10 Days Healing Process

Nothing really happened in the past ten days (9.-17.1) except me trying to take care of my sun rash and fucking it up four times by applying too much cream. Note to self: next time no self-medicating and go to the doctors STRAIGHT AWAY.

Besides hiding from the sun by sitting at the camp with a book or my laptop in front of me, I did do something else: I tagged along with the guys (advanced group) a couple of times and saw Machine Guns, The Slab and Spiders, surfing spots that is. Ate lunch with the advanced group twice in Tamrine and went out for tea with Tom, Sam and Justin, my lovely Aussies. We (Me, Tom, Sam, Justin, Ebrahim, Abdul & Laura) visited Paradise valley, a beautiful rock pool in the mountains, where we swam and had a barbie. I learnt wome more surfing terms: Period = the time between waves, the longer the period, the more powerful the wave.
Kook = A poser (used in surfing in skateboarding)

Took a picture for Abdul, who insisted of having one taken with pro surfer, Corey Lopez:

On the 15th, when my face was absolutely horrific, thanks for applying cream like there's no tomorrow, I went to see the doc. Frenchies are fuckers. Who the fuck throws a tantrum in front of a patient, just because je ne parle pas français, and it's oh so hard for him to explain in English how to use the creams??????? Never the less, the miracle cream worked like a spell, and my face healed in two days <3 I was so happy. On the 15th it was also Sam's 24th birthday, but I was happy to just stay behind by myself when the others went out, since I was not even feeling like exposing my face to my mates eyes. A call from mom and dad made me feel so much better though, thanks for that :) Really felt like I was going nowhere with this skin problem!

On the 18th my face was healed <3 but I decided not to surf that day, since I was scared to fuck up my face again. My face had peeled completly so it was pretty freaking sensitive. I was so glad my face had returned to normal, because that day a group of professional surfers arrived :D:D:D There's Alex1, Alex2, Dan, Thomas - the guys behind the film & the photoshoot, Ryan, who arrived a day later, and Craig. Craig is the only guy out of the group who is not from California, and comes from Newcastle, Australia - didn't visit that place!

It was a bit funny to see the group of professional surfers. Thomas, the boss, looks like a he got inspired by the Beatles, where as Alex1 (who is constantly stoned) looks like he is straight from the 70's. Alex2 seemed like he was dressed to meet the parents for the first time. The only thing I can say about Dan, is that you would almost think it's MOvember again.. Ryan, the guys who rides almost-unshapped-foam-boards, looks like an average kid (+ he has the craziest, weirdest and funniest laugh). Craig was the only one that slightly resembled a surfer with his skater-ish outfit.

Paradise Valley

Ebrahim, Justin, Sam, Abdul, Tom & Me

Sunrash

Tom da beach bum

My face is covered in sun rash. Oh great. No surfing, no sun... Exposing my skin to sun right now would fuck up my face even more, so now i just have to lay it low and stay in the shade.

Choose to go with the boys. I watched the advanced surfers and photographed them until Denny, the founder and owner of the surf camp, called Abdul, and told him that I have to move my room again, cause there's a couple coming today and I'm staying at a couple's room. He also told us that a group of professional surfers would be arriving to our camp in the near future !

Spiders

After moving my stuff - which I had just managed to scatter around my room, naturally - we went to the pharmacy but for my astonishment they didn't sell Aloe Vera! WTF. I didn't know that' possible.. to have a pharmacy and not sell Aloe Vera. We are at a surf town, mind you. So you'd think treatin sun burns with Aloe Vera would be an everyday thing.

stretching before surfing

Abdul, the guy who went to the pharmacy with me, is the advanced groups surf instructor. He is such a nice guy and always smiley. When I asked him where did he get his fluent english from, he told me he used to study English lit in uni. Abdul also used to be a surf instructor but now he's a surf guide. The difference between these two are that while an instructor helps the beginners, tells them what to do and is with them in the water, the surf guide takes the people, who can already surf, to the best spots and tells them how to get in and how to get out (since the advanced surfers usually have been surfing point breaks or reef breaks - so it's not like you can just walk in along sand). So Abdul watches Tom&Sam&the rest of the guys surf and occasionally surfs with them too. Talk about a nice job...

Justin waxing his board

We got back to Spiders, the point break the guys were surfing, and watched the 5-6 foot waves. Tobias snapped his board, but luckily Ebrahim had a spare one, so he borrowed his quad (quad = a surf board with 4 fins, 2 on each rail) to Tobias. Phil discovered that Tobias had inserted the back fin had been placed into the wrong rail, that certainly didn't help surfing..

