About Us

It started with a simple idea: travel to Nicaragua, a new place, in search of warm weather, good waves and a simpler life. However, it didn’t take long for this idea to transform into a deep desire to get to know the culture, land, and people of Nicaragua giving birth to a larger vision. A vision to create a cross-cultural experiential travel company that would not only be profitable, but also provide economic opportunity in under-developed communities with social conscious, integrity and professionalism at the forefront – existing as a model for expansion and growth in Central America.

Born in the small fishing village of El Transito in 2012, the company initially opened a surf camp focused on all-inclusive packages with handpicked activities that deliver an authentic and safe experience in Nicaragua while enabling guests to expand personal knowledge through cultural experiences like historic city tours and community volunteering. A few years later, and after meeting a ton of wonderful people who were either backpacking their way through Central America or living in Managua and wanted a beach escape, SOLID decided to expand the surf camp to include a Bed + Breakfast (January 2016) and Surf Hostel (March 2016). Regardless of what type of accommodation is chosen, the same friendly and professional service people have come to know SOLID for is experienced by everyone who travels with us in Nicaragua.

OUR TEAM

The most important part to our company besides our guests are the people who work with SOLID in El Transito, Nicaragua. That is why we take pride in hiring and recruiting the very best in their field and attract them by having competitive salaries and benefits that will keep everyone happy and healthy. We believe work can and should be fun - especially if you’re working with great people at a company that treats you right. This company takes a true team effort and we like to approach this business like we do our families; everyone doing their part for the greater whole, consistently improving and growing together. More than 90% of our staff is local supporting our goal of providing economic opportunity to our community.

Martha

Resort & Kitchen Manager

Managua, Nicaragua

Rodrigo

Hotel Manager (Bi-lingual)

Managua, Nicaragua

Joel

Operations Manager (Bi-Lingual)

Valencia, Venezuela

Pepe

Bartender (Semi Bi-linguel)

El Transito, Nicaragua

Maritza

Housekeeper & Server

La Gloria, Nicaragua

Rosa Maria

Asst. Cook & Housekeeping

La Gloria, Nicaragua

Andrea

Asst. Cook & Housekeeping

El Transito, Nicaragua

Efrain

Resort Grounds Keeper

Masaya, Nicaragua

Edgar

Hotel/Hostel Groundskeeper

Masaya, Nicaragua

Jose

Security / Night Guard

Leon, Nicaragua

Katherine

Massage Therapist

El Transito, Nicaragua

Jaime

Surf Guide / Marketing

Salamanca, Spain (Bi-Lingual)

OUR PARTNERS

Company Structure & Co-Founders

SOLIDO Surfeo y Aventura Nicaragua, SA was created as an independently owned and operated, in market tour operations company along with SOLID Surf & Adventure LLC who provides marketing, distribution and financial assistance to the Nicaraguan company through an exclusive operating agreement.

Jonathan Ocanto

Founder & President

SOLIDO Surfeo y Aventura SA

Jhon is a bi-lingual (Spanish & English) American-Venezuelan who has experience living in North, Central and South American countries; Venezuela for 10 years, U.S. for 16 years (Pittsburgh/Florida) and Nicaragua for 8+ years. He is a former United States trained and certified EMT and Firefighter, who also spent 7+ years responding to emergency medical calls and lifeguard tower calls as an Ocean Rescue Marine Safety Officer on the Dania Beach Ocean Rescue Team. Ocanto received a Red Cross Award for rescuing survivors of an ocean water plane crash as an Ocean Rescue Lieutenant at Jacksonville Fire Department, where he also managed 40+ lifeguards. In 2010, Ocanto moved to Nicaragua to explore the coastline while working for a start-up surf camp where he ran all operations for three years. After discussions with Kendro, an enhanced vision of what a surf camp could do came into play, specifically looking to further extend community outreach in the town of El Transito while adding adventure activities and volunteering to supplement the companies offering and in 2012 he opened SOLIDO Surfeo y Aventura to make the idea a reality.

Allison Kendro

Founder & CEO

SOLID Surf & Adventure LLC.

Allison is a marketing specialist with 12+ years of experience currently as the Director of Strategy for Publinter BBDO in Nicaragua and previously as a Senior Strategic Planner in NYC, focusing on business strategy and working with a diverse client base in retail, B2B and CPG categories. Her experience was working with high level executives at valued corporations (Lowe’s Home Improvement, eBay, Splenda, Campbell’s Soup, and Pepsi) while managing accounts and leading the strategic direction internally and externally of companies; delivering effective solutions through integrated marketing plans and strategy platforms that influence business decisions at large. Her expertise lies in creating insightful stories based on research that drive industry conversations and an action-oriented market approach. Most notably, she co-led Lowe’s brand repositioning, which led to the successful re-branding campaign, “Never Stop Improving.” As a surfer since age 9, Allison was always looking to mix her expertise with her passion of surfing and after visiting El Transito for the first time which led to taking on a few projects for a start-up camp (where she met Jhon), the two came up with the idea to combine surf with community outreach and economic development, leading her to venture out on her own an create SOLID Surf & Adventure.