I’m Haley, and welcome to Gathering Waves!

I grew up in California, and have always loved exploring, surfing, and traveling locally. I recently finished my four year degree, and after switching majors *three* times, I realized that the funnel from undergrad to masters to a 9-5, corporate job just wasn’t for me.

SO, to “find myself” I took off on a whirlwind, 4 month long trip around Costa Rica, where I fell in love not only with the warm water and even warmer people, but with the idea of having the freedom to explore the world. And so came the idea of writing a travel blog.

While I was planning my trip to Costa Rica, I didn’t have in mind (nor could I afford) luxury hotels, private drivers, and staying on the beaten path.

I also wasn’t planning on doing intense budget travel either (not that I don’t love to budget and save money).

I wanted a culturally rich experience, where I could get a little off the beaten path without sacrificing my safety, or breaking the bank. I also wanted to surf just about every wave in Costa Rica.

However, I noticed in my trip planning, most travel guides to Costa Rica (and most other countries for that matter) focus one either extreme budget backpacking, or high end, luxury travel.

And most surfing guides are limited to the waves themselves, or geared towards an audience that I didn’t quite fit into.

So, I had the idea of writing a surf travel blog for other travelers like me, who don’t fit on either far end of the travel spectrum.

For travelers who want to surf, adventure, and to really try to experience local cultures.

Gathering Waves is intended to be a resource for surfers, as well as non-surfers traveling to coastal surf & beach destinations.