Moroccan Travellers February-March 2011

Travelling is rad, not only do you get to experience another place, time and culture, the people you meet along the way from all corners of the earth can also share with you their very own. I enjoy the solo adventures more for this reason, it makes you get outside your own comfort group and mingle with people, all people! Some of my most entertaining experiences have come from people I have never met or will ever meet again. These are some of the cool kids from the road in Morocco.

I came in search of waves. Found none. Surf Maroc were quite unhelpful in fulfilling my surfing needs, definitely no recommendations from me! Especially after taking me to a fat point break on the best day of waves! After that kelas I walked back to town hired a car and went solo the way I roll best. (What comes around but I hired a car on my last day here and they forgot to charge me and oh I just happened to let it slip my mind too, free hire car from Surf Maroc cheers haha). This place as nice as it may look in the photos smells absolutely rancid. I have never experienced the sensation of wanting to vomit whilst I ate just because of the smell before I went and stayed at the L'Auberge in Taghazout. (Hint don't stay here!). My last couple of nights instead of returning to Taghazout I opted for a hotel in Agadir, not only was it cheaper and much nicer (minus the stench) I was still able to go for a surf in Taghazout and catch the local bus back to my hotel for a mere 7dirhams (not even 1 aussie dollar) then go to the pub next to the hotel for a pint! Now that I can recommend!
On the up side since the waves weren't doing it for me inland roads were made through Essaouira and Marrakech, through the Atlas mountains and out into the Sahara even! They have some pretty amazing countryside! I will put more photos of this up later.

James the Canadian Studying in Sweden. Can speak French. Can travel on a budget. Can sniff out a cheap sandwich even across the insane nostril intrusions of The Square in Marrakech.

Hamish the Scotsman, who's family's in America, but he studies in Canada normally, but is currently studying in Sweden. Talk about a global dude! Can take a picture too this lad!

Mette from Denmark, the pro photographer, so cool.

The Law students, Cristy and Abby from America, showed me the quietest hostel in Marrakech only 10Euro a night it was a welcome change from the seedy hotel we were staying in on the square! If you are ever in Marrakech and want a cheap place to stay definitely stay at the Auberge Douzi, they'll feed you breakfast, give you a clean bed, peace and quiet from the madness of Marrakech and even toilet paper in the toilets! (Trust me toilet paper is a luxury item in Morocco). The guys that work there will also help you to no end in finding those little secrets hidden away in Marrakech and help you navigate your way through the labyrinth of souks and stalls to find what you are looking for. I spent a day seeing a museum, an old Islamic school and some other corners of the souks like the olive stands, as well as actually doing some shopping with Cristy and Abby, wouldn't have found these places if it wasn't for these girls, cheers for a rad day!!

The Spaniard and the Czech couple from England I hung out with for the day at the Ouzoud Falls, they accidentally left their camera back at the hotel so I snapped a shot off for them.

Robbie the true Aussie old school bogan surfer dude from West Oz. Filled with Robbie Facts about anything and everything. Loves South America will tell you about it at least 5 times a day, speaks his own version of Spanish. The guy saw a swell about to hit Morocco so he jumped on a plane in Australia 2 days later (it literally takes about 48hours in transit for him to get to Morocco from Australia) he was surfing triple overhead Anchors in Taghazout. Legend. But tip never share a room with Robbie he snores like a freight train, I spent a night on a couch on a balcony in Essaouira trying to escape it, the next night I got lazy and just threw empty bottles around the room making noise to wake him up.