Surfing Essaouira

Essaouira is a perfect destination for surfing - & even for kitesurfing actually, there were so many in the water...

You can easily reach the beach from the Medina by foot in about 15 minutes or if you're too lazy - or too late - to walk, you can also grab a taxi at the city entrance, that will leave you at the beach a couple of minutes later for about 1€.

Essaouira beach is a safe place for surfing & great for beginners, honestly the main problem you'll have is to avoid kitesurfers.

Plus you can surf all day long, not worrying about tides! 

Keen to really improve our surf level, we took some lessons.

I emailed several surf schools before the departure & chose Explora as they seemed to be very professional & also they had great feedbacks on tripadvisor.

& I must say we weren't disappointed at all!

We had great & fun instructors, we rented there our boards & they have a good equipment & they're right on the beach.

On the first day the instructor even came to pick us up at our hotel (even though Explora is really easy to find).

They also arrange camels or horses rides on the beach, buggy adventures & surf trips. 

And once per week they organize a dinner with all the people staying at the school.

Wanting to explore a bit more the surroundings, we also booked a day trip Sidi Kaouki on our second day in Essaouira.

Sidi Kaouki is a small village about 30 km from Essaouira. It's really small & so much less touristic. I really liked it. 

There's a long sandy beach with good waves, it's a good spot but more for intermediate surfers. 

We enjoyed a good surf session in the morning, followed by a fish based lunch in one of the restaurants right on the beach & a walk on the shore.

After lunch hubby - who has now become a huge surf lover!! - & I were ready to be back in the water again, but the people who were with us were scared of the stronger waves of Sidi Kaouki & insisted for coming back to Essaouira. Which actually was not a big issue, as we jumped again in the water as soon as we reached Eassouira beach!

We surfed there all the rest of our stay & we really enjoyed it! I wish I could go back so badly right now!!!

On our last day we had previously booked a horse ride on the beach, but we were so enjoying surfing, that we eventually cancelled it & took another lesson instead. The guy from Explora was so kind that he didn't even charge us the additional cost as our trip to Sidi Kaouki was shorter than planned.

I can't really recommend enough Explora if you're in Essaouira & you're looking for surfing, kitesurfing lessons or rental equipment or if you're up for any kind of adventure!

Another great thing about surfing Essaouira is the view. I don't know you, but, apart from good waves, I really enjoy surfing in a beautiful spot. One of my best memory is a session in Etretat, Normandy, where we surfed at sunset surrounded by those wonderful cliffs...

In Essaouira you can surf looking at the old city on one side & Mogador island on the other :)

Not bas as a view right ? ;)

We didn't only surfed in Essaouira btw, we also ate. A lot. Surfing make one hungry right? And it's a high calories burning sport... ;p

Anyway, I have a couple of yummy adresses for you, I'll tell you more tomorrow! :D

Essaouira : fishing harbor & the medina

I first tried to put at-the-time-the-not-yet-hubby on a surf board a couple of years ago, during a trip in La Tranche sur Mer, with no very good results... 

We surfed again together in Australia last October and he happily & unexpectedly really liked it.

I couldn't miss the chance! So for Christmas I offered him a surfing trip to Morocco.

I hesitated among a couple of destinations & after some talking with a surfer friend, I chose the fortified city and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Essaouira, that is a good spot for beginners plus it's a place I've been wanting to visit for some time. 

On a cold March sunrise, the head full of images of blue boats & seagulls, we left grey & rainy Paris in search of sun & good waves.

We arrived early morning & still a little bit sleepy in sunny Essaouira & after a yummy breakfast

ready we were to explore the city

We crossed the beautiful main square

 to head to the fishing harbor

All those blue boats against the blue sky are just too beautiful, aren't they? Let me tell you, this place is wonderful to snap pictures :)

We climbed the tower you see in this last pic ^ to have a view of the harbor from above & to enjoy the view over the Medina of Essaouira.

My nice sweater is from Promod & it's on sale right now . 

We continued our morning walk with the Medina, wandering among the stalls of food, herbs, teas, local handicraft & other stuff...

I've been wanting to buy all the cute & colorful dishes & bowls, before remembering that we already have plenty at home from our previous trip to Marrakech...

We marveled at the blue painted doors while getting lost in the tiny streets...

I bought a couple of Moroccan lipsticks, a henna based lipstick that gives your lips a very natural pink color that lasts hours - even when you drink & eat! 
The lipstick reacts to the lips ph so the shade of pink changes from a person to another. Basically, it's magical! ;) 
Oh yes and the lipstick is green. Or blue. Or any other weird color.  

This is one of my  favorite beauty products, since when a friend of mine made me discover it, last year.
You can find it in Morocco & all North Africa, but also on Amazon ;)
Plus we shared a very good green tea with the seller!

Strolling the medina, we started to make our way back to the harbor

Where we previously saw a line of blue fish restaurants with outside tables in the sun. Just the perfect spot for lunch! :) 

They were all cooking seafood at more or less the same price, so we picked one in the middle & settled down to enjoy a good fish based meal!

That was even better than what we thought! 

Full & happy, we came back to our hotel to meet our surf instructor & dive into waves! 
More about our surfing adventures tomorrow!