Charco del Palo, Lanzarote

[Fellsnude]

This will have to be in several instalments, but here's a start. We spent two weeks in March based in Charco del Palo and had a very good time. It's known and promoted as a naturist village, but it's truly Clothing Optional except in the shop and at least one of the eating places, where clothing is required. Signs to Charco don't say "nudist", "naturist" or "FKK" and there is no legal distinction between Charco and anywhere else in Spain as far as I can see. In Charco there are adverts for some of the accommodation stating that it's naturist, but that's all. It's just a 50-year history of a place that was built for nudists. You don't see many people naked in the street but there are always a few, mostly older German men. I could leave the apartment naked, walk a few yards on the road (usually nobody else about anyway), then use a footpath for the short walk to the coastal path where there were always some nude and some dressed people. Mrs F tried that once (full marks!) but became uncomfortable with the number of dressed younger males around, although there was nothing unbecoming about their attitude or behaviour, so she reverted to wearing a light dress until away from the centre.

More detail later!

[jbeegoode]

He is an opportunity to enjoy life naked, at least try it liberated, and most people don't!!! Very very wrong, me thinks. That just sounds like paradise to me.

I did some internet searching. The Nick and Lins video was informative, I suppose, but there was no sound. The beach doesn't look very extensive.

I'm looking forward t more about this.
Jbee

[Fellsnude]

There is no actual beach at Charco del Palo. The word "charco" means pool or puddle, and the resort was planned around a couple of charcos that were improved, up to a point, to make natural swimming holes that can be accessed at all states of the tide. A high tide with windy conditions will refresh the water in the charcos. They both have some artificial platforms and shelters around them, and some handrails for getting in and out of the water. If there had been a beach the place would probably have become a textile resort like all the others. There is also a place where hardy souls swim off the rocks. It always looked rough to us but the regulars seem to know how to handle it.

There are a few bits of beach to the north where we could see from the road that some of the users were naked. This is the end of the island away from the main resorts, and these beaches are quite rocky with usually rough water.

The joy of C del P is that you can wander around naked with no worries, up to a couple of miles outside the village. Most people seemed to stay at or near their accommodation rather than wander, but the opportunity is there. It was quite windy and we thought the regulars found it a bit chily for free-ranging.

[Fellsnude]

OK, now for a bit of detail.
The disadvantage of going somewhere with strong sunshine at the end of a British winter was that we were pale and susceptible to sunburn, so for several days we kept our exposure to the early and late hours, getting indoors for a main meal at midday and staying in the shade in the early afternoon.

The first two days we just walked naked either side of the village along the coast path, but still had 2-4 hours each to tempt the skin cells to start turning colour. It was no hardship to go and buy lunch, with a selection of good restaurants only a short drive away.

We took a book of walks, which we had studied before arriving, and I had graded them for nude potential - sometimes accurately and sometimes not. Many of the walks are around or up/down a selection of dormant and extinct volcanoes, none over 2000 feet high but some quite steep and with loose surfaces. We bought a pair of basic walking poles to help with this, having travelled hand-luggage only which meant we couldn't fly with our usual poles (potential weapons!).

Day three we rose before dawn to get out and back before the burning time. More later - got to cook now!

[nuduke]

So....I'm consumed with curiosity... did you tan, stay white or burn?
Do you normally tan easily.  I don't.  Never had a tan in my life!  But have had sunburn!!!

John

[Fellsnude]

Poor Nuduke - a nudist redhead?

We tan gently. We certainly didn't burn on this holiday, as we were probably over-cautious. We're both on the fair side of average, I'd say. I tan quite easily but not very dark. Mrs F tans slowly and can be nicely brown by the end of summer, just in time to get white again! I don't think either of us would ever get as brown as the hardcore German nudists we saw in Charco. At least we haven't had tan lines since 1986.

We both used to burn to peeling level as kids, when we tended to push our luck and sunscreens were pretty primitive. The worst burn I had was in Africa, quite near the equator, when I dangled my feet in a swimming pool for too long. My ankles and tops of my feet were sore for days. I always think that if I ever get skin cancer that's where it's most likely to be, and I was otherwise fully dressed!

[Fellsnude]

So, back to Day 3 and our first walk outside Charco del Palo. Just outside the resort of Costa Teguise, which seems to cater largely for Brits but without being terrible and tacky, there's a massive resort hotel called the Beatriz. The book told us to park in town and walk out, but we could have parked on the road outside the Beatriz and saved some town walking. The book was otherwise pretty good and we walked across some scrubby land to the foot of Montana Corona, then up the steep slope to the summit at around 1500ft. The morning sun was up but it was windy, so I didn't feel warm enough to strip until we were on the top and able to drop down the leeward side a little for refreshment. We had seen one other person ahead of us in the distance, and she was by now well along the ridge and starting to descend the far slope.

