The Idiot, who was sent to Tunisia by an Egyptian oracle to belatedly conquer Carthage on behalf of Alexander the Great, didn’t immediately visit the historic maritime trading center on the Mediterranean Sea founded by the Phoenicians around 800 BC.

Instead of investigating the mystery and mystique of Carthage, The Idiot, who visited Tunisia a dozen times as a working journalist between 1997-2003, reacquainted himself with the country’s beaches and people.

His first basecamp was in well-known Sidi Bou Said, the cliffside blue-and-white town about twenty kilometers from the capital Tunis and just a few kilometers north of Carthage.

A view from Sidi Bou Said south towards Carthage.

A sea level view of the Mediterranean in Sidi Bou Said.

A typical street in Sidi Bou Said.

EVERY building in the hilltop village of Sidi Bou Said is blue and white.

The Idiot got into MedTrek mode by walking, often barefoot, on the beaches north and south of Sidi Bou Said to run into working fishermen, eat fish dinners, observe striking camels and sunbathing flamingoes, pass dilapidated resorts, explore new hotels, stroll on wild and urban beaches, and admire sophisticated sunbathers.

Mediterranean seaside fishermen north of Sidi Bou Said.

Mediterranean fish and vegetables are frequently The Idiot’s main daily meal while MedTrekking.

A Mediterranean seaside camel on strike north of Sidi Bou Said.

Flamingoes enjoying a salt marsh south of Sidi Bou Said.

A no-longer-functioning bath house on the El Marsa beach north of Sidi Bou Said.

A new Four Seasons hotel will open in Gammarth north of Sidi Bou Said later this year.

A promised resort for the future north of Sidi Bou Said.

The Idiot’s walk on the Mediterranean Sea in Tunisia took him along both wild and tame beaches.

A rural Mediterranean beach north of Sidi Bou Said.

Tunisians swimming south of Sidi Bou Said.

Sunbathers at a chic hotel south of Sidi Bou Said.

An empty table after lunch south of Sidi Bou Said.

After-lunch siesta on a beach south of Sidi Bou Said.

There was, as always, one slight problem during the first days of The Idiot’s MedTrek in Tunisia: he felt compelled to take a break and get $1 daily shaves each afternoon.

Getting the first daily shave of his Tunisia MedTrek outing.

Getting the third daily shave of his Tunisia MedTrek outing.

Next week: Will The Idiot become the Emperor of Carthage?

Will The Idiot rule Carthage?

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."