Get an all-girl intro to surfing at Mexico's Las Olas

So you say you want to surf?

Las Olas surf safaris for women in Mexico will quash any reservations or excuses that have held you back from splashing around in the waves in the past.

Bev Sanders, the safaris' founder, says no woman is too fat or skinny, short or tall, old or young to give surfing a go, and now is a good a time to try.

"Especially now, when things don't make much sense in the world, surfing helps us discover what's truly important," said Sanders. "We need far less than we think to be happy. Worrying helps no one. Surfing helps us realize that."

Sanders co-founded a snowboard company with her husband in 1982 and struggled for years to promote women in a male-dominated sport. When, at 44, she learned to surf, she shifted her focus from the mountains to the ocean and in 1997 launched Las Olas, located in a village on the Pacific coast just north of Puerto Vallarta, with the motto "We make girls out of women."

"I wanted to return to a world where playing and having fun with girlfriends was important, and also empowering," Sanders said. "Do we care what the boys think? No!"

The "Girls Rule" mind-set was evident throughout the seven days and six nights I recently spent with 17 other women - none of whom I knew beforehand and many of whom didn't know each other - at Las Olas.

"I don't really have a lot of female friends, but down here with this group of women, there's no competition and it feels very sisterly," said Kelly Schutz, 30, an advertising account director from San Francisco who also attended Las Olas' safari in Baja in 2006.

"These women aren't vicious. Instead, there's a sense of camaraderie, and I feel comfortable and safe."

Schutz was just one of three "guests" (as the instructors call their charges) with previous surf experience in our group. The others were a 41-year-old elementary school teacher from Cape Cod, Mass. - and me, who'd only had a couple of lessons from the teens in Belmar, N.J. Everyone else was strictly beginner.

"My first day in Las Olas was my first day on a surfboard," said Meghan Lovegren, 32, a clinical research associate from New Haven, Conn.

Lovegren said she discovered Las Olas on the Internet when searching for vacations in Mexico as a way to celebrate her impending birthday.

"I wanted to do something momentous for the occasion but I didn't set out thinking I was going to surf," she said. "I'm so glad I did, though. You keep young by learning new things."

ACTIVE DAY AND NIGHT

A day at Las Olas includes an early-morning yoga class, breakfast and a surf session that rotates between group lessons, a field trip to other breaks at "secret" surf spots, and one-on-one lessons with the instructors. Then clients are encouraged to grab lunch in town and return for an afternoon of "free surf" that's overseen by the instructors to make sure everyone is safe.

At night, Las Olas hosts different activities, including salsa dancing, a lesson on native Mexican Huichol beading and even an introduction to guacamole making. As an added bonus, each surfer receives a Las Olas surf massage to help ease sore muscles at some point during their stay. Guests are encouraged to participate in as many activities or as few as they want, but instructors are adamant about the fact that you're on vacation and should be doing exactly what you want to do.

Accommodations are provided by a hotel that features villa-style rooms carved into the side of a mountain at the water's edge. It's just a short walk from the Las Olas "Casita" where you'll meet before each session to pick up a surfboard, apply your sunscreen and/or use the rest room. The town, a fishing village in the state of Nayarit, is quaint and tourist-friendly.

On my trip, there were six instructors on hand, including head instructor and activities coordinator Kristy Murphy - who also happens to be the 2005 women's world longboard champion.

When Murphy joined the Las Olas family in 2002, she was elated to find it was a way for her to make money while doing what she loves and share it with others.

"Teaching is definitely my thing now, I'm super-passionate about it," Murphy said.

Murphy emphasizes the importance of women teaching women by simply pointing out the comfort factor.

"You don't want to have to think about popping out of your bikini while you're trying to paddle at the same time," Murphy said. "If you're around other women, you can just relax.

"Plus, women communicate in totally different ways, and we get scared and we get tired," she said. "[Female instructors] can see that in you ... whereas a male instructor wouldn't even think of those things."

Murphy said incoming guests ask pretty much the same questions before committing to a week of surfing in Mexico. Topping the list is whether there are sharks, how big are the waves and how cold is the water.

The answer, according to Murphy, is yes, there are sharks in the ocean, but the Las Olas folks have never heard of an attack in the area. And the waves are relatively small and gentle, with the water about 75 to 80 degrees.

Since spending a week in Mexico, I've already met up with Murphy and some of the other instructors on the East Coast to surf the Atlantic. Other campers have purchased their own boards, started planning their next trip with Las Olas or even moved across the country for warmer waters they can play in year-round.

"The year I learned to surf was the best year of my life," said Sanders. "It unlocked that sure-footed confidence I hadn't been in touch with since I was a girl."

It can do the same for you.

Las Olas' rates vary throughout the season and according to the accommodations you desire, but in general, a week-long stay runs from $2,850-$4,150. Check out their Web site for dates of upcoming safaris: www.surflasolas.com.