A day at Vera Playa. . . Residents and visitors describe typical days - for them - at Vera Playa
It's a hard life at the Vera Playa Club Hotel . . .
Get up around 7.00a.m. make a cup of tea and sit on the patio waiting for the dawn to break and (depending on what time of year) sit and watch the early morning swimmers in the pool. Around 8.00am make another pot of tea and wake my husband, then off we go to breakfast in the restaurant. There is a large amount to choose from including Champagne, but a glass of fruit juice, a slice of bread and a banana is all I have. Then it is time to put my towel out on my sun bed, sit down and read my book for half an hour. Before long it is time for my morning rounds to check all and everyone is OK which takes between 10 minutes to an hour then back to my sun bed until around midday when we go for a walk on the beach - possibly to the shops - then lunch. A light lunch and a glass of Wine and then back to my sun bed, and possibly (more than likely) have a sleep. Here I stay until around 5.00pm when it is time for my		shower and wash my hair, then another walk around the pool area to have a chat to whoever is around whilst drying my hair. Back to the room and get dressed for dinner. A leisurely evening meal then back to the patio for coffee and a chat to whoever has come back with us, or passed on their way out and stopped for a coffee, then around 10pm over to Benitos bar for a night cap we can be there for an hour or until the early hours of the morning depending on who is there, then return to our room and bed. The following morning it starts all over again, very boring to some but most enjoyable to me. Anne – Manchester.
A Naturist's Diary: Wednesday 17 January 2007 Even naturists need a day off sometimes and so it was today. But first, a short run and swim in the sea (it may be winter but it's more like early summer in the UK). And then, off to the big city, to Almeria, capital city of the province in which Vera Playa lies, 100kms away, to soak up a bit of history & culture by visiting La Alcazaba, one of the most impressive mediaeval fortresses in Al-Andalus. The fortress is the second largest Moorish structure in Spain (after the Alhambra). It lived up to its reputation on a beautiful warm and sunny January day which was just about the ideal viewing conditions, especially as the summer hordes were nowhere to be seen. Full marks to the Andalucian government for allowing free entry to all EU citizens - how about something similar in the UK, English Heritage? The warm, even hot conditions in the sheltered gardens within the castle walls contrasted with the hint of cool breeze experienced outside on the open castle hill, whilst in the shelter of the city centre giant digital thermometers indicated the late afternoon temperature to be 22°C. A reminder here of great relevance to us naturists seeking winter sun and warmth - micro-climate is all important: south-facing, sheltered = naturist sunbathing comfort even in January, whilst north-facing & open = no sun, so warm coat and clothes and retreat indoors. Don't forget this when picking an apartment, whether for renting or for purchase! Bob, webmaster, www.veraplaya.info How do you spend your naturist day at Vera Playa? Tell us - click here
A naked run sets you up for the day
Vera Playa is 1250 miles or so closer to the Equator than England, so in Spring and Summer especially, it is noticeable that dawn comes much later - and quicker - than in more northern climes. So, not being a masochist, I wait for it to be light and - to be on the safe side - wait for the sun to be at least just above the horizon, to take off any night chill which might be lingering. Then - I get up. If this sounds all too rational and calculating - it is. The truth is, I don't usually wake up until it is (a) light and (b) the sun is up. I then leave my wife sleeping (or occasionally preparing breakfast) and go for a run. This does not involve much preparation at Vera Playa. All one needs is a pair of running shoes (trainers) and one's self. One of the great joys - to me - of having a property at Vera Playa is the ability to run naked. To me, running naked is liberating and one of the most sensual experiences one can have. In the winter or early spring I'll check the temperature because, even at Vera Playa, it can sometimes be too cold first thing in the morning to run naked - but more often than not it's warm enough. Apart from running shoes, the only thing I need is a key to the gate to the beach. And then I'm off. By the time I reach the beach I'm properly awake if I wasn't before. I then have a big decision; should I go left or right? Or should I have a swim first or later? (It's all decisions at Vera Playa). A run in paradise - what better way to start the day? Let's say, on this day, I turn left. I run along the shore-line, just where the sand is hard, from being wetted by the sea, and thus good to run