| Morocco. Step off
of the airplane in Agadir and you could
step back in time 1000 years. Visit
ancient walled cities, get lost in the sights
and smells of the Souk, join up with a camel
caravan headed out to a palm fringed Saharan
oasis or, head straight to the coast and
score some pumping surf.
The country of Morocco lays on
the Northwestern most tip of Africa just
below Spain.
It’s 2000+ mile coastline is angled
into the north Atlantic where massive
low pressure systems born on the United
States Eastern seaboard peak in intensity
as they hit the Moroccan swell window
delivering consistent 2 to 3 meter swells
that light up the various world class
points and reefs of the Taghazout area.
The Surf. While the desert landscape
might remind you of Baja California, the
feeling in the water is more akin to Hawaii.
A quiver of short boards in the range
of 6’0 to 6’8 should get you
into all but the most massive swells of
the year. A few things to remember when
you’re standing on a cliff watching
the sets roll in. It’s always a
little bigger than it looks, It’s
always a little faster then it looks and
oh yea, there is always a set looming
out the back. That being said if you get
a swell over 2 meters the coastline literally
lights up with an insane amount of lineups.
Everything from peeling right points to
heaving left reefs await the surf traveler
and once you get out of walking distance
from Taghazout the crowds thin and with
a little local knowledge you can surf
un-crowded waves almost every day.
Enter Denny. He’s been
scouring this coast for over ten years
and is the owner of Moroccan Surf Adventures
(www.morocsurf.com).
For a killer price you can crash at his
3 story pad with a sick roof deck, breakfast
and lunch included and on top of it all
he’ll drive you up and down the
coast all day long until you can’t
move your arms or are just plain tired
of freight train right points. When you
get home the fridge is packed full of
cold FLAG beer and for a few bucks more
you can enjoy some world class Moroccan
food cooked up almost every night by his
lovely wife Emma.
Having hosted the likes of Mike
Loosness, Shane Dorian, Taj Burrow, Dan
Malloy and Taylor Steele, Den is definitely
the guy you want on your side.
He knows the winds, tides, various lineups
and mysto spots (most of which he pioneered)
better than anyone in the Taghazout area.
If your lucky enough to share your trip
with the likes of Ivan, Rookie, or a crew
from Jersey then you might just have a
mental surf trip that will keep you stoked
for months to come.
Thanks for everything Den!
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