Taghazout, morocco

Since I came home from Portugal in October 2024 I knew I wanted to go somewhere in January and combine it with some kind of work. At first my thoughts was around Indonesia since I enjoyed Sri Lanka so much and wanted to explore something similar, regarding nature, and also I wanted to be able to surf. I decided to search for places to go on the big island Java, Indonesia, and started looking on Worldpackers for volunteer oppurtunites. I stumbled across a coffee farm close to Bromo Nationalpark and decided to apply for a job; I have been working in a coffee shop and a cafe for 4+ years and thought it would be funny to learn more about coffee. Anyway I got the job and started communicating with the owner on Whatsapp - so I had a plan…. I thought..

In november I started thinking more about my trip and where I should go afterwards; I knew I wanted to go to Lombok, Indonesia, to surf, but I had to make sure when excatly I had to work on the coffee farm. I contacted the owner and then he responded me and said that I unfortunately did not have the job anymore; what?! I had to change plans again, but I am so used to that ahah, so it did not bother me so much, other than the fact that I really did looked forward to work on the coffee farm, but whatever we will save that for another time ;) I tried to apply for several jobs in Lombok, Indonesia and also other places on Java, but with no luck - that is a part of the journey, “you win some, you lose some”. Time flew by, I worked in the coffee shop and cafe and I sometimes thought; “what should I do in January?”, and when all my friends and family asked about my plan I said “I don’t know what I am gonna do, but I will definetly go somewhere in January”.

One day I had a call with my friend Julia, who I met in Sri Lanka, and she told me she booked a flight to Morocco for a month in January. She was just gonna go there and maybe volunteer. I thought that sounded nice and we both started looking and applying for volunteers jobs; mainly in surfcamps. And now I think you know what happened? We did not get a job…. but Julia was going to Morocco anyway and I still didn’t know where I was going. By this time I think it was December, but I just kept on looking on a map of the world to figure out where I wanted to go - what a “luxurious” problem when you can’t decide where to go…

I then thought of going to Japan and combine it with skiing, since I knew I had to improve my skiing, because I just got an invitation to go ski-touring with my brother on Greenland in spring 2025. I have heard so much about skiing in Japan and started applying for jobs; I tried on Worldpackers and I also send a few emails to cafes or coffee shops I found on Instagram. It was last minute and I really wanted to go! After some time I got a job in Niseko, Japan but after a few thoughts I decided to cancel since I didn’t get much in exchange of the work I would offer; note that it was a volunteer position, so not paid. It was with mixed feelings I cancelled because I have been working so hard the past few months to figure out where I would be going in January and finally I got an opportunity; and it was quite amazing, since I would be able to combine it with skiing in Japan! But I decided that it wasn’t worth it and that I could go to Japan another time. December went by and 2024 was over and I still didn’t know where I was going in January; and now it was already January?!!

The first weekend of January I went to my grandmas house together with my siblings and I thought of giving Morocco a second chance. I started applying for jobs on Instagram and also I send so many emails to surfcamps. I tried to apply for both me and Julia, since I knew she was gonna be there. I randomly looked at flights again, both with no high hopes, since I have been looking for the past two months and the flights were not cheap. But guess what?! I saw a really cheap flight next friday; NOTE this was in one week. I thought about that flight all day long and tried to apply to even more surfcamps and then in the evening I said “why not” and I booked the flight ahah. I told my grandma and siblings and they were happy for me, but also thought I was a bit crazy leaving in a week. But we are quite used to the spontaneous trips in my family, since my brother travels a lot as a photographer and sometime spontaneous. Anyway I knew Julia was gonna be there, so what’s the worst that could happen? I told Julia aswell and off course she was thrilled to hear that I WAS GOING TO MOROCCO!

I still didn’t have a job and also I always pack and figure out stuff last minute. I still had to work in the coffee shop the upcoming week aswell. On my shift Tuesday, 4 days before departure, I got a DM from one of the surfhostels I applied to; Julia and I got a job! I was so happy and felt like I won the lottery. I told Julia immediately and she was happy as well.

