What’s a day in the life of a Chica Brava Chica? As some of you have ventured into our retreat a time or two, or maybe you’ve yet to join us… Not a day is the same! We have an outlined schedule prepared for you upon arrival and further specifics or other activities are adjusted for you of course, but without fail, days just happen a little differently everyday around here.
Listen to “A Day in the Life” by the Beatles
Here’s a little peek at a day… Monday, Christmas Day!
7:30 Breakfast… The best meal of the day! Okay, maybe you aren’t a morning person naturally…but have some breakfast burritos and fill up your coffee mug with Belkis’s (our house mama and cook) strong Nica roast.
8:00 Theory Lesson with Lindsey. Join her in the hangout room on the couches or rocking chairs to learn the surfing etiquette and recognizing waves from the beach and in the line up. Sip your coffee and ask away! She’s had experience will all types of breaks and beaches.
8:30 Video Review begins right after theory with our Lead Surf Instructor, Stephanie, and Lindsey. Watch two to three videos of your session from the day before and hear feedback on them. These videos are really helpful to get another perspective on your waves. Maybe you didn’t realize you were looking down, or that you have your feet too far back- the next session will allow you to work on these things to better your surfing and continue to build on this technique through the week.
9:00 Surf’s Up! Right after video review we are rollin’ along! We all gather all of the things we need to be surf ready for at the beach. These things are: sunscreen, filling up water bottles, sun protection clothing like rash-guards and hats, and some snacks for the beach. We load up all of the boards together onto the Chica Brava truck and off we go to the beach! Everyday you will learn new surf theory and practical goals. Monday you will learn about sets, lulls, zones of the beach (impact, outside, inside), how waves form as the move towards shore, and identify the direction of the waves breaking. We work on paddling, having good and efficient form, and how to find your comfortable sweet spot on the board. The water time is split into 3 hours in the water with breaks every hour for snacks, water, and reapplication of sunscreen. The last hour of the 3 is called “Empower Hour” where we encourage everyone to go out and work on catching waves on their own or work towards their own personal goals with verbal coaching and supervision from the instructors. We want you to have as much BEACH TIME as possible so you may practice surfing, enjoy some sunshine, and explore the different beaches that our area has to offer! After the lesson is over for the day, we load up the truck, get some dry clothes on, and head back to Chica Brava.
3:00 Optional Canopy Tour From personal experience: do it! You are taking through a series of 17 ziplines starting at the top of the mountain at 200 mts above sea level. You can see as far as the bay of San Juan Del Sur, the Palermo Valley, and the Statue of Jesus! It’s a total distance of 2.5 kilometers with varying heights and lengths. In my bookbag, I packed: tennis shoes, bug spray, and some sunblock. The people working there are happy to practice some Spanish with you, teach you about the local nature, and support you safely through the course. Afterwards grab a juice, soda, beer, or water at the finish, where there is a little shop, before you are transported back to us at Chica Brava. See their video here!
5:30 Dinner Option: “Lunes De Relax” Sunset Happy Hour at El Timon Ah, kick your feet up and enjoy our Chica Brava Happy Hour menu at one of the best restaurants in town! Its the night to celebrate your first two days of surfing and watch a beautiful San Juan Del Sur Bay sunset. There’s a band, Calibre, that plays and sings the top 100 songs from the 80’s to today in English! Appetizers from veggie wraps to tostones (fried plantains with pico de gallo, refried beans, and cheese) to coconut chicken skewers, Entrees like Chicken Filet with a white wine butter sauce with sauteed shrimp on top to the Mixed Seafood Platter with shrimp skewer, breaded fish filet, steamed clams, a lobster tail, calamari and octopus, and Drink specials like rum drinks and beers for a dollar (and my personal favorite: piña coladas for two fifty)!
Video Option: Riding Giants After a long day of surfing and adventuring around the town, it’s nice sometimes to kick it with a couple of chicas and tune into a surf movie. Surf movies/documentaries are the best for getting a different perspective or seeing different waves and surfing styles. At Chica Brava, we have a big selection of movies to watch so feel free to mix it up. Check out the ‘Riding Giants’ trailer here.
Other Activities:
Spanish Lessons
Horseback Riding with Rancho Chilamate
Catamaran Boat Tour
White Canvas Paint Night
Crossfit-Style Bootcamp: GetFit Nicaragua
Boat Option to Surf Break with NicaSurf International
Thanks for reading! Hope to see you again or meet you soon <3
Allie Hayser
Surf Instructor Extraordinaire
December 2016