Mermaid Travels: February 2016

I'm on an airplane flying somewhere between Madrid and Moscow, but mentally I am still in Morocco. Life never ceases to amaze me. The universe is constantly giving us exactly what we need; to learn, to grow, to flourish. What I needed was Morocco. Just at a time when I'd felt so mentally exhausted, physically disgusting, and financially depleted, something urged me to leave Europe behind and flee to this colorful country in Northern Africa. It cracked my heart open, leaving me with a smile on my face, a tan on my skin, and sand on my toes.

Although I had an entire list of places to visit and things to do, upon arriving in Tamraght I decided I'd rather be a local for a couple weeks and just stay put. I was feeling all out of whack after 3 months of constant movement between European cities and I knew I needed to regain my peace of mind. I went to Morocco to reunite with a close friend I'd met in Bali while completing our yoga teacher training. She's been living and working in this small beach town for just under a year and it has quickly become home for her. Two and a half weeks later and it felt like home to me too.

[The woman sitting next to me on the bus had henna covered hands, too cool]

I quickly adopted the 'early to bed, early to rise' lifestyle that is typical in towns revolving around the tides. I fell in love with surfing, although I have a lot of learning to do, and I reconnected to my yoga practice. I saw the sunset almost every night and was able to catch a few sunrises too. I learned how to cook tagine, pour the perfect tea, and analyze the waves. I went to the spa for a traditional hammam treatment, quite literally an overweight Moroccan woman giving me a sponge bath and body scrub (didn't hate it). I even managed to learn a bit of French and Arabic.

[Tagine!]

[Beach buds]

[I totally played creepy paparazzi on this couple but how sweet are they?!]

Bryony, the friend whom I was there to visit, was in a yoga training at a nearby luxury resort when I first arrived. She had two other friends visiting and within minutes of them picking me up from the bus station we were old friends reconnecting. We went for road trips seeking out the best surf, exploring the local markets, and trekking to Paradise Valley. Blaring music, having sing-a-longs, and laughing until we cried.

[Road trip, searching for waves!]

[Playing photog]

[Banana Village market]

[My favorite!]

[How do they grow so much produce in such a dry country??]

[Paradise Valley]

[I love you Börni Bö!]

I only stayed at B's apartment for one night before going to visit her yoga training at the posh Paradis Plage. We know how much I enjoy a nice resort and pretending I live a five star life, so as luck would have it I somehow managed to stay there for a total of 8 nights thanks to the kind generosity of fellow yogis (thank you Angelic and Christi, I love you). I reunited with my beloved yoga teachers and some other fellow teachers from Bali. Living in my fantasy bubble for a week, I took surfing lessons and lounged around on the beach, sipped mint tea while chilling at the surf house, and strolled along the sand at sunset. Life couldn't get much easier.

[Balcony view at Paradis Plage]

[Doing what I do best]

[Paradis Plage]

[Sun beds and hammocks, Paradis Plage]

Back in the local village of Tamraght, I went with B to her yoga class every morning. An open air studio on the roof of a surf hostel overlooking the ocean. Seriously? I need to move. There's awhole lot of chilling in Morocco. Yoga, surf, relax. Eat. Drink mint tea. It's the simplicity of this lifestyle that has me wishing this airplane would make a U turn and take me back. The food is delicious. The people are friendly. The scenery is gorgeous. The weather is perfect (no humidity!). There isn't a doubt in my mind that I'll be back before long.

[Yogi loves from all over the globe]