WRITTEN BY CAT VINTON ON 22/10/2015
When you’re in this part of the world you must also get to the mountains for a few nights – they’re just 10mins above the coastal towns and the trundle up in an old Renault 4/ Quatre-elle with the gear stick that pulls out of the ‘dashboard’ is all part of the adventure. The air is cooler and imbued with the scent of mountain flowers, a contrast to the aroma of the coastal fishing life you’ve left behind.
The area is not for nightclubs, and nor would they work after full days of playing in the surf or walking in the mountains, I was so happy to either stay on the beach mesmerised by the twinkling night sky, or collapse on a Moroccan rooftop with a cold beer, good friends, delicious fresh fish and watch the sun sink below the horizon.
Morocco caters for everyone when it comes to the surfing and yoga holidays, and a swathe of comfortable accommodation is being built for families and more affluent tourists. Even so I think the current sense of adventure will remain. There are some wonderful places to discover if you are willing to hunt around: the locals who make this place what it is and who have surfed this area since they could get their hands on surf-able boards, have been busy setting up their own surf-camps and there are now so many to choose from.
If you want that authentic hospitality and to benefit from incomparable local knowledge go native if you can. The behind-the-scenes reality is that these guys are all just really good mates: they lend each other cars, boards, wetsuits – because when they were 15 they shared their meals and their roofs with each other, and that bond will never ever stop.
As a girl traveling alone in Morocco I felt extremely safe. You should definitely not miss out this magical area on your Moroccan adventure.
Cat Vinton is a world-renowned adventure photographer. See more of her work at www.catvphotography.co.uk. To read part one of her blog, click here.
