St. Martin Adventure

I couldn't believe how turned on Liz was after our day spent nude on the beach and, having had our clothes and towels stolen, driving back to the resort and walking back to our room completely naked. All in all we were lucky that we hadn't gotten stranded on that remote beach. If there's any consolation to having the crappy rental car that we were driving it was that it was too crappy to be of any interest to a car thief.

Liz's face was flushed in the low candle light of the restaurants patio. It was hard to tell if this was from our first full day in the Caribbean sun or from the physical activity we had engaged in after getting back to the room.

"So what do you want to do tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well, this is the place for the beach so I want another beach day."

"Any idea which beach then?"

"The bar girl, Bridgette, mentioned Orient Bay and I found it on a map in the room. It's a bit further away than Long Bay. I say we try that one."

I smiled at her. "I'm guessing it's your choice because of the dress code."

"I'll admit it," she laughed, "I loved the feeling of being naked on the beach, seeing other people naked and being seen. Does it bother you?"

"In fact I had a great time mainly because we were together. Now I've done a little bit of research on Orient Bay. It's a lot more developed than where we were yesterday. I'm pretty sure there will be a lot more people and I'm also pretty sure there will be a lot more gawkers. Is that going to be a problem?"

"I'm kind of excited about it!"

After the excitement of the day and the energetic lovemaking once back in our condo we were both ready to get to sleep early. I had some trouble falling asleep what with the anticipation of the next day but I think the wine we had with dinner finally kicked in and the next thing I knew bright sunshine spread across the bedroom and I could hear Liz in the bathroom.

I went in to take a leak and found her perched on the side of the Jacuzzi shaving her legs and pubic area. She had always kept her bush trim during the summer time when she wore bathing suits. I didn't pay much attention to what she was doing although it seemed like a lot of shaving cream.

Once back in the other room I slipped on some shorts and a T-shirt and waited for her. Her liberal use of sunscreen the day before had worked well; there was no red skin anywhere on her body. I was glad we had "pre tanned" before this trip. She grabbed a beach cover up and pulled it over her head.

"I'm ready," she said.

"That's it?" I asked. "Commando under that?"

"It comes halfway down my thighs and the arm holes aren't too big and gaping. Do you have a problem with it?"

I just laughed.

"Babe, my only problem is trying to keep myself under control knowing how close to being naked you are."

Stepping into the morning sun we were blinded by the already bright sunlight. Humidity was incredible even at this early hour and there was hardly any breeze to move the air. The water in front of us was like a swimming pool, eerily quiet with no waves on the sand. Hand in hand we strolled to the patio where breakfast was served.

With only the cover up on it was obvious to me that Liz wasn't wearing a bra. With each soft step her chest would sway from side to side and the plunge down the middle highlighted the curve of her breasts. Yes, this was how I liked to start breakfast.

There's no such thing as fast service in the Caribbean particularly when you are in a hurry. The servers seem to move even slower. We nearly sprinted back to our room to get our stuff together and head out.

In some reading I'd done the night before we learned that there are lots of restaurants along Orient Bay so we wouldn't need to pack a lunch. We did throw some water bottles in my backpack along with sunscreen, hats and my camera. I stepped into the bathroom to put on my swimsuit under my shorts and saw Liz's bikinis spread on the edge of the tub including her thong.

"Hey, do you need one of these suits?" I asked.

"I've got it taken care of," she responded.

Maybe she had gotten a new one before the trip. I was looking forward to seeing it when we went to lunch.

For such a small island we had a heck of a time getting to the beach. Orient was just about on the other side of the island from where we were staying. There are only 2 lane roads and, on top of that, it was the morning commute. We thought it would be interesting to see the "town" area of Phillipsburg where most of the shopping is located on the Dutch side of the island. In retrospect we shouldn't have come that way unless it was our goal to stay and shop. Oh well, lesson learned. By the time we got to the turn off for Orient Bay it was nearly 10 o'clock.

I had scouted out the area on a map the night before and looked for a place to park off of Rue de la Baie Orientale. This was near the southeastern end of the beach and close to a naturist resort. We had learned in our crash course in nudism that this was a term preferred by those individuals who prefer to enjoy everyday life unclothed. We were fast becoming converts.

Once parked, we gathered up our things and headed toward the beach. Even though it was later than we had intended the beach was not too crowded. Walking out onto the sand we stopped to survey the area. To the left, the beach stretched out for at least a mile, curving gently against an incredible azure sea. There were scattered groups of beach umbrellas and loungers in clusters along the strand. To the right a resort of low, single story bungalows framed the waters edge with yellow umbrellas up and down the sand, not quite as densely populated as in the other direction. A large sign informed us that this was the famous Club Orient.

"So what do you think?" I asked. "Everything I read says the area to the right is where the nudist resort is located. That's probably our best bet."

