The week of June 14th we were blessed with really awesome conditions and an incredible group of enthusiastic, positive, and supportive Amigas. We had clean small-medium sized waves, surfers of all abilities pushing themselves and cheering for eachother, and a really special group of personalities that all jived super well together. Thanks for the good times and I can’t wait to surf with these ladies again!
We only do it once a year, but it’s a pretty special experience. We’ll stay at a gorgeous location situated on a rocky outcrop with ocean visible almost 270 degrees. The food is amazing (like seriously amazing), the waves are super duper cute (several surf spots to choose from – all within walking distance), there’s WiFi, AirCon, and real flush toilets right in your room!
The retreat is limited to just 12 spots and as of May 15th, we’re over half full with several on the list promising to send in their deposits within the next week. If you’re interested, get on it! Check out all the info here and email [email protected] with questions and to sign up!
Check out the video from last year if you need further convincing! It’s going to be awesome!
Allison Cecil came on a retreat last year with her friend Minette. She is an active member of the San Diego Surf Ladies so she gets in the water quite regularly in San Diego in between caring for her two very large dogs, mischievous cat, and running a very cool jewelry company. She came down to refine her surfing, get some tips, and just have fun riding waves in warm water. Although she claimed to be a surfing chicken who only liked 1-3 foot waves, we saw her tackle a few really nice overhead drops. I received the message below from her a few days ago and was really stoked to hear that she’s been charging Black’s beach and has really raised her confidence in the water. See below from Allison:
“I think I’ve told you this before but I wanted to tell you again because tonight it reminded me of this. My time with you, Kim, Jackie and Jaime pushed me past my comfort zone of 1-3 foot waves and got me to drop in on bigger, scarier waves. I left Nicaragua with a new found love and appreciation for bigger waves. Every time I paddle out on a big day (well for me a big day is 5’+ plus) I’m filled with gratitude for my time with you guys. I feel at ease and excited to catch a big whopper waves instead of fear!
Before my trip to Nica I was scared and loathed it when the reports would be for 4-6 foot days, now I’m stoked! This evening I rode a wave that I will probably never forget. I dropped into an absolute BOMB of a wave and zoomed past a zillion dudes who wanted that wave! I have never gone so fast on a surfboard in my life and the best part of it was that the wave was about .3 miles long (I measured it on Google Earth) ! SO THANK YOU!!!! I will never forgot my time with Surf With Amigas, especially on days like today.
Our first ever retreat in Costa Rica was a great success. Super cute long peeling lefts in warm water with great friends. The girls were cruising and shredding and loving life on the edges of the jungle. Everyone improved so much over the course of the week. We’re loving this place and looking forward to the retreat starting up tomorrow.
Join us in Spring 2015 for our next Costa Rican retreats!
We are excited to announce that pro surfer, organic farmer, and all around awesome human Kim Mayer will be attending the October El Salvador retreats as the pro surfer coach in 2014.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5knd_Vvwfvg] Kim Mayer shredding in Ecuador
Holly and Kim spent years traveling the world together for competitions and photo shoots. According to Holly, “Kim Mayer is probably one of the coolest people on the planet. She’s always stoked, always positive, jams on the guitar, kills it with a soccer ball, is up for any adventure, is the one most likely to make friends with every random person she comes across, plus she totally rips at surfing!”
Since Holly will have a brand new baby by the time October rolls around, travel to El Salvador isn’t feasible. Luckily Kim is available and excited to fill in.
For more about Kim Mayer and to witness her awesomeness, check out the videos below:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HvWeNhhLBw]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMpUEGIQdOM]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAzwmmNxCMg]
People always ask – what are the surf conditions like in February? Well, you just never know. Sometimes it’s super small with just cute little waist-high longboard waves and sometimes we get a good swell and it’ll be overhead and kinda firing. This week was a mix of both. The first few days were mellow and easy and then half way through the week the swell cranked up and put the girls to the test. They totally handled it!
Part two of our January Retreat Highlights package – here’s more surfing action plus some horseback riding and the ladies give back with Waves of Hope by helping to finish the Olas De Esperanza High School project and get it ready for students.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO1UHFrj5TQ]
If you surf a shortboard, you have the luxury of duckdiving to get under waves. If you ride a longboard, you want to turtle roll. We get a lot of Amigas who come down wanting to learn to ride a shorter board just so they can duckdive. Why sacrifice paddle power and glide just to duckdive? Learn how to Turtle Roll instead!
In this video, Jackie and Holly talk you through the best way to Turtle Roll and show a few ladies trying it out for themselves.
Our December retreat scored super awesome conditions with all day offshore winds, a few small days of surf to get the Amigas warmed up, and then a few days of bigger waves that allowed them to get the best waves of their lives. Of course there were awesome sunsets, plenty of silliness, and delicious cocktails sprinkled throughout the week. Standard! Love sunsets, warm water, and surfing with new friends? Come play with us!
Our second retreat of the season back in Nicaragua was awesome. We had a slightly smaller group but as usual, there were some great personalities. After a few cocktails at the French Guys, we settled into some rocking chairs and told a very interesting story….