MOROCCO INSTRUCTOR COURSE USEFUL INFORMATION Taghazout Taghazout is a small fishing village in the south of Morocco. During the 60’s there were prolific numbers of hippies from Europe and North America (Jimi Hendrix would apparently frequent in the 60’s) and surfers started arriving in the 1980’s searching for uncrowded waves. Despite the influx of surf tourism, Taghazout has still managed to keep its small town feel. There are a handful of restaurants scattered along the main street and some beautifully located cafes to enjoy a coffee or freshly squeezed orange juice on the sea front. There are plenty of little grocery shops to buy supplies all within walking distance of your apartments. The Local Area As you will probably have guessed, Taghazout and the local area is renowned for its waves. Within a 15 minute drive there are over 10 amazing point breaks and dozens of beaches which make it the perfect place to learn. If you have a minute look up some of the following spot names online and you will see what we mean: Killers, Anchors, Banana point, Panoramas, Boilers, Tamri, Immesouane, Tifnit, Desert point, Crocadiles, Mysteries, La Source.... Page 1 ACCOMMODATION The Surf Berbere Surf Camp During the 12 week course you will either stay in the surf camp on Hash Point, or in a hotel 50 yards behind the surf camp. Everyone on the 12 week course will be in a twin room sharing with one other person, we’ll keep it same sex throughout. The surf camp is right on the water’s edge on Hash Point, and it is here where we all live, eat and socialise every evening. On average we have 10 - 25 guests come through the camp each week for a week long surfing holiday so you’ll have a chance to meet loads of people from all backgrounds and nationalities. In general, you won’t be surfing with the surf camp guests during the day as you are on a specialised program, however you will meet them all each evening when we all sit down for dinner and drinks. FOOD We run the Cafe KR restaurant just 50 yards from the surf camp. Each morning there is a buffet of cereals, eggs, fresh seasonal fruits and pancakes. Lunches are normally packed up and taken with you to the breaks so as to avoid having to come back in the middle of a great surf session. They normally consist of sandwiches or salads with some snacks to keep you fuelled up for the day. Dinners are served up on the surf camp roof terrace, one of the most spectacular spots to eat in Morocco or even the world, there are some pictures below. Page 2 MOROCCO GENERAL INFO Airport Pickup Our driver will greet you at Agadir airport with a Surf Berbere sign. Pleas ensure to send your arrival info to James in advance of coming out. Clothing For Females Although Morocco is a Muslim country, Taghazout is a very liberal place. Women are free to walk around the beaches in bikinis and swimsuits however it would be seen to be a little disrespectful to walk around town in the same attire. If you are walking around town, maybe just put a T-shirt and shorts/skirt on so a little less flesh is shown. Weather Taghazout enjoys 330 days of sunshine a year. The wet season is from December – February however this is of course relative. It’s rare to have more than a few days of rain at once and most of the time it clears up through out the day. The average temp during the course should be around 20ºc - 30ºc in the day. It can get a little cooler at night so please bring some warmer clothes for the evenings. TIFNIT SURF TRIP Possibly one of the best days of my life! What a “ place!! ! - Luke ” Page 3 COURSE PAYMENT Please ensure your full balance is paid 1 month before arrival as we won’t be able to arrange it once you are out here and thus you may not be able to participate in the course. MONEY The currency in Morocco is Moroccan Dirhams. It is a closed currency so it’s very difficult to get Dirhams before you arrive. There are ATMs at the airport and lots of places to change money in Agadir also. Traveller’s cheques are generally not accepted in Morocco. There is no ATM in Taghazout itself, however there is one in the next town down (Banana Village) which is about 10km away. Credit cards have not really made their way to Taghazout yet so most transactions in town are cash. BUDGET Everything you need is included in the price of your course so you shouldn’t need too much money to spend each month. Budget for around £20 - £50 a week. INSURANCE You MUST get travel insurance. This is not too expensive and can be purchased from any number of well known insurance companies. Insureandgo.com is recommended. Make sure surfing is covered in your policy. Please also ensure that your insurance is for a 90 day trip (some are only 30 days) CLOTHING For the most part, all you will need are boardies, pants and some flip flops. However, it does get cold in the evenings, so we’d recommend you bring out a hoody and maybe a jacket. This will also come in useful for the desert trip. ! Page 4 INTERNET / WIFI There is limited internet in your rooms, but definitely wifi internet in the office, cafe and on the roof terrace. Some devices will be able to pick up the signal from the rooms. The wifi is free to use any time. If in need of a higher speed reliable connection, please enquire, there are 4G dongles available. COURSE DATES The course will officially start on 10th of September, 2016 through until the 3rd of December 2016. You are welcome out a couple of days before or after free of charge (within reason), however see VISAs below. VISAS Most nationalities are given a 90 day visa at the airport in Morocco which you don’t need to arrange prior to arrival. Some countries have different arrangements so we recommend you check with your embassy. If you need to extend your VISA, this can be done at the police station once you are out here. ALCOHOL Taghazout is a dry town which means you can’t buy alcohol in the shops, cafes or restaurants. However you can drink alcohol in your apartment, on your terraces and the rooftop of the surf camp. Alcohol can be bought in Agadir from the supermarkets and prices are just a bit higher to those found in Europe. ADDRESS WHILST IN MOROCCO Surf Berbere, Hash Point, Taghazout, Morocco If you need any post sent, we recommend getting in touch with James to see if he can bring something out with him. Note that the Moroccan mail services are not that reliable. Page 5 TRIPS AROUND MOROCCO Marrakech We’ll spend a night in Marrakech taking in the sights and sounds of Morocco’s most exciting city. Try your hand at a little haggling, stare in awe at the street entertainment and indulge yourself in the food stands of Jmena El Fna. Immesoune One of the best longboarder breaks in the world – a perfect place to perfect your pop up and turns. Paradise Valley Full of natural pools, waterfalls and lush greenery, Paradise Valley is one of Surf Berbere’s favourite non-surfing excursions. Sidi Ifni & The South We’ll be taking you down to the quiet village of Sidi Ifni to surf some truly perfect and undiscovered waves. The Sahara Desert From Marrakech, we’ll take you on a Camel caravan ride into the desert, where we’ll spend the night under the desert stars. Then come back via the beautiful town of Zagora. Page 6 YOUR TEAM David 12 week course co-ordinator and host. David is an accomplished surfer with experience of some of the best spots all over the world. David will be your first port of call should you have any questions or issues throughout the 12 weeks. He is going to be working with local instructor Wail as your day to day coach. ! James The founder of Surf Berbere, he is the man to go to if you have any problems or need to discuss something. He is based in the UK, but always available on [email protected]. ! ! Nick The assessor! Nick is a former European Iron Man, founder of Nick Thorn Surf Academy down in Woolacombe. He has been running our 12 week course assessments for Surf Berbere over the last few years. He is Surfing GB level 4 and qualified SLS lifeguard assessor. He will be working with George Sohl to coordinate your assessments for both the surfing qualification and your SLS lifeguarding. Page 7 Page 8 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Anyone can spend 12 weeks on a beach, having a party and learning to surf. We at Surf Berbere believe in sustainable and responsible tourism. Since Surf Berbere’s inception we have always worked closely with the local community helping the locals in business, providing educational and sport equipment for the local children, and setting up charities and associations. ! ! ! ! The Aftas Association is an educational association Surf Berbere is heavily involved with. Below are some of the events you can be involved with over the 12 weeks. ! • Student day trip to Taroudant / Essaouirra • Cooking class day with local Nablous school • Beach activity weekend • Beach cleanup in the morning • Local kids surf competition • Beach party with bonfire and local musicians.