"Then that's where I want to be."

Liz led the way and I almost had to jog to keep up with her. I mentioned earlier about seeing all the yellow umbrellas on the beach and as we got level with them I was obvious we'd come to the right place. There weren't too many spots that were occupied but the people that were there were all naked. And from the looks of the dark tans had been for quite some time.

"I'm not sure we can take an umbrella and chair if we're not guests," said Liz.

"Let's go down to the building down there," I said, pointing further along the beach. "It looks like a water sports desk and maybe we can see if they rent them."

The sign said Dolphin Watersports and as we stepped up to the counter a young man stood up to greet us.

"Can I help you?" he asked with a hint of a french accent.

I explained that we wanted to see about renting chairs and an umbrella for the day. He smiled as he spoke.

"No problem," he responded. "You do know where you are right?"

My wife smiled back.

"That's why we're here."

He turned to grab some paper work and at the same time, Liz set down her tote bag and in one fluid motion pulled the cover up she had been wearing over her head and stuffed it into the bag. She wore exactly what she had on when I saw her put it on in our room. Nothing.

The guy turned back around with the forms and a huge smile stretched across his face.

"Yes, it does look like you came prepared. It's usually $25 US per person per day but I'm going to give you my special rate of two for the price of one.

Liz retrieved her bag and set it on the counter at waist level to dig out the money. This guy works every day on a nude beach but I couldn't help but swell with pride as he stared at my naked wife. Handing us the receipt we were instructed to select any chair and umbrella that were unoccupied and to have a great day. Not a problem.

Liz led the way as we walked back up the beach.

"Do you want to stay toward the middle or go back up to the far end where there will be more gawkers?" I asked.

"I really want to relax, so lets just set up down here. Plus, it's closer to the bar if we want to get drinks."

She stopped in front of a spot closer to the water and set her bag down. I was out of my clothes in an instant. You couldn't have asked for a better beach day. The waves were quite calm with a gentle roll of water on the white sand. Looking out to the ocean we were met with 5 or 6 different shades of blue and green. Several low islands were visible at the edge of the bay and I could see several small boats cutting back and forth across the water headed to and from those islets.

Settling in we both were careful with the sunscreen. I was glad to have the umbrella since we'd be out here all day and a burn would ruin the rest of the week. The morning was spent reading, napping, occasional dips in the water to cool off and reapplying the lotion. I was glad Liz had selected a spot away from the end of the property. It seemed that there was constant activity near the Club Orient sign as ship tourists lined up to take pictures. If they were truly daring they would have joined us.

We had made a couple of brief strolls to the bar. It was part of the Papagayo restaurant, an open air café right on the beach. It was a bit odd the first time going up to the order window the first time and buying drinks while naked but after a few times I realized that it was the norm in this place.

"Hey babe, are you starting to get hungry?"

Liz's voice woke me from a light doze. My watch said 1:15 and my stomach told me that I was.

"Do you want to eat here or walk down the beach and check out some of the other restaurants?"

"I'm happy to eat in the Club Orient restaurant," she said. "That way we can just leave our stuff here and see it from there. Plus, I'm not ready to get dressed yet. Grab your towel and lets go."

We'd learned in our brief study of nudism that it is common courtesy to sit on your own towel whenever enjoying a clothes free place. I dug my money clip and camera out of our bag and, hand in hand, Liz and I headed to lunch. Even in the middle of the day the beach and restaurant weren't too busy and we were seated immediately.

Lunch was good even if a bit pricey. Liz had a burger while I enjoyed the Mahi-Mahi sandwich. I must have drunk a gallon of ice tea to combat the heat of the beach. It was obvious that for the most part, the people eating at this place had decided that nudity was no big deal. You couldn't tell what socioeconomic group that someone might belong to based on the kind of clothes they wore or the name brand shoes. The lack of clothing made everyone fairly equal.

Full from a delicious lunch we made our way back to our spot on the beach. While we were gone another couple had taken up a position at the umbrella and loungers next to us. They were considerably older than us, looking to be close to my parents age, and judging from the tanned skin had been practicing nudists much longer than us.

"I hope you don't mind us getting so personal?" the older woman said. "We were running errands this morning and only just got things moving to get out here."

They introduced themselves as Helen and John. As we'd guessed, they were frequent flyers here at Club Orient with this trip their 20th year. Turns out they were from Greenville, North Carolina, not too far from our home in Wilmington and the same place Liz and I had gone to college. They were both on faculty at the university but in departments different from where Liz and I majored. That might have been a little weird, running into a former professor.

The afternoon was most pleasant as we spent the remainder of the day visiting with our new friends. Reading, cooling off in the water and refilling our drinks were the order of the afternoon. We could see a lot of activity on the beach past the Club Orient sign and I asked Helen about this.

