The Idiot is spending a week hiking on the Atlantic Ocean to prepare for the September 13 launch of his MedTrek down the coasts of the Lebanon and Israel. To his amazement, he noticed a number of striking similarities between the Mediterranean seaside and the Massachusetts oceanside.

This view of the Atlantic from the medieval-style Hammond Castle in Gloucester, MA, for example, is similar to Mediterranean vistas from cliff-top villas in France and Italy.

A serene look at the Atlantic Ocean from the garden of the Gothic-inspired Hammond Castle built on a rocky cliff in the Magnolia section of Gloucester between 1926-1929.

Some coastal rock formations reminded The Idiot, to his surprise, of parts of Spain’s Costa Brava and Turkey’s rugged coast.

The Idiot indulged in rock trekking during his Atlantic Ocean workout.

A sculpture in a private garden near Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA, was a refreshing Mediterranean-like sight.

A calming sculpture reminded The Idiot of seaside gardens in Italy, France and Spain.

This romantic couple embracing for a selfie can also be found on many Mediterranean beaches.

A couple spends time working on their pose for a selfie on Crane Beach near Ipswich, MA.

And the water temperature in an Atlantic Ocean tidal creek was as warm as the Mediterranean Sea.

The Idiot took as many dips in the Atlantic in August as he did in the Mediterranean while MedTrekking around Cyprus earlier this summer. (Photo: Nanny Almquist)

Naturally there are differences between Massachusetts and the Mediterranean.

It’s de rigueur to dress spiffier and look a bit more preppy on the eastern seaboard than in Turkey or Lebanon.

The Idiot’s Atlantic hiking attire includes a pin-striped shirt, pressed white shorts and a fashionable cap from Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada, where Franklin Delano Roosevelt vacationed. (Photo: Liz Chapin)

There are definitely fewer topless bathers on Massachusetts beaches, where even a woman in a bikini is a rare sight.

Bikinis are apparently out of style on Crane Beach in Massachusetts and topless bathing has yet to make a big splash here.

And the new Beauport Hotel in Gloucester is being built in traditional New England waterfront style.

The 96-room Beauport Hotel being built on Pavilion Beach in Gloucester, MA, won’t resemble the garish structures in Turkey.

Next week: The Idiot treks in Vermont.

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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."