Tag: el salvador

Secret Lefts and Waterfalls in El Salvador

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[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!

Pro Surfers Rebecca Woods and Paige Hareb in Central America

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Rebecca Woods is an old friend from my competitive days. She’s been on the World Tour for years and amazingly to me, is still out there traveling and competing! She and her friend Paige passed through Nicaragua on a Central American adventure. We met up for a session at the Boom and they were both shredding, but I was really stoked to check out the footage of their sessions in El Salvador (the big rights), especially since we’re headed to El Salvador for a retreat next week. Check out a couple of the world’s best surfing women shredding it up in Nicaragua and El Salvador and be inspired!

New Retreat at El Salvador Secret Spot July 27-Aug 3 2013

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i'll go on this one!
i’ll go on this one!

We love El Salvador for it’s warm water, friendly people, and long right point breaks. We have two retreats on the schedule now for late October at the world class wave called Las Flores. October is still a great time for surf, but a slower time for surf travel which is why we schedule retreats during that time – to avoid the peak season crowds. But, we often get ladies wanting to travel in August. What to do?

Recently one of our yoga teachers took her honeymoon to El Salvador and emailed us raving about an awesome spot with WAY fewer people, great waves, and a really cool place to stay. I took note. A few weeks later I met some guys out surfing who also mentioned the same place and confirmed everything our yoga teacher had reported.

Thus, I introduce to you a brand new retreat location in Central El Salvador. Since I haven’t been there, this will be somewhat of an exploratory trip. For that reason, we’re taking $100 off the normal El Salvador retreat price. Come explore with Jackie, Nikki, and I on our first adventure to a brand new spot!

July 27 – August 3 2013
$1600 covers everything but your flight into San Salvador (and alcohol).

You will be part of a carefully selected group of Amigas chosen to experience a brand new location with three great waves right out front of the place we’ll stay. For questions and more info: [email protected]

Returning Amigas Show the Secrets to Improving

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpAVosDrUoU]
The secret to improving is to come on a retreat with us, then go home, practice, and come back again! Seriously though, the true secret to improving is having a great attitude. On our last couple retreats in El Salvador we had several girls come on their second retreat and I was totally blown away not only by how much they had improved since I’d last seen them but also how much more they improved over the course of the week.
I started wondering what it was that was different about these particular girls. Were they more gifted athletes? Were they just trying harder? Did they have super powers?
I realized that the secret was attitude. Firstly, they really wanted to improve. They were willing to put in the time and effort to take their surfing to the next level. Second, they listened to feedback. It’s always surprising to me when ladies come on retreats claiming they want help, but when I offer suggestions they argue with me. I’ll give a recommendation and then they’ll respond with a list of reasons why they couldn’t, wouldn’t, or shouldn’t. Those types have a hard time improving. The girls featured in the video took suggestions in and put them them into practice right away, and you can clearly see the awesome results.
Third – they spent a lot of time in the water. These girls were the first in, and the last out. After catching one good wave, they didn’t just go in and figure that was good for the day, they paddled back out looking for another.
Watch the video and be inspired!

Week 2 in El Salvador Highlights

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The first part of the October 21 retreat week in El Salvador started out a little bit small. It was perfect for the girls to shred on longboards and get used to the break. Luckily Las Flores doesn’t disappoint and by mid-week the swell picked up and the girls were shredding! There was a lot of footage and I only had space in the video for one wave of each girl, so here’s a very small sampling of all the action that went down.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/PBPaQUdf4qE]

Unfortunately when the swell picked up the point was overrun by Brazilians (bonus: no Brazilians during Nicaragua retreats!). Luckily, a few of them were really nice and didn’t mind sharing waves with the girls. Thanks boys!

The Best Surfing Mindset For Improving

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Recently we had an Amiga from Western Australia visit us for a week in El Salvador. She had quit her job and decided to embark on a journey around the world to surf and explore. You can read about the whole journey on her blog.

After Rebecca’s trip she emailed me to say thanks and also to ask for 1 thing that she could work on back at home in order to continue to improve her surfing. Rebecca is a yoga teacher, she’s super fit, has been surfing for a few years, and she brought a thin, narrow shortboard on the trip. My response was as follows:
“ Hey Bec,

I think one of the things you could work on is to relax and not be as serious about it. I feel like you are a perfectionist which is what makes you so awesome at things but in your surfing it may lead you to get frustrated which is counterproductive.

