Nicaragua, with its pristine beaches, rolling waves, and serene landscapes, has become a top destination for those seeking the perfect blend of adventure and mindfulness. Surfing and yoga, two practices that complement each other beautifully, are at the heart of this experience. Whether you're an experienced surfer looking to enhance your flexibility or a yogi eager to embrace the thrill of the ocean, Nicaragua offers the ideal setting to find balance between movement and stillness. Whether you're an experienced surfer looking to enhance your flexibility or a yogi eager to embrace the thrill of the ocean, Nicaragua offers the ideal setting to find balance between movement and stillness. The Synergy of Surfing and Yoga Surfing demands strength, agility, patience and a deep connection with nature. Yoga cultivates flexibility, balance, and mental clarity. Together, they create a powerful synergy that enhances both practices. Yoga prepares the body for long surf sessions by increasing flexibility and core strength, while also helping to prevent injuries. Post-surf, yoga aids in muscle recovery and relaxation, allowing surfers to stay in peak condition. Surfing isn’t just about physical strength or wave knowledge—it’s a mental sport. Your mindset in the water can make the difference between catching the wave of your life or wiping out before you even paddle in. Negative thoughts—fear, frustration, self-doubt—can be just as powerful as the ocean itself, holding you back from progress. That’s where yoga comes in. Yoga trains the mind to be present, calm, and resilient. Through breath control and meditation, you learn to quiet the noise of self-judgment and expectation, replacing it with focus and patience. Just like in yoga,...
“The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.”~ Helen Keller Want to make a difference in the local community during your time here? Chica Brava offers a variety of ways to give back and can help set up volunteer opportunities for you in San Juan del Sur. Take a look at the options below, and feel free to reach out to us for more details! ChicaBrava Camp Bella: Every year, we run a special surf camp program to empower young women in Nicaragua who come from underprivileged backgrounds. In the past, we focused on helping survivors of human trafficking. In 2015, we broadened our mission to address cultural gender inequality in Nicaragua, working to change the deep-rooted impacts of gender oppression, especially within the home. This year, we’re focusing on our local community and are thrilled to invite you to join us in supporting 13 young women from San Juan del Sur. Click here for more information, or email us at info@chicabrava.com to learn how you can get involved. Chica Brava Bi-Monthly Beach Cleanup: Every other month, on the first Sunday, Chica Brava hosts a beach cleanup and invites local schools and friends to join in. Everyone who participates will receive a special Chica Brava “beach cleanup” tank top, along with all the supplies needed—like rubber gloves, trash bags, and plenty of F-U-N! This is not only a way to keep our San Juan del Sur Bay clean, but it’s also a chance for the whole community—locals and expats alike—to come together for a shared goal. Click here for more info,...
Volunteer Opportunities in Nicaragua “The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.”~ Helen Keller Are you interested in making a positive impact in the San Juan del Sur community while you're here? Chica Brava offers several volunteer opportunities to give back. Take a look below for ways to get involved, and feel free to reach out to us for more details! Chica Brava Camp Bella: Every year, we organize a special surf camp for underprivileged young women in Nicaragua. Originally, we focused on helping survivors of human trafficking. In 2015, our mission grew to address broader gender inequalities and the challenges many women face due to cultural norms. This year, we’re focusing on supporting 13 young women from our local area of San Juan del Sur. Want to be part of this life-changing experience? Click here for more details or email us at info@chicabrava.com. Chica Brava Bi-Monthly Beach Cleanup: Join us every other month, on the first Sunday, for a beach cleanup in San Juan del Sur Bay! This community event, open to locals and expats alike, brings everyone together to keep our beach clean. We provide all the supplies you need, like gloves and trash bags, plus a free Chica Brava beach cleanup tank top. Click here for more info, or contact us to join in! Chicas Adelante: In partnership with Escuela Adelante, this outreach program supports young women from our community. Each month, the teams from Chica Brava and Escuela Adelante meet with a group of girls who have shown commitment and a drive to succeed. It’s a...
Please join all the ladies of Chica Brava as we host a Fundraiser Fiesta at PELICAN EYES for Chica Brava Camp Bella Charity Camp and to raise awareness of Human Trafficking in Nicaragua!! Featuring Nicaraguan's own PERROZOMPOPO!!! Latin Grammy Nominee and one of the influential musicians in Central America! When: November 2nd at 8pm Where: Pelican Eyes Resort- Lower pool FREE Appetizers and Drink Specials ALL NIGHT!! Suggested C$100 Donation to Camp Bella upon entry! Raffle tickets sold all night long! Prizes Include: - Sailboat cruise for 2 from Pelican Eyes - 1 Nights stay for 2 at Maderas Village - 1 yoga class and 2 tanks from Zen Yoga - SanJuanSurf goodies - Meal for 2 at Banana Hammocks - Breakfast for 2 at El Gato Negro - Meal for 2 at Barrio Café - Meal for 2 at Hotel AnaMar - Towel and Tshirt from Duck’s Surf Shop - Basket of goodies from Bonnie Lassie Spa Our hope is to spread awareness to our program, mingle about the cause and raise enough funds to make this week happen!! Help us make a difference as we hope to empower, and inspire 6 young Nicaraguan women (ages 14-16) who come from House of Hope in Managua, a residential home for ladies who have come out of lifestyles of prostitution. Camp Bella or “beautiful” in spanish, is a five day surf-experience camp that will take place November 26-30th 2012. Our vision is that during this Chica Brava surf camp experience, these young women will gain the tangible confidence of learning the new skill of surfing and benefit from the perspective...
