Last July, about a dozen of friends, my significant other and I went on a small weekend getaway in Cap Negro, a tiny, quasi-uninhabited town in the North of Tunisia. All I can say is that the two days that we spent there were magical and memorable. Here’s how it all went down:
28 July 2018
My S.O. and I wake up early in Tunis, the country’s capital, at around 6:00 am. It is a a hot summer Saturday morning, and I am more than thrilled to go visit the small gem that is (apparently) Cap Negro. It is not a touristic spot at all, and I am aware that the chances that I will have a portion of the Mediterranean sea to myself are pretty high! We hurry up, have a light breakfast, a ton of cups of coffee, we shower, and leave the house at about 7:30 am to go to the market to purchase the food that we need for our two-day trip (we’ll have to feed 15 people, so we must not forget anything, and there are a LOT of things to buy and bring!). At 9:00 am, we finish our errands, and we leave to meet the whole group of friends at one of their houses in the suburbs of Tunis; our starting point. Since most of us do not know the town of Cap Negro, nor the road and shortcuts to get there, we have decided that we will all follow each other on the road (we are four cars in total).
The short road trip goes quite well, with the scenery getting more beautiful with every minute passing, it is nothing short of exciting. My partner and I are alone in our car because we are transporting a lot of barbecue, hookah, and sailing material. We listen to music, our windows are down, the sun hits hard, but the wind feels amazing. For the first two hours, we see towns and mountains, an old Roman bridge, and numerous sheep and cows. But then, for the third hour of drive, the scenery changes drastically. Blue, everything turns blue. We are suddenly almost surrounded by the sea. We are driving on the coast, and the view is stunningly beautiful.
After a little over three hours, we finally arrive at our friends’ isolated beach house. There is NOT A SOUL around (except for us (and the birds) (and the fish))… It is even better than I had imagined it to be. We spend the afternoon tanning, cooking, chatting. Later, we head out to an ever more hidden spot. We walk across the mountains for almost an hour until we reach our ultimate destination; a small beach surrounded by rocks, and with water filled with sea urchins. We stay there for two hours; we drink beers, snorkel, fish, swim… Most of all, we assist to the most breathtaking sunset I have ever witnessed. I sit on a rock in a small parcel of the Mediterranean sea with the love of my life. I admire the multi-coloured sky, and think to myself: This world holds such beauty, how lucky are we! We should protect this Earth at all costs. It is too pure for human filth.
At night, we plant our tents to sleep under the starry sky watching over our deserted piece of land. We eat the urchins we have caught earlier, and then we all cook together our huge feast. Fresh seafood and fish, grilled vegetables, couscous, salads, pasta… we have everything! Later in the night, we put some lounge music on, smoke some hookah, drink, and laugh until the wee hours of the morning. We go to bed, knowing we won’t get much sleep, but we do not mind- it is so worth it.
29 July 2018
We all wake up at 6:30 am, after only 2 or 3 hours of sleep. The sun is already warm: it is going to be a HOT day. We eat breakfast and head out to another beach where we can paddle, swim, and explore the sea, (still alone!). In the afternoon, the boys leave to go fish, and I stay near the pool with the girls to perfect my tan, and my Arabic! At the end of the day, we all pack our stuff (including our precious fish), clean the house, and take the road. The weekend went by way too quickly, but my mind is impregnated with lovely images, and happy memories. The drive home goes smoothly, and we know, once we’re safe and sound, that we will sleep like babies, exhausted by the sun, the sea, the lack of sleep, but very glad that we took the time to discover and explore Cap Negro, a true Tunisian gem.
Bittersweet Travel Memories 