Spain and (South) Africa – some surprising similarities!

This is my first published travel piece of 2009, it appeared in edition 72, February 20th 2009 of the Makana Moon in Grahamstown! Enjoy!  “Spain is only fourteen kilometres from Africa”, a Spaniard once told me, referring to

The 2008 INF youth rally – De Vrije Vogels, Holland

It´s Sunday, the last day of the INF Youth Rally 2008, and the weather is warm and sunny. Everyone has flocked to the lawns to suntan, naked obviously.  There are young naturists,15 to 32 years old, from England, Austria, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Mexico and me, the lone South African. There are slightly over 130 young people at this year’s rally, almost double the previous year.  We are at a naturist campsite called De Vrije Vogels, a half-hour drive from Amsterdam in Holland.

What is naturism? I may hear you ask. The International Naturist Federation defines it as :

 

We have all been waiting for the weather to improve since the rally began on Wednesday. After all, this is a naturist rally and we want to be naked! Only a hardy handful were naked for the football and volleyball on Thursday and Friday, and everyone had to be naked for the massage workshop, but that was inside. Today is the first real opportunity.The Dutch are really getting into the free-spirited vibe. They are soaking each other with water balloons, mock wrestling and laughing hysterically. In the distance there are naked shapes playing shuttle ball and taking turns on the zip line.

 

 So what do we do at a naturist youth rally? Well, the day begins differently to start with. We wake up at around 7:30 and make our way sleepily to the communal shower blocks, where there are no ´male´and ´female´demarcations. Yes, this means guys and girls shower together. The showers are one of the most social places at the rally and a great way to get to know other naturists while soaping up. Plus, when I step out of the shower and grab a towel there is no need to cover up. This takes a while to get used to!

 

 

 

For me, much of the five days is spent trying to get myself to accept that I am in fact naked, or, when the weather is bad, that I am in a context where nakedness is permitted. The Dutch youth have done a great job of organising this years rally. We are provided three meals a day in the ´Oranje Huis´, the ´Orange House´, which is the barn that has been converted into the dining hall, meeting place and disco. We are priviledged, Holland is a naturist mecca, one in eight Dutch people people regularly practice naturism and Holland has the most federated naturists in the world. In my interactions with the Dutch youth I really get the feeling that naturism is part of the fabric of their culture. Take Margo, a 25 year-old Dutch woman, for example : “for me its about freedom, when I go on holiday its always more relaxing to not wear clothes. I can get a better tan and its more comfortable and I feel closer to nature.”

 

There is nothing erotic about being naked amongst such a large group. Indeed the only time I have ‘wayward’ thoughts or feel anything nearing arousal is when on the last day when I am fully clothed and walking through the gates and waving goodbye to t

Update!

I have been living in Spain for 9 months. My experience has been challenging as a whole. Currently I am living in a shared flat with 9 other people. They are from Mexico, Denmark, Spain, Brazil and Panama. So it´s really multi-cultural and there is never a dull moment. Not to mention the parties, which are legendary! The other day we had forty-five people over. I will be posting a few articles soon, promise!

Snippets – Number 1 – India – A memory

I was 14 years old when I went to India for 10 weeks. It is the greatest experience that I have ever had. Imagine that for one moment: a 14 year old adolescent who had only been to England before who then goes to the great sub-continent. I arrived in Delhi a boy and left Delhi a man. India was my rite of passage, my intiation into a relentless, travelling life. Others have their teams, their sports, their friends, and I had my India. God, how I was shaken up and thrashed about by the people, the religion, the infinity-in-a-country. It was a sustained, spiritual journey. It was overwhelming for me, the girls with dripping tar hair and olive eyes, the fading impressions of English colonialism and the layer upon layer of religion, legend and fable. Go to India, it is a great land, an epic place, where every boyhood fantasy comes alive, a place of spice and jungle, a place that will smash you head in like a drug. Most of the impressions and emotions I have of the place are too fleeting and eternal to be placed into words. I felt both young and older-than-time in a country that seeps with so much vibrance, poverty and soul. I am haunted by all that is India.

India made me realise that it was my destiny to be a writer, and, for this, I am eternally grateful to it.

madcaptraveller celebrates 1,000 blog hits!

Wow! My blog has now had over 1,000 hits since the time I sent it up at the end of 2006. Thanks to all who have visited, I hope you have enjoyed the posts as much as I have enjoyed writing them.

Snippets – A series.

I have decided to write a series of snippets about small, random events that have happened to me on my travels. These will be short and full of colour, so it will feel like you are taking a short holiday!

Upcoming stories- Amsterdam and INF youth rally!

Keep checking my blog for two new posts to be published soon. One about my experiences in Amsterdam and the other about the INF naturist youth rally at Vrije Vogels, Holland.  

The naked spa

Every third Sunday of the month I head to the Chamartin Metro station in Madrid, Spain. I go up the escalator, past the bus terminal and into a gym tucked away at the back. I go past the cafeteria into the change rooms. And, when I come out, I am as naked as the

I am in Madrid, Spain – and almost 750 hits!

I am currently in Madrid, Spain working as an English language assistant/English teacher. I have been here for six weeks! I am living a wonderful life at the moment, its relaxed and I have plenty of free time.

 On the blog front – I am pleased to announce that this blog is fast approaching 750 hits! Thanks to all who have dropped by.

Look out for some fascinating new articles about Spain – including a series on naturism/nudism in Spain!

I am officially a SAFREA member!

To further my travel writing career I decided to become a Full Member of the Southern African Freelancers Assosciation (SAFREA). At least in this way, my rights will be protected and I stand to make some good contacts and learn *insider* things! yeeeeeeeeh.