Photos: Simone Fischer & Anastasiia Kravchenko
Scar Lee was lucky enough to spend a week in Morocco with Amayour Surf & Yoga. Here’s the lowdown on what she got up to…
Our travel editor Scar Lee was lucky enough to spend a week with Amayour Surf & Yoga in Morocco back in September. She spent the week surfing beautiful Moroccan waves, meeting new people from around the world, eating delicious food and exploring the sights. Take a look into her diary to see what she got up to, maybe it’ll inspire you to book a surf camp for your next holiday.
Wednesday
I arrived at the Amayour Surf House in Taghazout around 10:30pm, expecting to go straight to bed – but that wasn’t the case. The chefs had prepared a full dinner for latecomers. That being me and fellow Brit, Fraser, a Scottish brewery manager. This was our first introduction to Moroccan food, and we ate noodles, lentils, and tajines until we were stuffed.
Thursday
Morning yoga with Ninie started our day on the terrace. Unused to Moroccan time, I arrived 10 minutes early, with the others sloping in with 30 seconds to spare.
Breakfast was made up of tajines full of shakshouka, fresh bread, pancakes, pastries, yoghurt, freshly squeezed orange juice, and mint tea. Then came our first surf session. Wetsuits were given out, boards and people were strapped into the surf vans.
The music was blasting courtesy of Clem and Margeaux, the elected French DJs (apparently, my suggestion of Sabrina Carpenter wasn’t the vibe).
The instructors scoured the coastline to get the best waves. Once chosen, umbrellas went up, beach towels were rolled out, and we got ready to surf.
Dinner was the weekly BBQ. Everyone was in a fantastic mood. Luisa taught me how to sing in German, which is something that I can tell will be useful to me in years to come.
Friday
Fog rolled in this morning, but it was still strangely hot. We surfed all day and then wandered the local market stalls. After dinner, we hit the town. When I had arrived in Morocco, I was prepared for it to be a no-alcohol zone, but Tagazhout was more relaxed and there were several bars to choose from!
There were no tables left, but this wasn’t an issue. The staff put out blankets and cushions on the rocks. We were sitting so close to the waves that the sea was a member of our party.
Saturday
We had a smaller surf group today, with many campers taking a rest day at the hammam.
Sunday
After surfing today, I moved from Taghazout to Amayour’s Tamraght base, The View. The villa was tranquil, with stunning rooms and, true to its name, a panoramic view of the coast. Sunday evening included a cooking class where we made tajine. I was very focused on making mine look pretty, but it was actually surprisingly nice as well.
Monday
A rest day from surfing was very welcome today.
I booked a hammam session. After two hours of steam, exfoliation with the kessa glove, and a deep-tissue massage, I emerged feeling like a very clean and very zen. If I were based in Morocco, I would be a frequent customer.
Tuesday: Imsouane Day
My favourite day of the week! We drove to Imsouane. Stopping on the way for photos of goats in trees and the amazing coastline. The waves were perfection: smooth, long right-handers, the absolute dream.
On the way home, we sandboarded in the desert. It was going super well until we decided to put four girls plus two instructors on one board. We ended up incredibly sandy. Note to self: keep your mouth closed. I can still taste the sand.
We came back and went for dinner and drinks in Waves for all abilities.
Taghazout. The girls thought it would be funny to tell the staff that it was my birthday – I did get a free brownie out of it though.
Trying to forget that it’s the last day here.
Wednesday: Last Day
I really helped myself last night by leaving my packing until the morning… Saying goodbye to the Amayour team was emotional.
A week of morning stretches, beach days, sore shoulders from surfing, tajines for every meal, and lots of Moroccan mint tea has reset my pace of life.
I feel fully adjusted to Moroccan time: slower and more relaxed, I wonder how long it’ll last.
If you’ve not yet been to Morocco, then you should definitely add it to your list, if not for the surf, then for the food, for the company or the sunshine.
Wondering how you can book to spend your own week on Moroccan time?
