A week in Gran Canaria
I'd been to the nude places in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote and it was early in the summer. So I booked into a nude resort at Maspalomas in Gran Canaria. I persuaded a friend, G, to go with me. We landed on the Saturday, about lunchtime, got into our hire car and stripped naked. How closes could we get to being naked all week 24/7?
About 1/2 an hour's drive took us to Maspalomas at the extreme south of the island. We were booked into Magnoliias Natura. It has 28 bungalows, each facing south and most surrounding the pool with its sun loungers and bar/restaurant.
Not knowing what to expect we pulled some clothes on to check in. We were soon established, having been guided through the pool area surrounded by nudists enjoying the afternoon sun. We would join them soon but first we needed to get some essentials and to get our bearings. So it was off to the supermarket for coffee, biscuits, beer and whisky - and drinking water. Our little kitchen would come in handy even though a cooked breakfast was included in the deal.
(The set up only allows one photo per entry, there are more in my profile. And to continue...)
We then looked for the way to Maspalomas nude beach. We were told to go to the lighthouse (Faro), found a handy car park, bought an ice cream and headed out to the beach. It was already late so only made it 500m short of the nude area. The beach is great and backed by rolling sand dunes..
It was time to retire for a beer and meal in the resort bar. The sun had gone down and all the naked people round the pool had wrapped up against the evening chill. Maybe many were going out for dinner. But there were only three of us who dined naked that evening, and every evening thereafter.
Maspalomas is set each side of a semi-dry river valley with the older parts to the west and the beach at the end of the valley, below a sand dunes nature area. To the east there is the suburb of Playa del Ingles with its own beach running north-westward from Maspalomas beach. The nudist area bridges the join between the two beaches. On Sunday we explored another route onto the nude beach, parking near the Riu Palace Hotel at the southern tip of the suburb. We could see the beach across the sand dunes (not those mentioned above).
But the weather was turning cool and cloudy so we decided to search for nude beaches in other parts of the island. We headed west along the GC500, driving naked. A group of small beaches were clustered alongside the road at Maloneras just west of Maspalomas. We climbed down for some photos. There were only a few others there, all textile.
While we were there some canonists paddled by. Were they distracted by the nude looking down on them/ maybe it was just the tidal currents that caused confusion.
Maybe we hadn't used the best guide to nude beaches. Our next stop was at Taurita. The beach there is small and surrounded by hotels and resorts. It has a big water park to compensate for the small beach. We headed for the beach and stripped over to one end. I guess it wasn't really a nude beach but... Then we dressed, had lunch and moved on.
Our next stop was Veneguera beach, further round to the west/north. It is nowhere near the town or village of Veneguera, requiring a long arduousdrive along a rough track to the coast. We were not that impressed by the beach. Surprisingly there were quite a few others there. Again we were the only nudes. Having got there we settled down for some sunbathing. I also explored the headland just north of the beach.
We then headed inland via Presa de las Ninas and Cercado Espino. It gave us a foretaste of the rugged mountainous interior of the island along narrow extremely bendy roads clinging to the steep valley sides. Driving naked we stopped for photos on the way (see my profile). Then back to the resort for naked drinks and dinner.
Monday was a local beach day. We parked near the Riu Palace Hotel and walked down a busy prom to the edge of the dunes, wearing only a flimsy sarong and sandals (as protection against the hot sand). There was a longish walk across the dunes to the beach. With soft sand and steep slopes it was often difficultbut we could see the beach in the distance. Playa de Maspalomas and Playa del Ingles have small beach bars at regular intervals. We reached the beach near bar no 8, close to the eastern end of the nudist beach. It had dozens of sunbeds, nearly all occupied by nudes. We had a couple of pints of cool beer and relaxed in the sun.
It struck me how balanced the sunbathers were between male and female. After a while we set off to explore the nude beach, walking westwards along the waters edge. Here we joined an endless stream of walkers. Most were fully dressed, some were in swimwear. But we appeared to be the only two who were naked even though we were walking along a nudist beach. Were the others voyeurs or nudists who had dressed to go to/from the beach? I noticed that the sunbathers, still mostly naked, thinned out as we went away from the eastern (Playa del Ingles) end of the nude section of beach. We came to another small beach bar which was probably bar no 6 or 7 but proclaimed itself to be bar no 1 of Playa del Ingles. The nude beach continued westwards into Playa de Maspalomas but we stopped, had a drink and turned back. You may notice that others at the bar were in beachwear even though this was at the centre of the nude beach.
