline, becoming less prominent as you move further inland from the sea, before giving way entirely to other pastoral grass species. For example, Inch transitions from embryonic sand dunes, to established sand dunes to a plain of machair grassland behind said sand dunes, before ending a tidal area of mudflats and salt marshes.

Inch’s sand dunes are of significant ornithological, zoological, geomorphological and archaeological interest and have been designated a special area of conservation SAC. Inch dunes are an important habitat for the chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), the natterjack toad (Bufo calamita), Ireland’s only toad and rarest amphibian and the rare petalwort (Petalophyllum ralfsii).  Numerous rabbit warrens can be seen in the deep heart of the dunes. The machair area behind the dunes are utilised by local farmers for the rearing of sheep and cattle.

Clockwise from top left: Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Natterjack toad (Bufo calamita), Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) and Fox (Vulpes vulpes), just a selection of the terrestrial species that inhabit Inch Strand.

Clockwise from top left: Petalwort (Petalophyllum ralfsii)a rare species of liverwort in Ireland, Sand Pansies (Viola tricolor ssp. curtisii), Sheep’s-bit- Scabious (Jasione montana) and Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor), just a selection of the flora that grow on the sand dunes and machair habitats of Inch.

 So what is on offer at Inch for the first time or regular visitor?

With respect to areas of interest to visitors, the easy gradient and vastness of space on Inch provides a safe environment for all types of water sports including Surfing, Kayaking, Windsurfing, Kite Surfing, Hangliding. The area is popular with bass anglers , with both ends of the beach yielding bass and flatfish. A number of kitchen middens, which give Inch an added archaeological interest, have been found towards the southern tip of the spit. A popular attraction for bird-watchers is the nature reserve behind the banks of sand dunes on the strand. These wetlands are important wintering grounds for many ducks and waders. It should come as no surprise that the seclusion and largely unspoilt nature of Inch’s sand dunes and beach attracts naturists from around the country and abroad. So the occasional sightings of naturists can be made while hiking along the Inch peninsula. 

The post Inch Strand – Kerry’s Ecological Gem appeared first on Irish Naturist Association.

Tá sé aisteach, ach tá sé seo níos deacra ná teacht amach as an gcófra. Is nochtach mé; sin, tá mé níos compordacha mo shaol a cónaí gan éadaí. Síleann a lán daoine, mura nach bhfuil an chuid is mó den daoine, gur ‘nochtach’ códfhocal sásúil go sóisialta é ar son ‘taispeántóir’. Faraor, is iad na fíornochtaigh i bhád níos lú graosta. Le bheith cruinn faoi, tá mo shaol leadránach go leor. Ólaim mo chaife ar maidin, seiceálaim mo chuid r-phoist, glanaim an teach, léim leabhair, agus codlaím nocht. Neamhshuimiúil ar fad. Is fearr liom dul chuig trá áit a bhfuilim ábalta a bheith ag snámh agus ag déanamh bolg le gréin gan bríste snámha.

Tá an fhírinne go gcabhraíonn an nochtachas mé sáraigh deacrachtaí pearsanta le diosmhoirfín choirp. Nuair a bhí mé i mo dhéagóir, bhí anoireicse orm. Agus tá an chuid níos measa nár thug éinne faoi deara. Cén fáth nár thug siad? Is dócha mar gheal ar go bhfuilim i m’fhéar agus “ní fhaigheann fir anoireicse”. Is mothú ait é a beith duine dár nós féin agus cliste a bhfuil ábalta amharc ar an sciathán agus dhá leagan den duine féin a fheiceáil. Ar lámh amháin, ag 20 bliain d’aois, bhí mé chomh peitite go raibh mé ábalta jíons mná ag an mhéid a náid a chaitheamh. Ar an lámh eile, bhí mé an-ghar do bheith murtallach agus bhí orm níos mó meáchan a chailleadh. Níl aon míniú réasúnach air sin – ach is féidir liom dearbhaigh go bhfuil sé fíor céad faoin gcéad.

Cuidíonn iniúchadh a dhéanamh ar nochtachas liomsa glac mo choirp mar atá sé. Taispeánann am a chaitheamh le nochtaigh eile liomsa gur iomaí saghas duine atá ann go firinne – agus ní haon chúis náire é. Chomh maith leis sin, is iad na fíornochtaigh cuid de na daoine is cairdiúla agus is sásta a mbuailim leis riamh. Is an chuid is mó macánta agus ionraic agus toilteanach a chaitheamh an éirí in airde sóisialta uathu chomh go furasta mar chaitheann siad a n-éadaí uathu.

