[youtube=http://youtu.be/hxchxrc0Ev0]
After a few days of really cute waves in Southern Nicaragua the BIG swell hit. Enormous waves were breaking way outside sending huge walls of whitewash steamrolling into the beach. Holly led a handful of brave Amigas into the lineup and coached them into some really nice ones in between a lot of duck-diving and turtle-rolling. If you believe in yourself, anything is possible (even surfing really big waves)!
[youtube=http://youtu.be/_FM2uwTYBCY]
The Surf With Amigas crew cruised down to Southern Nicaragua for a retreat at Magnific Rock in Popoyo. 12 awesome Amigas scored super cute waves, galloped on horses, and explored the nearby hot springs. Good times!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJKYOP6TUAU]
Ok, ok, I know what you’re saying to yourself: “enough of the Philippines footage already! It was awesome and gorgeous, we get it!” So no worries, this is the LAST Philippines post you’ll see for a while as we transition back into Central American retreats. This is a pretty good one though, so be sure to check it out and if you’re interested in being added to the list of potential Amigas for a Philippines 2014 retreat, email me at [email protected]
[youtube=http://youtu.be/-dSw26d4Hx4]
If you’ve ever surfed in a bikini, you know it’s a bummer to have to keep pulling up your bikini bottoms in between duck dives. Fortunately Body Glove makes a bikini with a draw string in the waist. Before you paddle out, cinch it up, and then paddle out worry-free!
Holly Beck puts the Body Glove Wave Rider bikini bottom to the test in Nicaragua!
To shop for your own Body Glove bikini, click the image below!
[youtube=http://youtu.be/SW8NrVvZy6Q]
The rain has just started to fall – very lightly – just enough to prompt the trees to re-grow leaves and tender blades of grass to push up from the dry ground. The wind has been offshore, the waves have been super clean, and we’ve got a collection of new surfboards to try!
Our first two retreats of the rainy season are totally full, but we still have a few spots open for the week of June 29th – July 6th and July 7th – 14th. For a look at a retreat from last year around this time, check out the video above!
Email [email protected] for info!
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/65024266]
Chelsea Denning joined us in the Philippines for her second trip with Surf With Amigas. She’s super cute, fun to hang out with, and always the first one up in the morning ready to go surfing! After the trip she sent us this great thank you note with a link to the video she edited from the clips collected on the trip.
I wanted to thank you for another AMAZING retreat! I had an awesome time and thought the Philippines location was just perfect! I appreciate that you always make sure we have a great time and in addition to the fun surf making it a full adventure trip.
My husband says every time I come back he can see a noticeable improvement in my surfing and especially my confidence in surfing. I really appreciate all your help in pushing me and guiding me to get better at surfing. I love surfing so much and realize that it only gets more fun the better you get so am looking forward to continuing to improve!
Thank you also for all the awesome video footage. I did some video editing and put it together along with a bunch of footage I took too. Here it is!
I can’t wait to hear about next year’s retreats! I’m already looking forward to coming back and joining you in maybe El Salvador or Ecuador or any other awesome location you have lined up!
Thanks Holly!!!!
Chelsea
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Cooler Magazine is a high quality, glossy paged print and online magazine published in the UK. One of their contributors recently joined us for a retreat in Nicaragua and wrote the story of her experience. Click the link here for the full story and see below for an excerpt.
So many of us seem to be in search of that timeless travel fantasy. That of the intrepid explorer on the existential, perennial hunt for a pristine slice of paradise. Or that of perfectly crested, empty waves, tucked into a soft sand haven of coconuts and endless summer shred.
The Balis, Byron Bays and Biarritz’s of the world, with their populous swells and all too often intimidating line-ups of jocking bros and bras can all too often intimidate the tentative and budding surfer. Especially the XY chromosomed surfer. But for those with an adventurous soul, those who seek the unknown and the exhilaration of the journey in search of untouched breaks and exploration, taking that unknown, mysterious path, slightly off the beaten track, often leads to the most fulfilling and rewarding of shred odysseys. As Jack Kerouac, the beatnik king of travel prose so poetically penned, “Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’t be sorry.”
Central America has been well chronicled in surfer’s travel guidebooks. Handfuls of Americans gradually began trickling down into Costa Rica and Mexico during the 1960s, hungry for empty breaks after hearing whispered tales of nature’s barreling promises. Fast forward a few decades, and the once elusive breaks that entranced the first intrepid voyagers are now happily packed out and a staple destination for any global surfer. Nicaragua, however, the largest of the Central American territories, was characterised by periods of political unrest and revolution, stability only coming to the equatorial tropic in recent years. Pockets of plucky surfers have slowly been exploring the verdant and diverse haven, and the mounting murmurs of balmy plentiful surf, welcoming and warm locals and unblemished pockets of paradise has been creeping into the adventurous surfers conscious. Thirsty for those promises of warm shred and discovery, it didn’t take much more than a couple of conversations with former ASP tour surfer Holly Beck, who is now based in Nicaragua and runs the Surf With Amigas surf camps throughout the year for those with a more gutsy disposition, and I was on my way. The scent of adventure and alluring warm waves dissolving any anxiety of my transatlantic solo voyage some 6,000 miles around the globe.
To read the rest of the story: Click Here
Surf With Amigas is partnered with the non-profit Waves Of Hope on a variety of projects including the endeavor to build the first high school in the area. Check out a video by Surf For Life from a recent trip with a group of volunteers. Come down and help us out! During the 2013 season, each retreat will involve the option to spend an a few hours helping out with this project.
For more info:
Waves-of-hope.org
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7lPp1pP5kU]
The first week we rode them, the second week we raced them. It’s pretty tricky to get them to go fast, but that’s the funny part! The hot tip from our local guide (and Argentinian horse woman) Julieta was crucial, “you’ve got to push with your ass!”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCqKlPiE5MY]
On a small day of surf in the Philippines, we hopped on a couple of boats and journeyed to the Sohoton Caves. We had no idea what to expect and were pleasantly surprised by gorgeous water, super cute sting-less jelly fish, and very adventurous caving. The tide was pretty high which made entering the caves even more of an adventure.
