YALAH SURF, HERE I CAME!

Goodbye cold, rainy and grey Germany; Morocco, here I come!
Getting out of the airplane, having that slight smell of saltwater and summer in my nose, feeling the light warm breeze in my face makes me realize: I actually managed to escape from the winter. As I am getting all my luggage and slowly walking out of the airport, Yassine (the owner of the surf house) is already waiting for me outside, holding the big hostel sign with my name written underneath in his hands. “Your first experience of Moroccan lifestyle is already waiting for you:: on our 45-minute car ride to Taghazout, we’ll pass a few small, traditional villages and the big city of Agadir,” he tells me. We roll the windows down and put some music on. Out of the window, I see lots of passing bikes, horses and even donkeys! Suddenly, I see the coastline for the very first time and it looked like it was waiting for me. Right on the coastline, we arrive at the hostel: Yalah Surf Camp!

The Surf House

The typical Moroccan-style hostel is decorated in a big selection of surfboards. I’m hearing people laugh and music playing which immediately makes me feel welcome, almost like home. Yassine is showing me around, explaining me everything until we finally get to the highlight of the hostel, which also turns out to be the source of the voices and music: the rooftop terrace! I guess the pictures already say everything 😉 Here is where everybody would come together, check the surf in the morning, chill out, talk about their surf experiences of the day and also have breakfast and dinner.
As the water is supposed to be flat the next day, Yassine is asking everybody to come out for an open-air beach party and bonfire. I´m telling you, even though you come here for the surf and have to get up early every morning, you still don´t want to miss out the Moroccan nightlife!

Day trip to Paradise Valley

So after that fun night out, my actual first day here turns out to be “unsuitable flat”.Instead, we end up driving down to paradise valley. After an hour of driving through the beautiful Moroccan inland while listening to music and slowly hiking down into the valley, we have finally arrived in Paradise Village. After an hour of driving through the beautiful Moroccan inland, listening to music, hiking down into the valley, we have finally arrived in paradise village! It was absolutely breathtaking and stunning! A Moroccan family is sitting on the rocks, playing and singing traditional music, surrounded by palms trees. Meanwhile, people are climbing along the rocks, jumping off the cliffs and into the crystal clear water! What better alternative to surfing could you think of?! 😉

First-day Surfing in Taghazout

Next day: When I woke up the next day, I thought, “Finally, it´s SURFING DAY!” I got up at 7:15 am to attend the sunrise yoga class right on the beach, then had a delicious breakfast on the rooftop afterward. It is probably the best start to the day I could have ever imagined. At around about 9 AM, our surf instructor is picking us up: it’s Anza today. Everybody is already super stoked about surfing when we arrive at the beach, so we quickly unload the van, set up the umbrellas, fight to get into the tight wetsuit and we’re ready to go. After a quick warm up, there is a short theoretical lesson for each surf level to focus on for the day. Then we’re off to the water! Rouchdi will definitely make sure that everybody will either manage their first stand up, catch their first green wave or get the turns right for the first time. I promise you: after that, you won´t get rid of that weird smile on your face for the rest of the day…and for the rest of your stay here.
So how about experience Taghazout Surf yourself? Come and join us!