A fresh breeze lightly stirs through the stands of yellow flowering shrub medick but the sun shines warm enough that tiny areas of sweat appear on my forehead as I climb up the stony trail. This path that follows the Mediterranean coastline is one we’ve never taken before. As we follow its dips and turns and take in the scent of pine and rosemary, we are rewarded with incredible views all around. On a day of full sun and calm winds, we couldn’t ask for more.
It’s the twentieth anniversary of our arrival in this area of southern France. Sometimes we wonder why we always come back to this same place. Shouldn’t we go to a new spot or get to know another area? What we’ve discovered is that a familiar place can always hold new surprises. And so each year, we return to the now very familiar cottage with its Provençal tiles and shuttered windows, its stucco walls where lizards sometimes scurry, its olive grove and flowering garden. And each year we walk down the palm lined street (and wind tunnel!) that gives onto the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean, follow the path along the coast into the small port where we sit down along the water for a drink and a plate of frites at Le Cap Horn, a small bustling café and restaurant. The owner and manager both come out to say hello. They remember us from past years, and after the usual handshake and greetings, ask us how things are going. In a familiar place, it’s always easy to slide back into this relaxing vacation mode without thinking too much about the details and, the weather, the slant of the light, the things we appreciate about France make us live fully in this present moment.
But every year also prompts us to find a small gem that we haven’t found before and to be again amazed at what this area holds. That’s why we are taking this new trail. From the parking where we left our car, we walk downhill on a pedestrian street to a black sand beach where a woman is walking her dog and a few others are sunbathing, then we follow the trail up a series of steps. As the sun beats down, we step along the edge of this quiet cove where fishermen’s boats lay along the banks. We breathe in the air, stop to take photos, chat with other hikers along the way and lazily hike above the water. All these years and we hadn’t seen this yet! Later, we’ll hike up to Notre Dame du Mai, a chapel sitting on the highest point of this cape, and a favorite well-known sight of ours.
There’s something about this mix of new and familiar that works really well. Rather than always seeking the new, there’s room for getting to know the old even better, staying curious, digging deeper to find the treasures right beneath the surface, a thought I’ll take with me when I go back to my town of residence.