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"WHERE TO GET 
YOUR KIT OFF "
NAKED
VIRGINS
IN CRETE
We were two naked virgins, about to be sacrificed.
Taking our first nudist holiday had seemed like a good idea
at the time, and someone recommended
the Vritomartis Hotel
in Crete as being a great place for being broken
in gently.
Nudity was not allowed within the hotel buildings, and you
were asked to cover up at the café by the swimming pool
and in the little gift shop nearby.
Otherwise, around the pool and in the grounds, being
in the buff was the norm.
It was sound advice that we wouldn't otherwise have considered.
I think I would have found the sight of bums at breakfast
a little too much, though it would have given a whole new
meaning to the term 'sunny-side up'.
Thanks to the flight times and 2-hour transfer, we arrived
in the early hours of the morning, when all was dark and
still. When we awoke and peeked out the window, the sun
was blazing and the most noticeable thing was not hundreds
of naked bodies but the colourful plants and flowers all
around.
The gardens were lush with hibiscus and bougainvillea, and
palm trees fringed the pool.
We
were more concerned at how we would fringe ourselves, as
we ventured out to breakfast, but the sight of people making
their way to the main hotel block dressed in t-shirts and
shorts reassured us.
At least we knew the food would be good, for our week's
adventure as a novice Adam and Eve.
The buffet breakfasts and suppers, and the poolside taverna,
could mean we'd be fighting the flab as well as watching
it.
Back
in our room, and after lots of giggles and peeking through
the windows, we made our first naked venture and tanned
ourselves by the pool for an hour or two. We quickly agreed
that erotic it was not.
Most people there were not potential Miss Worlds or Mr Universes.
On the other hand, this was very reassuring. Any doubts
you might have about your own physical imperfections start
to melt away when you see, actually, you don't look too
bad after all.
It
is also interesting to see that people can be so comfortable
with their own bodies. The fact that the fat granny or the
skinny old man can strut about starkers with not a care
in the world seemed to indicate some kind of contentment.
This is me, they're saying, for better or worse, take it
or leave it, I don't mind.
Naturists
mostly seem very nice people too. We quickly made friends
with an English couple, visiting Vritomartis for the second
year running, and they pointed out that there were no noisy
radios by the pool, and the place was spotless. This
was typical of nudist hotels and resorts, they said, and
was one reason they liked staying in them.
Meeting
these regular naturists, was an eye-opener in more ways
than one. It made me realise that naturists can't be lumped
together as people any more than, say, motorists or shoppers
can. They're all different, and came from all walks of life.
Most seemed to be very easy-going and would chat to strangers
much more readily than perhaps non-naturists would.
They
came from all over, too, in search of that all-over tan.
There were many Germans, some Dutch and French, a few English
and an American couple who found the hotel on the internet.
The hotel manager later told me they got the bulk of their
bookings now from the web.
As
a hotel, Vritomartis (the only nudist hotel in Greece) couldn't
be faulted. The rooms were clean, modern and spacious, and
ours had a balcony overlooking the Libyan Sea.
It was a short walk from the village of Chora Sfakion, where
you could have a beer or a bite to eat at one of the tavernas
lining the fishing harbour there.
There were activities in and around the hotel (volleyball
court, nudist beach), as well as excursion options.
We walked the nearby Imbros Gorge
(fully clothed, of course!) and if we'd had the energy
to get up at dawn could have spent the day walking the
Samaria Gorge.
This, the longest gorge in Europe, is just along the south
coast from Chora Sfakion, giving some idea of the spectacular
scenery in this corner of Crete which is forever naked.
FACT FILE
Vritomartis
UK: www.dune.uk.com
Outside
UK: www.naturism-crete.com
http://www.naturistholidays.com/Vrito.html
Nudist
beaches http://www.creteisland.gr/naturism/
Cap'n
Barefoot's Naturist Guide to the Greek Islands
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