I wanted to get this post up right when we got home and were still all juiced up from this trip, but it took me a little while to get my shit together.

Anyway, let’s get into it…..  Jen and I went to Morocco for a couple weeks to attend our friend’s wedding in Marrakech and then travel with them and some friends for a few days. A day or two after the wedding, we got in two SUV’s and started driving five hours through the desert to a town called Imsouane. They didn’t tell us much about it other than we had a house on the water in this little surfing town and that it was “the roots”.

We tried to get into town before the sun went down, but got a late start and made the usual road trip stops. The final approach was in the pitch black night down a  very narrow winding dirt road that went on for a few miles. Jen had her eyes closed and was pretty nervous although we were only driving around 25 mph’s.

We got there late at night and couldn’t really see anything around us, but got settled in, had dinner, drank some beers and compared ipods for a few hours.

The house we rented is pictured above (not my pic), and it’s called the Board House. It’s right on the edge of this cliff at the top of the town.

 

This is the view we woke up to the first morning.

(view from roof using iphone autostitch ap)

 

 

 

So that was the view from the house. Place was sweet. This view is of one of the beaches. You had to trek down a real crusty path to get there, but it was worth it. The water was very calm, but as you can see, it gets pretty bonkers in the winter.

 

(not my pic)

 

Here are some more pics from the beach. You can see our house up on the hill. The french girls love these hats.

 

 

 

Every afternoon a few soccer games would pick up.

 

 

Base Camp

 

Here are some pics of downtown by the other beach. It was pretty “roots” as they said to me. A couple restaurants, surfshops, food vendors, and a little fish auction right where the boats come in.

 

(not my pic)

 

 

 

 

We were rolling with such a great group of people. The chemistry was amazing and we were halfway across the world, doing the exact same shit: beach all day, come back to house and start getting banged up, play some music, grill up some food, make fun of each other…. it was just perfect.

These are pics of the last night when we all drank A LOT and went out to the one late-night restaurant in town for couscous. This wasn’t the best couscous of the trip, but it was a great night.

 

 

Max is a savage

 

 

Africa done got me.

 

I had trouble pouring the mint tea at this point.

 

 

 

This is the view from the narrow dirt road that we couldn’t see coming in.

 

 

So, what’s the Imsouane recap? The place is definitely “the roots” as described. I almost felt like I was in Arabic Jamaica at times….in a very good way. There were a lot of shanty huts, but they were building some bigger houses up on the hill. The views, beach and weather are beautiful, the locals are cool, the vendors are mellow, the food is fresh and cheap, and if you can get into the Board House, you’re all set. There really isn’t anything to do there other than go to the beach, but if you want to get away to the edge of the earth and especially if you’re a surfer, I would highly recommend taking this trip. Speaking French or Arabic is a plus, but if you’re friendly, surf, or play a little soccer,  i’m sure you can connect with some locals and do just fine pretty quickly. The drive out is a little tricky and long, but not that bad. I’m glad we had a friend who had been there before, but I don’t think it’s necessary to have a tour guide.