Throw back to the Queen Land of the African Continent #SurfsUp

Lets start this 2018 with an Epic #throwback surf trip I made back in 2013 (BTW the cover picture was taken by Olle Svenson, it is not my picture… he is one of the guys I met during this epic trip).

I had always wanted to go to Africa; as a matter of fact… as cliche as it may sound, I even wanted to do a communitarian trip around Africa in a motorhome giving out soccer balls and soccer nets for kids (But it never happened)…. Anyhow, the opportunity of going to Morocco for an International studies course during college for Christmas break was presented to me, and without a doubt I bought the ticket and took the ride.

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Instead of writing a full post, I will just comment a little and post tons of pictures of the trip… This happened back in 2013, so the best way to remember all of this and not make up things is through pictures. Mostly you will see architecture, food, sunsets and some examples of the Moroccan Lifestyle… Hope you enjoy it.

It is incredible how the pictures from your trips can re-live those experiences…. My ex hockey coach recently told me…. you get to live trips three times: “First when you are planning it, then when you get to actually live the trip and lastly when you remember that trip”… in this case the pictures.

During this trip, I felt a strange excitement right away when I got off the plane… seeing all those squiggly lines on the billboards and having no clue what they actually meant just got me all hyped. Also, I was kinda excited I was going to get to practice my French.

We were supposed to visit several companies, including Cargill and Asta Coffee. Both were great experiences and we got the amazing opportunity of experiencing the Moroccan culture up close; things such as having an authentic dinner in one of our bus drivers/tour guide house with his family was without a doubt a hightlight of my trip. We visited factories where we saw how Moroccans made ceramic silverware,  rugs, visited the second oldest library in the world, visited leather making towns, old medinas, spent New Years Eve dancing authentic Moroccan music and so on. We enjoyed great activities, such as off roading on four wheel dirt bikes, drove wake runners, rode camels, held snakes and even monkeys jumped on top of me for pictures….

We visited the following cities (I recommend to visit them ALL!); It is very similar to what you actually see in the movies; those street markets, snake charmers and monkeys (in Marrakesh – Jmaa el Fnaa), desert, camels, tea and delicious gastronomy.

Casablanca: It reminded me of a safe Caracas (my hometown). It’s unorganized and a dirty city, but has its charm without a doubt. The old medina and gigantic mosque are some must go to places.

Fez: Those narrow market streets just as seen in Aladdin took me back to my childhood.

Marrakesh: I can’t believe how a day market with snake enchanters and monkey trainers transforms in a matter of minutes to one of the most interesting culinary and cultural experiences I have ever experienced.

Agadir: Your typical big coastal Moroccan City (I guess). What I really recall from this city being great was the visit to the local fish port.

Imsouane: Hidden surf beach. Worth all the struggle to get to it…. It won’t be easy to get to it.

Eussoria: Similar to Agadir, with a little more charm in my personal opinion.

Two things really caught my attention; the first was that whenever bargaining or buying something, offer at least half the price they are asking for it, it’s NEVER what they initially ask for. The second one was the customer service Moroccans have. I tried buying a leather jacket at a leather store in Fez and they didn’t have my size, so they asked for my hotel address. They went all the way to the hotel to find out we had gone out to get dinner, so they found out the restaurant address and went all the way to the restaurant to see if the jacket fit me. Honestly, I kind of felt harassed in some way, but impressed of their perseverance and customer service. A+!

After the “class” curriculum ended a close friend of mine from back home, Andy Gomez, saw my pictures in Morocco and contacted me to see if I wanted to join him on a surf trip he was going to make to Imsouane with some European friends, just a couple hours North of my last destination for the business class. I changed my ticket back to Minnesota  and without a doubt hitch hiked my way to Imsouane… Litteraly hitch hiked my way to Imnsouane. From Agadir I took a taxi to a bus station, where I took a bus to the another surf beach by the name of Tagazhout. Typical surf beach… isolated from everything, with only surfers and surfing stores and surfing hostals….. From here I hitch hiked my way to Imsouane, taking one of the most sketchiest dirt roads I’ve ever taken.

To keep this #tbt post short.. I am just going to talk a little about the things I remember the best about this trip…..

1. The food – My best meal to date…… I had the opportunity to eat Camel in Casablanca… To be honest, I am not 100% sure that this was completely legal, but let me tell you that the condiments used and the flavor that camel had was just out of this world.

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2. Art and Architecture – again, in Casablanca, I saw this painting I still keep nowadays (but have not been able to find a place where to place it) of a muslim women with blue eyes…. the deepness of her sight caught my attention and I just had to buy that piece of art.

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3. Surf and Sunsets – My good old semi-pro friend from Caracas was living in Portugal at the time, when he texted me to see if I wanted to join him on a surf trip in Morocco….. The fact of living as simple as the Moroccan live, along with great food, good surfing and great company made the trip unforgettable. We met a local surfer by the name of Mourit, who taught us how to spearfish… we went spearfishing a couple days with the sunrise in order to have some food for lunch and dinner…. quite an experience to say the least.  Andres also came along with some of his Swedish photographer friends, who showed me a thing or two about photography, such as shutter speed, ISO, whites, and a bunch of other stuff which I already forgot.

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4. My longest road trip ever – So It took me almost 2 days to get from Imsouane to Casablanca. To sum my day and half of the road trip….. From Imsouane to get to Eusoria we managed to put in a small car 8 people….side note, there was a dead fish in the front seat and the driver was smoking pot. Then I had to catch a 4 hour bus, to then transfer to a second bus… this second bus stopped at EVERY single little town along the way…. (like the Venezuelan’s carritos por puestos)….. well… I had to sit beside ducks, chickens, and between others animals…. It was an interesting and grounding experience, but I was just so exhausted…. to finish my trip, I had to take a flight Casablanca – NY – Minneapolis – Duluth……

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Some cool quotes about traveling and life…. (all of them from Casey’s Neistat “Make it count video).

Life is either daring adventure or nothing at all.

Helen Keller

You only live once but if you do it right once is enough.

Mae West

Above all, try something.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

I never worry about the future, it comes soon enough.

Albert Einstein

One who makes no mistakes makes nothing at all.

Giacomo Casanova

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Eleanor Roosevelt

In the end it’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.

Abraham Lincoln

If I’d followed all the rules I’d never have gotten anywhere.

Marilyn Monroe

Action expresses priorities.

Gandhi