Bare facts about the Caribbean

[NakedGary]

NATURIST RESORTS
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Bare facts about the Caribbean

Bruce Bishop
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Bare facts about the Caribbean (http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/292453)



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[Journeyman]

Thanks for posting the story I wrote for the Toronto Star, Gary. It took over a year and a few rewrites for the travel department to want to run the piece.

The response I have received from Canadian readers of the newspaper - naturist and non-naturist alike - has been excellent. I think the more articles about naturism (written by those in the know) in mainstream newspapers will foster more acceptance.

[NudistGuy47]

Good day Bruce,

Congratulations on being published. I can now say i know another published author, though only through the cyberworld. I am happy to see the response from readers to be positive. You must be very proud!

Congratulations again!

Michael

[Journeyman]

Good day Bruce,

... You must be very proud! Congratulations again!
Michael

Thanks, Michael. I am only proud that it was in the nation's largest circulation newspaper and that it may help convince the fence-sitters that public naturism (in the proper, legal environments) is common, not bizarre, and welcome to all.

Although I have freelanced as a writer/photograher since 1994 and have had much published in naturist magazines everywhere, this is different (for me, anyway) in that it is such a major mainstream daily newspaper.

[nakeduni]

Thanks for posting the story I wrote for the Toronto Star, Gary. It took over a year and a few rewrites for the travel department to want to run the piece.

The response I have received from Canadian readers of the newspaper - naturist and non-naturist alike - has been excellent. I think the more articles about naturism (written by those in the know) in mainstream newspapers will foster more acceptance.

Congrats, we need more exposure. In May '07, I got off a cruise ship and visited Orient Beach. Yes, cruisers are placed in the middle of the beach. However, I did walk nude to Club Orient to see it. The warm dry weather and warm beach water made this short visit so ideal. There were nudes at the north end of the lounge & umbrellaed area where I also spent some time. There is still controversy about whether all of Orient Beach is C.O. or just the southern end. It used to be totally C.O. until American cruisers came, conquered, and complained; that's my understanding.

[naturistoftheyear]

Congratulations as well!

This is just what naturism needs: normal journalistic reports in the mainstream press without a humorous or denigrating tone.

[nude_plumber]

About the middle of 7 mile beach there is a clothing op resort the only one on the whole beach called Firefly good prices. Not AI but a lot of places there to get food and of coarse you can cook your own as the suits or cabins all have kitchens. We are going there at the end of Feb for 2 weeks. The only bit of a problem is it is also a public beach so the odd gawker will stroll by but it's Jamaica NO PROBLEM MON
Barry

[NormallyNude]

nice article.
Are there any nude beaches in Puerto Rico?

[obiwan11]

There is a resort on the east end of the island called "El Conquistador" where you can take a boat to an island offshore that has a nude beach area. I'm not sure whether the beach is legally or logistically accessible to people who are not staying at the resort.

[David77]

I have been to Jamaica years ago and had no trouble, but I would not go there again because of potential crime. However, if you stay fixed at the tourists resorts, you will probably be safe, it seems.

Here is a website that tells you the facts as they are,

http://www.jamaicancaves.org/jamaica-crime.htm

Jamaica has many people running around with guns who have no problem using them. The murder rate (http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20051104/lead/lead8.html) in Jamaica is currently jockeying for top position with Colombia and South Africa, with Jamaica pulling ahead.

Other types of crimes and harassment are described.

[luvnaturism]

We have been to Jamaica 10 times, and we look forward to our next trip. It is a great place to visit. As long as you stay in a resort or major tourist area, you will be quite safe and enjoy a fine vacation. However it is not the ideal country to rent a car and go exploring on your own. The linked article has it about right.

Keep in mind that Jamaica has some of the best c/o resorts you will find anywhere. The ones we have visited have been very secure.

[Newd]

Great article, I wish there could be more nudist articles and even a nudist magazine in South Africa to promote nudism. None available on any shelf.

[Journeyman]

Newd, here's a story I had published in a couple of naturist mags about 8 years ago. I have no idea if the people who took me around Cape Town are still offering day trips. (I have edited the original story for brevity and to stay on topic):

Shedding the Old South Africa
(c) 2000 Journeyman

It is not until you actually visit South Africa in person -- not by e-mail, not through cyberspace, not through a movie or over a telephone -- that the full scope of its 20th century history hits you like the everpresent, benevolent sunshine that has helped make that country so wealthy.

