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Too hot to blog
Steve • Sep 24, 2021
Steve and Chris reflect on a long hot summer at VP
So we have finally made it to autumn at Vera Playa naturist beach …For the love of Factor 50 how did that happen so fast!!
It only seems like yesterday we were writing the last blog but in reality it was nearly 3 months ago…ooops… what can we say? Summer got in the way! And what a long, hot busy summer it was: too hot to blog, too hot to do most things in reality. In all the years we have been here we have never seen VP so busy in August.
Yes, it is always the busiest month but this year the crowd seemed fuelled by an increasing number of staycationing Spanish, in addition to the locals and some other random Europeans who managed to slip in somehow.
No worries of a disastrous summer here then.
It was like a regular August in Vera but with 1 and half times the normal number of people. Many were determined not to miss out for a second August after not coming last year. The growing, desperate need to tear off clothes and inhibitions and hurl oneself headfirst into the sea had reached fever pitch.
One person made a very interesting point to us, they had noticed a lot of people with –for want of a better word- “white bits’ on show this year. I suppose this can be explained by the fact that maybe many were not able to go to a naturist resort last year and perhaps holidayed somewhere closer to home that wasn’t naturist-friendly. Or perhaps they stayed home tanning on their overlooked balconies or terraces sporting bikinis and trunks rather than the preferred au naturel approach to sunbathing. Could it be this tan-lined throng were even newbies converted to the wonderful world of ‘sin ropas’ thanks to the prolonged home imprisonment during lockdown.
So yes ‘white bits’ can be a naturist’s worst nightmare but completely understandable all things considered!
This year we welcomed back to our apartments some familiar faces but also some new ones, especially staycationing Spaniards. One such staycationer arrived to our beach apartment
in what can only be described as a state of shellshock. This angel was actually a nurse from Barcelona who had literally been physically and mentally battered by the pandemic since its start in what had been one of the worst affected regions in Spain. 10 Days later, Vera Playa had weaved its magical spell and the nurse set off back to Barcelona looking noticeably calmer and more serene…possibly even 10 years younger. It was gratifying that our beach apartment had helped in the healing process that was so obviously needed for this weary soul. We give praise to anyone who has helped keep the wheels on during all of this.
There was certainly a lot of ‘letting the hair down’ this summer, perhaps some was a little on the mad side but I guess it was inevitable that it was going to be a crazy August. At one point VP reached a crescendo when it looked doubtful the resort could accommodate that many people.
No-one likes turning any kind of business away in a seasonal resort but that is what we were all doing. Turning people away from apartments that could have been booked 5 times over. And the restaurants had to turn so many people away that reserving a table in advance became not just the norm but essential if you didn’t want to go hungry. Hopefully next year we’ll be as back to normal as possible with a steady trade more evenly distributed throughout the season.
While so many out-of-towners were in the resort this August, the town hall well and truly launched their campaign to attract them to come and live and work in Vera (bienvenidoavera.com)
Chris, you may remember, featured in a little film extolling the virtues of achieving that life/work balance here in VP (see previous blog). Subsequent to the film he also featured in the posters that supported the campaign all around Vera (how embarrassing) even getting him recognised from time to time! Across our social media pages we have many Spanish followers and a few have actually got in touch to tell us that they are now considering moving from their big cities like Madrid to come to the coast to work from home or from the Town Hall’s new work hub. It would be nice to have some more year-round residents here.
On another note about having Spanish guests and friends we have been lucky this year to eat our own body weight in Spanish cakes, thanks to them being bestowed upon us by the aforementioned. One such couple from Northern Spain introduced us to some typical cakes from Burgos called ‘Chevaliers de nata’. Wow!! Possibly the best cake we’ve ever eaten…like eating a cloud full of the lightest cream imaginable! They can come again.
And our dear friends from San Sebastian always make a cake for us. It has become a tradition now to present us with a light lemon sponge made with olive oil. Well, it’s virtually health food…pass me another slice! No, make that two!
So as the resort allows us more breathing space we can now look forward to the rest of September and October with renewed optimism, especially since C-word numbers continue to dwindle. Thanks to the easing of testing requirements for the double-vaccinated it looks like there will be a few more naturists taking advantage of the late VP sunshine which even in October can be akin to that of a Northern European summer.
Also we continue to hope and pray that the naturist beach will finally receive its beach defences this autumn.
As I write this I can see a new path being laid in the vicinity of the mooted siting of the new groyne. Will this perhaps provide pedestrian access to and from the beach while construction is under way?
Hopefully we can tell you for sure next time…!
Until then, don’t each too much cake and leave a slice for us!
Steve and Chris offer two beautiful apartments to rent for the discerning naturist traveller. One is directly on the Vera Playa naturist beach, the other just a few footsteps away. See more here.
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