Tá sé buíochas le nochtachas agus le cairde nochtaigh go bhfuilim ábalta meáchan a chuir orm agus a chuir ar an sláinte mo choirp in ionad a méid. Anois agus arís, feicim fós an dá leagan domsa féin, ach le i bhád níos lú minicíochta ná deich bliain ó shin. Déanta na fírinne, tá an deacrachta is mó atá agam a bheith i mo nochtach agus i mo chónaí in iarthuaisceart na Dún na nGall, sin mo bille an teasa.

The Naked Gaeilgeoir

It’s strange but this is more difficult than coming out of the closet. I am a naturist; that is, I am more comfortable living my life without clothes. Many, if not most, people think ‘naturist’ is a socially acceptable code word for ‘exhibitionist’. Alas, true naturists are a lot less titillating. In fact, my life is quite boring. I drink my morning coffee, check my emails, clean the house, read books and sleep naked. Really uninteresting. I prefer to go to a beach where I can swim and sunbath without a bathing suit. That’s really it.

The truth is that naturism has helped me overcome personal issues with body dysmorphia. When I was a teenager, I was anorexic. And the worst part is that no one noticed. Why not? Probably because I’m a guy and “guys don’t get anorexia”. It’s a very strange sensation to be a down-to-earth and intelligent person who can look into the mirror and see two versions of himself. On the one hand, at 20 years old I was so petite I could wear girls’ jeans in a size 0. On the other hand, I was verging on obese and needed to lose more weight. There is absolutely no rational explanation for it – but I can confirm that it is 100% true. 

Exploring naturism has helped me accept my body as it is. Spending time with other naturists shows me that humans really do come in all shapes and sizes – and that is nothing to be ashamed about. Moreover, true naturists are some of the friendliest and happiest people I’ve met. Most are sincere and honest and willing to throw off social pretence as easily as they throw off their clothes. 

It is thanks to naturism and naturist friends that I have been able to put on weight and focus on my body’s health rather than its size. Once in a while I still see both versions myself, but much less frequently than 10 years ago. In fact, the biggest issue that practicing naturism in northwest Donegal presents is my heating bill.

The post An Gaeilgeoir Nocht appeared first on Irish Naturist Association.

But what are the causes for this global tendency? Perchance is naturism less beneficial for women? Are body confidence and self-acceptance not commendable personal goals in a society painfully obsessed with physical appearance? Do women have more mental battles to fight before feeling ready to liberate themselves from clothes and prejudices? Does the naturist world lack female role models?

For the fourth year in a row, Irish Naturist Association is proposing June as the Women-in-Naturism month. Due to the pandemic situation this time we have no in-person activities we can offer free entry to, so we came up with a new idea: we would like to reward female naturists with free INA membership for the remainder of 2020 and 2021 in exchange for a discreet nude pic that will be used to create a public video at our YouTube channel. Just send us an email to info@irishnaturism.org

Further to this special promo for women (whose partners will be included in the memberships for free!), we are devoting all our online INTERNATIONAL TALKS on Thursdays (7.30pm to 8.30pm Irish Time GMT+1) to prominent female naturist leaders or activists.

Our event coordinator Leticia will interview British women on the 4th of June: British Naturism Event Organiser Pamela Fraser, British Naturism Women-in-Naturism Coordinator Donna Price, Max’s Garden Naturist Retreat Manager Fiona Discombe, H&E Naturist Magazin Journalist Theresa O’Shea.

The following week we will hear all about female naturism in Brazil, where naturism is growing in popularity.

On the 18th June we will be enlightened about naturist beaches and attitudes in Croatia, Slovenija, Serbia and Hungary.

We will finish the series with an insight into Scandinavia, with activists from Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Finally, I would like to encourage our female readers to send us their thoughts or stories, I will be very happy to publish them here in our INA blog.

Leticia Medina – Irish Naturist Association – info@irishnaturism.org

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OUR STORY, BY JOHANNA AND LAURENT GASPARETTO

For a long time we have wanted to live our philosophy of living close to nature to the fullest. We travelled the world in search of our Eldorado, and finally we unpacked our suitcases in Andalusia, a wonderful region that has all the best conditions to live this dream: friendly, open and cheerful people, sunshine almost all year round, beautiful unspoilt naturist beaches, festivities and traditions, white villages that you never get tired of, fascinating Moorish architecture, not to mention the delicious and healthy Mediterranean food and good wines!

This way of life suits us perfectly, and we have been sharing it with our guests for 5 years, first in Coín and now in Iznate, where we have moved closer to the sea. In a small castle on top of a hill overlooking the village, we have a wonderful view of the Mediterranean on the south side, and the mountains on the north side.

