The day I left the Bahamas, I was planning to fly straight to Costa Rica to stay at a surfing camp/resort with my best friend from high school, Anna. Anna had mentioned it at the end of June, this was her last big trip before she started work and we love traveling together, so it was a no-brainer that I had to go. I had 4 flights to make in one day, three of which had tight connections, and two were Bahamasair, which is not the most reputable for being on time. I had two friends on my flight to Nassau from Long Island in addition to the rest of the flight being film crew and other competing freedivers.
The ‘airport’ wasn’t prepared for all the baggage and we departed about 20 minutes late. Curt and I had not gotten our covid test yet due to logistics and being on the boat and were planning to get in in Nassau. Landing in Nassau, Johnny waited for Curt and my checked bags while we rushed to get our rapid covid tests provided by the airport. After receiving our results, we re-checked and went to clear customs and immigration. The line was backed up through the whole room, not moving, and we had about 30 minutes until our flight was scheduled to leave. Normally, I wouldn’t be concerned about missing my flight, but since I had two international flights following this I talked to a few people who let us go ahead of them. We made it to our flight and then sat on the plane for an hour waiting for others to get through the line, causing us to land in Fort Lauderdale an hour later, and consequently, I missed my flight to Costa Rica.
The following morning I arrived in Costa Rica and made it to the resort by 10 pm. Anna was there waiting for me, we caught up and went to bed since our group was scheduled to surf at 5:30 am the next day. We woke up to pounding rain and our surf got postponed to 1 pm. We walked around town and explored some shops and coffee shops until then. The first day of surfing was mainly theory, but we were able to get in the water for a little bit. I had only been without the ocean for a day, but it felt so good to be back in the water. After surfing we hung around the camp, watched the sunset, and got to know the others.
On the second day of surfing, we got more water time and I was able to surf for the first time and really enjoyed it. It was special for me because this was, in a way, the only water activity I hadn’t tried, and felt like I had now immersed myself in the ocean in all ways possible. Every morning we got more comfortable catching the waves, and the afternoons were spent relaxing by the pool, grabbing lunch with friends, and exploring the city.
We had two nights where everyone in the camp went out to dinner together versus eating at camp which was fun and we got dressed up for it. We had one party night that started with a ping pong tournament and ended with dancing. The day after the party night was a break day from surfing and quite a few of us chose to go to Tortuga Island. I was excited to be on a boat, go snorkeling, despite the murkier water compared to the Bahamas, and relax on the beach with friends. It was a perfect day to rejuvenate for the upcoming final two days of surfing.
During the last two days of surfing, I became more confident and was still having a blast. The camp was well-designed and made it easy to get to know other people and we created friendships with people from all over the world. On the last night, a few of us went to soak up our last moments at an infinity pool in the middle of one of the mountains that overlooked the ocean. It was absolutely stunning and the perfect ending to a great week.