Naturists Abound!

We move onto the island of Murtar and discover a beautiful bay surrounded by a camping ground. There is plenty of room to anchor on sand, so the holding is very good. The water is crystal clear and very inviting and as it has been a very hot day, it is not long before we are off the boat for a cooling swim. Not long after, it is time for sundowners and as we enjoy the setting sun we peruse our surroundings onshore. The camp ground surrounds the bay and there are many people swimming and sun baking catching those last rays of sunshine. It slowly dawns on us that many of the campers are not wearing much at all, in fact many are totally naked and obviously quite comfortable with themselves as they wander freely around the grounds. With a quick binocular check it doesn't take long to figure out that it is a nudist holiday camp! We are amazed and perhaps a little envious at how comfortable people are of all ages, with walking around in their own skin, regardless of body shape! It seems the teenagers are the ones that wear their bathers and cover up more than the oldies. Very entertaining but not always a good look!
There is not much available at the camp ground in the way of provisioning except that each morning a little truck drives through the camp ground tooting its horn, selling bread, cakes etc from the back of its van which is very convenient. We decide to spend a few days here and are able to get our bikes ashore and cycle over into the main town via a promenade that edges a northern bay. The main town has supermarkets, bakeries and a butcher- all that we need. We enjoy a coffee and chat with the owner, a local of twenty years, who tells us that during the war people from Germany etc still came and holidayed on the island even though the fighting was only 15kms away. Apparently many Croatians are disillusioned with the present government: wages are low, but living costs are high. Their tourism industry is flourishing but one wonders where all the money is going, as we have found marina and mooring buoy charges to be exorbitant.
Di enjoys a birthday while we are still here and as there are no restaurants close by, we celebrate on board with fresh octopus and a bottle of champers to mark the occasion.