We have opened 5 themed rooms (the charming and mysterious Wonder Room, the typical Andalusian Room, the seaside Marina Suite, the exotic Tropical Room, and the very romantic Arabian Nights). And  for guests who wish to be more independent, we have two gites with each their own kitchen and private terraces. La Casita is a fun little Andalusian house for two people, while the Astronomy Tower, newly opened this year with its high perched terrace, can accommodate up to 4 people…

But thanks to the sun, life at the Finca takes place mostly outside: nature is wild here. In Spain, a Finca is above all a farm where you produce. We have olive trees, almond trees, citrus, loquats, pomegranates, etc. as well as a vegetable garden where we grow our vegetables. They will delight those who want to eat a finca salad or a vegetable pie on the shady terrace. At breakfast you will find all kinds of jams from our fruit, home-made pastries, each day a different one, as well as local hams and cheeses, and of course the eggs of our 7 hens jealously guarded by the proud rooster Benito.

Our guests are always happy to go and visit them, but the heart of the Finca is undoubtedly the 15-metre swimming pool with its deckchairs, beds and hammocks, as well as its bar where Laurent takes care of everyone’s well-being. The more courageous can participate in the daily aquagym session with Johanna.

In the evening the guests sometimes get dressed and go down to the village to eat tapas in the 3 small typical bars. On Friday and Saturday evenings the party is at the Finca! Around a dinner that brings everyone together (a paella, an aioli, a mediterranean buffet), the evening goes on with music, songs, dance and laughter under the stars…

HAVE A LOOK AT FINCA JOHANNA IN YOUTUBE

Website: https://www.fincajohanna.com/en/

Contact: info@fincajohanna.com

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There are numerous secluded coves with beautiful clean sand and pristine waters for any regular naturist, or even first time naturist, to enjoy. These beauty spots are picture perfect places and allow for skinny dipping and nude sunbathing without offending any local residents or passers by.

One of many such places is the northern end of Lettergesh beach near Renvyle in County Galway. This is a really unspoilt part of Ireland with friendly locals, a nice choice of accommodation (Camp sites, B&B and Hotels), and amazing views. The beach itself can be reached by driving from Tully Cross north towards Leenane and taking the first left turn after Lettergesh Camp site. Drive down until the road ends at a small bay. Park here (GPS coordinates 53.602493470072915, -9.908590257691685) and walk west over the headland until you reach a magnificent and usually completely empty beach with beautiful waters that could be from any Southern European country. This area is known locally as Gowlan. The beach is also available at low tide from Lettergesh’s main beach, and offers magnificent views out over the water to Inishbofim and Inishtyek islands. Places which also offer many naturist opportunities.

More to come in subsequent posts.

An Taiscéalaí Nochtach

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Héctor’s YouTube channel containing hundreds of videos, 1,3 million subscribers and over 200 million views was removed today. He has initiated a Change petition asking for the support of the naturist community:

Petition:

Depictions of non-minor persons of either sex either in public or in private in a non-sexual, nude state shall not be prohibited by social media sites or their providers if and when the depictions are intended by their disseminator to be of an artistic, educational, or documentary nature and/or facilitate the formation of an educated opinion on a subject whereby the unclad persons depicted must have given their permission – either expressed or implied – that their image be stored or transmitted by electronic means.” The definition of non-sexual nudity is any bare-skinned or clothes-free state that prima facie does not intend to cause or induce sexual arousal or sexual gratification.

Open letter to YouTube, after they closed my channel today, May 16th 2020.

