Is Naturism dying a death on the Island?

[KWC]

When we first started going to the island over 15 years ago, and every year ever since, I have noticed a gradual decline in nudity on the main expected clothes free areas. Our observations over the last week while tjere are:
Costa calma/Risk del paso area was nearly all clothed and that was in the normally strong hold near to the Wind surfing Center.
Further down Sotovento beach was the same.
El Cotillo lagoons were "spot the nudes" scenarios, and those during this visit that we did see nude were "hemmed" into little areas.

Are we now seeing the demise of what used to be a favourite Island for that all over tan?

Be good to hear others and their views on this.

k

[Snowdrop]

Hope not...... As Nike say - 'just do it'. 
Think prob is when a lot of people visit the beaches they want someone else to be first.... Also years ago tourism wasn't as big - now people visit without knowing there are a lot of beaches that are nudist.
Everyone should get out there and bare themselves to keep nudism as the norm rather than the other way about. :-)

[silent_running]

We were at the El Cotillo La Concha beach over Easter and would have said the numbers were probably as expected given the public holidays.

Certainly on the main beach the naturists were all at the far end and up over towards Caleton and beyond with only a couple on the beach. I think some were self concious due to the number of children on the beach - we certainly saw more than normal don their swimwear for a swim and then remove it later, though not something we do. There were also a few around Maravilla we noticed on the walk back.

But I do think the sub-40(ish) age group of naturists, of all nationalities, is diminishing in number (or are going somewhere else?).

[SheilaW]

Hope not...... As Nike say - 'just do it'. 
Think prob is when a lot of people visit the beaches they want someone else to be first.... Also years ago tourism wasn't as big - now people visit without knowing there are a lot of beaches that are nudist.
Everyone should get out there and bare themselves to keep nudism as the norm rather than the other way about. :-)

Those of us who want to keep the beaches naturist just have to be prepared to sunbathe the way we want to, whatever the rest do. It's crazy this idea that everyone waits for everyone else to strip. What sort of sheep mentality is that? As long as we leave the main town/hotel beaches textile, I really don't see anyone having a right to complain about naturists on other beaches. And AFAIK their complaints will fall on deaf ears as long as we're just talking of simple nakedness.

[notdeadfred]

There were certainly fewer naturists on Butihondo/Esquinzo beaches during our stay at the end of March, but I put this down to the strong winds and frequent heavy downpours we experienced at that time! Most people were dressed accordingly (anoraks, scarves, jumpers etc!). On the other hand, on the few good days, we took ourselves over to the beach at Morro Jable, in front of the Robinson Club, where it was more sheltered from the winds, and were pleasantly surprised at the higher than usual number of naked people on this stretch.

I do think the increasing number of All Inclusive hotels attracts a different type of visitor who seem surprised by and are less tolerant of nudity. Some of the tour operators no longer mention in their brochures or their websites that naturism has been long established and widely practiced on the island, so non naturists get a surprise (shock?) when they encounter it, and some of them (especially the British maw, paw and weans!) can be quite vocal. Even the Formentera Princess hotel website had no mention of its own naturist area last time I looked, leading to some TA reviews complaining that it "had no right being there"!

We have also noticed more French and more Eastern Europeans visiting the island, and wonder whether that has any bearing on the number of naturists. Are there fewer Germans now?

[Magoo]

Was on Esquinzo beach last September & I would say that naturism is holding it's own there if you will forgive the double entendre. Yes, weather has a lot to do with it. The big hotels have naturist areas, where the less hardy can escape from the Fuerteventura wind, it's no fun having your bits sand blasted. It could be that a lot of the missing naturists are around the pool. The Monte Marina pool was busier than I have ever seen it, but we love the beach & sea, so we did not spend much time there.

To answer ShielaW's question, a lot of us who strip off on the beaches of Fuerteventura, are not naturists. I have no desire to attend nude car welding classes, do the garden naked or go hiking in the buff. It's just nice to go for a nude swim & dry off under the Fuerty sun, without clinging swimware. However, don't expect me to make some kind of point by stripping off in the middle of a beach full of textiles. Sorry but like others, I don't have the confidence to be some kind of vanguard. Saying that, I have noticed that all it takes is one or two to act as a catalyst to get the ball rolling.

[Will196]

We have also noticed more French and more Eastern Europeans visiting the island, and wonder whether that has any bearing on the number of naturists. Are there fewer Germans now?

Not all Germans are naturists. Some aren't even comfortable with nudity. The only strange incident we had was with a German woman who tried to lecture us about strolling on the beach. Here she was standing naked telling us we shouldn't walk. When she went for a swim she would RUN to the water and back .

