Women's Surf Camp » surf retreats

Sister Act:: Five Tips for Keeping it in the Family

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:44:58 +0000

Enjoy a vacation with your sister.

Is traveling with your sister on vacation a recipe for disaster? It doesn’t have to be as long as you lay down some ground rules first. Here are a few travel-tested truths for keeping peace in the sister hood.
1) Leave the baggage at home: Sibling relationships can be fraught with the peril of childhood roles, divergent interests and unspoken resentments. So, no matter if you’re the big sis used to being in charge or the baby accustomed to being indulged, leave the birth-order baggage at home.
2) Privatize: Allow for private time in your itinerary.
3) Get thee to chocolate: If you start to get snarky, or she does, take two chocolates and another in the morning. If symptoms escalate, wine is also recommended.
4) Play well with others. Say please and thank you a lot. Show respect, admit your mistakes and never be a tattletale.
5) Money, money, money. Be sure to discuss in advance your expectations for sharing costs, the level of accommodation or how paying for meals is to be handled.

For the complete story visit HERE.

Nicaragua:: Crocodiles and Espresso Shots

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:13:08 +0000

I heard there were crocodiles in the ocean. “What!?”I exclaimed, “Nooo, really?”. I didn’t really believe it until I saw one, eyes peeping through the surface of the ocean on my first day at Popoyo Surf Lodge in Nicargua. It seemed just like a sweet Maui turtle at first or, then again, I may have been hoping it was a sweet, little turtle. Luckily, I was on our surf charter boat and safely away from the ocean crocodile. Just a little bit of excitement to start off an incredible week of “Ground Hogs Day”.

I say Ground Hogs Day because everyday was the same. The day started with a 5:15am wake up KNOCK at your cabana door (if you are lucky that is). Then, it’s a quick change into your suit, grab your back pack and a stop in the kitchen. I’m not much of a Starbucks partaker but getting up at that hour warranted caffeine. What was suppose to be coffee, was actually as strong as espresso and after drinking my cup on the first day (I later learned that a 1/4 cup was just fine for me), I spontaneously yelled out, “Ole!” and we were off to surf.

The rest of the day goes as follows; surfing, surfing, eating, more surfing and eating with some time for lounging and “HT (Hammock Time)”. Some of the highlights other than surfing were a visit to the hot springs, Pasoy Card games for toothpicks and Lobster Fest night. Of course my o’hana for the week was pretty amazing as well; thanks Rob, Stu, Tyler, Al and Jammel for all the Good Times, Laughs and Ping Pong. (Next year, we WILL do the talent show!)

Popoyo Surf Lodge, Nicaragua

Al from the UK and I taking a breather before another surf session.

My bungaloo for the week, next door to Carlos and Carlita.

Carlos (Carlita was taking a nap).

Some of the Crew (Jammel, Al, Ricardo, Rob and me)

Checking out Two Brothers Surf Camp

I was the big winner at Pasoy...my winnings, toothpicks.

SwellWomen Retreats:: A little Yoga anyone?

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:38:19 +0000

In my opinion, yoga and surfing are two peas in a pod. There are numerous similarities between these two activities… the poses you do on your yoga mat are similar to the pop-up steps on your surfboard. Not to mention, yoga brings an awareness to your breath and brings you in the moment while surfing allows your mind to be free of it’s daily worries. I don’t know anyone who is thinking about their mortgage payment while they are surfing a precious wave.

Heading off to The Yoga Tree for our outdoor Bliss

Balancing poses help us with surfing.

Balasana or Child's Pose

Katherine assisting one of our SwellWomen

Warrior 2 pose is similar to a surf stance.

There's nothing better than doing yoga outdoors, especially in Maui.

Yoga at SwellWomen Retreats

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 12:37:40 +0000

Yoga after a morning surf session is the best way to stretch out your paddling muscles and keep your core strong. Yoga outside after a surf session is even better. Thanks Katherine for a wonderful week of Yoga.

Goddess Warriors

Lengthening the side body.

Our Yoga Tree

Tree Pose

Focus and Joy

It really IS this beautiful.

SwellWomen Retreats:: Say OMMMMM…..

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:29:03 +0000

I can’t think of a better way than to get off the plane and start your vacation by participating in a gentle vinyasa yoga class. Having class outdoors is an even added bonus! Our SwellWomen have arrived; Roberta, Marcia, Erin, Rachel, Portia, Valerie (alumni!), Catherine and Lynn. A fun bunch of ladies! We have some guests who have recently quit their job and are embarking on a change of life, some whom have changed jobs, a guest taking a break from her PHD, a guest taking a vacation away from her 20 month old and hubby and ladies who want to Vacation in Paradise!

Say Ommm…. and check out the beautiful and magical location that we have our yoga classes at.

Say Ommmm...and begin your vacation, NOW.

I love this picture, and yes, it really is as beautiful as it looks.

Stretching the upper back.

Side stretching is great for surfing.

SwellWomen sticker gets Stuck

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:23:08 +0000

Holly from our August retreats sent this image of her surfboard with a new and shiny SwellWomen sticker on it. Holly say in her e-mail, “I was so excited to put this on! And Dustin taught me how to take the wax off to put stickers on that will stay. I’ve learned from the best!!! XOXO, Holly”

Thanks for sporting our sticker in CA, Holly!

SwellWomen making it's way to So Cal

IT’S WOMEN’S SURF CAMP TIME, FOLKS!

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:40:11 +0000

Time to clock some hours on our surfboards.

It’s that time again. Surf and Yoga retreats August 16th-29th! With two weeks of bliss, surf, yoga, massages, GREAT food and amazing guests coming our way, I can hardly stand it. Time to get out of the office and have some serious fun with our visiting guests coming from all over the world. I will be sure to keep you all in the loop with some fun pictures and posts during the next two weeks, so check back daily. If you weren’t able to surf with us this August, hope you can join us next year in 2010! Aloha!

It’s Official…It’s Women’s and Co-ed Surf Camp Time.

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:38:32 +0000

Follow our Blog for retreat posts!

It’s that time. My favorite time of the year when all the guests finally arrive after months of interaction via the web. We get to see real live SwellWomen and SwellCo-ed. My favorite things about our retreats; surfing, meeting new people. THE FOOD, and spending time on the west side. I also LOVE to watch the transformation of our guests after a week of being taken care of. It’s incredible. Visit our blog daily for posts at our retreat.