MedTrek Hikes

Here are a few MedTrek hikes, ranging from a day to a few days, that I would do again at the drop of a hat or encourage anyone to take to get acquainted with the varied Mediterranean seaside.

France: The Saint-Tropez Seascape Stroll - two days
The 37-kilometre hike from Saint-Tropez around the Rabiou Point to Cavalairesur-Mer has exceptionally varied terrain and uninterrupted contact with the sea. It doesn't take too many steps to appreciate why locals and tourists flock to these expansive beaches, silent coves, majestic capes, solitary lighthouses, jutting rocks and crashing waves to stroll through vegetation that includes eucalyptus, cork oak, pines, chestnuts and full-flowering mimosa. The rhythmical names of the capes - Camarat, Cartaya, Taillat and Lardier - complement the physical beauty. Avoid this hike during the summer due to crowds, heat and prices.

France: The Calanques Cove-to-Cove Constitutional - two days
The 20-kilometre (as the cormorants fly) walk along the limestone calanques - with names like Port-Pin, En-Vau, Morgiou, Sormiou and Sugiton - between Cassis and Marseille is absolutely surreal. The white, weathered pinnacles and numerous deep inlets that marry sea, rock and sky are, if not heaven on earth, the moon on earth. Get a map of the area with detailed descriptions of the coastline and the many trails to avoid getting too lost. Take more water than you think you'll need. The area is frequently closed to visitors during the summer, and when the winds are strong, to prevent fires.

France: The Camargue Marsh Hike - one-three days
Get a detailed map of the Camargue and plot your own 10-60 kilometre excursion into the seductive maze of marshes, sand banks, dikes, canals, lagoons, salt flats and sea inlets. You'll have 800-square kilometres of protected botanical and zoological nature reserve and national park, which the Michelin guide says is "the most original and romantic region of Provence and possibly of France", at your fingertips/footsteps. Stay in the fortified city of Aigues-Mortes and/or Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer after you've said hello to the Camargue horses, bulls and birds. Prepare to get lost.

France: Barefoot Sand Walking - one-three days
Start off in the canal-filled city of S te, which is the entry point to the French Med's best sandy beaches, and walk barefoot on the sandbar that separates the sea from the Bassin de Thau. Visit Listel, where a famous 'sand wine' is produced from grapes cultivated between the sea and the Bassin de Thau, and continue walking at least until you reach Le Cap d'Agde's 'nudism obligatory' beach. Then stay, keep going or turn back. The excursion affords lots of opportunities to walk barefoot even if you don't want to take off all of your clothes.

Spain: The Costa Brava Road Walk - one-two days
It's sometimes necessary to walk on a paved road and the stretch of two-lane blacktop from Sant Felieu to Tossa de Mar is the place to do it, especially in the winter when there's very little traffic. Forests and the sea abut the GI 682, a stretch of tarmac so picturesque that it's been proclaimed a European Monument. There are frequent descents to beaches, coves, campsites and resorts, like Rosemar and Cala de Salions. But it's best to stay up high and enjoy panoramas that merit all sorts of superlatives. Don't bother counting the curves between Sant Feliu and Tossa de Mar. There are 365.

Spain: The Captivating Cap de Nau - one-two days
The walk from Xabia to Cumbre del Sol merits, without a doubt, a top rating. The mythical El Mongo Mountain keeps appearing at various angles and there's a great view from the lighthouse at the tip of the Cap de la Nau, the most western of Valencia's capes and a traditional telltale sign for navigators. Enjoy the stroll along the cliffs to La Granadell beach and stop for dips in the numerous swimming holes.

Spain: The Costa Blanca's Inland Sea - two-three days
I would use this walk to promote the MedTrek to potential hikers. It involves a flat stroll through a unique natural setting, the 24-kilometre sandbar that separates the Mediterranean Sea from the placid Mar Menor, between San Pedro de Pinatar and La Manga. That's followed by a 36-kilometre hike from La Manga to Playa El Lastre that mixes demanding 300-plus metre mountain climbs with stupendous views, steep cliffs, wave-battered rocky coves and sandy beaches in a completely stark and isolated natural environment.

Spain: The Cabo de Gata Catwalk - three-four days
The 100-kilometre wild walk from Carboneras through the Cabo de Gata natural park includes some of the most impressive limestone cliffs, rustic coves, unnamed little creeks and sandy beaches on the Mediterranean. If you feel like you're in the middle of a movie set, it's because Peter O'Toole, Richard Chamberlain and other actors have shot films here. The vast Cabo de Gata park often seems devoid of humans and you can count on finding yourself alone on an isolated beach.

Spain: Reaching The Southernmost Point In Europe - two days
Stroll from Gibraltar, once you've seen the tailless Barbary macaques, into Algeciras to kick off the 30-kilometre walk through a natural park to Tarifa at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula. The path parallels the Strait of Gibraltar along sloping green hills occasionally topped with industrial windmills that resemble quixotic stick figures. You're likely to be on your own except for some horses, cows, sailboats and the tanker traffic in the Strait. Beyond the Tarifa lighthouse is the expansive Atlantic Ocean and across the 13-kilometre wide Strait of Gibraltar is the Moroccan coast.

Morocco: Get a Sniff of Tangier - one day
Take a bus, or hire a driver/fixer, to get to the northwestern-most tip of Africa at Cape Spartel and visit the nearby Caves of Heracles and the one-time Phoenician, Carthaginian and Roman settlements in Lixus. Gaze across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tarifa and Spain before walking to Tangier along the hilly Mirador de Perdicaris or on the main road past the king's summer residence. Then explore the city's medina and the art-filled museum in the sultan's former palace before dropping into the Gran Café de Paris or Café Central for mint tea.