The week went by and I took the flight to Morocco on Saturday the 11th of January. Excited for new adventures! It was beautiful flying over the diverse landscape of Morocco. Arrived in Agadir airport and had to try to find my driver. That wasn’t easy and I almost went with the wrong one. Found the right one and now the journey was on. I’ve tried crazy traffic in Sri Lanka so I’m quite used to it, but I tell you this driver drove crazy and was on the phone the whole hour ahha, but anyway I thought of it as an authentic experience and enjoyed the views. I arrived in Taghazout and found the surfhostel. I also found Julia and it was SO NICE to finally see her again after almost one year. We found our manager and he showed us around. It was a bit overwhelming and very different standards from what we are used to: again a priviliged problem! Julia and I started doubting our decision because we were a bit overwhelmed. To be honest it was also very confusing getting showed around and learning about the different tasks we had to do as volunteers, because it wasn’t so organised. We then met another girl Reka, from Hungary, who was also gonna stay as a volunteer. She was also kinda confused. The three of us were overwhelmed and thought we should do something about our situation. So we went around town and knocked on so many doors trying to find another place to volunteer. Nobody needed help last minute, make sense… By this time we thought that “the grass was greener somewhere else”, but to be honest I now regret a bit how I acted on the first day, because it ended up being and amazing experience. I think it was just to much at once; unorganised, a bit dirty, new country and culture after a long travelday - but now I learned that this is the beauty of Morocco and after staying there for almost a month I find it so charming, that it’s a bit more dirty and not so organised as for example Denmark. But Reka, Julia and I went back and we made a decision. Reka and I was gonna stay and volunteer and Julia was gonna live at a hostel nearby, since she also had to study, so she thought it would be to much to work aswell. WHAT A START.

So Reka and I stayed together and we quickly became good friends. I still saw Julia, but not as often as I thought because we planned on staying somewhere together. But that’s life; you never know what’s gonna happen and that’s the beauty of the journey. Reka and I had fun as volunteers and to be honest we didn’t do so much compared to other places I have been volunteering. We helped Abdel preparing the breakfast in the morning, setting the table and doing the dishes afterwards. Everything was a bit more primitive, but we always made it work and the food was delicious. Some mornings there where only one guest eating breakfast and other mornings 10 guest. So the work was easy. I think we also went there at a time where there weren’t so many guest. Then we took out the trash and that is something else here in Morocco. You just place it all at one place and I tell you there is trash everywhere and it smells - but Reka and I always tried to turn it into a “fun” activity. After the morning shift I typically went surfing with Rashid and the guests. I love surfing and that was also one of the reasons I went to Morocco in the end. Rashid was the best teacher I have had so far. He was so patient and gave you so much advice and I really progressed my technique. Time is just something else here in Morocco so it always took a while to go surfing; and to be honest I was sometimes (actually often…) the reason we were late ahah. But we always made it in the end and took the car to “Mysteries”, a beginner/intermediate friendly spot next to the known Anchor Point where the advanced surfers go. We brought our surfboards, wetsuit and a lunchbox and picked a spot on the beach. One thing that surprised me, in a good way, was that we always just placed our backpacks with all of our belongings on the beach next to an umbrella and then went surfing without anybody watching our stuff. I thought that was so beautiful since everybody trust each other and nobody steals. After 2-3 hours of surfing we went out of the water and ate lunch at the beach. Sometimes people went back in the water, but I typically just walked home from “Mysteries” or waited for the rest to be done surfing to go back with the car.

Some days Abdel had to go out of town to run some errands and then Reka and I had to stay around the hostel during the day. It was kinda boring, but at the same time more than okay, because I felt like we didn’t do so much ahah. Another task was setting the table before dinner at 20:00 and then Hassan was preparing the dinner. AND OMG, Hassan is the best chef in the world. So tasty diverse Moroccan food made in the smallest kitchen, I think he is amazing and so patient. After dinner we had to do the dishes and that was basically it. The dishes were done by hand, the only way to do it there - authentic and something that needs your patience. I don’t know why but I really don’t mind doing the dishes by hand. I think it’s super satisfying and it gives you plenty of time to have great conversations with the ones around you. Reka and I did the dishes with Abdel’s favourite songs playing in the background. Always some kind of cover music ahaha, to be honest Reka and I wasn’t always the biggest fan. If we tried to change the song or if I sometimes turned down the volume a bit, Abdel would turn the volume back on and put the right music on - it was a part of the “routine” and I kinda love it. Off course Abdel let Reka and I choose songs aswell, but there were specific moments where he always played the same songs, ohh I miss it! After dinner we either went to Munga to have a few beers with friends, hang out with the guests of the hostel or went to our room and chilled. We typically went to either Taghazout Skatepark or to the beach to catch the sunset before dinner and then we always had to be back at 20:00 for our “shift”.

Taghazout Skatepark is such a cool place! It’s just a vibe! It’s located a bit uphill, but I mean it was only a 7 min. hike. But to be honest it was always kind of exhausting ahah and it was hard to reach the top without sweating a bit… Let me describe the vibe: You walk up a sandy path while you watch the sun slowly setting over the ocean. Behind you there is the vibrant life of Taghazout and you’re surrounded by other young people dressed in the most amazing ways! You arrive at the top and the music is playing and there are people everywhere watching people skate. Next to the skatepark you have some local people selling coffee, vintage clothes, homemade jewelry, and street food. It was always kind of difficult to find a spot, since there was always a LOT of people - but you will manage to squeeze in somewhere and then you can just enjoy the sunset and people skating. And a tip; always bring something to drink. If you haven’t don’t worry, there will be guys selling Moroccan mint tea with sugar or honey. The mint tea is a part of the whole experience and the guys will make sure it’s made to your taste!