I walked the ridge and the descent nude, and stayed that way most of the distance back towards the Beatriz. The only other person we saw was a man who seemed to have walked across the scrubby land from the road, sort of towards us but I think just exploring the terrain. He was probably 200 yards or so from us at the nearest point, but I didn't dress for him.

I dressed as we crossed a wall and the path became clearly visible from the hotel and road. I'd been nude for about an hour and by now the sun was pretty strong, at around 11am. If I did that walk again I would adjust the route to stay further from the road, and in favourable conditions I could be nude for most of it - around 2.5 hours and 5 miles.

We went for a good lunch in the shade, sat naked in the shade on our patio, then ventured out for a 2 mile naked walk on the coast path at Charco, for which Mrs F was also nude. Not many other women walked nude even there, but a few did.

[nuduke]

I'm not a redhead, Jim, just pale.
I think that my lack of tanning capacity is down to 2 factors - One: As a kid we didn't get much sun both due to weather and as a family we didn't sunbathe or go on holidays to particularly hot places.  I think my parents who were both also pale just kept us out of the sun.  I remember as a teenager, I went on a boating holiday for a few days with a friend.  My back got very sunburned (although not to extremes) and it cured my acne which I had fairly extensively on my back at the time!  I didn't tan though! By the way this was a very long time before I realised I was a naturist but I do recall a few snippets of that trip dying to get my clothes off...which I didn't! Hey Ho.  But I digress...
Two: I don't like sunbathing.  It's boring and pointless in my view so I don't tend to lie for ages on a sunbed abroad - I'm off and doing stuff which reduces one's sun exposure time.  Additionally - I don't really like the heat of the sun!  When it's really hot, like the natives I retire into the shade.


A couple of times many years ago, I tried courses of sunbed treatments as there was a tanning salon a little walk from where I worked at the time.  It made a great lunchtime break and a chance to be naked for a short while in the tanning booth.  However, the effect on my epidermis was virtually nil!


John

[jbeegoode]

Fellsnude: "We took a book of walks, which we had studied before arriving, and I had graded them for nude potential - sometimes accurately and sometimes not."
Planning and recon, good.

Nuduke:"I don't like sunbathing.  It's boring and pointless in my view so I don't tend to lie for ages on a sunbed abroad."

Boring, I understand, although I find reading, meditating, relaxation, watching the colors on the backs of my eyelids, thought and planning perfect use of my time and entertainment under the sun. Pointless, no. It is the way to expand my naturists horizons, by getting a protective base coat. It requires patience and an incremental practice. otherwise, I can get red, or burnt. It may take me long periods of short exposure and waiting to rest, depending on how long that it has been since I last had sun exposure and the quality of my base coat. It leads to liberation, a preparation.

I usually am upright, and generally walking or working when getting started in the Spring, or after any period of less intense sunlight.. Then my shoulders and aback are vulnerable to sunburn, so that portion gets a covering as soon as I sense the beginning of burn.

Out on boats, reflective waters is a hazardous place and great care must be taken. I've gotten a quick burn more than once there. High mountains, snow, tropics, all can burn quicker than a northern sun. Closer to the higher sun increases intensity quickly.
Jbee

[Fellsnude]

Nuduke:"I don't like sunbathing.  It's boring and pointless in my view so I don't tend to lie for ages on a sunbed abroad."

I've reached an age when a short afternoon nap is appreciated, and naked in the sun is even more appreciated! What else do I do naked when not freeranging?
1. I read -sometimes a book, sometimes catching up on the various periodicals that keep arriving but I don't want to cancel.
2. I listen to cricket commentary on the radio. Nuduke may appreciate this. Our American friends may share the view that a game that can last 5 days and still end in a draw must be boring, and is definitely pointless!

At this time of the year we get several afternoons that are warm enough (say 14C) to sunbathe in our sheltered back yard but not for free-ranging as far as I'm concerned. I need at least 17C combined with full sun and no wind for that. The more wind or cloud there is, the higher the temperature needed!

[Fellsnude]

Day 4 - South of Charco del Palo the next village is a strange little place called Los Cocoteros (the coconut trees - but there are none there that we saw). There are some old salt pans, including one area still being worked apparently single-handed. There are some houses, and a couple of areas where camper-vans (RVs) stay, none of them occupied by naturists it seems, althought the terrain would suit. We had already walked as far south from Charco as we dared without dressing, which took us to about a mile from Los Cocoteros. Our book recommended a one-way walk between there and Costa Teguise but this would involve a taxi to return and limited nudity, so we just set out to walk south a couple of miles and back.

In the event it was windy and only just warm enough in the early sun for me to walk naked, so Mrs F stayed dressed but was happy to carry the bag. Again we were starting quite soon after sunrise in order to finish before burning time. I think we stopped in a sheltered cove for refreshment and both had a naked half-hour there. In all I walked some 4 naked miles.

