Here at Chica Brava we are all about the journey, not the destination…The journey, of course, being surfing. We love having women from around the world here with us in San Juan del Sur for a week of surfing, fun and sun, and especially love sharing our joy and passion for surfing. Often they are on the path to discovery, or perhaps already deep into their surf journey, or somewhere in between. But wherever our CHICAS are, once they leave we love to get the occasional check in to see…where you at, girl!
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There is definitely something magical that happens in San Juan del Sur….for me at least, an addiction began there. I had always wanted to learn to surf, but never had an opportunity, and life doing what life does, always seemed to get in the way. That is until August 2013 when a group of girls from my gym planned a trip to Chica Brava and I decided to jump on board.
For me this trip, (my first to CB), was spur of the moment, I decided to join about 3 weeks before the planned date. Something very liberating about saying to hell with work, I’m going to Central America to surf. That trip blew my mind, and set burning a desire for the water that I had never experienced before. I could go on and on about all the amazing things we did, the bonding and friendships that formed, not only within our group, but with new friends in the Chica instructors and other travelers. All I knew when I returned home, (and entered into post vaca depression, lol) was that I had to get back….to the water, to Central America, to that sense of freedom I experienced.
I did make it back to the region, after our wedding my husband and I flew to Costa Rica to visit our newly relocated friends there, and of course surf. This being only my second surf adventure, (and my husband’s first), we signed up for a mini camp there to build/learn new skills. Fortunately this time around was just as good in the water, and I knew it wasn’t a fluke magic spell cast upon me that made me enjoy surfing so much. Luckily my husband was bit by the bug too.
It didn’t take much convincing to get a coworker to join me this past August in returning to Nicaragua for another week at Chica Brava. Was I a little worried about it being less than amazing? NO. Haha that would be foolish, I knew this would be freaking amazing and could not wait to be back. Some of my beloved instructors were no longer there, (Madison!!!!), but the new girls were super amazing and had so much to teach me from their perspectives and experience in the water. I got to reconnect with Noe, Elsi and Lauren, and found that indeed you can learn something from everyone, which is great. Lindsay and Kelly Anne were amazing instructors and their unique teaching styles were helpful to me each day. I came into this trip a little more experienced but by no means confident on my own. What I had hoped to gain this time around was that confidence I lacked all alone in the water, and I did. They had tweaked their program of training just a bit over the year since I had last been there, and I found I was able to progress quickly to where I had hoped to be.
I left this most recent trip with the same yearning I have from each surf vacation, and immediately started planning my next adventure. I know I will return to San Juan del Sur, hope to meet some new Chicas and see some old friends. I can’t wait to continue this journey in the water, see which beaches are in our future….Indonesia, Panama, Hawaii….I will get to you!
Sharon DeWitt
Houston, Texas
