Nude Beaches

Sooner or later as you travel the world you are going to encounter a nude beach either accidentally or on purpose. We've done both--with our clothes on.

Our first experience was in the Caribbean. On one of our first Caribbean cruises when we were still taking ship's excursions we made a short stop at Orient Beach in St. Martin on the French side of the island. We had no idea what to expect and were afraid we would be totally embarrassed by the sights we might see. Now, I wasn't quite so naive. After all, I'd had to stare at nudes in drawing and painting classes in college for my art degree. But this was a totally different situation.

We held hands and ventured out onto the beach only to discover that hundreds of other cruisers from several ships in port were doing the same thing and also fully clothed. The only couple we saw strolling the beach sans clothes or bathing suit were two people who really should have kept their clothes on. We've laughed about that often.

In Australia we've happened upon several places where nude bathing or topless bathing surprised us. None of it was done as an exhibition as seemed the case on the Orient Beach but discretion was more the rule. My most shocking encounter though (because I really wasn't expecting it) was on a beach with very few people. I think it was on Magnetic Island but I'm not sure now.

We were exploring with our son and enjoying the butterflies and other critters we happened on when we found a small beach and decided to rest a while and enjoy the water and sun. There was a family there and I didn't pay much attention but soon noticed a man emerging from the water with a snorkel mask in hand. At the time there was a TV commercial back home for a perfume fragrance that had a man slowly emerge from a pool and greet a woman at the other end of it. As this man was coming ashore his graceful stride reminded me of that commercial and I watched. The water reached his waist, then dipped below the waist. I'm thinking small Speedo--very small, but as the water level dipped more I realized NO Speedo! I looked away quickly. After all this wasn't drawing class.

If you find yourself in such a situation my only recommendation is don't gawk, point or giggle and for heaven's sake, don't take a selfie!