Feliz Navidad
by: Natasha Feduik
Traveling with a group is always fun and entertaining, and traveling with a group to Witch’s Rock Surf Camp is even better! Because of the “camp” vibe, there’s already a communal feel that welcomes solo travelers or groups alike. I have visited WRSC both alone, and with groups many times, but taking surf camp by storm with a group of my closest friends and family is always a blast!
A couple of years back, I planned a trip with a group of eight from New York. I had only been to Witch’s Rock once, by myself, as a beginner. This time, I was returning as an experienced beginner, while the rest of my friends were all starting from scratch. There were a few of us who had never met until we hit JFK, and quickly became close friends after the 5-hour flight to Liberia. On the transport from the airport to camp, we adopted a lone traveler that was bunking up in a shared room, and our group of eight became nine. Because I had been to Tamarindo before, everyone looked to me for guidance. Where do we go to eat? What do we do after our lessons are done for the day? What is Guaro? I soon became the cruise director of, not only my group, but many other camp newbies who had the same questions. We started traveling through town, hitting the nightlife, and became “the gang from WRSC.”
As with any of my vacations with downtime, the cocktails were flowing and a lot of silliness ensued. Our group continued to grow in size since we were having so much fun. Beach volleyball, pool parties, Catamaran cruises, no matter where we went, others joined us. The Mariachi band in town took notice, and joined us whenever they saw us. The problem was, no one knew any songs to request, except “Feliz Navidad”. So… every time we saw them, that’s what they played. Let the festivities begin! This evolved into us changing all the lyrics being played over the radio at Eat at Joe’s to Christmas lyrics. If my memory serves me correctly, I think we even went caroling one night.
Before we knew it, everyone around camp was singing along, playing along with our antics, even in the water! As we would paddle out, people would surf by us, exchanging holiday greetings. “Merry Christmas” could be heard as we were surfing down the line. “Happy Holidays” could be heard as people around camp were toasting their beer glasses. To top it all off, the DJ on the Pirate Radio Show gave us a shout out, “Well, it looks like Christmas has arrived in Tamarindo!” I don’t think WRSC has felt such holiday cheer before…in April!
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