Spring Retreat in Southern Costa Rica

on October 4, 2013February 18, 2015 By hollybeck27

Previously, we had avoided planning any retreats in Costa Rica because Costa Rica is so overdone. Instead, we’ve been focusing on less common locations like Nicaragua, El Salvador, and the Philippines. But as a goofy-footer, I’ve always eyed those long lefts at Pavones with amazement. It’s time to go check them out! Anyone want to surf super long lefts with me?

Like any world class wave, Pavones can be crowded. So, we’ll stay at a mellow place in the jungle about a ten minute drive (or 20 min bike ride) from the point. This place has a private little wave right out front that is super easy and user-friendly when small, and more powerful and tubular when the swell is bigger. The nice thing, is that we should have it mostly to ourselves! There are several other waves within walking distance of where we’ll stay which will be awesome for the afternoon sessions. We can even hop in a boat and check out some rights across the bay!

We’ll hit up the main spot at off times to try to avoid the worst of the crowd and we’re going slightly early in the season, so it shouldn’t be too bad. Plus, we’ll paddle out in a pack of bikinis and smiles, so that should definitely work in our favor!

The place we’ll stay is nestled in between jungle and ocean. This region in Costa Rica is regarded as one of the most biologically diverse places in the world. There’s a nature trail from the hotel to a waterfall where we’ll check out monkeys! We’ll go on an adventure to a native indigenous village. We’ll relax and reconnect with nature.

The accommodations only have space for 10 amigas and while some of the rooms are slightly more eco-friendly than others, all are super comfortable.

There will be yoga too of course!

Retreat details

Dates: March 29 – April 5, April 6 – 13

Price: $1700
Includes:
– Transfer to/from the resort to/from the Golfito Airport
– 7 nights accommodation in a shared room
– All meals (alcoholic beverages are extra)
– Surf coaching/instruction with video feedback
– Surfboard rental (if you can’t bring your own)
– Daily yoga
– Other adventures

Travel info:
Fly into San Jose Costa Rica on whatever airline works best for where you’re flying from.
Connect with Sansa Regional Airlines and get a flight from San Jose to Golfito. They have three flights per day and flights look about $103 each way ($206 roundtrip).
We’ll pick you up at the Golfito airport.

For booking info, contact [email protected]

Check out this video of an 8 year old girl loving the long lefts of Pavones

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLcfAxtE0o]

And to see what 4 years of surfing awesome long lefts can do for your surfing, here she is at 12 years old!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6LBlV2CG4w]

Dancing and Shredding in El Salvador

on August 9, 2013February 18, 2015 By hollybeck27

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znKwDsP1hgE]

Introducing a new dance move called “the pelican swat” in between super fun waves at Sunzal, the girls from Amigas Surf and Yoga Retreats are always having a good time!

The “pelican swat” dance move originated when Holly was teasing Nadia about her tendency to arm flail. Holly happens to have unusually long arms (the better to carry your longboard for you!) and suggested that if she flailed like Nadia she’d end up swatting pelicans left and right. And just like that, a new dance move was born!

We’re doing retreats at this location in October! Come play! See the Schedule for details!

Secret Lefts and Waterfalls in El Salvador

on August 6, 2013February 18, 2015 By hollybeck27

[youtube=http://youtu.be/cgVdfAkoAlc]

Normally, we do retreats in Eastern El Salvador at a spot called Las Flores. This time, we followed a tip to a location in Western El Sal that turned out to be a lot less crowded and super interesting. We dubbed it an adventure and exploration retreat, and that it was!

We were pretty bummed when we saw the forecasted big swell since the spot we were staying liked smaller swells, until we heard a rumor about a secret left that could handle big swells. It turned out to be amazing!

After surfing, we cruised up to the cloud forest and showered in a waterfall. Check it out!

We’re headed back to this part of El Salvador in October. Email [email protected] for more info!

Shortboarders at the Point

on July 24, 2013February 18, 2015 By hollybeck27

[youtube=http://youtu.be/h16t8e7i3-4]

At Surf With Amigas women’s surf and yoga retreat we focus on helping ladies of all abilities improve their skills. We get a lot of beginners who have never surfed before, and quite a few ladies with some experience who want to improve. Most participants ride longboards or funshapes in the 8′-9′ range. But, we do sometimes get some shortboarders. This week we had 3 shortboarders wanting to work on their skills and luckily we also had a nice swell which allowed us to get a few sessions in at the point.

Determination is Rewarded

on July 19, 2013February 18, 2015 By hollybeck27

[youtube=http://youtu.be/gljeUE2Dfxc]

Learning to surf requires determination. Standing up in the whitewash can be easy but taking it to the next level and riding green waves – especially if the waves are big – can be tricky. But if you have the right attitude, and a little help, anything is possible! At Surf With Amigas Women’s Surf Retreat we have a lot of experience and have had a ton of success at helping ladies achieve their goals.

Whitewash Handstands

on July 15, 2013February 18, 2015 By hollybeck27

[youtube=http://youtu.be/5KvvwVPDjgY]

This week we had a big group of beginners who were getting some great waves on the inside whitewash. We feel that giving support and encouragement is one of the most important aspects of learning to surf and at Surf With Amigas Surf Yoga Retreat in Nicaragua there’s always tons of cheering, clapping, claiming, and high-fiving. This week there were also a lot of handstands going on. Super fun!

July in Nicaragua

on July 7, 2013February 18, 2015 By hollybeck27

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vB6W6lZZRY]

This is an adventure that takes place in July in Northern Nicaragua as a group of Amigas on a Womens Surf Yoga and Adventure retreat learn to surf and outrun a lightning storm on horseback. You may have seen the photos but the video tells the true story.

Amigas Charge the Point

on June 26, 2013February 18, 2015 By hollybeck27

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSWkjQPTZI0]

It’s the rainy season which means slightly bigger waves. After a few warmup days at the bay the swell picked up even bigger and we took the Amigas out into waves that were a little larger than we normally like. The Amigas totally handled it. They trusted their instructors and went for it! Sometimes they went for it so hard that they rode all the way into the rocks. Fortunately everyone came up smiling and we had some great stories for later.

Amigas Team Froth Session

on June 18, 2013February 18, 2015 By hollybeck27

What do you do for vacation when you already live in paradise? We had one week off in between retreats and since we were driving North from our Magnific Rock retreat and passing right by Rise Up Surf Tours (an awesome surf camp owned by a friend), we stopped in for a couple of days. It didn’t hurt that there was a big swell running and the perfect tide situation for one of my favorite waves in the country. I was super excited to show it to my friends and give the team a few days of surfing and relaxation before heading back to work. Good times!

Scroll through the slideshow above to check out the action!

The Sea Hunt

on May 25, 2013February 18, 2015 By Jackie George

As some of you know, last dry season in Nicaragua, Jackie and Jamrock were a little obsessed with fishing. Check out this video of the second leg of their fishing journey: the introduction of the speargun.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQx-l4hJ4Dk&w=854&h=510]