On the French beaches we've been to you'd never see a French naturist feel the need to act differently then the textiles. What's the point of being uncomfortable at the beach?

I agree with the comments made by others to just be brave.

[MinRich]

To answer ShielaW's question, a lot of us who strip off on the beaches of Fuerteventura, are not naturists. I have no desire to attend nude car welding classes, do the garden naked or go hiking in the buff. It's just nice to go for a nude swim & dry off under the Fuerty sun, without clinging swimware. However, don't expect me to make some kind of point by stripping off in the middle of a beach full of textiles. Sorry but like others, I don't have the confidence to be some kind of vanguard. Saying that, I have noticed that all it takes is one or two to act as a catalyst to get the ball rolling.

Same as us ..... Thats also one of the reasons purely Naturist Sites like La Jenny in France put us off . We go to El Caleton twice a year as that is perfect for what we want . We would go somewhere else but have never found anywhere (Recommendation or Internet) that compares .

[Magoo]

We looked at La jenny as part of a tour of France. To be honest it looked like it could be nude Pontins with screaming kids everywhere, so we didn't bother. (Could be 100% wrong with that assumption.) 

Call me a miserable old git, but another plus point of naturist accommodation or dedicated hotel areas, is peace & quiet. Very few kids, & the ones that are there seem to be well behaved.

[paully]

Ok you`re a miserable old git, like me  ....True thats why we like places like Infiniti and there are others of course where peace and quiet is the name of the game. There are many naturists there who don`t venture out much at all..I think the numbers of nuddies on the beaches will always vary, possibly from week to week..Its a mainly tourist thing, although some locals happily join in as well, but mainly at the weekends, due to work.

    The French have a very laid back attitude to naturism, whereas the Italians haven`t and turn up in very large numbers (and currently being banned from using WiFi in many bars due to their miserly spending habits  ) whereas the British are often in a class of their own..You can spot them, they are always the ones wearing socks with their sandals  muttering loudly about perverts etc etc at the same time their heads are swivelling in every direction and their eyeballs are almost popping out whilst busily looking for naked females under the age of 25....Seen so many of them I could write a book..

    Best do what we have always done, accept that the law is on our side, go to our favourite and regular haunts and enjoy nature as it should be 

[silent_running]

whereas the British are often in a class of their own..You can spot them, they are always the ones wearing socks with their sandals  muttering loudly about perverts etc etc at the same time their heads are swivelling in every direction and their eyeballs are almost popping out whilst busily looking for naked females under the age of 25....Seen so many of them I could write a book..

Ah yes, we jokingly call them 'Club Members' because they often have the 'Club Hat' and matching plastic carrier bag. Seen them everywhere, not just Fuerteventura.

[Riverman]

I know what you mean. We were on Tejitas Playa Tenerife a few years ago at the end that is predominantly naturist. The end sun bed was occupied with what I took to be an British couple, him in shorts and her in a costume. He sat there all day with binoculars and he wasn't looking out to sea. Eventually I got fed up with this so when I saw him looking in my direction I turnrd my back to him, bent over to touch my toes and gave him the finger. He didn't look my way again. I ask you, who takes binoculars to a nudist beach.

[Magoo]

I ask you, who takes binoculars to a nudist beach.

Oddly enough, I have.  There are quite a lot of very good wind surfers to watch & the Fred Olson ferry is the highlight of the day. Needless to say it has limited entertainment value. You can have more fun by illicitly feeding the Ground Squrrels or waving at passing textiles who seem to have lost a beloved dog

PS. I didn't realise that Tenerife had any naturist beaches or much in the way of regular beaches for that matter.  I can imagine folk ripping up their copy of The Sun in anger!

[jg]

I ask you, who takes binoculars to a nudist beach.

I do, too - and my video cameras.
The former to watch the bird life on the rocks at el Cotillo and the latter for snorkelling videos and bird life videos like this one.

[Magoo]

Any idea what his is JG? I have asked before but got no answer.

[jg]

Any idea what his is JG? I have asked before but got no answer.

Difficult to judge without any idea of size but my best guess would be a young sparrow.
I expect somebody will correct me now.

[Riverman]

OK Magoo & jg you may have taken binoculars, I have taken a camera myself, but I bet you didn't spend most of your time using them looking along a line of sunbeds predominantly occupied by naturists.

[Kyle]

Not a sparrow as its a raptor, maybe a young sparrowhawk however

[Magoo]

It was giving a flying display to the customers of the fish restaurant in Los
Molinos. I assume it lives in the canyon

[bygcotillo]

Bears a striking resemblance to a Berthelots Pipit.

