9/00
We just got back from the Costa Brava in Spain. We visited a whole load of different beaches etc, many of them naturist beaches. But the non-nude beaches were pretty much all topless... Eva also went topfree at the hotel pool, although there were only 3 or 4 others who did. There were a lot of kids and older people at the hotel though, not many of the younger clientele used the pool. However, she felt perfectly comfortable, and no-one stared at all. One thing we did notice is that none of the other topfree women seemed to actually swim in the pool...
Here's a quick run-through where we went:
Pineda De Mar
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This is where we were staying (at the Taurus Park hotel). The
beach was unexciting, but there were a good number of topfree
women on it. Bare breasts won't raise any eyebrows, temperatures
or anything else... a large proportion of the women were topfree,
perhaps as many as 60%, and it's a crowded beach...
Platja De Pals
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We were parked right at one end, so walking to and from the car,
we walked through the clothed areas to the naturist section. Even
here, it was like a game of "spot the bikini top"...
I'd guess 75% of women were topfree, even those in one-piece suits
rolled them down to the waist.
Playa De La Boadella
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This beach is split into 3... clothing optional in the south coves,
"textile" in the main bay, and nude in the north coves.
In the textile section, at least 60% of women were topfree, and
a couple even went to the snack-bar without their tops (Eva did
one day, and didn't feel uncomfortable)
Malgrat De Mar
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Lots of topfree women again, Eva included. More younger women
around, there were hundreds of people on this beach. We'd guess
that 50% of the women were topfree.
Blanes
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Very few women were topfree here. We didn't actually go to the
beach here, just met the boat to Boadella here twice. Those that
were, though, certainly didn't receive any extra attention. I
think that it was just because of the time of year we were there
(mid September) and because Blanes itself tends to attract an
older crowd than other areas on the Costa Brava.
S'Abanell
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Blanes's second beach (at the south end of the promenade) is bigger,
and tended to have far more topfree women on it.
There were numerous other little places we visited, some of which Eva went topfree at, some we didn't stay long enough to warrant getting undressed. But to put it simply, Eva did not wear her bikini top at all after the first day in Spain. They're just not needed there at all! :-)
-- Martin & Eva, Manchester,
UK