on. The beach at Vera Playa is exceptionally variable; sometimes along the shoreline it is sand all the way; other times it can be fine, or even large pebbles; usually it varies. Turning left means I am running north. Running towards the Vera Playa Club Hotel in the distance and - further still - the coast curves round to a low headland beyond which it is possible to see the coastal fort at the small harbour village of Villaricos. Further still the mountains loom, sometimes their heads in cloud, sometimes wraithed in mist. Today, a bold purpley-blue mass. More often than not I pass folk I know, running, exercising their dogs, going for a pre-breakfast swim, just looking at the sea and the mountains. Not that there are a lot of people out so early, just a handful. The best bit of the day - and most people miss it. Sometimes a runner comes the other way. Occasionally they are clothed even when it is warm or even hot - sometimes in smart shorts and singlet, sometimes even in track suits. Bizarre! Have they never dared to feel the wind on their bare bodies? Are they so constrained by the conventions of clothing - and fashion - that, even on a naturist beach, they go fully clothed? They obviously don't know what they're missing anyway! I stop to talk to Karen, who is exercising both herself and her dog by running. Karen's husband has just had some major dental treatment so I hear the gruesome details and ask for my commiserations to be passed on to him. On, past Natsun, to the Hotel. Signs of life as some guests look out from their balconies before going to breakfast. Other early-birds are beginning to spill out from the hotel on to the beach for an early morning constitutional to help their breakfasts go down.		Past the hotel, I reach the Naturist Camp site and the end of the Naturist beach. I survey the view and turn about and begin to retrace my steps. Time now for a swim. Shoes off and parked beyond the reach of the sea. Sea practically dead calm today - not that it is always so. Sometimes the sea has such large breakers they would not look out of place on an Atlantic coast and a swim in such waves could be your last. But not, thankfully, today. Today, after a bit of vigorous thrashing to and fro it is possible to relax on my back and look around. The mountains behind Mojácar almost glowing in the morning sunshine; the ship, seemingly as tall as a skyscraper, waiting to enter Garrucha harbour; the gaily coloured fishing boasts dotted along the coast pulling up pots and nets to keep the shops and restaurants stocked with fish. Out of the water. Now's the time the pebbles come in useful. Come out of the sea on to pebbles and no sand sticks to one's feet and so the shoes can go straight back on. If there are no pebbles near where I've swum - then it's barefoot along the beach, carrying the trainers, until there are some. Before we owned a property at Vera Playa - when we used to stay at the hotel a couple of times a year - I used to run every day barefoot from the hotel. Absolute nakedness. But it can be quite hard on the feet and there is always the chance of accidentally running over broken glass or a fisherman's hook. Not a nice thought - though, fortunately, I never did. Now, when I have to negotiate a couple of hundred metres of road and pavement to the beach, it seems that running shoes are a sensible compromise - and enable me to run on any really pebbly lengths of beach that the day's tide may bring. I only have one more decision. When I reach the point at which I should leave the shoreline to return to Bahia de Vera. The question is, whether to call it a day here or carry on, towards Puerto Rey and Garrucha. The answer depends: How much, if any, energy do I have left? How nice a day is it? Is there any sign of textiles on the beach (the limits to the naturist beach are pretty vague in this direction). So, I may go on - often as far as Puerto Rey - then retrace my steps, take another swim and then it's time to go home for breakfast. As I pass Vera Natura the chances are I see friends or acquaintances there and greet or talk to them. So an hour's run and swimming easily becomes an hour and a half or even two before I get home. The wonderful view of Mojácar and the Sierra Cabrera from Vera Playa, early morning By the time I get home it's by no means for an early breakfast - but as I sit in the sun and eat my muesli and sip my orange juice, I see that some of my neighbours are only just surfacing. So I'm set up for the day - though, depending on the weather - I may not do a lot - a little sun-bathing, a little D-I-Y, a little gardening, a few swims, a glass or two of wine, a visit to the shops, check e-mails, up-date this website, a meal out, a book, a little TV - and then in no time, it's time for tomorrow's run - my first - and best hour of each day. Bob, webmaster So, how do you spend your day at Vera Playa?

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