The last week of November brought some swell for our group of chicas this week. Sunday shaped up to be a fun first day at Playa Remanso, where the group worked to master their pop-up. Within the first hour, everyone was working on their stance and standing up to ride the wave into shore.
Amy and Samantha, an adventurous and loving Mother-Daughter duo, visited us this week to learn to surf while having fun. Sam had planned this trip for herself a year ago and Amy didn’t want to miss the opportunity to join so they came to visit this year! They enjoyed going to our GetFit classes, where the workouts are constantly varied every day based on muscle groups and worked into a high-intensity cardio bootcamp. By the end of the week, they both were paddling themselves into their own waves and making beautiful drop-ins.
Jennifer visited Chica Brava from upstate New York, where she works with a food bank for a non-profit. She was ready for anything and put herself out of her comfort zone to learn surfing. By the end of the week, Jenny was catching waves from the outside, riding all the way to the shore. She enjoyed trying new things, exploring the town, and learning about the culture here in Nicaragua.
Three amigas, Ruth, Tracy, and Grace, took a girls trip at Chica Brava to work on their form, style, wave reading, and timing in the lineup. Grace, an art educator and owner of Legión Americana Restaurante / Bar in Mexico City, grew up in the waters of California and had a great foundation in reading the waves and having a strong pop-up. She was picking and taking her own waves, committing to going down the line, and riding all the way to finish. Ruth, a Chef and Owner of Lawton Tap Room in San Francisco, wanted to paddle into her own waves and understand reading the ocean. She ended up on the outside in the first couple days, paddling strong and swift, riding waves left and right, and progressed her surfing to a new level. Tracy, a nurse living in Queensland, Australia, was riding waves in on a small funboard the first day and by the end of the week, she quickly progressed down to a shortboard, “the potato chip”, where she was trimming the face of the wave. Tracy was the first in and last out of the water this week and she always was smiling and ready for more. These three have such bright personalities, adventurous outlooks, fun friendships, and contributed a huge amount of empowerment to the group.
Haleh, who works in public health advocacy and communications, visited Chica Brava to work on her timing and catching her own waves from the lineup. At the beginning of the week, she was mastering her stance and before we all knew it, she was able to take waves left and right from the outside. She put in a lot of time and energy this week and will be taking these new skills to the surf in North Carolina. Her light-hearted, warm, and happy energy really contributed to the “Surf’s Up” excursions of the day as well as the entire week she spent with us.
The ladies joined us for a wave-themed paint night, morning yoga classes, and nights out on the town with dancing, gelatos, and tonas! There was a lot of fun and laughs, paddling muscles, and positivism involved this week and in turn was a huge success for the ladies as well as the instructors. We appreciate y’all for trusting us, letting us get to know you, and making some rad memories under this Nicaraguan sunshine. We hope to see you soon and look forward to connecting with you ladies in the future!
To see all photos from this week, click here!
Allie Hayser
Surf Instructor Extraordinaire
Surf House November 26th – December 3rd, 2016
Surf House November 26th – December 3rd, 2016