The eighteenth edition of the Brazilian Naturist Congress took place in the city of Guarapari, state of Espírito Santo, at Riacho das Pedras ranch, a beautiful property, very well-kept and structured. This has been the welcoming site that caught the eyes of those who arrived to take part in the event on Friday, March 3rd, at 5 p.m. This day was just the moment for registration, to get to know the suites and the roommates who would share them with us. The FBrN board has warmly welcomed every congressperson who arrived. Every bedroom was equipped with air conditioning, a private bathroom and four beds, three single ones and a double. The one hundred and five people who participated in CongreNAT have been spread throughout the dozens of available suites, all of them with a view to the property interior and its several attractions: lakes with huge fish, swimming pools, a sauna, a river, sports courts, a bar, lounge and field.
In this first evening we only had the first dinner arranged, self-served, really abundant when it comes to amount and variety, including vegetarian options. Each congressperson who got to the site had been identified, signed the attendance list, answered if their image could or not be published in the press and social media and received a wrist tag, besides the participation kit, which contained a small fabric backpack, a little handcrafted ragturtle, a notepad, and a water flask.
Lots of chatting, hugs and kisses ended the first night.
The next morning has gracefully arisen, with all the ranch area lit by a bright sun. The previous night had been easy to get through to because everyone had been lulled by the constant sounds of the stream that crossed the rocks and cuts in half all the extension of the ranch. Breakfast was the first activity booked, starting punctually at 7 a.m. as predicted. At 9.30 there was the official opening, with a short delay. It started with the presentation of the current board and a posthumous tribute to the naturists that had passed away in 2022 and 2023, mentioning each of their names. Following that, it has been highlighted the presence of Pedro Ribeiro as one of the oldest Brazilian naturists there. It has also been mentioned the reopening of the bill about Brazilian naturism in the Senate by senator Veneziano, from Paraíba state, upon request by federal deputy Laura Carneiro, from Rio de Janeiro, author of the project.
Shortly after, the first playful activity was a yoga class by the instructor Ana Todd. Students loved it,
but found the exercises tougher than the ones traditionally happening at other naturist events. After enjoying the pool and strolls along several landscapes, it was lunchtime, which kept the tradition of abundance and variety.
In the afternoon there was time for the debates regarding the motions that had been sent by associates and affiliated entities. The motions aim to modify, add, or extinguish norms laid down in the federation statute. Everyone who attends the event are allowed to take part in the debates, even though only the directors of the affiliated institutions who have their statutory and federative obligations fulfilled may vote for or against each motion. However, each director has a larger or smaller importance when counting the votes depending on the number of associates who buy international stamps from their institution.Voting also includes each member of the Ethics Committee and GrandCouncil, a
s well as the FBrN president and vice-president.
All registered motions have been presented, debated and voted within predicted time for it. Upon conclusion of this work, it has been raffled among the people present at the assembly a copy of the book “Luz del Fuego”, by Javier Montes, kindly offered by Pedro Ribeiro, with an inscription by the author for the “lucky naturist”. It was surprisingly Paula Silveira, the FBrN president, who took the book home, but not without the whoop of the audience who playfully screamed “that’s rigged!”
At around 6 p.m. a wonderful musical attraction started, with a singer who cheered the crowd up. It could be said that Anfrísio Lima is a true showman, singing and playing his guitar followed by electronic music that he himself handled. The repertoire has entirely pleased everyone, transforming the lounge into a true nightclub. The concert has been briefly interrupted for dinner and has returned with the same energy. It has ended under protests of people dancing and listening to the music, who wanted more. In the end, the professional naturist singer Eliane Timm, who also took part in the congress with her husband and son, gave a sneak peek with two songs from her repertoire. Anfrísio has had his first naturist experience in this occasion and wasn’t intimidated. He also took off his clothes and presented all his musical performance in a naturist way.
But the party wasn’t over, as electronic music started playing at the bar lounge, led by a discjockey (is it still called like that nowadays?) hired by the staff of the event, with a dancing and varied repertoire, and it kept going till late at night.
Sunday was another beautiful day. After breakfast, there were the official photographs of the event taken, as well as the unofficial photos of the groups who attended. At 10 a.m. a meeting started in order to vote for the candidates for the elective positions at the Brazilian Naturism Federation. The voting took place using ballots where there were the names of all the candidates. There was only one electoral plate running for the positions of president, vice-president and financial director. For the positions of members of the Ethics Committee, there were six candidates for the three official positions and three alternates.
Within the main plate, elected unanimously, there was only the change in the name of the vice-president as opposed to the group who manages the federation currently. Leaving the position, Augusto Mena, from PLANAT (Brasília), makes room for José Aragão, from ANACE (Ceará). Maintaining their positions, the president Paula Silveira, from SPNat (São Paulo) and the financial director Celso di Genaro, also from SPNat (São Paulo) were elected as well. The three top voted candidates assume as official members of the new Ethics Committee: Roselaine Pessoa, from Sonata (Paraíba), Evandro Cruz, from ANACE (Ceará) and Francisco Lanfredi, from SPNat (São Paulo).
After the elections, which happened calmly and soon had the official results released, the instructor Ana Todd gathered another group of students for her yoga class. The sun invited everyone to spend some time before lunch at both pools. It was the time to exchange contact information and chat a lot.
After the last lunch, there was the farewell of most participants of a wonderful weekend at an unforgettable, heavenly place. Everyone had to leave the ranch, but that wasn’t the last attraction at the XVIII CongreNAT. The following day would present the long-awaited naturist boat ride for Guarapari sea.
From Sunday night to Monday morning, each congressperson found their own ways. Those who remained around searched for their own lodging possibilities in the city of Guarapari, since at nine-thirty started the much-desired sailing.
The excitement was huge and so was the anxiety. Most participants had never had the experience of sailing fully nude,and many hadn’t even had the simple chance to sail at all.
The crew welcomed the 42 privileged congresspeople who could, on a Monday, enjoy such an adventure. They explained when to use safety items and also, very humorously and friendly, when it would be possible to finally take our clothes off. The captain was a man in his eighties, who claimed to be experienced and able to continue doing what he has always done throughout his life: to conduct a vessel.
Nonetheless, there was a problem. After around thirty minutes sailing, the experienced captain felt unease, which has made him go through tough times around the rest of the crew. A naturist doctor aboard has given him first aid. But there was no other solution than to return to where we left off so that the captain could be assisted properly.
The senior captain has been replaced by a younger one at the main pier and the ride restarted. But that delay has made a few naturists quit. Because of this delay, many were afraid of missing their flights back home.
From then on, the ride proceeded without further setback. Right in front of Morro Beach near a high-standard condo, the naturists could finally take off their clothes and enjoy diving into the turquoise waters of Guarapari sea. Some naturists have also felt seasick due to the waves, which weren’t that strong. Lots of music, photos and juggling of some members of the crew to reach the best angle for the group. Those who weren’t brave enough to dive into deep-sea took refreshing hose showers at the prow, either with fresh or sea water.
We remained naturists upon returning to the arrival dock, even close to the destination spot. And with that, the XVIII CongreNAT has ended. But not for everyone, as many of the people left could catch their breath to excitedly continue to the naturist beach of Barra Seca, 250 kilometres north in the state of Espírito Santo.
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