-Day 1-
I arrived at Porto Alegre airport after a harrowing flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, that included a stop in Montevideo, Uruguay. Although a short ride over, it was, I must say, rather unpleasant. The Aerolineas Argentinas plane was very old and had countless defects, the most serious of which was the entire electrical system cutting in and out several times. Add to that the roughest turbulence (it was stormy) and landings I’ve ever experienced, I felt extremely lucky to be alive, let alone an hour behind schedule.
I sailed through the Brazilian customs and immigration and my host for this visit was patiently waiting for me on the other side. Mr Collins, a lovely retired British gentleman who’s been living in Brazil for roughly fifty years, handles house rentals for several Colina do Sol residents. Our first order of the day was to obtain the local currency, Reales, as Colina businesses don’t accept credit cards. Don’t bother with the dozen or so different ATM’s in the airport terminal, head straight for the HSBC one, as foreign debit/credit cards invariably fail in the others.
Once the money issue resolved, we headed away from Porto Alegre, along a fairly uninteresting road. The 70 km trajectory takes just over an hour, the last 8 kms along a potholed dirt and gravel road winding through the hills. The temperature is in the high 90’s F, and I’m totally soaked in sweat by this time, aching to get out of these stupid clothes!
The gated entrance to Colina is not impressive, but as soon as we’re waved through, the special characteristics of this community leap out at you. The grounds are thick with tall trees, mostly eucalyptus, the wood and stone houses nestled among them, seeming almost as if they were part of nature’s plan! No garbage to be seen anywhere, unlike virtually every other South American community.
I’m led to my rental house, a cozy but more than adequate structure with all the amenities, included wireless internet access. Finally, I get out of my clothes, hoping to stay naked until it’s time to go home. With temperatures in summer often soaring above 100 F, clothing just doesn’t make any sense here!
After a spot of lunch proffered by my gracious host, I get the grand tour of the community, and this is where surprises surface, both good and bad. Let’s deal with the bad, so we don’t have to dwell on negative aspects…
Something went wrong with Colina in the past year: The 3 storey hotel Ocara, opened in 2003, is now closed, rotting away fast. The spa is also out of business. With the spa went the gym, pool, and hot tubs. The spiritual center is also history and in worse shape than the hotel. The bed and breakfast is also no longer operating. The tennis courts are in disrepair and covered with weeds. Ponds, some originally meant for swimming are filled with filth. What the hell happened? According to my guide, they “built it and they did not come”. It’s a damn shame.
What remains in terms of activities and amenities, in short order, is a white sand beach and beach bar on one side of the central lake, sandy volley courts, one small pool, a hostel, campground and a couple of stores, one that sells clothing (always funny in a naturist environment!) and the other groceries. The restaurant on the lake is the only choice for meals, which aren’t bad nor expensive.
Again, I hate to be negative, but I do want to air it out now: I came across far too many folks who ambled about fully clothed or with their lower body covered, and weather certainly wasn’t a factor. This is certainly not what I expected: If one refers to the community’s rules, nudity is required in all public areas. The reality is that the nude requirement is only enforced on the beach. Nudists go naked unless conditions don’t permit it, or am I now some kind of radical?!
I spent my first evening here chatting with a Scottish gent in the restaurant. At one point a Brazilian lad came along and exclaimed that I was the guy from Nudistday. Well, small world! There was a beach party later that night, and although I really wanted to attend, I was completely exhausted and slept like a eucalyptus log.
Evidently, Colina do Sol does not qualify as a nudist resort, but it’s still a functioning naturist community and anyone who seeks to relax and commune with nature as was intended may find solace here.
Of course, the legendary good humor and friendliness of the Brazilian residents should be emphasized. Now if only I could only improve my simile-Portuguese mixed with Spanish!
The gated entrance to Colina is not impressive, but as soon as we’re waved through, the special characteristics of this community leap out at you. The grounds are thick with tall trees, mostly eucalyptus, the wood and stone houses nestled among them, seeming almost as if they were part of nature’s plan! No garbage to be seen anywhere, unlike virtually every other South American community.
I’m led to my rental house, a cozy but more than adequate structure with all the amenities, included wireless internet access. Finally, I get out of my clothes, hoping to stay naked until it’s time to go home. With temperatures in summer often soaring above 100 F, clothing just doesn’t make any sense here!
After a spot of lunch proffered by my gracious host, I get the grand tour of the community, and this is where surprises surface, both good and bad. Let’s deal with the bad, so we don’t have to dwell on negative aspects…
Something went wrong with Colina in the past year: The 3 storey hotel Ocara, opened in 2003, is now closed, rotting away fast. The spa is also out of business. With the spa went the gym, pool, and hot tubs. The spiritual center is also history and in worse shape than the hotel. The bed and breakfast is also no longer operating. The tennis courts are in disrepair and covered with weeds. Ponds, some originally meant for swimming are filled with filth. What the hell happened? According to my guide, they “built it and they did not come”. It’s a damn shame.
What remains in terms of activities and amenities, in short order, is a white sand beach and beach bar on one side of the central lake, sandy volley courts, one small pool, a hostel, campground and a couple of stores, one that sells clothing (always funny in a naturist environment!) and the other groceries. The restaurant on the lake is the only choice for meals, which aren’t bad nor expensive.
