Morocco - "The Sand"

The seaside town of Tifnit (one of the favorite spots I visited).

Morocco is a very beautiful country with a unique culture and interesting landscape. When I visited, I spent the majority of my time close to the town of Agadir. The climate in this region is very dry and desert-like (If you go a bit further south, you will be in the Western Sahara). These are a few pictures I took from the beaches around Agadir. I loved the washed out colors of the buildings and the bright/blue contrast of the ocean.

Sand Dunes at another deserted beach.

Loved the washed out colors of the homes mixed with the desert sands.

Cool color combination.

Can I get some flare?

Another charming seaside village on sand dunes.

Yes?

The fleet of fishing boats at Tifnit

Loved the doors on the buildings in Morocco. Seemed like every house had a unique entry.

Making the trek to the reef break at Tifnit.

Could I get some building with my satellite TV? (only about 5 of the 500 channels were in English) I stayed in one of these apartments featured on the right.

Flying from Casablanca to Agadir... Atlas mountains in the background.

Morocco - "The Sun"

The sun rising over the mountains.

Since I've been living on the east coast for a number of years, I've kind of forgot how nice it is to watch the sunset over the ocean. These are a few images I took from my beachside apartment in Taghazout.

Again, I need to thank Surf Maroc for providing me with such amazing accommodations! (the apartment was 3 times bigger than my current place in Boston) Nothing is better than being able to fall asleep and wake up to the sound of the ocean.

Last light of the evening.

Morocco - "The Surf"

The famous "Anchor Point" in Tagazhout. Surfer in the midst of a cutback.

Morocco has some of the best right hand point breaks in the world (water also stays relatively warm year round)... and in Taghazout, several of these point breaks happen to be located within a 5 mile radius of each other. They need a bit of a swell to break well, but if you stay there for at least a week during January or February, you're guaranteed at least a couple sessions at one of these spots. Recommend staying at Surf Maroc if you want to stay in a good location, have comfortable accommodations, eat great food, and be right next to the surf!

When I visited Morocco, the locals were complaining about the surf being "small"... but we still managed to surf head high+ waves the entire trip. I have to credit our surf guides Simo & Jo for finding us these waves. It wouldn't have been the same without them. Thank you!!
Also want to thank the gracious hosts at Surf Maroc!

View of Anchor Point from the car lot.

Chilling out on the rocks in Taghazout.

In Morocco, body boarders are respected the same as surfers. The doesn't seem to be any animosity between the two. Here we have a body boarder from Ireland (Chris) taking off deeper than everyone else at Anchors.

Waiting to make "the jump" at Anchors (timing is everything). Before I paddled out for my frist session, we saw someone that didn't time the jump too well... and was covered in blood. Not the most motivating thing to see before my first session.

The wave at Tifnit... one of my favorite spots in Morocco (not to be confused with Tiznit or Tinfit).

The "Trestles Wave"?

Looking down at Killers... epic. It was cool to see the swell lines form a boomerang shape as they hit the reef. I didn't get a chance to surf Killers, but it looked like it had great potential.

Just around the corner from Taghazout is a beach break called Tamri. This was a really interesting spot... because the wind could be blowing fully onshore at all the breaks in Tagazhout and still be offshore in Tamri. The beach break might look perfect in this picture, but it was challenging if you were surfing it for the first time... sandbars were constantly shifting and conditions were constantly changing (I just did what the locals did).

Looking down the beach at Tamri. 

This photo was taken on the way to the reef break at Tifnit. If you didn't feel like walking, you could take the donkey for 10 dirham (1 USD).

One of the surf mobiles. It was deceptively large inside the car.

Local fisherman at Tiftin.

Watching the Sunrise @ MAD

As I was en route to Morocco, I had a bit of a layover at MAD (Madrid International Airport). I arrived in the pre-dawn hours and proceeded to the One World Iberia lounge (wish I was here in the afternoon... because the complimentary wine bar looks incredible). As I was enjoying a cappuccino and some fruit, I noticed that the sky behind some the hills started to glow. I went over and took a picture (through the extremely dirty windows) right before the sun made its way over the hills. Good start to my trip!

Somewhere Over Central America

I love the giant clouds that form in tropical locations. Here are a couple grainy iPhone images that I took while I was en route to El Salvador.

Somewhere Over Miami

Over the last year, I've found myself spending a lot of time in the Miami International Airport (wedding, airplane transfers, etc)... and I've really grown to dislike it (especially the customs area). However, it's certainly nice to fly into. Here are some grainy iPhone photos that I've taken over the last year.

Somewhere Over NYC

Some grainy iPhone images taken from above NYC... it felt like the pilot purposely flew us over all of the tourist spots on this particular flight. Felt like I should have paid extra??

Somewhere Over the Gulf of Mexico

Taken somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico as I was en route to El Salvador. Love the turquoise blue water and fluffy clouds sitting on top of it. 

Maine Coastline

I took this photo on the northern most end of York Beach (in Maine) where a giant point sticks out into the ocean. I like to imagine that if the swell was big enough, came from the right direction, and the tide was right... a wave would break the entire length of the point. I don't think that this is actually possible, but it's fun to imagine!

Sunsets from 40,000ft

Over the last few years, I've flown quite a bit... and I always seem to be in the air when the sun is rising or setting. I'm not sure if it's because I'm looking at the sunset from a different angle (or because I've had a couple glasses of wine), but they are quite breathtaking at 40,000ft. Somewhat recently I changed my "seating preference" from aisle to window and started documenting the sunsets with my Canon EOS T1i camera or iPhone camera (whichever is more convenient to access at the time). This is a small collection of the sunsets/sunrises I've experienced... some of which I've already featured.