Colina
do Sol
Paradise Found! ~ By Barbara Anner
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Seven years
has passed since Colina do Sol opened its gates near the small rural city
of Taquara in Brazil’s beautiful, southern State of Rio Grande do Sul.
From the beginning Colina do Sol was an innovative enterprise evolving
from the idea to build a small Naturist community where people may live
and work without the compulsory need to wear clothing. The ideal was to
have people, and visitors, living in harmony, making use of their leisure,
and participating in Nude Recreation according to their personal desires.
Many doubted that the idea would
ever materialize. Who, on earth, let alone in Brazil, would take the initiative?
But, the doubters overlooked the idealists: Celso Rossi and Paula Andreazza.
This Naturist couple with a family that includes two well adjusted, elementary
aged Naturist children had already acquired many years of experience establishing
Naturist and Nude Recreation oriented clubs, resorts and beaches within
Brazil. They were instrumental in the start-up of Praia do Pinho (Beach
of the Pines) located in Brazil’s coastal State of Santa Catarina. “Condé
Nast Traveler”, the magazine made famous for telling the truth in travel,
lists Praia do Pinho, Brazil’s first Official Naturist Beach established
for Nude Recreation as one of the World’s Top-Ten Beaches. The prospect
of the Nude Beach signaled Brazil’s acceptance for Naturism and Nude Recreation,
and it became apparent that similar like-minded organizations would be
established. This required a guiding institution with an acceptable Code
of Conduct. This led Celso and Paula to pioneer the founding of the Federação
Brasileira de Naturismo (Federation of Brazilian Naturism), FBrN.
Today, the scenery of Colina do Sol
matches the vision for the terrestrial contribution that Celso and Paula
imagined. It is the paradise that they longed for. Together, they
built a crystalline lake with a waterfall, and a white sand beach that
serves as a hub for the more than one hundred permanent homes, summer vacation
cabins, necessary stores, parks and camping areas. With purpose, these
structures harmonize with the exuberant natural surroundings providing
opportunity for people to go about their shopping, dining and socializing
without concern for what clothing they wear.
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| Dois Amigos
is located in the Forest of Aracuãs. Aracuãs are beautiful
wild birds. |
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The instrument utilized to measure
the degree of paradise obtained by the establishment and progress of Colina
do Sol is the measure of the number of international Naturists with interests
in Nude Recreation that decide to leave their origins of birth behind in
exchange for establishing permanent homes for themselves, and their families
at Colina do Sol.
Retired US Naval Aviator and Fighter
Pilot, Fritz Louderback, from Southern California, USA was the first North
American to receive the Brazilian Retirement Visa permitting United States
Citizens the opportunity to live fulltime in Brazil. A mid-generation member
of three generations of Naturists, he became interested in visiting Brazil
through an advertisement that he read in “The Bulletin”, the official publication
of the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR). There he picked
up several copies of “Naturis” Brazil’s foremost Naturism and Nude Recreation
magazine. Reading articles in these magazines, he made up his mind to visit
Colina do Sol. “I fell in love immediately! Not only for the place, but,
as well for the people. I knew instantly that I would return to Colina
do Sol to live the rest of my life!”
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His friend, companion,
and associate Barbara Anner, past President of Olive Dell Ranch in Colton,
California, USA, and a retired member of the Board of Directors of the
Western United States Region of the American Association for Nude Recreation,
known familiarly as “AANR West”, also a Permanent Visa holder is of the
same opinion: “I adore Colina do Sol and the people. This is the first
place where I saw Fritz relax from his professional life as an aerospace
consultant. This along with Colina’s many amenities and the availability
of the same level of furnishings and technology found in my home in Southern
California make me feel extremely comfortable. In no time at all,
we have made new friends. Colina’s natives began to learn and speak English,
and I, at a rather slower pace am learning Portuguese. We joke that we
speak a new language, Por-English. I am happy that I have returned
and plan to live here for the rest of life.”
After buying a house, Fritz invited
his Uncle Barney, a former resident of Deanza Springs Resort in Jacumba,
California, USA to come for a visit. “I planned for my vacation to last
two weeks, but I liked Colina so much that I stayed for the duration of
my tourist Visa, six months!” Before returning to the United States to
acquire a Retired Visa permitting permanent residency in Brazil, Barney
contracted for the construction of a home. Here he plans to live the rest
of his life. Why? Barney says: “This is the best place on Earth for an
86 year-old Naturist on a fixed retirement income to live. Inexpensive
housing, my brand new house with a million dollar view that brings to mind
visions of Yosemite Park, cost me about fourteen thousand US Dollars, comprehensive
medical and pharmaceutical insurance where I choose my own doctors cost
about US$50.00 per month. I gave up drinking alcohol years ago, but it
is comforting to see that a six-pack of Budweiser cost less than two US
dollars! Last time that I went to the bank I received $2.76 of Brazilian
money for one US Dollar. The exchange rate really favors living here. Add
all my new friends to the sum of the equation, and now you see why I love
Colina do Sol!” |
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Recently, Fritz’s son, Luke Louderback
(32), a Hollywood, California cinema editor visited Colina do Sol. “I love
it! It is truly multi-generational in all aspects. Everyone from small
children, teens, people my age, and the older generation get along really
well. I plan on returning to Hollywood, cleaning up my business obligations,
obtaining a Work Visa and returning here. My research shows that abundant
business, omercial, and investment opportunities abound! What I make
for a monthly car payment alone in Hollywood, will pay all my living expenses
at Colina do Sol. So, goodbye HOLLYWOOD, goodbye BMW, HELLO COLINA!”