You’re surfing really well I thought but riding a thicker/wider – but not longer – board might help too. Your board doesn’t carry speed very well because it’s thin, so you have to work really hard to make sections. You looked really good on those longer boards that you rode, but they were so long. Riding something like 6’0 or 6’1 but 19″ x 2.5 or even 2.25 thick might really be awesome. If you have mates at home with boards like that you should ask them to try theirs to see how it feels.

Ok, I know that was more like two things, but in the end it just comes down to enjoying it and having fun!

That response sums up the advice that I have for multiple Amigas. I’ve noticed that the girls that improve the most have a few things in common.
1. When we give feedback, they don’t make excuses. They don’t take the criticism personally. The say “ok, cool, thanks” and then immediately try to implement the advice.
2. They don’t get down on themselves. They think positively. They don’t say “I can’t do it” or even “I’ll try” but “I will do that on the next one”. The way we talk to ourselves makes a difference. If you say “I can’t” you’re right. Saying “I’ll try” leaves room for failure. If you say, “I will” then you will, maybe not that very next time, but eventually you will!
3. Don’t get too caught up in trying to ride a board that’s not right for you because it’s cool or it’s what you have. Finding the right board for you whether it’s a longboard, fish, or fun shape, will allow you to get the best waves and thus have more fun.
4. Remember that it is all about fun. With a smile and happy attitude, none of the rest of it really matters. If you’re having a good time, you’ll surf longer, be happier, and enjoy improvement.

To read the blog posted by Bec on this subject, click here.
Check out the video highlights of Rebecca’s sessions in El Salvador
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOcKNuFj76Y&list=UUi17EZzkx9RLwtw9Ujt0MQw&index=2&feature=plcp]

This is What Awesomeness Looks Like

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/JbzDpbrOkDI]
We think we are awesome.
We’re silly. We like pink, and blue, and stripes.
We like making up stories, doing cutbacks, and going for long walks on the beach.
We ride longboards. We shred on shortboards.
We surf, we do yoga, we laugh, we dance. We encourage back flips and water fights.
You should come surf with us…
Because we are awesome!

Music “I Dunno” by Grapes Courtesy of http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Amigas Get Silly in Small Waves

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F39nntnkkJo]
Part of surfing is knowing that the waves will not always be overhead and perfect. Sometimes it’s small. Sometimes it’s windy. Sometimes it’s crowded. If you’ve got a longer board and a silly attitude, none of that matters and you’ll always have a good time.
Our first few days in El Salvador this week have been a little bit on the smaller side. There’s a good swell coming in a few days, but we passed the time waiting by getting super silly with friends, and doing yoga!

Natural Spa Treatment

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The surf was flat yesterday.. so some Amigas and I spent the day in the cloud forest of El Salvador for a little adventure. The Laguna de Alegría at the top of the inactive volcano offers a spa treatment that some people pay upwards of $100 for: a hot mud bath.


According to local legend, the lagoon was formed from mermaid tears. She cried so hard when the volcano erupted, she drown herself in the water.. and her spirit remains to this day.

For more stories by Jackie George, check out her blog.

Surfboard Reviews – The Rusty Dwart

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-aeLyxusqU&feature=vmdshb]

Picking the right surfboard can be challenging. Ideally you’d test drive before you buy, but unfortunately that’s rarely an option. I get a lot of ladies asking me for advice on the perfect board. It seems that most advanced beginners (someone who can paddle beyond the whitewash and is trying to catch green waves) are dealing with similar issues. They want to be able to ride a board small enough to duckdive but big enough to allow them to catch a wave.

That perfect combination can be a tricky thing to find. I often see ladies picking boards that are too small for them just so that they can duckdive, but what good is getting out past the whitewash if the board is too small to get them into waves?

The solution: get a Rusty Dwart!
The Dwart is a surfboard model by Rusty Surfboards that is relatively short, wide, and thick. It’s short enough to duckdive, but still wide enough to have sufficient volume for paddling into waves and gliding across mushy sections. Most Dwarts come with 5 fin boxes so you can experiment with the fast and loose feel of a quad setup, or the traditional but stiffer tri-fin.

See video above for Lindsay talking about why she loves her Dwart as she shreds on wave after wave in El Salvador.

If you want to see why I love my Dwart, click play below!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8xgg7biEEM]