Hiking - Part 91

Reykjadalur Valley, Iceland 

Today's hike is the Reykjadalur valley in southern Iceland.  The trailhead is less than a one-hour drive from Iceland's capital, Reykjavik.

Reykjadalur means "smoke valley" in Icelandic, but that's actually steam, not smoke, from volcanic vents.

It's best to bundle up on this hike, not hike naked.  The trail is open year-round, but it's Iceland, after all, which is as far north as central Alaska.  Above, the trail begins with a bridge across a small river that flows through the valley.

The trail gradually ascends.  It can be muddy and slippery if the weather is bad.  But it has beautiful scenic views, including a waterfall off to the side.

And in a little under two miles, you reach this bathing area.  The river is fed by boiling volcanic hot springs and glacial meltwater, resulting in warm-to-hot water.

There are no changing rooms to change into your swimsuit, just this X-shaped screen, which blocks the view from two sides while you moon the other visitors.

But some people want to enjoy the warm water without a swimsuit.  They find less crowded places upstream or downstream.  The farther upstream, the hotter the water gets.  The farther downstream, the cooler it gets, so somewhere is bound to be just right.

Another visitor to the valley who wants to enjoy the warm water au naturel.

And so he does.

Poem of the Day - Part 91

A Song for Kilts

This is a poem by Robert Service (1874-1958), a Canadian poet of Scottish descent, on a traditional Scottish subject.  And speaking of tradition, you know it's traditional not to wear underwear under a kilt.

How grand the human race would be

    If every man would wear a kilt,

A flirt of Tartan finery,

    Instead of trousers, custom built!

Nay, do not think I speak to joke:

    (You know I'm not that kind of man),

I am convinced that all men folk.

    Should wear the costume of a Clan.

Imagine how it's braw and clean

    As in the wind it flutters free;

And so conducive to hygiene

    In its sublime simplicity.

No fool fly-buttons to adjust,—

    Wi' shanks and maybe buttocks bare;

Oh chiels, just take my word on trust,

    A bonny kilt's the only wear.

'Twill save a lot of siller too,

    (And here a canny Scotsman speaks),

For one good kilt will wear you through

    A half-a-dozen pairs of breeks.

And how it's healthy in the breeze!

    And how it swings with saucy tilt!

How lassies love athletic knees

    Below the waggle of a kilt!

True, I just wear one in my mind,

    Since sent to school by Celtic aunts,

When girls would flip it up behind,

    Until I begged for lowland pants.

But now none dare do that to me,

    And so I sing with lyric lilt,—

How happier the world would be

    If every male would wear a kilt!

Artists - Part 93

Marina Abramovic

Marina Abramovic is a Serbian performance artist.  She was born in Belgrade in 1946.  In 1976 she moved to Amsterdam and met West German performance artist Uwe Laysiepen who went by the name Ulay.  They began living and performing together.

Above, Relation in Space, 1977, in which the naked Marina and Ulay repeatedly pass, touching each other, and finally collide.  Is it art?  According to them, it is.

Another 1977 performance piece called Balance Proof.  Naked Marina and Ulay stand on opposite sides of a mirror.  Each cannot see the other; they can only see themself in the mirror.

A performance piece that generated a lot of publicity was Imponderabilia, performed at the Museum of Modern Art in Bologna, Italy.  Marina and Ulay stood naked in a narrow entrance to the museum, so people going in or out had to squeeze through between them.  According to Marina, the point of the piece was to see whether the person would face the man or the woman as they squeezed through.  Above, a woman's body is facing Ulay as she squeezes through.

But most people faced Marina, as it turned out, including two police officers who arrived to shut down the performance after ninety minutes (above).

Imponderabilia has been re-staged since then, using different performers.  Above, the male performer at an art gallery in Basel, Switzerland in 2012.

Luminosity was a 1997 piece in which Marina sat naked on a bicycle seat attached up on a wall with arms extended and illuminated by a spotlight, enduring discomfort for an extended period.  Above is a recreation of Luminosity by another performer in 2024.  So, even though Marina Abramovic is 79 years old, her performance art lives on.

Beach Bums - Part 88

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is a beautiful and heavily used beach next to Sydney, Australia.  Above, an aerial view.  It is not a nude beach.

However, for a few years in the late 1990s, a nude surfing contest was held there, attracting thousands of spectators.  Above, one of the surfers in 1999.

Here's a video of part of the nude surfing contest in 1999.

Unfortunately, the local council banned nude surfing at Bondi after 1999.

Then in 2022, another nude event happened at Bondi.  Photographer Spencer Tunick planned a mass nude photo shoot there to raise awareness about skin cancer.  The local council declared Bondi Beach an official nude beach just for one day for the photo shoot.

Tunick got over 2000 people to pose nude for the photoshoot, representing the number of Australians who die of skin cancer every year.

These photos are not by Spencer Tunick.  They were taken by other photographers who took advantage of the event to capture their own images, such as the rear view above ...

this side view ...

and this front view.

Gods, Myths and Heroes - Part 85

 Poseidon/Neptune

The Greek god Poseidon, known as Neptune to the Romans, was the god of the sea.  Above, this statue in Athens may be Zeus, the king of the gods, or it may be Poseidon, who was often depicted holding a trident aloft. 

A third century Roman mosaic of Neptune.  Poseidon/Neptune was not only the god of the sea, he was the god of horses, often depicted driving a chariot, and he was also the god of earthquakes.

A fourth century Roman mosaic showing Neptune and his wife Amphitrite.  Again, he is driving a chariot.

In Greek mythology, Poseidon took Pelops, a king in southern Greece who initiated the ancient Olympic Games, as a lover.  This 2012 painting Pelops and Poseidon by Carlos Barahona shows Poseidon, at left, getting it up for Pelops, while the octopus and fish suggest that somehow they're underwater.

A more conventional representation is the Neptune Fountain in Bologna by Giambologna, 1567, showing Neptune with his trident.

And here's the Poseidon Statue in Gothenburg, Sweden by Carl Milles, 1931.

Neptune is celebrated to this day.  Neptune Day is an annual festival in Koktebel, Ukraine, in the Crimean peninsula.  It's a naturist festival held on a nude beach, and we see Neptune with his trident, above, in 2015.  The Crimean peninsula has been occupied by Russia since 2014, but the nude festival has continued.

World Naked Bike Ride - Part 94

 Mexico City 2026

This year's World Naked Bike Ride in Mexico City took place on August 1, 2026.  Riders gathered by the Monumento a la Revolucion.  It's the tallest memorial arch in the world, 220 feet high.  Of course, Donald Trump's proposed Arc de Trump in Washington DC would be bigger, a 250-foot high monstrosity.

Some riders posing at the gathering place.

Then they get ready to head out.

The ride's motto was "Naked in the face of traffic – now do you see me?"  This reflects one of the WNBR goals, to try to get motorists to pay more attention to bicyclists for safety.

Riding through the streets.  I did not see any riders carrying banners or signs promoting the WNBR goals of (1) bicycle safety and (2) encouraging people to ride bikes rather than drive cars, because cars cause pollution.

Continuing through the streets.  I also noticed that, unlike WNBRs in some other cities, there were very few female riders.  These Mexican riders were almost all male.

The route went by the Monumento a la Independencia, known as El Angel for the angel statue atop it.

A closer view of the rider on the steps of El Angel.

Riding in the WNBR is one way to show off tattoos.  One on his chest says "You will be the love of my life forever sweet" surrounding a cupcake.

Not many riders got painted.  This guy definitely wants to attract attention.

And the naked ride continued to the end.