The Parting With Virginity: If you'd like to go naked, go to Spain's beaches

Spain has the reputation of being conservative. It has a centuries-old Catholic tradition. For most of Spain's recent history, the country's economy lagged behind that of northern European nations. And for decades, Spain was run by right-wing dictator Francisco Franco. That was then. This is now. At least as far as nude beaches are concerned, Spain has a large number of nude beaches in the Atlantic Ocean and along the Mediterranean Sea. Barcelona, in the north Mediterranean, is one of the best and most urban beaches. We'll deal with those later. Then there is the Grand Canaria, a Spanish territory in the Atlantic. Wow! And Cadiz, located in southwestern Spain, facing the bay along the Atlantic. And on and on. I ran across a cache of photos from the nude beaches of Spain, and I'd like to share them with you. Enjoy--and start planning your vacation!

One caveat: I've never been to Spain, and can't speak Spanish. If I've screwed something up, my apologies.

We'll begin our tour at Cadiz, with about a dozen nude or clothing-optional beaches.

Playa Faro de Trafalgar; photo by Sarezale@Flickr

Next we'll turn to Los Caños de Meca, which faces south on the Atlantic near Cadiz. These seemingly endless stretch of sand tapers into clean, clear water. The beach is popular with windsurfers and campers, but travel to the end of the beach and you'll find folks who have doffed their swimsuits.

Los Caños de Meca, 2012; photo by Sarezale@Flickr

Mallorca in the Mediterranean has about 17 beaches where clothing is optional. You can find the list, along with the others, at gospain.about.com/od/nudisminspain/qt/barcelona.htm

Es Trenc, 2011; photo by Sarezale@Flickr

We now turn to Gran Canaria, part of the Canary Islands located off the coast of Spain in the Atlantic Ocean. About 15 beaches in the Canaries are clothing optional, including Maspalomas, on the south of Gran Canaria.