In general Morocco surprised in so many good ways. I had no expectations when I arrived and left Morocco knowing that I would go back as soon as possible. I have been to quite a few places the past two years, but there was just something so special about Taghazout. The little old fishermen village, the vibrant streets, the beautiful sunsets everyday and all of the amazing people I’ve met. And the Moroccan people are just super kind and welcoming.

Let me tell a few sweet stories from my time in Imsouane. Imsouane is a lovely little bay a bit north of Taghazout. Like Taghazout Imsouane is a old fishermen town and if you’re into surfing you will find one of Africas longest waves there - it’s perfect for longboarders!

Julia and I went together and grabbed a taxi and our driver was Mohammed. On the way we stopped in the middle of nowhere for 40 min in a small village so Mohammed could be a part of the midday prayer - it was such a beautiful moment, because Julia and I was just sitting in the taxi talking and everything around us just stopped. The whole village was silent for a while and then once the prayer was over it was full of life again. It was a special moment. Even though Julia and I felt quite like tourist in that moment, because we were in a taxi going on a trip to Imsouane, we also felt that it was so authentic, because Mohammed had to do his prayer and we respected that and just waited the extra minutes - it’s the little things that brings you the joy, and that truly was a special experience.

Julia and I felt like we were in heaven since we rented an Airbnb ahah. We quickly went to buy some food and stumbled across some local men selling fresh vegetables and fruit from a loaded car. We ended up buying so much for only 4 euros!? That was so beautiful (I think Julia and I are just excited about fresh food). We filled up our fridge and lived out of that together with oats, chickpeas, and a whole lot of AMLO (the almond/peanutbutter thing). We spend our time walking super slow to the beach looking for waves, because we thought we were going to surf a lot. Instead we just took naps, cooked food, talked and went on some nice walks next to the ocean. What I like about Imsoaune is that it’s a bit more abandoned than Taghazout. You can walk 5 min out of Imsouane and you have the rough on-touched nature, whereas in Taghazout you have big roads and towns nearby - just more people ahah. After a few missed attempts trying to go for a sunrise surf in the morning we finally managed to go on the last morning - we had 3 days in total. Julia and I went and let me tell you; it was the worst sessions I’ve had in my life, ahah… I didn’t catch one single wave. But I didn’t give up for 2-3 hours ahha. I felt so stupid, but also it was overwhelming because Imsoaune is full of people, since the waves are amazing! And then you have a quite strong current aswell, but no excuses Anna; I was so bad that day. But anyway we tried. Now I HAVE to go back to prove Imsouane I can catch at least one wave, ahah.

After spending a few days in Imsouane relaxing, talking, sleeping, eating fresh vegetables, and surfing only once we went back to Taghazout. Julia had forgot her camera in Mohammed’s taxi when we drove to Imsouane and thought that it might be gone by now or that someone maybe took it. We thought we should try to search for Mohammed in the taxi spot, but how in the world would we find him when there were so many taxi drivers. After being dropped off with the bus from Imsouane we randomly spotted Mohammed and quickly went to ask him about the camera. He was so happy to see us and immediately told us that he found the camera and put it somewhere safe. Mohammed told us he didn’t know how to find us again, but that he wanted to keep the camera until he would find us. It was so wholesome and a sweet moment that reminds you of all the great people in this world and that we should sometimes think a bit more about how we maybe view some parts of the world. Without lying I did think of Morocco as a sketchier place when first going there, since I’ve been told some quite bad stories. But as always, I want to shape my own impressions of the place I visit. Morocco is not a bad place at all, it’s full of lovely people like Mohammed and I think it’s so important to not just label a place as “bad” or “good” just because of some stories you’ve heard - shape your preconception of a place based on your own impressions. It might seem scary to just go somewhere on your own and trust the people around you, but 99% of the time the people are so ready to help you and make you feel welcome. So trust the ones around you and off course listen to your gut if something doesn’t feel right. BUT DON’T be scared to travel the world and be with the locals, be curios and I promise you that you will experience amazing things!

There is so much more than just Taghazout and Imsouane in Morocco so I’m definitely not done yet. This time it just made more sense to stay at one place, since I also worked as a volunteer, and I also wanted to be able to surf every day. And also, everything happened last minute but that’s how I like it…

Whether you like surfing or not Morocco is a must visit and I can recommend going to Taghazout if you would like to be surrounded by other young people and like to go to a bar once in a while ;) Taghazout will bring you sun, good waves, nice ceramics, tasty food, bonfires at the beach, mint tea and an authentic experience combined with the vibrant life of tourism/travelers.