Holiday Blues , First Day Back from a Surftrip

I arrived back in the UK less than 24 hours ago after another fabulous surf trip to Surf Star Morocco. I’m never prepared for the shock of the first day at home. I’m so flat today I’m only a few moments away from sobbing my heart out and I feel like I’ll never get over it. I took my first walk to the shop earlier. Down the cold grey streets, walking past the grey houses and the grey people it hit me, this is my grey life.

As I sorted through my bag and grains of sand fell on the kitchen floor I thought about the warm colours of Morocco, the deep reds and earthy oranges of the houses which glow in the sunset when I look out towards Taghazout. The splashes of bright blue of the fishing boats and the jalabas and head scarves of the camel guides. I remember the unknown smells and sounds, the fires that filled the village with a smoky haze, the mosque’s call to prayer , the orchestra of dogs barking in the distance and the inky blanket of stars at night.

You will ride anything. Someone once said to me that the best time of your surfing life is when you are beginner as the better you get the shitter the waves get. I get this, the better you get at surfing the less you’ll want to get into slop, the more likely you are to look at the waves and decide not to get in but, as a Landlocked and pretty shit surfer progress is much slower and so this phase of getting in anything lasts longer.

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Of course a trip to Morocco always means surf, fun and some massive, massive laughs. But, it almost always has some sort of transformative effect on people and this trip was no different. Having been through what can only be described as , the trauma of being a beginner surfer I had the joy of having two friends along for the ride going through it for the first time. While Surf Bloke went off to do ‘grown up’ surfing, we named ourselves Team Circus on account of our ridiculousness on the beach. It was an absolute pleasure to watch the highs and lows, the epic battle of body and mind and finally the reward when they both got to stand up and ride a wave. What a beautiful moment on the last day when the entire beach and the line up erupted into cheers every time someone got a wave, after all, we’d all been through the battle together.

The peacefulness and total detachment from normal life that people always feel at Surf Star gives you head space to think about the things your brain is normally too busy for. At one point I forgot what the inside of my house looked like. Many people during our week said they had thought about the things they want out of life or want to achieve and were motivated to make some changes back at home, surfing will do that to you. It gives you a motivation to go out and grab life by the balls outside of the water too.

So, with heavy, thankful hearts, tired limbs, a collection of bruises, a serious ibuprofen addiction and a head full of happy memories all we can do is accept a return to normality tomorrow, start work on the grand plans we have come back with and plan the next trip. Thanks to the wonderful team at Surf Star Morocco once again xx