Surfs Up @ Essaouira

Essaouira is the windy town of western Morocco facing the Atlantic Ocean. Quite a lot of thrill seekers have settled here as a wind surfing Mecca of northern Africa. The temperatures here are drastically different from Marrakesh and the water is quite cold. During the day the temperatures are nice and comfortable, but at the night a light jacket is definitely needed.



Our first night in Essaouira was at a guest house. We followed a local that met us at the bus terminal and we are able to stay at a 5 bed apt. Cherri and Ellie stole the queen bed before either James or I could protest. The funny thing is that Cheri woke up with bedbug bites. The next day we decided to ditch that apt and find the local hostel.



The three Brits and I find Hostel Essaouira after wandering around the market area for quite some time. The hostel is typical Moroccan style home with a terrace area in the middle and several floors with an open middle area. There are open hallways all around the hostel overlooking the central terrace area.



BizBiz is one of the co-owners of the hostel and his job is party with the guests and make sure they keep drinking. He also takes us out trip such as surfing lessons. He has a cat named Jackie Chan and a mutt dog named Speagle. They are two of the hostels residents that are always entertaining to watch. Speagle use to chase stray cats in the streets. Then one day he brought back a kitten that severly emaciated. BizBiz decided to keep the cat and nurse it back to health. And now Speagle and Jackie Chan have been the best of friends since.



We are all decided to give long boarding a go and it was well worth it. The initial dip in the waters was freezing, it was probably the coldest water that I’ve swam in for such a long time. Even with our 3mil wet suites the water was stingingly cold. However by the time you paddle out past the waves your muscles warm you up. My shoulders have never been so sore. The waves are pretty big and I got tossed around like a rag doll on several occasions. There are a lot of wind surfers and even more entertaining to watch, kite surfers. The winds here are very strong and the air that some of these guys catch is ridonkulous.



The rest of the our time spent in Essaouira was lounging at the hostel and jamming on the guitar. There were several students from Leeds “Uni” (yes, Brits called college Uni) which is the same college that James, Ellie and Cheri go to. One of them, Tim, is a total badass on the guitar. He can play some ridiculously technical songs. Jamming on the guitar once again really made me miss my guitar and being able to just chill and play.