Through a Naturist Lens

I woke up this morning to smoke filled skies. The idea of going for a free-hike this afternoon is now in question. I am allergic to smoke, not as bad as I used to be thanks to holistic medical help, but still enough to make it uncomfortable for me to spend too much time in smokey conditions. The political situation in both Canada and the USA also had a lot to do with it. The election of Donald Trump, the changing of Prime Ministers in Canada, and the subsequent election, have amplified the MAGA voices in Canada – Maple Maga. The tariff war and the threat to Canada by the USA – the list goes on and on. The world is on fire in more ways than one as the forest fires in Canada have just become one in too many fires – political, economic, military, and the environmental threats – that are challenging all of us. But enough of that.

Since our return from Mexico at the end of March, there have been a number of reasons why I have continued to procrastinate with returning to using this blog site, none of which are valid, but when taken together, they did block so much of my energy. The world isn’t going to change to make it easier for me have better focus. Still, being a naturist hasn’t changed. I steal whatever moments I can to be clothing free. For the most part, until late May, there has been very little reason for being nude outdoors.

Once back home from our six weeks in Europe, it wasn’t long before we headed to Mexico, Four months in Mexico was about living clothing free whenever we were in our apartment with a large private deck where we lived when not asleep. There was a beach, relatively close by where I could be au naturel for as long as I wanted. I took the usual risks to take photos while on the beach and while hiking along various jungle trails leading to a number of beaches and a neighbouring town.

But it has begun to warm up enough to venture outdoors and I take the risk to be there au naturel. It is not easy as we are now surrounded by different families who have moved into the town. I guess this means this year will be different for me as a naturist. Only time will tell.

My hope is to be more present here now that I have adapted to a changed world which is in a rush to change even more. I can’t continue to deny being naturally me. It’s all about freedom to be authentic and natural. There is nothing to be gained in terms of respect from the world. The world has bigger problems than an old man on the prairies.

Yes, clothing is a reality in a northern climate. Snow is still on the ground as spring approaches. In reality, spring doesn’t come to the Canadian prairies until sometime in April with the last frost hopefully happening before the last week in May. I know it has been said repeatedly by so many, but we are indeed naked beneath our clothing.

What does our nudity beneath our clothing actually tell us? We all have skin. We all have body parts. We all are imperfect. What else does nudity tell ourselves and others? Firstly, we have dared to be exposed and vulnerable to the world. Yet, even when nude, we hide most of the truths of who we are. We are more than our organs and body systems. Our “self awareness, the core of who we are” is not just a product of our brains, our experiences and our interactions.

We are more than two-dimensional beings. There is a dimension where we exist unknown to our ego, though ego is loathe to admit that anything that the senses can’t validate, is a mirage, an illusion. Most psychological frameworks steer away from what we call the unconscious. If it isn’t scientifically and empirically provable, it doesn’t exist. There is no shadow world. There are no archetypes, there is no meaning for life other than existing, producing and consuming. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. Naturism is an end unto itself. Nudity for the physical sensations and cognitive benefits.

Having a dialogue between those naturists whose worldview is multi-dimensional and those for whom the world is basically “what you see is what you get” ends up in frustration for both sides. There is no listening to contradictory ideas. Rather, both sides engage in word storms that want to “convert” the other side to their way of knowing themselves and the world. How can we even begin to then build a consensus for a naturist worldview?

Naturism is a word with all the limits that go with an attempt to embed a philosophy with a word. To even hope that we can embed varying and sometimes competing philosophies, puts one into a sea of agitated boiling water. The only thing all groups agree upon is the fact that the human body is nude. After that fact, all bets are off. No one owns the word. And now, as a result, naturism has been co-opted by a few groups who have worldviews and intentions far removed from even the weakest of definitions. So, where does that leave us when hearing, seeing, and using the word naturism?

As I write this entry, I am in Lisbon, Portugal. As I suspected before we left for Europe, there are no options for nudity outside of our accommodations. Since it was expected, my focus has been on enjoying our travels as much as possible. Madrid was all that I had hoped for with more than enough to see without having to leave the city.

