Nature… Natural… Naturism
Nature…Natural…Naturism: Those words are from the same family. But when I had my first experience about naturism, I did not know what that word actually meant at that time. I still was a teenager then, and it happened at a naturist camping site where the parents of my friend were spending occasionally their time.
Strangely, I do not have a lot of memories of that time. I remember that everybody was naked and was enjoying their life the same way they were doing when clothed. There was a swimming pool, a river, a mini-putt and so on. It was a place with lot of activities and full of friendly people. It was my first experience with naturism, but my second experience happened a lot of years later and it is the one that made me a naturist for good, I believe.
Me and my then girlfriend stumbled into a nude beach that we were not aware it existed at this place. We gave it a try (well, I convinced her to give it a try) and we decided to come back the day after. We spent the whole day naked, talked to some people, get some new friends. It was really nice. I started to understand the concept of freedom there is with the naturist lifestyle.
The fact is, when everybody is naked, all the barriers fall apart. There is no difference between individuals. The one who is president or farmer, the one who is rich or poor, they are all of the same level when naked. You cannot know who is who and this is good because it removes stereotypes imposed by the society. I liked the feeling to be naked at a beach and feel the wind and the sun caressing my skin.
There is a kind of connection that, personally I cannot explain, but just feel it. Forgotten the stress, forgotten the worries of life. You enjoy the present moment, you relax and with some luck, you get new friends as well who share the same ideas than you about how naturism is good for human being health. At that nude beach, there was a bunch of regulars that was taken care that the section of the nude beach was always clean. Some were organising volleyball tournament or sometimes some shared picnic where everybody brought some foods and drinks to be shared among participants. But along those regulars, we could see that every year, there were some new people, textiles at first, trying to live the naked life.
Later, along the years, I had been to many nude beaches and nude hotel or resort. In USA, I had been a couple of times at Haulover Beach, in Miami. That beach is easily accessible by public transport and is quite popular. On weekend, you can see around 400 or 500 people. Safeguards are there, it is very secure, and the people there are very friendly and helpful. I had been there 5-6 times and the experience has always been fantastic. In Europe, I visited Cap Agde a while ago. There is no need to describe Cap Agde because everybody knows about that place. I would just say that for me, visiting Cap Agde is like visiting New-York. You must do it at least once in your life. What is incredible is the huge number of people you can see on that beach.
I have never seen so many elsewhere in the world. For me, it was a bit too much though. And you can walk naked in that city too if you want. The downside of Cap Agde is the mercantile side of the naturism. You enjoy the beach, but once in the city, you see the difference. Those who had been there understand what I mean. Then, there is Thailand and Taiwan in the last 5 years that I discovered. This is an emergent market I would say, driven by dedicated individuals to the cause for the moment, because things there does not work like we are used to.
Nude beaches are secluded and I never had the chance to go to one but I visited two naturist resorts there: Barefeet Resort and Chan Resort. I liked both places. The owners and staff are friendly and they overcome their culture where nudity is still taboo. In the same time, this is a new culture I discover. Discovering a country thru naturism is also something that widens the horizons. In Taiwan, there is no nude resort nor beaches but again, individuals who regrouped themselves and decided to rent some places and organised nude events there. I met some in the past and I know now the legendary Taiwanese hospitality. Naturism can bring a different regard to the world, to the way we see the world because when we are all naked, we are all the same: just human beings.
