If surfing makes you happy, there are very few spots that are more perfect than Witch’s Rock, the iconic surf break on the northwest coast of Costa Rica. And if you’re a newbie, you might be getting lessons from the best of the best over there! The Four Seasons, Costa Rica is offering an opportunity to ride the waves with the world’s top-ranked surfers as your personal guides and coaches with its women-run surf school SurfX.
The Coaches
Irrespective of your age or experience, you’ll be treated like surf royalty by these personal coaches here in Four Season’s SurfX. The big names include 32-year-old Jair Perez, a local hero and the reigning national surf champion of Costa Rica — and 28-year-old Hanna Storrosten, co-founder of SurfX. Reading the ocean is the secret to surfing. There’s nothing more helpful than to have someone by your side who intimately knows the waves, especially at a new break. And then there are other surfers to boost your confidence with collective chants of the Costa Rican mantra Pura Vida, which translates to pure life.
The Resort and the Surfing School
The luxury Four Seasons resort is blessed with two world-class wave breaks in its backyard. Witch’s Rock, or Roja Bruja, is a mystic monolith drawing surfers around the world to ride the A-frame wave. It’s also immortalized in the seminal surf documentary Endless Summer II, directed by Bruce Brown. Another one is the legendary right-hand point break named Ollie’s Point, located 20 minutes away by boat. Previously the resort’s surf school was operated by an Australian outfitter. But, during the global pandemic, the Costa Rica resort grasped the opportunity to remodel the school through a local lens with two women at the forefront. Storrosten, along with Andrea Diaz Coto, aim to give the Pura Vida vibes to people through their coaching, making them feel empowered by their surfing experiences.