Located in the beautiful and tranquil Montezuma, Costa Rica, LEDS is founded on the principle of self enhancement of the body, the mind and the soul. It is a one of a kind educational vacation that begs to be remembered for the rest of your life.
Edgar Salas
Spanish Teacher
It doesn't take long until you'll consider Edgar a friend as well as your teacher. Edgar is an easy going guy who loves to play soccer, make barbecues, hike, listen to music and learn about different cultures. He holds a certificate for English interpretation from the Natural Learning Corporation and a technical degree from the Central American Institute of Computation. Edgar has been teaching at La Escuela Del Sol for almost two years. As one recent student put it: "My Spanish classes with Edgar were excellent and I learned so much. When I got to Argentina, everyone was asking where I had learned such good Spanish! Please say a big thank you to Edgar again for everything - he wasn't just a teacher, he was a friend too."
Wendy Quesada
Spanish Teacher
Wendy has a smile for every occasion. Being a people person has led her from 8 years of customer service to 3 years in the tourism industry to reaching her favorite job of all time...a Spanish teacher for La Escuela Del Sol. In her spare time, you'll catch her with her 1 year old daughter, the light of her life, Luz Arena. She also loves to dance and hang out with friends. Wendy has a degree in marketing and sales from the Universidad Metropolitana Castro Carazo in San Jose, Costa Rica, an advanced level English speaking certificate from the Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje and a PhD in showing you a good time while learning the Spanish language!
Pablo Nuñez
Managing Director
Surf Instructor
Pablo is everyone's best friend. He takes a real interest in all of
our students and does his best to keep everyone happy from day to day.
When he's not around the office, he's also our second surf instructor.
Pablo has been surfing the waves of Costa Rica since he gave up his
skateboard 12 years ago. He has been an instuctor for us for 2 years
now. Pablo holds his CPR and First Aid Certifications from the
American Heart Association and will get you riding quickly while
keeping you out of harms way.
Guillermo Cilintano
Surf Instructor
Guillermo grew up on the beaches of Uruguay where he honed his surfing skills since childhood. 15 years of surfing experience, 3 years as a lifeguard and 5 years of teaching experience make him supremely qualified to be our number 1 surf instructor. Guilllermo has both his CPR and his First Aid Certificatin from the American Heart Association and regards safety as his number 1 priority with fun close on its heels.
Ryah Dekis, BA, RYT
Yoga Instructor (Jun-Aug)
Ryah believes everyone can find his or her own personal irie
relationship with yoga! Through a combination of mindfulness and personal
experience, Ryah has cultivated a true passion for yoga and is fueled by
helping others embody yoga. Ryah embraces that we are all on our own life path
and we all obtain something unique through our holistic yoga practice. She is a 500 level Hatha Yoga Teacher registered with the The Yoga Alliance. For 15
years Ryah’s path was with classical ballet, however at 16 she participated in
yoga classes with her mom in the Berkshires. From that point on she felt the “One love” for yoga. 12
years later she took her connection with yoga further by doing the yoga teacher
training (both 200 and 500 hour) with Tracey Ulshafer in 2008. Ryah has also
has studied with Shiva Rea, Seane Corn, Sally Miller, and Anodea
Judith and is a member of IAYT-International Association of Yoga
Therapists. Ryah is certified to
teach Hatha, Vinyasa flow, Yin Yoga, children, pre/post-natal and gentle yoga. She also teaches Hatha flow, couples,
mom/baby, power, chakra yoga and yoga for athletes.
Emma O'hanlon
Yoga Instructor (Aug -Oct)
Emma O'Hanlon was first introduced to yoga over ten years ago in her native South Africa. Yoga later took on a whole new meaning in Hong Kong with her Indian yoga teachers, changing her life forever. Very quickly, her practice grew into a desire to learn more about yoga and she started taking different workshops, with teachers Andrey Lappa, Anurag and Victor Chang. Emma completed her teacher training in Thailand in early 2010 and soon after started teaching in Costa Rica. Her classes are fun yet challenging. She is forever grateful to all of her teachers as she has been offered wonderful opportunities to teach this incredible system to others. Emma practices and teaches various styles of yoga, including Hatha Flow, Hatha Vinyasa and Yin. She continues to be inspired every day in her practice by both other teachers and students.
