Who Needs a Boyfriend When I Can Ride A Wave – Music Video

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Jackey Mars is a surfer, singer, songwriter living in San Diego CA who came down to Surf With Amigas and totally rocked it on all fronts. She got a bunch of good waves, even after getting pounded by big sets and taking her fin to her face! She handled rum shots on her birthday, glided down a volcano, and galloped down the beach on horseback. She also jammed for us a song that she wrote that I think every surfer girl can relate to!
Follow Jackey on Facebook and listen to more tracks!

Thank You and Testimonial from Amiga Kathy

We love getting thank yous from Amigas. It helps reinforce our feeling that what we’re doing not only provides a ton of fun and surfing knowledge but that it can also be more than that. We often get Amigas coming down who just really need to get away. Whether it’s a recent relationship breakup, job change, family heartache, or just re-evaluating life choices, sometimes it’s more than a vacation that people are looking for. Getting an email like this makes us smile to realize that we were able to help someone beyond just improving their pop-up. See below for Kathy’s message. Thanks Kathy!

I was definitely missing Nicaragua already when I got out of the airport to rain and 5 degrees the other night. Although I did get a pretty excited welcome from this girl (aka best snuggler ever), which mostly made me forget hammocks for a moment.

doggy

While I know you can’t take total credit for how awesome the other people in our group were ;), you guys totally set the tone for a supportive, joyful, trusting place. The fact that it’s paradise with a tropical bird chorus every morning doesn’t hurt either, nor do the great teaching skills both surf and yoga-wise.

kathy relax

Oversharing time, but it’s relevant. My dad passed away (cancer) in October, and while that was sad more than painful (if that makes any sense), it definitely ranks up there as one of life’s more stressful events. I was looking to get away, to turn off responsibilities and cares for a little bit and reset my happy meter, and what I found far exceeded my expectations. Don’t get me wrong!! – I’m not conflating surfing camp with Tara’s wilderness therapy (that sounds like a BAD IDEA for both you guys and anyone expecting something like that), but I found the week to be really healing. Having an ear to ear grin for most of the day, doing something like catching a wave, which just like dancing or riding fresh powder or watching my dog wriggle around on her back fills me with pure joy (oh wait, there WAS also dancing and watching dogs be their goofy wonderful selves!), being around people who are fun, engaged in the world and interesting and also are open and compassionate, and beautiful surroundings, good food, getting exercise, being outside all day…..those are my personal ingredients for some serious recharging and self-care. Which is what I MEANT to try to say the morning I left, instead of getting all teary 🙂

Thanks! y muchas besos,

Kathy

kathy wave grab

Gender Equality – Sometimes Guys are Allowed

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Most of the time ladies get all the fun. It’s like a week-long girls’ night out and we like it that way! We don’t have to worry about showing too much crack, high pitched squeals, calling waves “cute”, or incessant girl talk. Sometimes though, for guys that come highly recommended by Amigas, we do allow some testosterone into the group. Why not? We like guys too!
Meet John – a lifeguard from LA who has done some acting, who isn’t afraid to call a wave “cute” or shake his hips on the dance floor with steamy salsa style.
He came down to improve his surfing and left the retreat feeling a lot better!
If you’ve got a great guy friend who isn’t afraid to get silly with the girls, send him our way! We have a guy friendly retreat Feb 1-8 2013 with a few spots remaining!

Best Wipeout Contenders – Rachel and Christine

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At Amigas Surf & Yoga Retreats we appreciate a good wipeout as much as we appreciate a great ride. Every year we compile all the wipeout footage and create a contest for best wipeout. The year has just started and there will surely be more, but here are the first two solid contenders for Best Wipeout for the 2012/2013 season!

Rachel is into dog sledding and Christine is a mountain biker from Calgary. Neither had ever surfed before coming on a retreat but both picked it up quickly. Unfortunately, the waves were pretty big towards the end of the week but they had mastered the whitewash and wanted to explore the outside. I am super proud of them for going for it!

A Trio of Nica Amigas Learn to Surf

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Where there once were only boys, there are now a few local girls borrowing boards to head out into the waves. Inspired by all the international Amigas having fun in the ocean, a trio of local ladies are now heading out shredding too! They are so excited and super cute!

Melissa Scores on Big Waves, Fast Horses, and Volcanoes in Nicaragua

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Melissa is famous. She’s so famous that she needs to keep a low profile sometimes. For these reasons we cannot tell you her last name or exactly who she works for, but let’s just say she is a super hot, super talented Amiga and we’re honored to now call her a friend. She came down for a week of surf and yoga and scored on big waves, fast horses, and extreme volcano boarding.

We were stoked to hang out with her and are really looking forward to having her back!

Learn to Surf with Amigas

Our location in Northern Nicaragua is an awesome place to learn to surf. The waves break far out and gently roll towards shore making it really easy to figure out how to stand up and ride them all the way in! There are great waves for intermediate surfers too and we always end up with a mixture of abilities, but the group featured in this video had mostly beginners. Check out the footage for some great rides, including the very last clip of Ahyoung. She didn’t even stand up on day 1 but ended up scoring the wave of the week with an awesome high 5 from William the sexy French guy! Score!
Come learn to surf and do yoga with us at the best women’s surf yoga retreat!
Check out the schedule for available dates!

Rox Disobeys Her Strict Parents to Go Surfing

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Rox grew up in the Philippines with strict parents that claimed surfing was too dangerous. When she was 27 she moved to San Francisco and as soon as she got a car she also got a surfboard, and finally followed her dream of learning to surf. Two years later, she is loving her life spent in the ocean as much as possible. She came to Nicaragua to improve and loved it, especially the horseback riding.

I grew up in Southern California but my mom also thought surfing was too dangerous for a nice young lady. Fortunately I only had to wait until I was 15 and I had friends with cars until I could disobey my parents and go surfing. I was so inspired to hear Rox’s story because I could definitely relate.

It’s never too late, and anything is possible!