We had basic accommodations in Madrid – clean and functional – in a nice, quiet neighbourhood where we soon became familiar faces as we went out for breakfasts and such within a two block radius. It helped that I knew enough Spanish to function in the city. Any ideas of a day trip out of the city soon disappeared. We walked an average of 12 kilometres each day, not too stressful.

I have to mention one particularly interesting place to visit in Madrid – the National Museum of Archeology – MAN. It dealt with the history of Spain, and Madrid in particular, tracing back to the first human forms. I wasn’t surprised to see a lot of nude statuettes, but was surprised to see an uncircumsised small statue of Jesus Christ.

We finished off our stay in Madrid with an evening out to enjoy Flamenco music and dance. It wasn’t on our agenda, but it was so worth the time and expense.

Then it was on to Porto. It was a long bus ride with had us arrive late in the afternoon. Our accommodations were a significant improvement, not that what we had in Madrid was a negative experience. We had a lot more room in the suite and we were able to prepare our own breakfasts.

It didn’t take long once we woke up the next morning to take a long walk into the city centre. The first thing we noticed was a sharp difference from what we had experienced in Spain. Portugal is different. Though the language appears to be similar, the sounds are foreign.

Then I saw something very atypical, a statue of a priest and a nude woman in his embrace. At least, that is what I thought. The statue is another Romeo and Juliette story set in Portugal. She is sent to live in a convent and he is sent to sea where he dies. No priests.

Talking about religion, that was a dominant theme we noticed. Religion, old religion still present and alive. After five days in Porto, it was time to move on. Next stop, Lisbon.

It is morning here in a small town on the Canadian prairies. I woke up early, as usual. It is 11 Celsius [almost 52 Fahrenheit] and the wind is from the south at 20+ km/hr. It is supposed to go up to 30 degrees Celsius by this afternoon. I just checked and the temperatures in Madrid for the four days we will be there are forecast for highs of 27 and lows of 14. It sounds perfect!

I have one more morning to have coffee on my back deck before I leave my home for the next six plus weeks. It is a quiet Sunday morning with a few birds appearing to break the silence. My wife and I cherish these moments, these mornings when the temperature is just warm enough [read at least 10 Celsius] to invite us to have our coffee outdoors.

As we looked around our yard, we talked about the day’s plans to put away those things that will be stored until sometime next April. Then we talked about having the right connectors to charge our electronics on the plane and in Europe. Of course, I had all of those connectors already packed with easy access.

I am writing this while she is on the phone — well, audio Messenger. Yesterday, we cleaned up the garden with me helping to prepare the carrots and beets for storage. We left one row of carrots in the garden until our return in October. It’s an experiment with the idea of having those carrots better able to be stored until the end of March when we return from Mexico.

In a couple of hours, we will be having grandson number two and his wife at our place for a pancake brunch. It’s his favourite. All leftover pancakes will be taken to their place. Now, it is all about waiting . . .

It is still gently raining outside. So far this spring, we have had more than four inches of rain, more than the whole of last spring and summer. Other bit of good news, I got to enjoy some free-hiking yesterday afternoon, only the second time this year. And, as with the first hike which happened during the last week of April, I hiked with my wife. I blame the lack of free-hiking on the weather. The wind is insane this year, and the month of May was the coldest on record

On a side note, I am busy planning a six-week adventure in Europe for the . We will be spending almost two weeks in Portugal, followed by another two weeks in Morocco, finishing up with slightly more than two weeks in Spain. which has been on our bucket list for the past eight years. This is to be my 75th birthday present from my wife.

It was such a nice day for April, we just had to go for a hike. We had parked our truck a suitable distance from town and ended up walking fourteen and a half kilometres. Once in the hills, I was able to hike without wearing the shorts. I ended up walking almost six kilometres au naturel.

Why didn’t I walk the whole thing while clothing free? The majority of the distance was walked on public country roads which has enough farmer traffic to make it too risky. Now, if I had been alone, I would have risked perhaps another few kilometres – maybe. After all, I don’t want to have our farming community become offended.

