Morocco - The Arrival

March 17th 2009

Woke up at 5:45 in the morning. A phone call from the night before with my Pops made me a bit paranoid that 1hr and 30mins wouldnt be enough time to make my flight. Turned out it was more than enough time. I however instead arrived 2hrs early for my flight looked at the 3 people sitting around doing nothing at the checkout counter and instantly regretted my punctualness. Ended up taking the extra time in the airport to watch Madagascar 2 on my ipod. Hilarious! Makes me think I should go back and watch the first one again because I thought it was a piece of trash and didnt make it all the way through. Anyways the flight to Germany was quick...less than an hour quick. At customs I was harassed a bit....at the check in counter for my next flight as well. Seems that not too many American travel to Morocco.

After all the crap I made the flight. Slept most of the way because Miley and Me was dubbed in German with no English audio...wtf. Had a pretty cute girl sitting mext to me but her English wasnt so good and a bit shy to speak. The food on the flight was awesome. Infact it smelled so good that I woke up from a nap just as they got to my row. Had tasty chicken with gravy and hash browns with a piece of cheese cake for desert.

Flew over sounthern France and Spain. Lots of snow capped peaks. Going over Morocco was pretty cool too. I didnt realize it was so mountainous. Got into Agadir and going through customs was a breeze. The thing that scared me the most was that my ride was a bit late....around 20mins. I was trying to figure out what to do but figured I would at least wait a bit to see if anyone showed up for me. Of course someone did. It was this laid back Moroccan guy named Usef. He came strolling up fumbling with a sign with my name on it but its not that he needed it, he could just tell I was the surfing type.

The ride to the lodge was about 40 mins. We took a road that went around the main portion of the city so I didnt see much except a lot of new construction. There were also around 8 or 9 speed traps. Cops were every few km's it seemed. Kinda makes sense though because apparently the lines on the road are only there for decoration. Traffic flow is quite unstructured.

The surf house is up on a cliff and the road up to it is slightly washed out and under construction so I was thinking it was a bit sketchy. Made it unscathed. Once I got there a few of the staff that I would get to know a bit better quickly introduced themselves. I got a room on the ground floor to myself which was pretty nice. The place doesnt seem terribly fancy which is just fine with me but it does have some awesome Moroccan design as well as some really cool social areas (rooftop terrace) to lounge.

The rooftop terrace is where all the action is. Breakfast and dinner is served up there, the internet and tv if needed is there as well and its where everyone congregates at night to play cards or talk etc.

Met some British blokes that had just gotten back from surfing. A real lively bunch of guys and they have been friends for many years. They seem to take a trip every year. They are a bit older than I...in their late 30s and early 40s. They are pretty hilarious though and are here to have a good time. Also met a couple of Italians who seem nice enough. The language seems like it could be a slight issue when we are joking around but it is too early to tell.

Had some coos coos for dinner with roasted lamb meet. Normaly not a fan but it was quite tasty. I'd say my tastes have come a long ways over the last couple years. Plus eating the local food just makes for a better experience.

After dinner we drank a few beers. Its St Patricks Day afterall. Nothing too crazy though. We mostly sat around and joked all night. The english guys are quite sarcastic which is alright with me. Played a new card game called trumps as well as a modified version of hearts. Called it a night around 11:30.

Surfing tomorrow...so excited I can hardly stand it!