Korbous

On Friday I celebrated Aid by meeting up with Hichem's family for a couscous lunch. ( I had goat's neck, which is not my favorite cut of meat). After, we piled in the car and headed out to Korbous, the site of a natural hot springs.

Korbous is on Cap Bon, and the drive takes you through suburbs such as Hammam Lif, through a few small agricultural communities, and then finally up and down a large hill. The actual site of interest is where the springs empty out into the blue Mediterranean waters.


Once you're there, the smell of the mineral-suffused water is quite strong at first - it pours through two small pools and then down the rocks into the sea. The water is heated in underground grottoes and comes out damn near boiling. The real interest for me was down in the water - I slipped on my suit and then headed into the cool water, with Hichem and his little brother Sahla behind me.

I ended up spending around four hours in the water, taking turns sitting right by the cascade and then heading out for a swim deeper in the water. It was incredibly restorative, and since I went through such a weird spell of being sick, I made sure to spend plenty of time right under the hot springs - coming out with a few nasty red marks on my back in the process.

After we went up the hill and had a small picnic with tea and cookies, and then headed back, where I promptly conked for an hour as soon as my head hit the pillow.
If you're interested in going to Korbous, I'd recommend going during the week. I made sure to go on Aid and there was barely anyone there. During the weekend, it can be tough to find enough space in the water - so forget about a tranquil experience. There were quite a few tourists there, along with some Tunisian families and couples. If you go farther down the road until it is shut off because of falling rocks, there's an expensive touristy cafe that offers all the expected items.

If you're in the bartering mood, there's also (very) fresh octopus available for purchase. Don't spend more than five dinars a pound!