In 1994, the first democratically elected government of South Africa was placed in power with a tremendously effective president: Nelson Mandela. But it has only been six years, and growing pains are still clearly evident. Masses of rural Africans from other countries are flooding into South African towns and cities; unemployment is rampant; and schooling and continuing education is absolutely mandatory to see this country prosper for all out of the apartheid regime.

To not give South Africa a chance to develop its tourism industry would be yet another crime inflicted on its black majority.

This is not a history lesson, but it is to acquaint the non-South African naturist with what he or she will encounter in this stunningly beautiful country. The freedom to be nude in a social setting is still a relatively new phenomenon, and is practised by a surprisingly small number of people. This is undoubtedly due to the teachings of the Dutch Reformed Church, the country' s main Christian religion; a Victorian sensibility felt by those of British-descent; and an inherent shyness of full nudity by those of the African tribal societies.

Charl and Erna are a friendly middle-aged white couple who own and operate a small day tour operation in Cape Town. They started an offshoot to this business in the fall of 1999 by designing day trips for naturists visiting the Cape region. Charl had taken early retirement from a municipal government position, and today wonders what many of his professional colleagues might think of the naturist lifestyle he and Erna adopted many years ago when they began mountaineering as a hobby. Consequently, he tends to keep both businesses separate for the time being.

"The Calvinistic background of the majority of the South Africans of European descent means that they would be reasonably anti-naturist," Charl told me one weekday in February as we sat on a windswept Sandy Bay beach, the beautiful (unofficial) nude beach near Cape Town. I counted all of ten people scattered over the wide expanse of sand and rocks. Talk about privacy!

"But more than that," he continued, "is that the owner of a large naturist resort north of here got into financial trouble several years ago, and let's just say that his morals and ethics were making true naturists look like a joke. That turned off a lot of people, naturists and textiles alike."

Indeed, even when Charl, Erna, another couple and myself went hiking two days later in the mountains close to wine country and the town of Wellington, all seemed to voice the same opinion: naturism in the Cape region seems to be centred around small-knit circles of friends and acquaintances, while the larger naturist campgrounds and resorts are in the north, and close to Johannesburg and capital of Pretoria.

"Being a registered tour guide, I have many contacts who own several cottages and bungalows or small holiday homes," Charl explained. "We have approached a select few and asked them if they would be willing to host naturists on an exclusive basis when we have out-of-city customers. This way we can accommodate naturists from around the world in superior settings, but at a very reasonable price."

Charl and Erna are dedicated hikers and climbers, and the day trip to the mountain pools of the Slanghoek Mountain range at the top of Bainskloof Pass was - shall we say - a little strenuous for this novice "mountaineer". The scenery was beautiful on the way, however, and you feel a bit like a colonial explorer when you're trudging over the rocky terrain. Then it gets hot, and you're sipping water quite often, and then Erna reminds you to put more sunscreen on your neck and ears. (Incidentally, you are fully clothed at this point; it would be foolhardy to be nude in case you slipped or fell.)

After about an hour, you gingerly make your way down the very last incline, and -- lo and behold! -- you encounter the most magical series of pools and little waterfalls of your life. I was honestly at a loss for words at one point: unusual sky blue flowers and then a bouquet of yellowy-orange flowers - all unknown to me - were growing out from underneath the rocks. The mountains enveloped us in this tiny valley; it was almost too perfectly landscaped. No mosquitoes, no bugs, and certainly no wild animals. Tarzan was taking the day off, I guess. Everyone began cupping their hands to drink from the clearest water I've ever seen - and then the clothes came off.

"Can you imagine anyone wanting to wear anything in this environment?" I asked Charl as we began to position ourselves to jump in the water. Duh. Dumb question.

Later, Erna opened a picnic basket of home-prepared boxed lunches of cold cuts, olives, tomatoes, cheese, rolls & butter, juice and fruit. As with any food that is consumed in a beautiful place, it all tasted just slightly better than it normally might. Erna even had hot tea or coffee available, and asked me three times if I wanted a cup - a testament to her true Afrikaner hospitality!

TRIED AND TESTED:

Beautiful (textile) accommodation at The Bay Hotel, Camps Bay, Cape Town.
South African Airways Reservations (Canada and USA)

Go Natural Tours, Charl and Erna van Tonder, Cape Town
Telephone/Fax: +27-21-790-5477
e-mail: gnatural@iafrica.com

For more info on Go Natural and other South African naturist attractions, go to:
http://sr3.xoom.com/sa_naturist

Note: The time zone in South Africa is approximately seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in North America. Spring is a perfect time to visit; summers are very hot; December is the windiest month in Cape Town.