Other North Americans that decided
not only to move to Colina do Sol, but as well, to invest in the company
that is building Colina’s new Naturist Hotel, OCARA Hotéis e Restaurantes
S/A are Bonnie and Wayne Harbour. Wayne was the founder of Nirvana Sun
Resort in Tabor City, North Carolina, USA. According to Wayne: “My first
day at Colina do Sol was as a fairy tale. I found so many nice, beautiful,
and friendly people, that I believed that they had arranged something special
just to impress me. With the passing of the week’s visit, I noticed that
the people of Colina were legitimate; saw the Sun as healthy, and wanting
to become friends. I was so impressed with everything that before departing,
I arranged for the construction of a house and I went back to the USA to
make my sweetheart my wife, and to make plans to return to Colina for a
life of what impresses me the most, people living together, day by day,
in harmony!”
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| Bonnie Harbour, a retired
nurse, a longtime Naturist and participant in nude recreation, could not
find a more perfect location to retire. Bonnie adds: “My grandchildren’s
visits will make everything ideal”. As a new bride, she could not be happier
building, alongside Wayne, a beautiful new home with a million-dollar-view,
and architectural lines reminiscent to the Southern Hemisphere’s coastal
pousadas (small inns).
Van and Diane Berry from North Carolina,
USA, read about Colina do Sol in the American Association for Nude Recreation’s
publication “The Bulletin”. They read about naturist resorts in other countries
and planned to visit them, but there was something different about Colina
do Sol. “We had never visited Brazil and we knew very little about
it. We bought some videos about Colina do Sol, became curious about
it and decided that this was a trip we had to take. We spent 20 days in
November 2000 at Colina and at the end of our trip we knew why Colina was
different. The mountains and countryside are beautiful. It is a true
Naturist Community with the most wonderful, easy-going people. We
were shown true Southern hospitality. Everyone was sincerely kind
and very friendly. They were very tolerant of two strangers who could
not speak their language. We made a lot of friends and we knew one
trip was not going to be enough, we had to come back…we just had to.
We started to make plans to go back
a week after we got home. The urge was that strong. Not only
did we find a wonderful family naturist community, we had also found a
new country, new language, new customs, new food and warm friendly people.
We went back to Colina in February
during Carnival Time and it was a blast. This trip was better than
the first. We learned a lot more during this trip and we decided
that Colina do Sol is where we want to retire. To an American, the
living expenses are very low without sacrificing any of the necessities
and comforts of home. The cost of building a house in Colina is very
reasonable and you can’t beat the weather and the views. Colina had
become a part of us and we wanted to become a part of Colina. The
people of Colina invited us to do just that. We have built a small
casa on Friendship Street with a million dollar view of the valley below.
Our lives have been forever changed. We now have a home in paradise.
It will be a vacation home for others and us until we retire. It
will then become our permanent home. |
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If you are a Naturist or just becoming
interested in the lifestyle, Colina do Sol is a Family Naturist Community
you must experience…And don’t leave your children at home. Colina
is a wonderful, safe environment and the experience is something they will
never forget. At Colina, It is the kind of person that you are that
counts and not what you look like. The Naturists of Colina are from
many parts of the world. They are all very open, honest and eager to get
to know you. Age, race, color or nationality does not matter.
You and your family have a lot of friends in Colina. You just haven’t
met them!”
A French resident of Colina, Raymond
Ruffin says: “Those that love to be in complete contact with nature, come
to Colina do Sol to recharge their batteries!” Does each person have
their own, special reason to find their terrestrial paradise? Can this
be why Argentinean Pablo Lauscher moved to Colina? Pablo says that: “it
is simple – friends, nature, sports, and nude recreation all in one place”;
or as my North American friend, Barney, says: When you live month to month
on a Social Security check where else can you afford heaven on Earth?
If you are in touch with Naturism
and Nude Recreation, if you are looking for a pleasant intercultural experience
in the presence of people that love being with North Americans, if you
are planning an affordable vacation, please consider Colina do sol.
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| If you would like assistance
from English speaking residents of Colina, please feel free to contact
Dois Amigos (more than one friend) Bed and Breakfast at Colina do Sol.
Our telephone number in Brazil is: 55 51 501-1515 Extension: 219. Not at
home, or at the beach: try our cellular telephone: 55-51-912-8096. Dois
Amigos is a not-for-profit Bed and Breakfast established especially to
assist English-speaking guests to feel at home and to ease into Brazilian
life, Brazilian Family Naturism, and Brazilian Nude Recreation. See us
on the Web at: www.DoisAmigosBandB.com
or E-mail us: DoisAmigosBandB@aol.com |
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| About the author: Barbara Anner
is a great grandmother, retired after serving the Pacific Bell Telephone
Company in California, USA for over 30 years. Barbara decided to find some
adventure and Escape From America sometime after her husband’s early death
to cancer. She needed a new start on life and she found it all, adventure
and the new start at the Colina do Sol Naturist Community in the state
of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She invites you to contact her at DoisAmigosBandB@aol.com |
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