Zero Tolerance

After nine long months, the time has finally arrived for my surfing adventure. The flight left early for those of us attending the camp from Houston -- 9 a.m. -- which I guess isn’t that early unless you start counting backward on when we need to leave to get to the airport two hours early. I was driving up with my friend Robin, and that meant that I would be leaving my house at 5:30 a.m. We allowed for plenty of time at the airport, which was a good thing, because the airport was a zoo. Everyone was going somewhere for spring break. Our plane was completely full and included several church mission groups and one medical student group who were all traveling to make Nicaragua a better place to live. At least five of us on our flight, though, were here for our own selfish reasons of learning to surf. We were met at the airport by one of our surf instructors. Melissa is delightful and just what you might want and expect from a surf instructor. Down-to-earth, fun and adventurous Melissa has been with Chica Brava for only a short time, but she had loads of stories about learning to surf and teaching surfing. We waited in Nicaragua for the others who were coming in on later flights. Our group includes Robin, Barbara, Britt, Leah, Mona, Olga and Marcia. We loaded in our van and headed to the “farm,” as Ashley (surfing diva) calls it. Surfing instructor Maite is also wonderful. After a brief stop in Granada, our van traversed the crowded roadways and headed to San Juan del Sur. We were stopped twice by police, apparently something that is common in Nicaragua. Olga, who speaks fluent Spanish, asked our driver about it and found out that it is not uncommon for cars to be pulled over because of the “zero tolerance” rule -- the catch phrase these days around the world for all occasions like sports, schools, etc. The driver was very polite with the police and received only one ticket; apparently, for the way our bags were loaded on top of the van. When we got to the farm though, I could tell that “zero tolerance” was not going to be a part of my vocabulary this week. The gals are fun and interesting, and the farm is spectacular. This is going to be a fun adventure!