WINTER2017
MLBLUE
97
words and photos :: Colin Field
On our last day of surf camp, I paddle into a whitewater wave. I stand up
and enjoy the feeling of riding the wave. It’s not the coolest, biggest wave,
but it feels rad to be surfing. Then I seemy six-year-old son’s surf instructor
Christy. She’s got him on a board and is setting him up to catch the same
wave as me. As I get closer she pushes him gently ontomy wave.
He’s been riding boogie boards all week, and this is one of the few times
he’s decided to try a surfboard. Christy is infinitely patient. She’s been
with him every day, letting him go at his own pace. And as I look over, to
my surprise he stands up. He’s slow but steady in his pop up and then
he’s up with a stance that is, frommy 40-year-old perspective, infuriatingly
natural. He looks over and for about tenmetres we are surfing the exact
same wave; laughing and hollering over the roar of the surf. It’s a moment
I will cherish forever.
As far as surfing destinations go you’d be hard pressed to beat Costa
Rica. With 1,200 kilometres of coastline on both the Pacific Ocean and the
Caribbean Sea, the number of breaks is nearly endless. And every coastal
town has a surf shop, a surf school and dedicated locals that are surprisingly
generous when it comes to sharing their breaks. Add to that an average
water temperature of 25°C and it’s never difficult to get in the ocean.
And if you’re looking for a family getaway like no other, I’m not sure you
could beat the Peaks ‘n Swells Family Surf Camp inMontezuma. Run by
Hillary Harrison and her husband RyanWatts (both former world-class
mountain bike racers), the couple spends summer at their homes in
Pemberton andWashington and winter running the camp out of Hillary’s
mother’s estate in Costa Rica. With an incredible property right beside a
sea turtle sanctuary (and the beach of course), the camp is an all-inclusive
affair; meals are prepared by locals (the food is incredible), and drinks
flow freely, but the main focus is learning to surf.
