We go to a beach in Palamos nearly every day in the summertime. What else does one do when staying on the Mediterranean coast without air conditioning?
Palamos is a moderately sized city (population 17,000+) located in the Costa Brava region of Northern Spain. Situated on the Mediterranean Sea, it and the city of our long term home exchange. (We swapped our home and car with a family in Spain. If you’re a homeowner, home exchange is one of the most economical ways to travel, especially if you want to stay a while.)
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At the Beach in Palamos
I can remember the first day we went to the beach in Palamos. I don’t know why I was so surprised to find topless women on the beach. The young, the old, the overweight, and the perfect. About 1/4 of the women on the beach are topless.
Not me. Not my girls.
Some of the women are laying and sunbathing, back or front side up. Others are sitting, reading or talking. Others are walking in or out of the water, and one rather large-breasted women is playing a ball and paddle game in ankle-deep water. Wondering if it is painful, I can neither look at her nor look away.
Hubby is doing fine. He says it doesn’t bother him. Here are my G-rated photos of the beach in Palamos:
All photos on this page © Rhonda Albom 2012. All rights reserved.
Explore Other Costa Brava Beaches
Our Daily Routine in Palamos
Like many of our neighbours in Palamos, we follow a typically Spanish summertime daily routine. It involves a walk (or drive if we are feeling lazy) to the farmers market for fruit and vegetables, a stop in a bakery for some bread, and either a trip to the docks for fresh fish or the butcher for meat. Then we are home for a substantial lunch, siesta, study, and then off to the beach in Palamos. In the late afternoon, our girls head off to their youth group, then hang at the park, and we typically have dinner around 9 pm.
Fiesta Major in Palamós: Giants Parade and Heart-Shaped Fireworks
stevebethere
Doesn’t really bother me seeing some baps while having a stroll along the beach….of course i never look 😉 I do sometimes find the mens vertical danglers a tad distracting though 😯
Rhonda
LOL – we haven’t encountered a nude beach . . . yet.
Lisa
LOL
Tony Payne
Topless beaches are something we get used to in Europe, and in my opinion there is nothing wrong with it, in fact it’s quite a natural thing, and nice in a way that it’s not just the “young pretty things” that go that way.
I always found the American prudishness to be rather frustrating, and the whole Janet Jackson fiasco over a nipple poking out for a fraction of a second would never have happened in Europe, that is certain.
It is somewhat strange though I am sure when you see people topless (or wearing nothing at all) for the first time on a beach. I remember one wonderful beach we discovered many years ago in Brittany, which turned out to be a nudist beach, and all these teenage girls came down and played volleyball topless. I was in heaven lol 🙂
Rhonda
I am sure I will get used to it too. Don’t think I will be joining in, mostly because my girls would be mortified. (They have told me this). Your last comment, would that mean that you “don’t mind” going to topless beaches either?
Emma
The topless women on beaches don’t bother me – but I personally don’t do it. It’s when they do it in parks that it irritates me. I find men in thongs on the beach far more offensive!
Rhonda
I have to admit, I laughed out loud when I read your comment and visualized men in thongs. Lucky for me I haven’t seen it yet, nor have I seen topless women in the park.
Julie
I can’t believe that you’ve been gone four months already! Stop dragging your poor husband to the topless beaches! My husband still hasn’t gotten over the trauma of the topless beach we went to on our honeymoon. He insisted that we go back day after day, because he knew it was so important to me! Glad you haven’t lost your sense of humor! Enjoy the beautiful scenery!
Rhonda
Not actually four months, it is our fourth month, so more like 3.5, or something like that. I lost count a while ago, that’s why the blog switched to months. As for hubby, he “doesn’t mind” so I guess I am not “dragging” him.
Joyce
Oh, come on, Rhonda. When in Rome do as the Romans.
Rhonda
The Romans wore sheets. Toga parties I can do 🙂
Lynne
Love that fourth tag! You may well get some extra organic traffic to your blog with that one, lol!
Rhonda
LOL – I didn’t know anyone reads the tags, but I just couldn’t resist that one. I mean really, he “doesn’t mind” the topless women . . . that tag was needed 🙂
Lynne
LOL! I don’t normally read them – I just happened to glance at it while I was thinking about a comment
Rhonda
🙂