Again, I hate to be negative, but I do want to air it out now: I came across far too many folks who ambled about fully clothed or with their lower body covered, and weather certainly wasn’t a factor. This is certainly not what I expected: If one refers to the community’s rules, nudity is required in all public areas. The reality is that the nude requirement is only enforced on the beach. Nudists go naked unless conditions don’t permit it, or am I now some kind of radical?!
I spent my first evening here chatting with a Scottish gent in the restaurant. At one point a Brazilian lad came along and exclaimed that I was the guy from Nudistday. Well, small world! There was a beach party later that night, and although I really wanted to attend, I was completely exhausted and slept like a eucalyptus log.
Evidently, Colina do Sol does not qualify as a nudist resort, but it’s still a functioning naturist community and anyone who seeks to relax and commune with nature as was intended may find solace here.
Of course, the legendary good humor and friendliness of the Brazilian residents should be emphasized. Now if only I could only improve my simile-Portuguese mixed with Spanish!
- DAY 2 -
Not a lot going on today, a Sunday. The weather started-out hot and muggy and ended up rainy. My main activity today was to explore the many trails, although I did so during the cooler part of the day, which meant 6 pm. One trail actually does the entire circuit around the edge of the “colina”, or hill if you prefer. Lest we forget, Colina do Sol is spread out over 200 acres on a flat hilltop, and is heavily forested. This trail is several miles long through shady forest, and except for a couple of houses, I saw nothing but trees and butterflies. There’s a variety of snakes, lizards and tarantulas in this area, but I saw none on this occasion. I did, however, wander down another trail at one point and ran into a swarm of bees. As they were most likely of the killer kind and I was an inviting naked target, I did a u-turn!
Most of the people were to be found at the beach by the restaurant, either in the water or below palapas, many sipping on large “mates”. Mate is a herbal drink that’s as common here as in Argentina. If not a mate, you’ll see Brazilians and visitors alike enjoying a very Brazilian “Caipirinha”, sugar cane liquor mixed with crushed ice, sugar and lots of lime juice and sometimes pulp.
There’s only about 25 permanent households in Colina, out of a total of 80 homes. Some of these are expatriate American and British denizens who speak fluent Portuguese, the only language understood by the native residents. As was explained to me by Mr Collins, most residents, if not retired, work in the community, mostly by necessity since the village is quite isolated and there’s not much economic activity to be had in the few towns within a reasonable distance. Being that most of the community’s businesses are gone, it means very little work is left for them. I hope the trend reverses itself, otherwise I can’t imagine how this place will survive except as a retirement community.
By sunset, the vast majority of the visitors had left, leaving a very quiet Colina behind! I spent a good part of the evening chatting and drinking in the restaurant.
Most of the people were to be found at the beach by the restaurant, either in the water or below palapas, many sipping on large “mates”. Mate is a herbal drink that’s as common here as in Argentina. If not a mate, you’ll see Brazilians and visitors alike enjoying a very Brazilian “Caipirinha”, sugar cane liquor mixed with crushed ice, sugar and lots of lime juice and sometimes pulp.
There’s only about 25 permanent households in Colina, out of a total of 80 homes. Some of these are expatriate American and British denizens who speak fluent Portuguese, the only language understood by the native residents. As was explained to me by Mr Collins, most residents, if not retired, work in the community, mostly by necessity since the village is quite isolated and there’s not much economic activity to be had in the few towns within a reasonable distance. Being that most of the community’s businesses are gone, it means very little work is left for them. I hope the trend reverses itself, otherwise I can’t imagine how this place will survive except as a retirement community.
By sunset, the vast majority of the visitors had left, leaving a very quiet Colina behind! I spent a good part of the evening chatting and drinking in the restaurant.
- DAY 3 -
This Monday started out extremely hot, but as morning turned to afternoon, one could hear the continuous roar of thunder from the valley beyond. Pretty soon it was overcast and then came the winds and the rain. Naked bodies started to cover-up. The temperature plummeted dramatically. Severe thunderstorms curtailed all activity in the community. The restaurant as well as the grocery store, as I found out, closed at 9 pm, so I went hungry that stormy night!
- DAY 4 -
Tuesday can be resumed as follows: not nude! The entire 24 hours we didn’t see the sun for even a second, rain alternating continuously from drizzle to monsoon. The temperatures were frigid and made worse by the wind. This, during a normally scorching summer, is not what I had bargained for. According to sources here, this type of weather is not uncommon, even in summer. I sadly had to break my vow to stay nude for the entire visit: pants, shirt, socks and even a sweater! This was NOT a nudist day!
- DAY 5 -
I’m thinking that Colina do Sol, which means “Hill of the Sun”, should be renamed “Colina nao Sol”, which translates to “Hill no Sun”. You guessed it, Wednesday was yet another rainy cold day, not a nudist day! I came here to commune in the nude, and instead, we’re more “textiled” than anybody in the southern hemisphere! Can’t even sleep naked it’s so bloody cold! My departure from this place come Thursday is now eagerly awaited…
Related Articles:
Tags: brazil, club, south america
Loading ...
Hi there,
Read your article and get the feeling that Auroville, South India sounds much better!!
Always wanted to live and work at a nudist place…..any reccommendations?
Grateful to you.
Warmly, Francis. Bangalore. India.
=====