The whole trip was awesome, really fun. My favorite part was the surfing, for sure, I’ve only been surfing for one year but I loved the surfing, especially at Maderas in Nicaragua and then the camping at Popoyo. I loved the instructors, Mark was fantastic as a leader and a friend. Ciara was someone you could definitely trust. Granada, Nicaragua was so intense because we got there for the elections and the streets were so alive with music and fireworks, it was an amazing sight to see. The hiking phase was so hard and while I was doing I thought that it wasn’t so cool, but now, I think what we did was awesome, the homestays were amazing. That whole phase was not an experience you’d get just walking through the rainforest, I mean we were chopping down banana trees to harvest. I wouldn’t change anything about this course, it was lots of fun, I would recommend it to anyone.

Tara Baird
24, New York, USA
Water & Wave Semester Fall 2006

My favorite part was definitely the surfing. I loved the break “Little Hawaii” because it was big. Maderas in Nicaragua was also sick, with clean waves, big waves and offshore winds. Nicaragua was the best time, it was out of this world, I think I drank six sodas out of a bag. Granada was super cool and super friendly. The best way to start the trip was definitely the hiking. I liked hiking a lot and from it came lots of stories. Especially that first night camping, totally in the jungle. It made everything else after that easier. I’m coming back to spend the Christmas Holidays with my brother surfing some of the breaks that we were at during the course. The Leadership Semester will be done and a couple of the guys are going to meet up with us. I really want to be a surf instructor for CRROBS.

Brett Cary
19, Maine, USA
Water & Wave Semester Fall 2006

My favorite parts were the surfing and the kayaking. With kayaking I was the captain of my own ship and going down the Pacuare with the biggest rapids was a trip. Surfing Maderas was my favorite beach because it was beautiful, super chill and awesome. My instructors, Mark, Ciara and Carlos are awesome! Panama was very cool, I really likes the Red Frog Beach and learning to SCUBA – that was sweet, I’m definitely going to keep going with that. I also liked hiking a lot, I wish we would have done more, and the homestay families where such nice people. I’m going back to Piedras Blancas with Orlando on Friday to volunteer in the school. I hope to stay with Santiago’s family - Santiago is the man, we called him “hero” because he’s just fearless. before I came I had a bit of conversational Spanish but with Santiago it improved a lot. I learned a lot of Spanish from him because he speaks so clearly.

Haddy Yosef
19, New Jersey, USA
Water & Wave Semester Fall 2006

The semester was fun, it’s a good trip, and now that its over I think it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Of course during it was really hard. but I felt safe the whole trip. The instructors were cool, and that helped a lot, especially in the tough parts of the course. Mark was really great, he said to me that I would get more out of this trip at the end or when I go home, at the time I didn’t realize it but it was true, this trip was awesome. I’m just glad I did it. I have no regrets. I liked surfing the best. Every beach had its ups and downs but it was all great. I was really looking forward to Witch’s Rock, too bad it was the smallest waves. Maderas was great, I liked being right on the beach. Popoyo was sweet, I loved Nicaragua because it was a lot more beautiful, in a weird way, it was just not what I expected. The hiking, I look back on it now and I’m glad I did it. It was cool going from New Jersey to the jungle in one day, it was definitely a good experience. The homestays were more useful than camping because it teaches you more than just being in a forest with big spiders. Rafting was fun but kayaking was awesome. I didn’t like it during the first two days but then once you learn how to do everything in your kayak, its great. It’s good to have knowledge about stuff like that, and doing it in whitewater was awesome. So much better than just doing it on flat water. Nicaragua was crazy-good, seeing people that live totally different lives, I think all Americans would get a lot out of seeing how other people live. Panama was awesome because we had a lot of free time to play soccer with the locals. I thought it was really cool to live on an island, it was beautiful. Plus I had wanted to do SCUBA for a while, and now that I’m certified I’m going to do it with buddies back home.

Matt Skirkanich
19, New Jersey, USA
Water & Wave Semester Fall 2006

I go to Colorado State University, I’m a junior in Journalism – this was my recreational semester and I’m getting all my elective credits out of the way, I might as well. I wanted to do a study abroad but I also wanted more fun doing it. I had never done any of these before, not even surfing, but it was all fun. Surfing was super hard at the beginning and when there weren’t beginner-friendly waves. My favorite was kayaking. Kayaking was awesome, I will definitely do it back in the US, in fact, I’ve already bought a whitewater kayak back home. Compliments to the river staff. Other highlights include the market in Managua, Nicaragua – that was overwhelming but fun, I had never been to a place like that in my life; and then the Masaya Volcano, which was one of the coolest things ever, really awesome. And then I got to make a pot with that really nice family that works in ceramics, I liked it a lot, it was ridiculously fun.

Heidi White
20, Colorado, USA
Water & Wave Semester Fall 2006

It was such an amazing 70 days that I’m surprised by how much I have done and the person I became. The best thing about this semester was meeting people from all over that are interested in all sorts of things. I had never surfed before. It was hard, it was fun, it was definitely exciting to get up on a board for the first time, I liked it a lot. Avallanas was my favorite beach. The families in the homestays were really welcoming, it was a really nice place to relax.

Courtney Colbert
21, Indiana, USA
Water & Wave Semester Fall 2006

I just finished my MBA and this was my graduation present to myself, and now I don’t want to leave! I’m thinking of camping out at base for a few months and have the Lauras sneak me food once a day. The whole trip was great but surfing in Nicaragua was my favorite. Maderas was awesome, it had all day perfect waves and we slept right in front of the breaks. All we had to do was look up in the morning and see the waves, and we’d just start surfing. The isletas in Granada were awesome, our boat guide and his family were so nice, and we got to feed the monkeys. The river section was great, it was totally new experiences, and it was really cool to guide. Felipe was amazing, all the Lopez brothers were great because for me kayaking was scary, I liked it, but it was scary, and they made it easier. The hiking was really rough, I liked it a lot and found it challenging. The sole of my hiking shoe came off and Mark “McGyvered” it back on, he saved the day. It was great to get to the homestays. CRROBS is so so lucky to have staff so dedicated to the students and the school. I thank all of them especially to Lopez family, the Lauras, and my instructors Mark and Ciara for making this trip truly memorable. All of them went above and beyond and have truly impacted me. Thank you.

Lorielle Ferlitas
23, Florida, USA
Water & Wave Semester Fall 2006

It was an intense and physically demanding but fun at the same time. The SCUBA portion was great. I saw some really cool stuff, and I’m really comfortable in the water now. The hiking was beautiful. Nicaragua had good waves and beautiful scenery. I really felt pushed and challenged by the instructors during the rafting portion.

Casey Guthrie
21, Washington, USA
Water & Wave Semester Spring 2006

No doubt the group experience, diversity of participants and the OB approach was a valuable opportunity for him in terms of personal growth & maturity. Thanks so much for all of your support! The staff at CRROBS should be congratulated on running a first class program.

Parent
Water & Wave Semester Spring 2006

I loved the independence of surfing. I could progress on my own without being held back, but we were better as a group. I also really like hiking, it’s a cool feeling to be totally self-sufficient with what’s on your back.

Jordan Lytton
18, Georgia, USA
Water & Wave Semester Spring 2006

The instructors were awesome. I loved being on the beach and in the ocean. I also loved being out of the country and seeing how different people live and the variety of culture.

Will Henderson
19, New York, USA
Water & Wave Semester Spring 2006

I really liked and felt challenged by the hiking and kayaking. The instructors were awesome. They want to see you do things for yourself, and they really push you. They are good role models.

Jonathan Fox
18, Ontario, Canada
Water & Wave Semester Spring 2006