Abdul aka "Slabdul" went in when the guys came out. Apparently Abdul is famous for surfing a "rock". It's kind of a reef but just with lava rocks. I bought almonds ("alluz") from a cute old nutman who always patrols the Crucru beach (the place I always surf with the rest of the beginners), Devils Rock, Spiders, and Banana Spot/Beach. The nuts were sugar coated which made them delicious!

After Spiders, we drove up north along the coast to check the waves among the other surf spots. We went for lunch in Tamrine - everyone got the traditional Moroccan dish: tajine. It's this dish that has to cook for an hour on this plate undrneath a lid (tajine). It's a bit hard to explain but just check the picture above.

Tom & sunset surf

After driving on the coast the guys decided that the waves were the best at Spiders, and so we drove back there and the guys went out for a sunset surf.

Surfing in Agadir

Us, the beginner group headed to Agadir, cause the waves at Croucro were too big for us.
And guess what? MY BOARD LOST ITS VIRGINITY TODAY ! <3

"God, Patriot, King"

I love it. Yoshi did a great job. It turned out to be better than I thought.. and it is PURPLE !
Though surfing with it is a challenge... It was such a huge leap from a 9"8 log to my board which is a cross between a minimal and a short board. And because it is only 6"8 it's fuuuuucking hard to paddle... Also standing up isn't as simple as on a wide long board. Man, I kept trying to stand up too slowly all the time.. That's not how you do it. Weirdly enough, on my first try, when my board lost its virginity, I caught a wave (or white wash if we wanna be correct) and stood up effortlessly. I guess the less you think about it, the easier it is. Which is so true now that I think about it. Don't think, just get up.

I was frustrated though, cause Sayeed being a surf teacher, was like yeah you should just ride a log, so much easier, short boards are for pro's blaablaa. Denny, the English owner of the camp, had told me that morning, that he thinks I should ride my own board cause come on, it's mine. And he appreciates that i'm trying to learn to ride a short board cause it is so much harder and if I'll learn how to, I can surf any board. "Sayeed and the other surf guides won't probably get it and they will probably want you to ride a log, cause they are surf instructors and want you to catch as many waves a s you can. But there's only one way to learn how to ride a short board, and that's the hard way.

First Day of Surfing

Woke up at 8 without an alarm clock... Felt so relaxed and peaceful. Went to have ?breakfast with the rest of

the gang. There's Me, Tobias & Phil & Matt (England), Tash (England or Ireland?), Olive & Christoff (French), Orsi & Kata (Hungary), Mike (Canada), Laura (Germany) and then there's like 4 people that are renting a car, so they aren't at the camp atm.

Phil, Tom, Tobias n Sam getting ready to head off

We packed the van, 3 groups of us, the beginners (me), intermediates and the pros. Rachid was teaching me, Laura, Orsi, Kata and Mike. We went to Banana spot, the filthy beach just 30 seconds from our camp. Denny, the English guy who owns the camp, suggested that I should take a log (=longboard) so riding my own board was left another day.

I was pretty suprised how I had progressed after not surfing for a month (last time in Byron, jesus) - I caught every wave after the second one! Well "wave"... You know, just the white wash, but the point is, I had got the hang of paddling and stading up. I could also stear my board a bit, but since it was only white wash, it's not like you can go along the wave.

After having sandwiches for lunch, we discovered that the tide was high and the waves too strong fo us so we went back to the camp. I had a bit of an WTF-moment when I went to the third building, walked up the stairs and opened room #10 - my room. Wheeeeere the fuck is my stuff??? Apparently I had been moved to the room next door, since two Italian girls were arriving, so they needed that room that was perfect for two people. I didn't mind though, my new room next door was so much better. The view to the sea was gorgeous!

I washed my wetsuit, relaxe, read my book, tried to update my blog (I was using the wrong WiFi..like everyone else) and watched the esunset with a bunch of people from the terrace. After that I walked with Tom to Banana Village. I had to buy some creme and what not from the pharmacy and Tom had agreed to be my "lord". :D:D (Inside joke..) Btw, Imagine how awkward it is to try to mimic to the marrocan pharmacy girl, whom you share no mutual language, that you want to buy a razor. Oh dear.

Oh, I got a free mini banana from the fruit stall, wheee, something good comes out from being blonde :)(: I also bought a delicious mango for 25DRM. When we returned, the dinner was readyand the setting was so lovely. The tables had been lit up with candles. Orsi, Mike, Kata and Laura had gone out for dinner so it was just me and the intermediate + pro groups. Phil and Sam had to sit in the "children's table" hahaaa.
We were discussing the fact that Christof had seen a 5.6 meter "shark" in Banana Spot around 4pm when Tom, Sam, Phil and Tobias were surfing there. But what it really probably was, was an orka, since the fin was black and too big for a shark. But it had scared the guys enough to not go for a sunset surf (feeding time! hahaa).

ps. Mom, I asked the surf guide and there has been no sharks around here, so fear not.