"It's a popular stop on the cruise ship tours," she answered. "The tour busses stop and they all get out to run down to the sign and snap a few pictures. It's getting past 3 o'clock now so they should be done soon since they all have to be back at the downtown docks for their departure. That's why John and I always wait until 3:30 to take our walk. Do you guys want to join us?"

"Where are you walking to?" Liz asked.

John spoke. "We usually walk the entire length of the beach, all the way down to the Mount Vernon hotel." He waved his hand toward the distant complex down the beach and across the bay.

Liz spoke right up.

"I'm game. I really need to stretch my legs. Will our stuff be safe out here on the beach?"

"Why don't you bring it back to our bungalow. It will be safe there and you won't have to carry anything with you on the walk."

After packing our stuff back up into our bags, our new friends led us the short way to their cabin. It was a pretty little one-bedroom cottage that faced the beach. Everything you might want in a beach cottage with the best part being the incredible view.

"Do I need my cover up?" asked Liz.

Helen smiled. "You're welcome to bring it but John and I have been doing this walk for years and haven't needed one in that entire time. That said, there will be some places where we may be the only ones fully nude."

"Well," she answered, "there's safety in numbers!"

The four of us set out on our stroll.

Now that it was approaching 4 o'clock in the afternoon the beach was much less crowded. Still, the beach was by no means empty. A few other people were out walking along the sand in front of Club Orient but as we stepped past the imaginary line at the edge of the property I couldn't help but feel a kind of nervousness in my stomach.

It was more of a leisurely stroll as the four of us meandered along the water's edge. We got a few stares in some places, more from other adults than from the few kids that were playing in the sand. Many of the women we passed were topless and there were a number of thong bikinis as well but we and another couple a couple of hundred feet ahead of us were the only nude walkers.

In truth it was kind of fun. Clearly, most people here gave it minimal notice. No outrageous indignation. No yelling and screaming. I could tell that there were a number of beach goers trying to secretly hide their cameras as we went by but I convinced myself that the sunglasses and hat made me anonymous.

We passed a number of beach bars as we made our way to the Mount Vernon. It seemed that the late afternoon would pull the beach crowd into these shady spots and the daylong drinking made for loud conversation and music.

It took nearly 45 minutes for us to reach the Mount Vernon. Time to turn back. We hadn't gone too far when we passed a beach bar called the Waikiki. Done up in a tropical theme, loud music poured out onto the sand. A young guy was pulling down umbrellas and folding up chairs but a few were still occupied by late afternoon sun worshipers. We were nearly past when I heard someone calling our names.

"Liz? Jack? Is that you? It was a woman's voice.

Crap! Is this a joke? We're supposed to be completely anonymous in a place where we don't know anyone and no one knows us. And we're completely naked. Not even a towel to drape.

My head rocketed to the right to see where the voice had come from.

It was Megan. A woman Liz worked with back home. She'd known her for a couple of years. In fact Liz and I had been out to dinner with her and other co-workers several times.

I was quick to notice that she was topless as was the young woman sitting beside her. I wasn't sure what the protocol was when recognized by a coworker while walking nude on the beach so we stopped and I gave a tentative wave.

Megan and her friend got up and walked down to us. She introduced her friend as Sharon. Megan gave Liz and then me a nice hug. I started to worry a bit that I might have an embarrassing response to her embrace.

"I thought I recognized you guys when you walked by earlier but I wasn't sure until I saw you come back. I told Sharon that you looked like someone I knew. We had wondered what we'd do if someone we knew saw us here laying out topless but when we saw you guys had gone all the way we figured 'what the hell'".

We introduced John and Helen who then said they were headed back to their bungalow and we could just come back there to pick up our stuff.

The women were staying at the Esmeralda Hotel just down the beach. They said they would join us as we walked and head back to their hotel.

Have you ever had that dream where your walking down the sidewalk naked and everyone else is dressed? Here I was living it out. Well, not exactly. I wasn't the only one nude and most people on the beach were in swimwear so there was a lot of skin exposed anyway. I'll also tell you that, as a naked man, when you are walking with attractive naked and topless women you are pretty much invisible.

Stopping at Megan's hotel we discussed plans for the next day. Our friends wanted to get together with us for a beach day. They wanted to see another part of the island so we agreed to meet them at their hotel in the morning and we'd drive to Happy Beach for the morning, eat lunch in Marigot and then find a different beach in the afternoon.

We hugged again (a very nice way to say goodbye to our topless friends) and headed back to Club Orient to retrieve our things from John and Helen's place.

"You know," said Liz. "I never in my life imagined that I'd be so comfortable walking down the beach in front of all these people completely naked. But I'll tell you, its made me so freaking hot I'm not sure I'll be able to get back to our hotel before I have to jump you."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the water with a mischievous grin on her face. I think I was about to enjoy a bit of water play...