Moroccan. Terra. Flow

I have sat here looking at the curser blink for a good five minutes not knowing how to start this.

How do you start writing about something you never expected to do, something so random in a place you never knew or thought about, doing two activities you are pretty sure you were put on this earth to do the exact opposite off.

So I googled “What does Terra Flow stand for in yoga?”

This is what it came back with, its actually from Tara’s website and is the perfect description of what she does, and what she did for us in Morocco.

The word “Terra” means from Earth, which connects us to grounding and stabilising energies, and the word “flow” is the foundation movement we focus on in our Vinyasa-based yoga practises, however, it’s also our philosophy to continue to trust in our flow and follow the flow…. Welcome to Terra Flow Yoga.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Keep moving, keep grounded and things will come with ease.

So if you see a yoga teacher put a post on facebook asking if anyone is interested in photographing a yoga and surf retreat in Morocco… you guest it. You comment! You private message! And you also try not to seem too creepy or eager with the obvious keenness and desire to hopscotch to the north of Africa with very little travel knowledge and zero idea of what to expect when you were to get there. Between the photographing you also have the opportunity to do yoga when you cant touch your toes, and to surf when you have no balance or athletic ability. Which is also the reason you think you cant do yoga.

Then 6 months later….. you get on a plane….. and you land in Morocco. A culture and environment that you know hardly anything about and is to be honest, really damn daunting. But those are the things that travel changes in you. You are humbled by the hustle and bustle while simultaneously appreciating your quiet life, you are weirdly getting an adrenaline rush from it and can feel the energy and life. Thats what its about, even if you are scared you still have to keep making decisions and putting one foot in front of the other, keep moving, keep the flow.

Jared and Trish are friends who I was travelling with (more about them in the Paris and Lisbon blog), these images are from the plane on the flight into Marachech and then inside the 4 hr bus journey to Agadir from Marachech. We weren’t sure what to expect, the bus was great, the bus station was actually a derelict office building with no windows and about 20 desperately attentive taxi drivers grabbing our gear very very eager to earn our fare. That was daunting and I will be honest I felt really flustered while trying to make a decision. A lesson I took from this is its ok to be assertive and its actually important to do so. They almost respected it.

From the bus station (almost building, think less walls and less windows) we made our way to Taghazout, a surf town close to the water with some of the best surf a 20 minute drive in a few different directions. We found the road in the little village with the info we had and thought we had arrived….. at Surf Maroc as our taxi driver assured us we were at the right place.

Turns out that was the surf shop and cafe, which was great, but not where we were meant to be. So off we go again with our luggage on the dirt road. This was one of those moments that I thought, this is what happens with travel, these are the moments you remember, learn and adapt. I was tired, I was hungry, I was a little nervous and I was glad I was travelling with Trish, Jared and Penny.

We knew we were close, but after a full day of traveling we were keen to find our group and settle in as we were the last to arrive. We found our home for the next week down a little ally that if we hadn’t been given an accurate description to be honest we probably wouldn’t have gone down. We were greeted by the lovely Ella from L’Auberge accomodation. The cafe downstairs was laced with vines, wood and woven rope wrapped chairs with a stairway up the side, it felt homely and friendly. We hauled all our luggage to the first floor (Sorry Jarred, I will buy a backpack next time not a suitcase with crap wheels) I turn around…. and this is what I see.

And I was totally ok with it, I welcomed it like we were welcomed by a group of people we didn’t know, some we had meet before or had seen around from Port hedland, the rest were strangers from the US, Canada and Darwin. All of us coming together for our own reasons and a little adventure and break from the world.

The next week was filled with laughter, tears, yoga, surfing, the best food ever and honestly the friendliest staff. They were so thoughtful and at-tentative, I wondered if Dane would mind moving over.

I can tell you that I gave up coffee for the entire 7 days and after the first two felt a lot better for it, that traditional Moroccan peppermint tea is so much better than regular and it will settle the stomach. I can surf better than I can snowboard, I can do much more yoga than I anticipated, and you can learn a lot about yourself by jumping in and taking yourself on an experience like this that Tara from Terra Flow Yoga created.

This trip is not something I ever thought I would do. An African continent, a different religion, a different culture, people I don’t know, Yoga I didnt think I could do, surfing 2 waves i didn’t think I could surf, and a growing assertiveness with my travel decisions. But the one thing I went with was a desire to photograph the experience in an honest, respectful and visually beautiful way.

I did all those things, plus more. Now that I look back on it it really was a once in a life time, it feels romantic even, the alleyways with little shops leading up to our accomodation, the kids running around at the markets, the very very patient surf instructors and the daily yoga at sunrise and sunset led by Tara and Bianca where we were encouraged to do what felt right and to leave it all on the mat.

It was an experience that I needed to have, and one that I am very very grateful for. If you want to travel to one of the best surfing spots in the world that is almost untouched by the western world with people that will touch you with their kindness the L’Auberge at Surf Maroc Taghazout is the place to be. If you want to be challenged in a safe place, to literally stretch yourself to do thinkings you didn’t think you would or could, then speak to Tara from Terra Flow Yoga. She does retreats every year and is quickly becoming a very special person to follow and learn from, not only with her yoga, but her friendship and thought provoking posts on her social media.

Morocco, you surprised me, I surprised myself and I have the memories, friends and images to prove it.

More photos are below, please comment on the post or let myself or Tara know if you have any questions about where we went, who to contact, or what we did.

The only other thing I can say is Thank you Morocco.