School of the World Surf Camp — Hotel in Jacó

This trip was about the surfing. If you haven’t been to Jaco Beach, Costa Rica, (3/18/23-3/25/23) the water was 82 degrees or warmer, the sunsets are spectacular, the waves consistent with many left and right breaks, and decent sized. I saw probably ten (on different occasions) manta rays jumping out of the water, flapping their ‘wings’ and then belly flopping with a thud back into water. On my last sunset surf, one was having the time of its life belly flopping for about 15 minutes about ten feet away from me. Oh, and there was a live band playing excellent renditions of classic rock from shore. So, to sum up - warm water, belly flopping mantas, great waves, classic rock, sunset, and an uncrowded lineup of similarly situated surfers appreciating the moment. ||My primary instructors were Jason at first and then Ricardo. Both were masters in their craft, and knew how to explain it probably as well as they knew how to do it. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations, their consistent and easy to follow feedback, their help spotting the right waves, positioning, and advice on the direction of the break, and their apparent earnest desire to advance my surfing skills. I’m a lawyer by trade, so I ask tons of questions. Some were more basic - how do you know whether it was a good day surfing (Ricardo nailed the answer to that one) to more technical. They were very patient instructors who understood that it takes repetition and time to translate their advice into action, but super effective. By the end of the trip, I was using half the effort and catching twice as many ‘bigger’ waves. Mission accomplished (see attached pic as proof from a freelance photographer who happened to be in the water taking pictures of me (and others) that day). ||I’ve been toying around with really learning to surf for years - renting boards on vacation and plopping in the water anytime I was near waves, and finally decided to invest the time to do it. A day after the trip, I can say that this was one of those good decisions that gives credence to Nike's fantastic advertising tagline ‘just do it'. ||A couple things about me and this trip - it wasn’t a family trip, but just with another friend (similarly situated frustrated surfer) - I’m late 40s, he’s early 50s. So, not looking for extravagant accommodations, spas, or the like. We signed up for ‘double surf / yoga’ which was between 3-4 hours in the water during the day/early evening and 1.5 hours of yoga in the evening. ||Otherwise - some things to think about:||Had a car take us to Jaco (arranged by Cyn at School of the World “SOW” - who rocks!). It takes 90 min or more with traffic and costs $90 (unless you can split it with another SOW guest). I stayed in room 9 on the lower level next to the common kitchen and yoga room. Exactly the rustic, authentic type of room I was looking for. ||A block away is a fruit stand that has amazing freshly picked fruit everyday from bananas, to mangos, papayas, blueberries, pineapples, you name it. They even have little plastic containers of cut up fruit for people like me that enjoyed the convenience. In the back, they have a $3 smoothie counter using water, milk, freshly squeezed orange juice and all the fresh fruit they have in the store. That was an everyday pre-surf thing for me. Family who runs it is awesome, energetic, and the big smile from the cashier is something you look forward to every morning.||Within steps is a store that sells drinks, beer, wine, liquor, and also a store that sells your typical grocery store staples. Super easy and convenient. Town is about 2000 yards down the street, and the beach about another 500 yards beyond that. Easy walk. Cool restaurants on the beach. Apparently, the nightlife is or was pretty exciting late in the evening in primarily weekends, and there are some good tips about the different bars online. We went during the week, we were tired, so not much advice there. ||The other guests/students were truly from all over the world, a few fellow Californians, some Germans, Austrians, Portuguese, a Floridian, a Tennessean, a New Yorker who painted murals, and a couple Texans (one recommended a great Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston that I went to on a subsequent trip). The vibe was super inclusive, interested, but also careful to respect space and independence. I really liked the group and felt that I (in a very chill way) got to know everyone pretty well by the end of the week. Many were on their 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th weeks there - living the pura vida.||An interesting surprise - many bathrooms in Jaco have a note that says don’t flush toilet paper, put in trash basket next to toilet. While this was a little unusual, I suspect there is a good reason for that. ||Highly recommend the SOW. The entire experience is well thought out and planned. The folks running the place are clearly professionals and excellent at what they do....

