Barbados Nudist Resort Story
Anna
DID YOU KNOW that there's a property in St Philip which once had the
distinction of being the first and only nudist resort in this part of
the world?
I won't be surprised if you didn't. I had assumed it was something
every living Barbadian knew about or had heard about until last week
when I discovered that I was very, very wrong.
I was listening to an argument among some under 40-year-olds about
whether or not Barbados had any private beaches when one person
strongly contended that there were indeed and even offered to prove he
was right by taking the others to a certain spot on the West Coast
where visitors sun bathed in total nudity all day long.
All the others suggested he had concocted that story, arguing that not
only were private beaches illegal in Barbados, but so too was nudity
and that if something like that existed, somebody would have already
alerted the relevant Government authority or called the police.
It was at that point that I pushed my mouth into the conversation to
inform them that tourists sunbathing nude in Barbados was nothing new
and that there was a period back in the 1970s when one of the island's
better known attractions was a nudist resort. You should have heard
the reactions ranging from "What you talking 'bout?" to "Al Gilkes,
you now mek up that one."
I had a lot of trouble convincing them about the resort, which offered
accommodation and all the services and luxuries of a regular hotel,
the exception being that it was completely enclosed in order to keep
malicious eyes from prying at the guests lounging around during the
day or partying under stars at night, nude.
It was only after giving them chapter and verse about where the resort
was and who and who had developed and operated it, did they come
around to accepting that I was indeed being truthful.
It was the assignment of a lifetime as photographer, the late Charles
Hackett, and I sped to St Philip for the scoop that the resort was
open and, in fact, had received its first guests. And being a younger
man then, as we got closer and closer my mind fogged up with wild
imaginings of Miss Universe-type bodies spread out all over the place
in very naked splendour.
Unfortunately, that was all imagination. What we actually saw when we
got there were some middle aged types with everything sagging,
drooping or lifeless. Needless to say the church and other Barbadians
and institutions had a field day condemning this sanctuary for the
devil in paradise. It didn't take long for the pressures applied to
take their toll and eventually the doors were closed.
Coincidentally, a website called Shoes Only Travel, now offers a
Caribbean cruise out of Barbados which allows you to "take advantage
of the constant opportunities [on board] for adventure, stimulus and
rigorous activity . . . " . Under tips for her, the promo states:
"While at the pool, nude or almost nude is the prevalent dress code.
Most of the girls don't wear bathing suits at all or just a sexy
thong . . . . "
As Adonijah would probably say, what a thong!