Day 170 - Surf Sessions, Creative Kids and a Rough End to the Day
We woke up feeling pretty good this morning, which honestly felt like a win after the last few days. Everyone had been battling sensitive stomachs on and off since arriving in Morocco, so waking up healthy and full of energy was a nice change. We eased into the morning with coffees, cooked eggs for breakfast, and just milled around the apartment for a while.
The big plan for the day was surfing. The swell had finally picked back up after a few really flat days, and the crew at KSC had told us Saturday was shaping up to be the best day of the week. Everyone was excited to get back out there.
Before heading out, I got stuck into working on Kia’s kinesiology website. I’ve been making really good progress with it lately and was pretty determined to get it finished properly. While I worked away in the office, Kia called one of her close friends back home who is about to have a baby. The two of them sat chatting for ages while the kids drifted in and out of the room all morning.
It turned into a really creative morning for everyone. Emmett had decided to start cutting up old socks that no longer fit him and turning them into clothing for his toys. He was completely invested in it. Maddie joined in too, and together they started making little desert outfits for their soft toys using bits of fabric, socks and old material. They made backpacks, hoodies, pants, scarves and all sorts of random little creations. Emmett even pulled out the sewing kit we bought in Italy and started stitching everything together properly. Watching him carefully sew tiny bits of fabric together was honestly pretty impressive.
So while I was being creative with the website, the kids were off doing their own little creative projects, and Kia was catching up with her friend back home. It was one of those really nice slow mornings where everyone was happily doing their own thing.
Eventually, once Kia got off the phone, things turned chaotic pretty quickly as we rushed to get everyone organised for surfing. By the time we finally got out the door it was close to lunchtime, but everyone was too excited to care. We skipped lunch entirely and headed straight to the surf shop.
We grabbed a board each for the kids and one board each for Kia and I to share because we weren’t doing a lesson this time. We just wanted to surf with the kids ourselves. We also hired another wetsuit for Kia because the water here is still surprisingly cold.
The wind had picked up quite a bit, so carrying three surfboards down to the beach turned into a bit of a mission. I carried two boards, Kia carried one, Emmett took all the leg ropes, and Maddie carried the GoPro.
Once we got down to the beach, we realised the surf was definitely bigger than the previous days, but the wind had made the ocean pretty messy. Big sets were rolling through, and in between them the water was rough and choppy, which made things harder for the kids. Both of them had built up a lot of confidence over the last few sessions and kept wanting to push further out than they were probably ready for.
We eventually worked out a rhythm where one of us surfed while the other helped the kids and filmed with the GoPro. Then we’d swap around. Sometimes we’d park our own board on the beach completely and just focus on helping the kids catch waves.
Despite the messy conditions, everyone had an absolute blast.
Maddie had a bit of a moment with her wetsuit, her hair, and just everything all at once, but she pushed through it and ended up catching some seriously good waves. She’s getting so confident on the board now that she was literally dancing while riding waves into shore, which was hilarious to watch.
Emmett is getting really confident too. He’s popping up consistently now and riding some pretty decent sized waves by himself. Seeing both kids improve so quickly has been really cool.
We stayed out there for around two hours before hunger finally got the better of everyone. By then we were all exhausted from battling the waves and getting thrown around in the surf.
After packing everything up, we headed back to one of the local spots we’ve eaten at before that does pizzas, burgers and wraps. I grabbed a pizza while Kia and the kids got burgers and chips. It was simple food, but after surfing for two hours it tasted incredible.
By the time we got back to the apartment in the afternoon, everyone was wrecked. The surf had definitely been rougher than we realised while we were out there and we’d all copped a bit of a beating in the water.
I was still determined to finish Kia’s website though, so I pushed on despite my stomach starting to feel sensitive again after lunch. Not long after we got back, Kia started feeling really unwell too. Stomach pains, constant trips to the bathroom, feeling nauseous and completely drained. It hit her pretty hard and she spent the rest of the afternoon lying down trying to get through it.
The kids were tired too, so we let them relax with a movie while I kept working away on the website.
Eventually, around 8:30 that night, I finally finished it all. The layout, SEO, pages, mobile fixes, everything. It felt really good to get it done. Now Kia just needs to give it a final check before sending it out to old clients, friends and sharing it online to hopefully start bringing in some remote business while we travel.
After that, I got the kids into bed with a meditation and then checked on Kia again. She was still really unwell and looked completely exhausted.
It was one of those strange days that started off so good. Creative morning, amazing surf, heaps of laughs at the beach, and then the evening just completely flipped on us.
Hopefully everyone wakes up feeling a whole lot better tomorrow because it’s Mother’s Day, and after today, Kia definitely deserves a good one.