This trip was about the surfing. If you haven’t been to Jaco Beach, Costa Rica, (3/18/23-3/25/23) the water was 82 degrees or warmer, the sunsets are spectacular, the waves consistent with many left and right breaks, and decent sized. I saw probably ten (on different occasions) manta rays jumping out of the water, flapping their ‘wings’ and then belly flopping with a thud back into water. On my last sunset surf, one was having the time of its life belly flopping for about 15 minutes about ten feet away from me. Oh, and there was a live band playing excellent renditions of classic rock from shore. So, to sum up - warm water, belly flopping mantas, great waves, classic rock, sunset, and an uncrowded lineup of similarly situated surfers appreciating the moment. ||My primary instructors were Jason at first and then Ricardo. Both were masters in their craft, and knew how to explain it probably as well as they knew how to do it. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations, their consistent and easy to follow feedback, their help spotting the right waves, positioning, and advice on the direction of the break, and their apparent earnest desire to advance my surfing skills. I’m a lawyer by trade, so I ask tons of questions. Some were more basic - how do you know whether it was a good day surfing (Ricardo nailed the answer to that one) to more technical. They were very patient instructors who understood that it takes repetition and time to translate their advice into action, but super effective. By the end of the trip, I was using half the effort and catching twice as many ‘bigger’ waves. Mission accomplished (see attached pic as proof from a freelance photographer who happened to be in the water taking pictures of me (and others) that day). ||I’ve been toying around with really learning to surf for years - renting boards on vacation and plopping in the water anytime I was near waves, and finally decided to invest the time to do it. A day after the trip, I can say that this was one of those good decisions that gives credence to Nike's fantastic advertising tagline ‘just do it'. ||A couple things about me and this trip - it wasn’t a family trip, but just with another friend (similarly situated frustrated surfer) - I’m late 40s, he’s early 50s. So, not looking for extravagant accommodations, spas, or the like. We signed up for ‘double surf / yoga’ which was between 3-4 hours in the water during the day/early evening and 1.5 hours of yoga in the evening. ||Otherwise - some things to think about:||Had a car take us to Jaco (arranged by Cyn at School of the World “SOW” - who rocks!). It takes 90 min or more with traffic and costs $90 (unless you can split it with another SOW guest). I stayed in room 9 on the lower level next to the common kitchen and yoga room. Exactly the rustic, authentic type of room I was looking for. ||A block away is a fruit stand that has amazing freshly picked fruit everyday from bananas, to mangos, papayas, blueberries, pineapples, you name it. They even have little plastic containers of cut up fruit for people like me that enjoyed the convenience. In the back, they have a $3 smoothie counter using water, milk, freshly squeezed orange juice and all the fresh fruit they have in the store. That was an everyday pre-surf thing for me. Family who runs it is awesome, energetic, and the big smile from the cashier is something you look forward to every morning.||Within steps is a store that sells drinks, beer, wine, liquor, and also a store that sells your typical grocery store staples. Super easy and convenient. Town is about 2000 yards down the street, and the beach about another 500 yards beyond that. Easy walk. Cool restaurants on the beach. Apparently, the nightlife is or was pretty exciting late in the evening in primarily weekends, and there are some good tips about the different bars online. We went during the week, we were tired, so not much advice there. ||The other guests/students were truly from all over the world, a few fellow Californians, some Germans, Austrians, Portuguese, a Floridian, a Tennessean, a New Yorker who painted murals, and a couple Texans (one recommended a great Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston that I went to on a subsequent trip). The vibe was super inclusive, interested, but also careful to respect space and independence. I really liked the group and felt that I (in a very chill way) got to know everyone pretty well by the end of the week. Many were on their 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th weeks there - living the pura vida.||An interesting surprise - many bathrooms in Jaco have a note that says don’t flush toilet paper, put in trash basket next to toilet. While this was a little unusual, I suspect there is a good reason for that. ||Highly recommend the SOW. The entire experience is well thought out and planned. The folks running the place are clearly professionals and excellent at what they do....

I attended School of the World a week ago, and am already planning my trip for next year. I chose Surf + Spanish + Yoga and enjoyed it so much, I plan to do the same in classes in 2024. ||||Surf - There are 2 surf sessions per day based on the tides. My session was 6 am - 8 am. While I realize those are not "vacation friendly" hours, I recently had a touch of skin cancer removed so I was very excited to have the earliest spot of the day (and out of the harsh sunshine). I worked with 3 surf instructors over the 5 days and it was wonderful. I had only had 1 surf session prior, so I was a total novice. I had a great experience!||||Spanish - Fernanda, the Spanish teacher, is wonderful. There is a pre-test you do prior to your visit, and you are placed in Spanish 1 (total novice), Spanish 2 (maybe you had 1-2 college Spanish classes; present tense), Spanish 3 (3-4 college classes, past tense) or Spanish 4 (conversational). Spanish 1-3 have workbooks and you'll meet with a max of 4 other students + the teacher for 2 hours a day; my session was 10 am - noon. On Tues, Wed and Thursday there is a "Spanish lab" where you go out into the community to hang out and practice your Spanish. ||||Yoga - Catalina was totally amazing. I am not one of those "yoga girls," and have, at best, done maybe 20 minutes of Apple TV+ yoga at home (alone). I was able to do the 1.5 session EVERY day and I loved it. The instructor is kind and patient, and I look forward to taking her class next year.||||The accommodations vary depending on your price level. I booked a Deluxe Private, and the cost (inclusive of all the lessons) was just over $1200 for the week.||||School of the World has a friendly vibe, where you can go hang out at the pool with new friends, or explore on your own. Restaurants ("sodas") and grocery shopping are near by, and it is about an 8-minute walk to the beach. I can't wait to go back, and give it my highest recommendation. Shout out to Brian and the whole team who keeps the...