Half-Nekkid Thursday

Sunset over the Dnipro River

Заход солнца над рекой

I took this photo back in October during a trip to Ukraine. The Dnipro River, which is the third longest in Europe, runs through Kiev, where its course is interrupted by a group of small islands where there are amusement parks, family campgrounds, boathouses, and sandy beaches. The islands create a series of inner channels which provide a setting for recreational boating and other watersports. Kievans will swim in the Dnipro, even though it serves as a major shipping lane, linking central Russia and Poland (by means of the Dnipro-Bug Canal) with the Black Sea.

The banks of the Dnipro have traditionally been one of Kiev’s main cruising grounds, and the more isolated beaches are popular with naturists of all varieties (both gay and straight). Because it was October, Joe and I didn’t see much cruising—a few older (and probably married) men with furtive expressions meandering along the wooded trails and one or two small clusters of speedo-clad regulars at the water’s edge. There were also a handful of straight couples.

Had I gone swimming, I would surely have gone skinnydipping; however, since I decided not to swim (not being sure how clean the water is), I kept my boxers on.

Maybe next time.

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