Every 3 months, Chica Brava Director/Founder, Ashley Blaylock, hosts Team Appreciation Trips for the amazing staff. In the past, we have had adventures to Laguna de Apoyo, weekend retreats to Playa Colorado/Hacienda Iguana, luncheons at Pelican Eyes, beach days at Hermosa and many more; but yesterday was pretty close to topping the charts! We started our afternoon off with a little beach olympics at Playa Marsella where we split into 5 partnered teams for 5 separate events. Event 1: Blindfold Obstacle Course Event 2: Trust Fall Catch (who can get the lowest to the ground) Event 3: Ball hold between your forehead run Event 4: Blindfold Partner Find Event 5: Wheelbarrow Race [gallery ids="8359,8360,8361"] After a LOT of laughs, and sand in places we are still trying to get out, we all hoped in the truck to go for a quick sunset session at Playa Maderas where we all caught some party waves, laughed some more and watched a beautiful sunset in our favorite spot in the world, in the ocean. We then got dressed, at the beach of course, and headed to Hulakai for Taco Tuesday. I have always been curious about the shirts for sale around town saying “death by taco”. And as of yesterday, after 2 years of living in San Juan del Sur, our entire Chica Brava surf instructor team found out why that is a famous saying here. After about 4 tacos, a sad attempt at some putt-putt golf, little bit of acro-yoga and catching a glimpse of the new John-John surf movie in the secret grotto at Hulakai, we decided to call it a night and...
Each month, our Chica Brava Instructor team meets with a group of young Nicaraguan women from Escuela Adelante between the ages of 10-12 years old. Chicas Adelante is a fun, interactive group with the aim of incorporating an avenue for our girls to have the freedom to ask questions and learn more about topics important both for their health and happiness. In January 2016, Chica Brava was delighted to hold our annual Camp Bella event, a week long surf camp with other fun activities, which combined to create incredible memories and stronger friendships for girls in need. This year, Camp Bella was aimed at our wonderful Chicas Adelante, to further build relationships and encourage our chicas to be all that they can be. Escarleth, Isleny, Nicol, Sofia, Iliana, Fernanda, Ileana, Odalys, Maria Paola, Zhuemy and Soe - to these eleven chicas, thank you for a week that we will never forget. C - Captivating A - Active M - Monkeys P - Proud B - Beauty E - Enthusiasm L - Loco for JB L - Lion hearted A - Always an adventure CAPTIVATING: Surrounded by a group of captivating young women, we were mesmerized by their utmost joy in and out of the water. From the comments that took our breath away for the maturity that was apparent, to the laughter that resounded throughout Surf House every night. ACTIVE: On the go all week, the girls were constantly involved in activities which certainly helped towards the hope for an early bedtime. Yet somehow our chicas always managed to find bursts of energy to last on into the night with songs, scary...
What a better way to start off International Women's Surfing Month, than a Camp Bella with our idol Tia Blanco?!! We asked girls and women across the globe what surfing means to them and the first word many of them said was Freedom. So, it's all about Freedom for 2016!(If you'd like to know more about our partners, Making Waves, or the Wahine Project, or get some more information about supporting International Women's Month- hop over to https://internationalwomenssurfingmonth.splashthat.com/) The first Monday of May, your very own Chica Brava team had the honor of collaborating with Project WOO (Project Wave of Optimism) to work with the inspiring 19 year old professional surfer Tia Blanco. Nicaragua and Chica Brava welcomed back Tia with open arms after her gold medal win at the ISA (International Surfing Association) World Games back in June 2015, but this time, she was not only coming back for more than just a medal, but a memory to last a lifetime. Tia was in Nicaragua for a couple of days for her most recent shoot with Sony, when Chica Brava was approached to possibly allow Tia to surf with some of our chicas that participate in our women empowerment program, Chicas Adelante. And not only could the chicas not turn it down, but neither could any one of our team members! We all jumped in the truck on Monday afternoon and went straight to Playa Gigante, where she was filming. Can you say R-O-A-D T-R-I-P! After the 4 wheel drive bombed hills, massive bumps and mud covered truck, we finally arrived to Playa Amarillo where Tia and the Sony Team were anxiously...
A huge shout out to our Team Member of the Month, Lindsey Tennant, for receiving a $100 gift certificate to the Chica Brava store as a huge THANK YOU from our Management team when she stepped into the Camp Operations Manager role for a week at Chica Brava. Great job Lindsey!
There have been many efforts through the years to work with the local youth and specifically young girls in San Juan del Sur to prevent teenage pregnancy, cut the high school dropout rate and ensure college preparedness. Now, a better program exists and is promising to do all that and more. It is Chicas Adelante, run through Escuela Adelante with the help of Chica Brava, it is a new project for young girls in San Juan del Sur based on developing leadership skills, female empowerment and mutual support. And not to forget, bilingualism, surf and friendship! It is designed to tackle the most important issues facing women all over the world and most especially in a machista culture such as Nicaragua. We meet monthly, and in our last session, we ran a unique workshop based on having the girls develop and implement a new business model for San Juan del Sur with the aim of uplifting local women out of poverty through education and employment. After a short lecture style presentation and brainstorm on the topic, the students split into groups and collaborated with their teammates to create their pitch for a small business idea. The girls came up with many designs such as a bakery, a nursery for plants, an animal rescue and shelter, and a lemonade stand, each with a distinct mission and set of values. Combining ideas on social justice with an altruistic theme, the businesses all worked to raise the consciousness or improve the health of people and animals in San Juan del Sur. The girls were asked to sketch out their ideas on a poster...