Again we had a leisurely lunch in a local restaurant, then retired to our patio for a naked, shaded siesta. We followed that with another 2 miles of nude walking from Charco, this time both nude.

[jbeegoode]

This is starting to feel like a wonderful vacation!
Jbee

[Fellsnude]

Day 5 - Isla la Graciosa
La Graciosa is a small island off the north-west of Lanzarote. We got the 0830 ferry and landed in sunshine at 0850 in Caleta del Sebo, the main village. The first objective was to get onto the coastal path north towards the second (tiny) village, Caleta de Pedro Barba and walk most of that both ways so as to get back to Calta del Sebo for a shaded lunch. It was Sunday and there were fair numbers of Spanish people about, but hardly any on the coast path so I was nude for about 5 miles, while Mrs F got naked for about 2 miles while I took the bag (containing much water - heavy until we drank it) and she was fairly confident of not meeting people at close quarters. There were a few runners, who we could usually see a fair way off, but the path was restricted to pedestrians so no cyclists or motor vehicles. The island is a nature reserve and all the tracks are graded as either foot traffic only, or plus bikes, or open to vehicles. The vehicles are jeep tours operated commercially, a bit of a nuisance but the only way to see the whole island in a day.

We were quite hot by the time we got back to Caleta del Sebo, so we bought extra water, recce'd the restaurants and chose one that did a very good fish and seafood platter for two.

After lunch we walked the other way, towards the best-known and most accessible beach on the island, Playa del Salado, which my research had suggested was CO. In fact there were only a handful of naturists in one part, but it was quite sparsely populated so we found a quiet patch and stripped off, staying nude when we went for a dip. Other people came by, including a few jeep tours on the track behind and above us but there were no issues. There were several young Spanish women in tiny bikinis or just the pants, but the few nudes were all of the older generation as tends to be the case. After a couple of hours it was time to dress (minimally) and get back for the late afternoon ferry. I wondered if a weekday might be more conducive to nudity in more of the island, but we didn't return to find out. I have read one report somewhere (possibly on the now-defunct Naturist Corner) by a guy who seeemed to have walked round most of the island nude.

[Fellsnude]

Day 6 - I think this was the day we had some light rain in the morning. It was sunny later but very windy so we just chilled on our patio.

Day 7 - The Papagayo beaches in the south. Early start for a hour's drive to the outskirts of Playa Blanca, a major resort in the south of Lanzarote. The signposts send you to Papagayo via a very rough, unsurfaced toll road. We just parked and walked in. A footpath was waymarked past a building site, then we just followed our noses, over a fairly gentle hill.

After under a mile we descended to the first beach, Playa Mujeres, which is probably the largest of the six on the peninsula, and quickly encountered an elderly naked jogger making his way along the waterline. Soon I was the second nude person on the beach, and from memory I stayed that way over the paths to the next two beaches, occasionally using my wrap if we looked like having a very close encounter. It was still early (9.30am) so it was quiet. Windy on the hills but sheltered in the bays.

The second beach, Playa del Pozo, had a couple of other nudists. We missed out the small third beach, Playa de la Cera, and made our way over the hill towards the best known beach, Playa del Papagayo itself. The main car park and two restaurants are on the cliff above Papagayo, and by 10.00 plenty of people were making their way down to the bay (plenty of photos online) where it was quite clear that even this early the whole beach would be textile. We carried on (me wearing the wrap for a while) over the next hill past another small cove.

Once away from the crowds I removed the wrap and we walked down to the final beach, Playa Caleta del Congrio, which was mostly naturist all day. We stayed there several hours, until we were in danger of running out of water. The sea was quite rough and the shoreline had rocky stretches along it, so it wasn't inviting for more than a very quick splash to cool off. Probably 40 or so people, including straight and gay couples, mostly naked, very laid back.

Walking back I stayed nude for as long as I felt comfortable, but again wrapped near the car park and restaurants. In the afternoon there were more costume-wearers and only a few nudes on del Pozo and Mujeres, and they weren't moving around. It seemed that the accepted etiquette was that nude sunbathing was fine but wandering or even swimming might not be. Still, I had 6 hours and walked 4 miles naked. Mrs F dressed to walk but had over 4 hours naked on the beach.

[jbeegoode]

You sound like you took a cautious tact, wrapping on the trails and taking the vibe/impression readings from the majority of beach users. In spite of that, you had great fun and liberty.

Our habits would be to push the envelope a bit more. What consequences would my lesser restraint potentially bring, if any? Perhaps you were making the Mrs. more comfortable, or just being polite to other's sensibilities? Certainly not creating social revolution by nude example, a more brazen behavior some of us might pop up with.
Jbee