When walking with my wife, she has a need to know that we have left the road and are safely in the prairie hills where we won’t meet up with a farmer in a truck or on a tractor. It has happened in the past. I don’t want to have her not join me while I free hike, so I honour her need for safety.

It’s Friday morning, a chilly morning at 16 Celsius for where we are in Mexico. We have just returned from our weekly walk to the Market where bread and Italian sausage was purchased — six sausages weighing in at 2.4 kilograms. Yes, they are big sausages with one making a meal per person.

Yesterday, we again went on a hike to Playa Patzcuarito which is turning out to be our go-to destination for the most part. Like the day before, there were too many people on the beach with some of them claiming my privacy corner among the rocks. There was no sunbathing time, but it was okay as we saw families out enjoying their Christmas holidays. On Tuesday, the kids will all be back in school. Even the gringos will be heading home as their Christmas vacations come to an end.

I did manage to get in a bit of forest-bathing while hiking on the way back to Sayulita. There is a stretch of about 400 metres that rarely has any hikers. In the past month, we have passed only one couple. Horse riders are a different story as the path is theirs.

Today, it will be mostly sunny so we will be walking the main, crowded beach before taking a detour through the jungle to reach Playa Malpaso where we will walk as far as possible before heading back the way we came. Will there be a sunbathing event at the northern end of Playa Malpaso? Maybe, maybe not. After all, it is still Christmas holidays and other people like the serenity of not-crowded beaches.

Feliz año nuevo!

It’s hard to believe that it is already December 26th. The sun is shining and the air is warm and Christmas done and it is now Boxing Day. So far this month, we have walked 200 km, not bad for two old people.

This morning we went again to the market for a few needed supplies. Well, it was one of our stops as we wandered a bit more in search of a few other places we had heard about. On Friday we will go to the Community Market about 800 metres from our apartment.

We went back home with our purchases and then went out again to check out two more stores. Finally, we found rice noodles. There are some soups that just need rice noodles.

The plan for our afternoon is to go to the beach and take advantage of a bit of scattered sunshine. We typically walk the full distance in both directions, just over four kilometres in the process. Tonight, the plan is for roasted chicken from one of the vendors in town. 

Now, it’s time for some lunch. Hasta luego!

We began the morning as usual with coffee on the deck. It wasn’t long before we got a video-conference call from our son — it was time for the grandchildren to open their presents from their grandparents. This is Christmas.

Next, were an assortment of photos from my children, grandchildren, and siblings who find the need and desire to connect with us, and us with them. One daughter sent a photo of her grand-dogs [no grandchildren yet, but her two children all have dogs]. This is Christmas.

And then we had another video call from our neighbours in Canada who will not be joining us in Mexico this year. The talk was about the lack of snow — a brown Christmas — and sharing stories of our children and grandchildren. This is Christmas.

When all of this was done, I checked in here and saw notifications that told me a number of you have visited while I slept. Thank you for being in my life. This is Christmas.

It’s Christmas Eve here in Mexico [and yes, I know, there where you are as well]. We went for a nine kilometre walk which involved some time spent at Playa Patzcuarito. The trails had spots where it had become soft because of the rain we had the night before last.

There was a lot more debris on the trail because of the storm that had passed through the region. I was surprised that very little of the trail had been washed away.

Once we were at the beach, the last 150 metres of our walk to the north end was done without me wearing a swimsuit. This was a first for this beach, a risk I took because there was no one within sight. At the north end, protected from being seen by newcomers to the beach, there was no thought of putting on the swimsuit.

We stayed wandering among the rocks and then sitting on them to watch the sea as the waves grew in intensity. About twenty minutes later, we saw a young man watching from the rocks to the north, a section where there was no beach. Uncharacteristically, I didn’t rush to put on the swimsuit. He had already seen what there was to see.

He then decided to scale the very steep cliff face as if he was at a climbing wall. Only thing was, he didn’t have a safety harness. Once at the top, he took photos with us included. About ten minutes later he reappeared and walked passed us, his eyes on the path of sand that meandered between large boulders.

With a final swig of water, it was time to head back to our apartment. I had guacamole to prepare for our Christmas Eve hors d’oeuvres.