I've nudged Conall Sweeney towards a trip like Uganda or Zambia for years. We settled on this for now, but he's not off the hook for a whitewater trip with me just yet. Will Chick had invited me to join him and his friends in Sidi Ifni, so Conall and I decided to go with surf kayaks. I asked Mark Scanlon for some tips as I'd never tried it before. When he heard, he wanted in and like that the trip was organised. Mark brought a surfboard instead of a surf kayak and tainted Conall into doing the same, but I held tough!
€50 flights, a rental car and some inflatable roof racks. Couldn't be easier. We stayed in Marrakech the first night, having fun driving the medina's narrow streets and carrying my boat up tight staircases (boards do seem easier). The sights, sounds and food were a bit of a culture shock but really cool. The Koutoubia Mosque looks unreal when it's lit up at night, familiar as it's identical to the Giralda in Seville. The central market is fun to see and explore.
The next day we started the drive. We got a speeding fine within minutes which the payment was a €15 bribe. Over the Atlas mountains to the coast at Agadir was beautiful. About an hour south of there we arrived.
Catching up with Will and the guys was great and we stayed on the roof of a hostel with them for the first few days. A big marquee full of beds, with the rest of the roof all ours for storing and drying gear. Overlooking the beach, this was one of the highest points in the town and a short walk from everything.
Sidi Ifni is a cool spot and we seemed to be the only stand out tourists in the shops, restaurants and beaches. It's very relaxed and quiet which is why Will and his friends come here every year. The landscape is mountainous and desert like. Not devoid of life with tough green shrubs and cactus' in the hills, but clearly very dry. The sunshine was incredible and the ocean views made it feel like paradise.
The massive beach in the town usually had a lot of surfing options but unfortunate wind ruled them all out for a few days. Mark had been here multiple times (including two months before) so he showed us to a sheltered spot ten minutes south which worked great. The waves felt pushy for me, barely getting over them in my boat as the guys duck dived through, but it was fun getting used to it. When I wasn't getting back looped and thrown around that is. When you would catch a wave, the speed as you looked back at the mountains was unreal. It's just a shame you had to get back out after each one, getting battered.
Our days were spent surfing here and in the town when we could. We drove around the mountains and coast in between. North in Aglou we found huge sea arches surrounded by paragliders. Mirleft had its long promenade and hidden beaches that make it Mark’s dream home. Tiznit had nice food and we just enjoyed exploring in the sun.
At night we'd meet up with the guys to try the different restaurants and party on the roof. Alcohol can be awkward to come by in Morocco so everyone had brought some from the airport duty free. Nights playing card games and the likes were great. One rainstorm made the tent less desirable and we moved to a three bed dorm, getting all the roof top benefits but with a dry bed. The guys held true to their roof top dream, for some reason.
All in all the trip was unreal. Stunning sun and warmth in a beautiful place, right in the middle of our winter. Warm water to learn surf kayaking in and great freedom to explore with the car. By the end of the week I'm not sure if I got much better at surf kayaking, but had somewhat got the hang of it. I definitely caught more waves than Conall and Mark with the boats speed and manoeuvrability, so it was worth it even if the in between bits were terrifying.
After a good days surfing we said our goodbyes and drove north to stay in Taghezout on route to home. This is the famous surf town we'd all heard of so we wanted to check it out. We stayed a night, taking a taxi to Agadir for some of the evening. Our experience wasn't great with it being more expensive, very busy and multiple people trying to scam us (one very aggressively). When we left the next day and stopped at a surf spot 20mins away that was quiet and didn't have people trying to steal from us we were very happy to be back in normality.
The last night was spent in Marrakech once more. Tagine, markets, palaces, hammams and all round hilariously good times. Colourful mosaics, colourful foods and sugary tea. Mark had some life admin as he flew direct from here to Norway, while Conall and I just relaxed and enjoyed the chaotic but beautiful city. A flight home brought us back to the normality of Irish winter, and the abnormality of some virus people were talking about in Wuhan.
Looking back the trip was incredibly easy and incredibly fun. It was great to spend time exploring with Mark and Conall in a way we haven't done since college kayaking trips. It was also great to catch up with Will and see the place he's raved about (Falls of Lora next). Everything was cheap and while busy places can be a little full on at times, I loved every bit of this trip.
Trip Video
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