Tag: surf camp

Spring Retreat in Southern Costa Rica

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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?p sd-mata-pavones2-4-1-5

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!

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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.

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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.

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There will be yoga too of course!

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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]

Surfing for Baby Sea Turtles in November and December

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O2Dixa907c]

It’s that time of year again, baby sea turtle season! As of this year, Surf With Amigas has taken over the funding of the Waves of Hope Sea Turtle project.
For any long-time followers of this website, the video will seem familiar. We posted it a year ago, but nothing has changed so here it is again to get you fired up on the November and December retreats. Check out the schedule for dates and availability. Come surf and do yoga with Surf With Amigas and support baby sea turtles!

turtle sunset

Inspirational Story – Twin Sisters Support Each Other in Overcoming Fear

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/IgBvVxROZ-E]

Sisters Therese and Thera came on a retreat together with very different goals. Thera had always imagined herself a surfer and as an athlete who excels at everything she tries she expected to be awesome at surfing right away. Therese was badly injured by a suicide bomber while serving in the military and came on the retreat primarily to support her sister without a lot of interest in surfing herself. The two of them together were incredibly inspirational. Check out their story.

Shortboarders Score in El Salvador

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW8esar7kD8]

When I first started Surf With Amigas, I had envisioned a place where girls that already knew how to surf could come and improve their skills. In reality we end up doing a lot of surf lessons for beginners, which is fun too. This trip to El Salvador had the most shredding shortboarders we’ve ever assembled which was amazing! Check them out shredding it up at a variety of spots in El Salvador.

We are headed back to these spots in October! Come shred with us!

 

Instructor Profile – Nadia

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/0_cpZJQCY7s]

One day Nadia was minding her own business out surfing the Boom (gnarly tubular wave rarely surfed by girls) when Holly paddled over and started in with 20 questions. “what’s your name? where are you from? where are you staying? how long are you here? have you ever taught surf lessons? want to come work for me?” It’s rare to see smiling girls out shredding with the boys and Nadia was out there with a big smile, paddling around and dropping into bombs. She spent a few weeks in November with Surf with Amigas and came back for two months this summer. We hope she’ll be back again! This is why….

Dancing and Shredding in El Salvador

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[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

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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!

Shortboarders at the Point

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[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

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[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.