I fell for my surf instructor in Morocco. We got married and turned an abandoned riad into a hotel.

Nina Ottevanger and her husband Ilyass bought an abandoned home in Morocco and opened a surf hotel. Provided by Nina Ottevanger Nina Ottevanger met her now-husband during a surfing lesson on vacation in Morocco. After a year and a half of living apart, they decided to split their time between two countries. Last year, they stopped splitting their time between two places and renovated a traditional Moroccan house into a hotel and surf school. This interview is based on a conversation with Nina Ottevanger, 31, a surf instructor and co-owner of Ilyana Surfhouse , a small business in Rabat, Morocco. It has been edited for length and clarity. Eleven years ago, I was traveling in Morocco with two friends. While in Rabat, we wanted to surf and found a place online. We were greeted by a man named Ilyass.