My name is Hector Martinez. I’m a creator of naturist content and since 2016 I’ve been an active advocate of naturism on YouTube. The purpose of my channel is to educate society and in doing so promote society’s viewing the body as what it is: natural and normal. I am also the president of the non-profit Mexican Nudist Federation (http://fednudmex.org), an organization in Mexico whose goal is normalizing the human body and promoting body positivity. I think we can all agree that modern western society has trained us from an early age to see nudity as something wrong, something harmful or strictly for sexual gratification; a point of view that we believe has caused countless social and psychological problems. In my videos I document, both visually and in the narration, that nudity isn’t synonymous with lewdness, erotism or sex. That is now, and has always has been, the sole purpose of my channel. But now , in an unexpected turn of events/unexpectedly, a decision has been made by someone – or something – at YouTube to remove my channel. And with something as simple as the flipping of a virtual switch, hundreds of videos, the support of 1.3 million subscribers, and over 200 million views were wiped out. Hours, days, and weeks of video documentation of the nudist movement in Mexico and, in particular, my experiences as a Mexican naturist were instantly blocked on the platform. This isn’t just censorship of me as a simple content creator, but it is a form of institutional silencing of a grassroots movement by a platform that, up until now, had promised to be a place where millions of naturists worldwide could have a voice; this is especially important since our community has been systematically expelled from nearly all the other mainstream social media websites. It’s particularly surprising, given how over the last three years I have been able to upload over a hundred videos on your platform; videos that aligned with the accepted depiction of nudity under your community guidelines, these being “for Educational and Documentary purposes”. But it hasn’t always been easy: the algorithm you at YouTube use to identify sexually explicit videos constantly flagged my videos and doled out strikes for supposedly breaking the community guidelines; however, I appealed the decision every single time and each time a real person looked into the matter, the videos were unblocked and, consequently, the strikes struck from my record. This tells me that real people, not algorithms, can identify intent; case in point: as soon as a real person is involved, the following happens: the true intent of a video I’ve uploaded to my channel becomes obvious to the person checking the video, who then determines that the video in question is not intended for sexual gratification, and my channel and the video are restored. I ask you what’s changed? What’s different this time? Why is it that, while your policies say that in order for a channel to be eliminated it must have at least 3 strikes, you eliminated my channel which doesn’t have any? So YouTube, I have two simple questions for you: 1.) what is your stand on this as regards my channel, and 2.) why are you so inconsistent when it comes to naturism on your platform? On one hand, you acknowledge that nudity doesn’t always have to be, and f’m quoting you here, for “sexual gratification” and, accordingly, your terms and conditions make provisions for that. But on the other hand, it seems your content checkers aren’t able to tell the difference. I think all of your subscribers and content creators would benefit from some sort of consistency in this matter and would appreciate an answer. You could, of course, try to hide behind the easy one-size-fits-all idea that nudity in public is always lewd. It’s funny how, by deplatforming the one of the few voices who want to change this idea, you are, in a way, perpetuating such a mentality. As a naturist, it’s scary to see how the censorship of our ideas has become all too common on the Internet we all use and enjoy. As I said before, my videos document my life as a Mexican naturist and, possibly more importantly, the growth and promotion of naturism in Mexico. By these means I aim to educate society in general and promote the view that the body should be seen as something natural. I know from personal experience that naturism has led to people having life changing experiences; it has helped them feel more comfortable in their own skin and gain a level of self-acceptance they didn’t know possible. How is my work advocating naturism any different from any other social movement that aims to improve people’s quality of life and self-fulfilment? I know I could choose to just get upset at the injustice of it all and learn to just let it go. Or I can choose to do something about it in the hope of being able to make a change. Youtube, it’s time you take a stand on whether non-erotic social nudity is welcome on your website and for you to tell our growing global community whether we are an unwanted minority on your platform or not. #YouTubeTakeAStand End of letter.

https://www.change.org/p/youtube-stop-censoring-our-naturist-nudist-community?recruiter=1090671707&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

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Some of them were members of the Association of Friends of the Nudist Beach of Cantarriján, an amazing bunch of enthusiastic activists of naturism on what it is claimed to be Costa del Sol’s top nudist beach, Cantarriján in Granada with closest proximity to the border with Málaga. We fully understood their nudist verve when they showed us a video of their beloved Cantarriján: “Ven a desnudarte, ven a Cantarriján” – “Go naked, go to Cantarriján“.

On the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar, we were advised by the also supernice members of another association, DesnudosxNaturaleza (Naked by Nature) on the less well-known beaches of that Western part of Andalucía. Fine golden sands and breathtaking views along with well-preserved vegetation near the dunes make the coastline of Huelva and Cádiz quite unique and appealing for both national and international tourists.

The Spanish Naturist Federation shows on its website up to 12 nudist beaches in Cádiz, among which our friends were praising in particular the unique location of Bolonia Beach, known by its mud-baths and the picturesque Roman ruins in the vicinity, the 7km long unspoilt Faro de Trafalgar and Los Caños de Meca, a one-time hippy hang-out that still retains something of its former bohemian vein.

To this Costa de la Luz list we can add 3 more beaches in Huelva:

• El Rompido, in the Natural Park of Marismas del Río Piedras and in front of the majestic views of the sandy formation called Flecha del Rompido;
  
• Punta Umbría, a spectacular urban beach surrounded by junipers and pine forests belonging to the Natural Area of Marismas del Odiel, one of the most important ecological marshes of the Iberian Peninsula;
• Cuesta Maneli, right in the middle of the National Park of Doñana

All along our virtual conference we were fully engrossed by the mouth-watering description of all these Andalusian treasures. We can’t wait now for the pandemic to end and go explore the south! Naked for Nature!!

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