[Gone Fishing]

That looks like a kestrel Magoo

http://www.pbase.com/raypurser/special_birds_of_fuerteventura_

http://www.pbase.com/raypurser/image/158425883

Ooops - we appear to have flown off topic

[SoCal]

I arrived in 2008. It was the naturism on El Cotillo that made me say, "This is it."

Based upon an extended stay last year, I find that naturism on the island is a both a function of location and time of year. For example, around Easter with the number of families about, naturism was definitely in the minority - I might count 1 out of 10 groups being nudists. However, mid-May was a different situation. In the north-western part of the island I often found only naturists beachgoers except around Torino's bar. During that time I conducted many free hikes without concern of offending others. (I'm told July and August are quite textile, but September through November are good nudist months.)

And the last time I was in January, there were very few hours one could enjoy the Sun. As we say in the U.S., your mileage may vary.

[KWC]

I arrived in 2008. It was the naturism on El Cotillo that made me say, "This is it."

Based upon an extended stay last year, I find that naturism on the island is a both a function of location and time of year. For example, around Easter with the number of families about, naturism was definitely in the minority - I might count 1 out of 10 groups being nudists. However, mid-May was a different situation. In the north-western part of the island I often found only naturists beachgoers except around Torino's bar. During that time I conducted many free hikes without concern of offending others. (I'm told July and August are quite textile, but September through November are good nudist months.)

And the last time I was in January, there were very few hours one could enjoy the Sun. As we say in the U.S., your mileage may vary.

True.  There will be times of the year when the naturist/sun worshipers will be more prevalent, but even in the 15 years I have been coming to the island  and even the periods of school holidays, the naturist beaches were busy.  I feel looking back that the textiles/non believers, perhaps stayed away (in general) from these recognised beaches with the kids, but are now more off them and starting to "muscle" in on areas that were preserved for the naturists.
Certainly times are a changing and it will soon be the need to rent a 4x4 to get a spot out the way lol

[SheilaW]

Maybe once they control access to the dunes beaches outside Corralejo (if they ever get that motorway open) they'll bring in checks for suitability for entry to a clothes-optional zone.

[Magoo]

Certainly times are a changing and it will soon be the need to rent a 4x4 to get a spot out the way lol

This beach is a beautiful hire car wrecker if you go down the wrong track!  However, I have never found it crowded with textiles apart from the odd Jeep Safari, and they don't stay long

[sunpics]

Hi The bird in the picture is a Kestrel type small Falcon lots of them on the island, have taken its picture lots of times.
As for main topic yes it is declining, one explanation that nudists are getting much older and need medication that prevents them from enjoying the naturist lifestyle.
I my self am now having to take blood pressure tablets and as soon as I go out in the sun my arms and legs get hives and very itchy . All the sun tan cream even factor fifty has no effect.
We may not be able to come to Fuerteventura and enjoy being a nudist ever again. It is so sad but I have changed my tablets three times trying to cure these side effects.
Lets hope that eventually we can come back we been to  FUERTEVENTURA every year for past fourteen years up to this year.
Sunpics 

[old n easy]

Have been going to Fuert for many years now, always to the south of the island. We were in La Pared for all of September. Beach at Risco about 60% naturist, but on Sundays that goes way up. Why that is I have no idea. I managed a free hike from La Pared down the west coast to the Barraca that leads to Risco El Paso, (can't remember how to spell it) then across to the beach. Met two young(ish) ladies on the way, they were a bit lost, but who, after a while, joined in the free bit of free hiking. Beaches just outside of Costa Calma and Jandia also still well used by Naturists.
Hope this continues for many more years.

Old n easy

[Snowdrop]

Loads on beach in Corralejo between hotel natura and the 2 big hotels :-)

[keelegill]

And we used the beaches around El Cotillo throughly during our week from 3-10 October. On the Monday on La Concha beach with the temperature up in the mid 30s there was an almost perfect 50:50 ratio between textiles/naturists with naturists mostly to the north end and textiles to the south. Great mix of people all showing wonderful respect. Very relaxed. It was the happiest I'd ever been on a beach nude....happier than on a segregated nude beach certainly. It was almost the 'ideal' naturists are searching for 

[Jimjo]

Stone circles near club jandia princess were all full of naturists during our stay in September. Also, lots of naturists walking up and down the beach. A number of sunbeds were also being used for the all over tan. We also had a new convert in my wife so numbers must be  going up