Unexpected visit from the President of the Irish Naturist Association

Last Saturday, I received an unexpected message on Facebook Messenger from the President of the Irish Naturist Association that she was in Malta for the weekend 4th-5th December 2021.

After meeting her in Valletta over a cup of coffee and having quite a frank exchange of views on the subject of naturism, I offered to take her the following Sunday to a remote spot that is frequented by local naturists.

That Sunday, I drove with her to Gnejna Bay and decided to take the path to Ta' Censna as it was bound after the heavy downpour the preceding Friday to be less slippery and muddy than the path leading to Qarraba Bay ( our so called unofficial nudist beach). Apart from that, I always prefer Ta Censna to Qarraba Bay as it offers more privacy and is less frequented with hitchhikers exploring the area.

Luckily that Sunday turned out to be a very sunny day, and we not only managed to sunbathe nude in the warm winter sun but also dared to take a dip in the shallow sea near a rocky inlet that protected us against the rough seas and pounding waves.

When we came to return back to the path leading to Gnejna Beach, we decided to hike nude right until we came in sight of the boathouses and met the first signs of human activity in an otherwise totally deserted area.

The President of the Irish Naturist Association enjoyed her naturist experience so much on our shores that she wrote a blog on the Irish Naturist website commending the naturists opportunities that can be availed of in our island.

I wish to share the link of this blog post with all visitors of this website as it certainly encourages one to keep the faith that Malta will one day turn out to be nudist friendly like other European and developed countries.

https://irishnaturism.org/maltese-naturism/

I have to admit, though that there are times, when I feel pretty despondent on the future of naturism. The Minister of Justice had announced last July in a press conference that certain criminal offenses were to be de-penalized and public nudity was one of them according to the Public Broadcasting Services news. However no further developments were noted since then.

I have also not seen any marked improvement in enthusiasm as regards the development of community ties between local naturists despite my ongoing efforts throughout the past five years to have some form of gatherings.

I keep asking many a times whether in the end it is worthwhile to keep fighting for a cause that seems to be a no-go area with the Maltese population, the politicians and the business sector.

But alas, this unexpected visit from the President of the Irish Naturists did teach me a very important lesson not to give up hope. You can never know what new experiences and opportunities the future can bring.

It is just important to keep your lines of communication always open and respond to any opportunity that comes along.

So that is why I would like to thank the President of the Irish Naturists for this beautiful experience that she shared with us, her sincere appreciation of our island and the encouragement she gave us to look ahead for further future opportunities.

Her visit deserves to be recognised as an important milestone for the first initial steps of establishing naturist practices in Malta.

We hope that the President of Irish Naturists will revisit Malta again in the near future and we would be able to show her around other remote places suitable for naturist experiences in the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino.

4-5th December 2021