After a while sunbathing we checked that indeed the nude beach didn't extend far eastwards. We then broke camp and again joined the clothed throng walking westwards along the beach. This time we continued onto Playa de Maspalomas. We reached bar 5, marked by a rainbow flag and renowned as the gay centre of the beach. It and its many sun loungers were indeed thronged by men. They were almost all fully clothed. We went on to bar 4. It was busy with nudists of both sexes. We had another pint and verified that we were near the western end of the nude beach.
We were also fairly near the lighthouse or Faro. But our car was at the Riu hotel. So we set off back across the sand dunes, breaking our journey on the way. My tiny sarong was put on to go past the hotel but it was lifted by the breeze and hid nothing when I sat to get the sand out of my sandals. We retired to our resort for drinks, dinner and an early night - all naked, naturally.
Tuesday started a bit cloudy so we decided to look for the nude beaches near Las Palmas in the north of the island. The first was Laja beach, which the guide said many passed but very few went on it. Reputedly it became nudist after the authorities failed to prosecute someone for being naked there. Heading up the GC1 motorway the road splits a little south of Las Palmas, where the GC3 goes off to the left. The northbound carriageway hugs the coast whilst the southbound tunnels through the mountains. You must be travelling north. Soon after the road splits there is a giant statue of Triton emerging from the sea. Pull into the layby at this statue and the beach is down steps beyond. The description was perfect. We were the only two nudes on the beach, accompanied by five bare breasted females. The beach is of black gritty sand with views of oil rigs, ships and Las Palmas in the distance. We stopped and took photos here and around the statue (more in my profile):
We went on into Las Palmas searching for Playa del Confidal. The guide said it runs north from Playa de las Canteras, the main beach for Las Palmas. We headed there, parked and started northwards along the shore. It was cool so tee shirt and shorts were required. We stopped for lunch overlooking the main beach. There were many sunbathing topless but no nudes. Grey clouds moved in as we ate, the beach emptied and it got cold and windy. We continued northwards in search for the nude beach. After several hundred yards (metres) there was no beach in sight, only craggy cliffs. So we turned back to the car and drove south again.
The guide refered to Pirates beach as one of a series of small beaches between Maspalomas and San Agustin just to the east. We turned off the GC1 at San Agustin and soon found a small car park between Playa del Aguila and Playa de Morro Besudo. We headed down the steps to Playa de Morro Besudo, past a quaint sign forbidding nudism, over some rocks and onto the next tiny beach below the cliffs. There was one, naked man as we arrived. He dressed as we stripped off. This was Pirate's beach, comprising shingle and fairly flat rocks. The sun was out so we stayed. The beach sloped gently into the warm sea enabling me to wade in. Whereas the beach is screened by cliffs behind it, out in the sea I was in full view of terraces of flats and resorts. Then it was home for naked dinner and drinks. By now we had gained enough confidence to go from beach to car to resort entirely naked.
Wednesday was hot and sunny - another beach day. We drove to a big car park near the lighthouse and walked onto Maspalomas beach. Now I was "clad" only in my see-through sarong - the sort sold for ladies to wear over their bikini bottoms. The route to the beach took us through a bus station, past some typical seaside shops and through girls selling tours. Nobody was even slightly phased by my unusual attire, even though they could see everything when close. We joined the never ending parade along the water's edge to the nude beach by bar no 4 and settled down for a day's sunbathing, dips in the seaand occasional cool beers.
A group of young women came down the beach talking to the sunbathers. One approached me and offered a massage for 15 Euros. So I had my first public naked massage. The girl covered my body with oil and began. At times she was far from gentle. It continued for about an hour. Apparentlyit was attracting attention, my friend telling me everyone around was watching. Then others had massages too. The local police appeared but let the ladies continue after some exchanges.
In the resort at Magnolias Natura we had noticed a view point called Mirador Campo de Golf overlooking the pool. So we took a detour on our way home that evening to find out what could be seen. I thought the entry was through a city park or garden below. The park was almost empty so off came the sarong for a couple of naked photos. We found our way up to the view point and indeed we could clearly see the resort pool and the table where we and others ate naked breakfast each morning. But, given the distance, one would need a telescope to see any detail. Oops! There was a strategically positioned telescope with a slot for payment and a fascinated small boy peeringinto it. We went down to the car, off came the sarong for a street photo and we drove home for the evening BBQ.
As always we drove naked. By now we had become bold enough to leave the car and go into the resort naked. The BBQ provided copious food and drink. All the guests had dressed for the occasion, some of the ladies showing they had nothing under their caftans or light dresses. Only three of us were naked - my friend and I and another man who we joined for the festivities. A male singer provided the entertainment and soon got everyone going with a conga of "train dance". I slotted myself between two women. Then the dance was livened up by linking through a hand between the legs. The lady behind me hesitated only momentarily before taking my hand proffered immediately below my naked bum.