Arriving to the Surf Resort in Tamraght

After driving through the beautiful Marrakesh and the canyon-like scenery, we arrived at Agadir. There was a taxi driver to pick us up and after tying our board on the roof, we were on our way.

The surf camp was breathtakingly stunning. It is located in Tamraght, on the mountain/hill and faces the raging sea. The architecture of the house is arabic with its bright coloures and square-like figure, and consists of many rooms that are filled with surfers of the camp. There are three houses: the 4-storey main building, the middle block and the second building.

The dining / living room

The main house's first floor supplies an hall, an office, a kitchen and the living area of Momo, the chef. The second floor has a couple of bedrooms, a shower-bathroom, an common room with a WiFi-area and a balcony. The stairs lead to an absolutely astonishing dining / common room where many nights are spent watching surf films and doc-O's. There's also another balcony viewing the sea and an outdoor kitchen where I usually make my tea. The 4th floor is he terrace with a small patio, and it overlooks the whole area. Beautiful sunsets can be viewed from there.

The middle block has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom in it. Tom and Sam stay there. I was placed in the second house next to the middle block. It has probably 2-3 floors, but I've never been anywhere else except my floor that is the home to 3 bedrooms (all of them with double beds), a common area, a bathroom-shower and a never-used kitchen.

Mohammed aka Momo showed us around the house and told us, that there's beer and water bottles in the fridge, and wine in the shelf, and that if we take some, just mark it down, be honest. The camp supplies us with breakfast and a lunch, but if we want to eat dinner at the camp, we have to write our name on the board at the lobby. The dinner costs 100DRM (10€) or 150DRM (15€).

I walked up to the terrace and met Mike the Canadian guy, and Irsa & Kata, the two Bulgarian girls. I watched the sunset with them and had a nice chill time. I was dead tired but thank god I made it to dinner which was at 20:00. It was a nice mix of Moroccan food, salad, bread, a lot of seadoof, couscous... I even had so much courage to try a much dreaded snail....! The last time I ate snails was when I was probably 6-7-years-old, in Finland, and I can say I didn't enjoy these slimmy little bastards that much... This time wasn't any different! At dinner I also met Orsi's nice friend, Laura, who just flew in from Germany :)

(I'm not in the picture)

After dinner I went straight into my room. MY ROOM. It was so strange to sleep all by myself for the first time in three months! I actually thought for a minute that i'll probably hate being by myself, but actually it was nice - the privacy. It was the first time I really got the be alone and gather my thoughts, if not the long bus rides count when I issolate myself from Laura and the rest of the world by not sitting next to Laura and putting my headphones on.

So privacy, loving it.

On the Road to Agadir

First culture shock: I'm at the bus station and going to the bathroom... Err I guess I don't have to go anymore - there's a hole in the ground instead of white porcelain.

So yeah, we are on the bus with Tom and Sam heading to Agadir. I woke up at like 5 or 6 to the chant of male voices - it's time for their morning prayer I assume. We got up at 6:30 and got ready. Me and Tom went to check out the view from the roof over the city and it was pretty.
It was so strange to see the city still so dark although it's already 6:30. Then I remembered that it's winter and the dusk doesn't swift into daylight until later, where as in Australia it's summer and it's the opposite.

The hotel breakfast consisted of amazingly good freshly squeezed orange juice, these kind of creppes (yum) and pieces of baguette with jam n butter. We also finally had some Moroccan mint tea. AHH. Sooo good. I love it how each of us got their own little metal kettels with tea in them and a tiny glass. So different from drinking tea back home from a normal sized mug with the tea being made from water from a water boiler and a tea bag.

We got some munchies for the 6 hour bus ride from this corner store. I actually remembered some French, hooray for me! "Un croissant sil vois plait" (in a French accent)

Before leaving the hotel we started talking to this Japanease guy. We was pretty chill, he had lived in Sydney and now he was traveling here for a week. He was studying to become a shoe maker and lived in Italy at the moment. I love meeting random people !

So we grabbed our stuff and started walking to the bus station. I was in agony, or my shoulders were at least. Mind you, I'm carrying way too much shit for someone the size of me. I read from the Madventures guide, that you should be carrying no more than 15% of your body weight on you.. Oh great, i'm exceeding that with fuck loads. My backpack, my small backpack AND my board weight all together 30 FUCKING KILOS. That's HALF OF MY FUCKING BODY WEIGHT.......................................................................... I am going to die.