Silvia Nevjinsky
Resident Yoga Instructor
A native of Lisbon, Portugal, Silvia has been practicing Vinyasa Flow Yoga since 1998. In New York, she has studied intensively with Meg Carlough, April Martucci and Melissa Mitchell. She is registered with the Yoga Alliance since September 2005 and has further studied anatomy and kinesiology with Irene Down and Paula Tursi. She is a certified Postural Alignment Specialist by the Egoscue University in San Diego, CA. In addition, Silvia brings to her yoga classes a wealth of knowledge of the human body and movement, acquired over a 21-year career as a professional concert dancer with American dance companies of the highest caliber, such as the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and the Paul Taylor Dance Company. She holds a BA in Psychology from Hunter College, NY and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from American Dance Festival/Hollins University, VA.
Eli Ocampo
Fire Poi Instructor
Eli began his performance career at a young age when his parents enrolled him in dance and theater classes. He then spent several years augmenting his skills and talents stydying martial arts, juggling and mastering the unicycle. After years of hard work and training, Eli's skills crossed over to the fire arts when he joined the Costa Rican performance troop Fuego Tribal. The group criss-crossed Costa Rica several times over, stunning crowds with their high energy shows using poi, clubs, staff, devil sticks and other eye-catching toys. Eli then moved to Montezuma, burning up the streets until joining forces with La Escuela Del Sol. He's a happy go lucky guy that can light up any room (with or without fire) and thrill you with the skills he'll teach you.
Don William and Doña Vicky
General Managers of Hotel
The Office Crew:
These guys keep the school running on all cylinders. You'll see them more in the office than anywhere else, but they love it when you drop by between your suntan and your hammock time.
Jeremy Levine
Founder, Director, Substitute Fire Dancing Instructor
Jeremy's the man behind the curtain! He received his undergraduate
degree in business at Syracuse University in New York and his MBA from
the USC Marshall School of Business in Los Angeles, California. He
learned fire dancing on the beaches of Thailand years ago and it
quickly became his passion. Through business school, he was able to
find a way to keep fire dancing a part of his life while creating La
Escuela Del Sol. The school is something he takes very seriously and
strives continuously to make the best it can possibly be.
Andrea Hoyos
Co-Director, Substitute Spanish & Yoga Teacher
Andrea is the coolest chick you know! She is a
native Spanish speaker who was born in Bogota, Colombia where she was
taught to sing and dance at a young age. She moved to Costa Rica in
her teens and became famous on the hit show Buba, a Costa Rican
sensation of a talent search which was similar to, but predated,
American Idol. All this while obtaining her bachelor’s degree in
Liberal Arts and Graphics Design from the Universidad Nacional de Costa
Rica. Andrea has taught Spanish for 2 years and often cries when her
students leave. She's a committed teacher that everyone misses long
after they have left La Escuela Del Sol.
Rebeca Quesada
Administrator, Substitute Spanish Teacher Rebeca Quesada will blow your mind! She too is a
native Spanish speaker who was born in Costa Rica and has seen the
world many times over. When she was a teen, her mother was chosen as
Costa Rican Foreign Minister to Bolivia under the assignment of Oscar
Arias (who would become the President of Costa Rica) and was
later sent to Portugal. Having lived and studied in Europe for several
years, she can now speak Portuguese, English, Italian and basic French
as well as her native Spanish. Years later, she moved to Montezuma and
opened the first tourism company in town. Her business, world and
academic experience along with 2 years of Spanish teaching experience make her uniquely qualified to run our school as
administrator as well as to teach Spanish when she is needed.
Flaca, Churra and Tsunami
School Mascots, Fire Dancing Instructors
Mauricio Saborio Sanchez
Dagmar Spremberg