Morocco: Moving from Morocco into Spain - one day
The village of Wa Musa sits in the shadow of the steep and towering Jbel Musa mountain, which some believe is one of the two Pillars of Heracles, and a path along the sloped seafront features calming views of the Med, the Strait, Spain and Gibraltar. Walk through down-to-earth seaside villages to the Spanish/Moroccan border at Ceuta/Sebta, one of two Spanish enclaves in northern Morocco. You may have to follow the border fence over the mountain to enter this intriguing Spanish enclave at Fnideq if the soldiers at the seaside refuse you entry.

Morocco: Beyond Jebha to Al Hoceima - about three days
Spend a day walking along the dizzying stretches of the narrow road curving along the coast from Azla, Oeud Laou or Stehat to Jebha. Stay in Jebha, the closest thing to a bustling metropolis in this undeveloped part of the country, for a night before climbing the Pointe des Pecheurs. Then, equipped with supplies for a few days, follow the trail through marijuana fields to Torres El Kala, Bades, the Bokkoyas Mountains and Al Hoceima.

Morocco: From Melilla to the Algerian border - three days
Tour Melilla la Vieja, the old town in 'the European city closest to the desert' that is Spain's second Moroccan enclave. Hike the 40-plus kilometres through Nador to Kariat-Arkmane. Then make the run along the cliff coast through Cap de l'Eau (those are the Spanish-controlled Chafarinas islands just offshore) and Ras Quebdana to Saidia at the Morocco-Algerian border. Drop me a note if they've opened the border or give me a call if, like me, you lose your passport and credit cards in the sea.

France-Monaco-Italy: Three countries in one day
Walking in three different countries - France, Monaco and Italy - within just a few hours is not an everyday happenstance on the Mediterranean. Kick off the day in Beaulieu, enjoy your stroll through the Principality of Monaco and cross the border into Italy after tea in Menton. If you want to add some elevated hiking to the day, the Nietzsche Trail heads uphill from Eze-sur-Mer to Eze Village, which offers some of the best views on the French Riviera.

Italy: An Imperial Meander - one day
Visit the two olive oil museums in Imperia, each tracing the history of olives and touting the fruit as 'the lubricant of the health-inspiring Mediterranean diet', before making the spectacular seaside romp from Oneglia around the Capo Berta to Diano Marina. If I had to invite someone to the Ligurian Med for some civilised, family-style hiking, this is where I'd start. The rocky hillside has been secured by steel 'spaghetti' wiring to prevent a landslide, an old stone house has been charmingly renovated, and there are scores of Italian cyclists, families, kids and older couples strolling on a paved road-sized but closed-to-vehicles path.

Italy: Making it into Portofino - one day
Take off from Nervi, on the outskirts of Genoa, on the omnipresent Via Aurelia and walk through Bogliasco, Sori, Recco (where you should munch on some fugassa al formaggio, the pie made with prescinseua cheese) and Camogli into the 4680-hectare Portofino Regional Nature Park. Climb the 2000-foot-high Mount Portofino and make the challenging walk up-and-down along the cliffs and coves to Portofino. Stay at the Hotel Splendido, a former 16th century monastery where Richard Burton proposed to Elizabeth Taylor.

Italy: Before, Within and After Cinque Terre - two-three days
Trains running along the coast make it easy to start, finish and/or interrupt a walk in the Cinque Terre, or the 'Five Lands' of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. But expand this popular hike (one of the few on the Mediterranean where you'll be charged a fee) by starting in Moneglia to the north and continuing to citadel-dominated Portovénere to the south. The walk is an up-and-down-through-the-woods-from-village-to-village trek along a hillside covered with Aleppo pine trees, rockroses, lavender, prickly ivy and wild asparagus. Don't forget to stop for a snog on the fabled Kissing Path, easily the most popular and romantic section of hiking trails that link the Cinque Terre coastal villages.

Italy: The Etruscan Coast and Elba - two-three days
Start your hike on the Etruscan Riviera, which stretches for 80 kilometres from Livorno to Piombino near the island of Elba, in Castiglioncello. Proceed along the seashore through Galetta and Rosignano to Solvay, where the sea has a glaring turquoise tint that I've only otherwise seen in the Seychelles. Continue barefoot on the sand through Marina di Cecina, Marina di Bibbona, Marina di Castagneto-Donoratico and Santa Vincenzo to Populonia and Piombino. Take the ferry to Elba for a two-day break on the island that once, briefly, housed Napoleon.

Italy: The Ulysses Riviera - one week
To get a taste of what's coming next in Walking the Mediterranean, trek for a few days between Rome and Naples. Amble into Anzio, which is rumoured to have been founded by a son Odysseus had with the Sorceress Circe, and visit the seaside archaeological park and the World War II cemetery. Saunter through Sabaudia into the Parco Nazionale del Circeo and climb Monte Circeo, where Odysseus's men were put under Circe's magical spell. MedTrek through Terracina and Gaeta along the Ulysses Riviera, the coastal region named for the legendary journey and adventures of Ulysses/Odysseus, to Pozzuoli and Naples. As dictated by the goddess I met in Rome, I'm hanging around this area for a year. But after just a short time I'm already tempted to take up permanent residence near the alluring ruins of Pompeii in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.