PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
Here are a few things to know and expect:
- Blog posts are written by onsite program staff and/or students and sent to our Headquarters team who will post the blog on this page.
- We typically receive 2-3 blog updates per week from each program, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post every day – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
Click here to jump down to the most recent post!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 5
By: Lea Green, International Director
Dear GLA Galápagos: Preserving Nature’s Wonders Families,
All students have arrived! Those who came earlier in the day enjoyed local meals, a walk to the park and games. Tomorrow is orientation and our visit to the equator.
We’ll soon be headed to the Galápagos, starting on the island of Santa Cruz where we’ll hike Tortuga Bay, explore huge lava tunnels, work alongside giant Galapagos tortoises, enjoy homemade Ecuadorian ice cream, play sports with local kids, and swim in the famous Las Grietas (a volcanic fissure on the sea). Then we’ll take the boat ride to San Cristóbal where we’ll snorkel with sea lions, visit Isla Lobo’s blue footed boobies, frigatebirds, and sea lions, explore Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, and snorkel in several different natural preserves. We will also have a recycling workshop, work at a local school, and do our leadership activities in the evenings. Two local guides will be with us on all activities teaching us about the biology and geology of the Galápagos.
Students will be writing a blog post to keep you updated about all the great things they have been up to. Remember that our location is remote with busy schedules so there won’t be frequent communication. We truly hope the students enjoy a break from their phones and immerse themselves for several weeks in the fascinating and beautiful Galápagos Islands. We also have the 24/7 professional support of the office staff. Your children are in great hands. This is going to be an amazing experience!
Best,
Lea (International Director)
Hakan (Local Director)
Rodrigo (Mentor)
BLOG POST FOR JULY 6
By: Bella V & Owen L
Today we started off at the Hotel and had a nice breakfast. After that we set some ground rules to ensure the safety of our trip. Our orientation allowed us to start to meet one another and connect as a group. Rodrigo set up multiple activities that helped us get to learn more about our group. After a very nutritious meal for lunch we went to explore the equator (0, 0) accompanied by David, our knowledgeable nice tour guide. There we tried various experiments to better understand the physics of the equator (balancing acts, how water moves).
We tried guinea pig which was questionable for some of the group, but it’s a great source of nutrition for the local Ecuadorians. We all really bonded through experiments that we participated in.
After all the fun we are now heading back to home base to prepare for the Galápagos Islands tomorrow.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 7
By: Braedan H & Gavin P
Woke up at 5:45 today! Gotta eat breakfast and make are flight to the Galapagos, how fun! After arriving at the airport at 7:00 and embarking on a 3 hour flight we landed in a desert wonderland. Stepping off the plane a group of endemic iguanas were there to welcome us.
A variety of busses and boats were boarded to reach our final destination the island of Santa Cruz. On our journey to home base we saw a variety of endemic species the highlight being the tortoise lumbering on the road.
Lunch at base included pumpkin soup and delicious ceviche, afterwards we made our way to the Darwin research center (also known as the breeding center by locals).
Our guides Wilson and Grace educated us on the different species of tortoises across all the islands of the Galapagos, and the different ways they are attempting to bring back extinct species.
Once we retired to home base we had home cooked yellow rice, chicken, and lentil soup. To round the night off we did group activities and chatted a bit eventually retiring to bed, preparing for tomorrows labor.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 8
By: Owen O
Today was our first day getting dirty! We partnered with Rancho Primicias Tortoise Sanctuary in order to help better the habitat for Galapagos giant tortoises. The team decided to clear the natural barriers of the animals in order to allow for more free roaming throughout the sanctuary. Our job entailed clearing shrubbery and moving logs. It was interesting to see how our efforts paid off; we were leaving the worksite a tortoise was crossing an area that we cleared.
Tonight we took a walk around the town of Santa Cruz where we saw sea lions, sharks and pelicans. We also got gelato and played in the park.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 9
By: Anne-Sophie
Today we started our day with a walk to the harbor. On the dock there were two sea lions sleeping and we got to take pictures up close. After that we took a boat to Las Grietas to swim in a canyon and did our swim tests. We spent the afternoon working at Rancho Primicias, (clearing space for Galapagos tortoise) continuing the work we started the day before. We ended the day with a mentor meeting where we discussed how we were feeling at this point in the trip and played ice-breaker games.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 9
By Zoe
This morning everyone enjoyed sleeping in a little later (7:15!), and then we ate a delicious breakfast of orange-lemon juice, watermelon, scrambled eggs with cheese, and fried patties of corn and cheese. We had a bit of down time before getting on the bus and riding to Bellavista bakery, where we enjoyed pastries and coffee. The crowd favorite was a rolled, dense cake with marmalade inside and covered in cream and coconut. Then it was back on the bus, until we arrived at Los Gemelos, which means the twins, and refers to the two large craters on the high part of Santa Cruz. We took a short walk to see the craters and took lots of photos!
Next we went to the lava tunnel and walked through the cave system. These tunnels are about 2 million years old, which is apparently very young, so there were no stalactites or stalagmites yet. We explored and even had to crawl at one point!
We then had about an hour to walk around Primicias as our guides Graciela and Wilson told us about the tortoises. We saw them do many different behaviors, and spotted a few different species of birds along the way!
Lunch was also at Primicias, and many of us enjoyed their milkshakes! Then we put on our boots and headed to work at our site. Some of us used rocks to protect the plants from the tortoises, while others filled in the holes left by the rocks we moved, and the rest continued clearing out branches. On our breaks we played two truths and a lie.
Hungry and tired from a good days work, we ate dinner back at the base. To end the day, we walked around town, exploring shops, the harbor, and getting ice cream. Some people also got waffles and crepes, drizzled with chocolate sauce. We’re looking forward to visiting Tortuga Bay tomorrow!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 11
By: Justice
Today everyone got up bright and early at around 6:00! Fortunately, we woke up to an amazing breakfast of potato patties and eggs with orange lemonade. As soon as we were finished and packed up, we left on the bus to go to Tortuga Bay. When we arrived we were briefed by our guides on what to do, where to swim and what to look out for. Then went on a hour long hike to get to the bay when we got to the end we saw the beautiful beach and people were quick to take their shoes off and explore the beach. After a nice walk on the beach, we began to explore the bay and we saw a baby hammer head shark and lots of other wildlife including marine iguana, blue footed boobies and even a sting ray.
After a couple hours of chilling at the beach we hiked back in the rain, stopped by a bakery and got delicious treats. Back at base, we ate another delicious meal—two parts—soup, then Chicken and potato salad.
Today was our last day of service and we tried to start a different project. We hiked to a a lagoon which took awhile but when we got there, there was no work to do so we watched the tortoises. Back at base again, we had more relaxing time than we ate dinner which was an amazing steak with rice and beans. We went over the schedule, did shout outs, then we celebrated Lea’s birthday and ate a very good cake. Finally we had did mentor groups and after a long day of walking, we prepared for bed.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 12
By Alex
We started the day with a last meal at the Arina Negro before we headed to the docks for the beginning of our travel day. We got on a speed boat and the journey was a long and bumpy ride. After a rough hour and frothy five minute trip when we finally got to San Crystabal. Right away we stopped at a local washer where we dropped off our dirty clothes. We walked a few blocks after and arrived at Tongo Reef. Once we settled in, had a delicious lunch, and some relax time, we headed to the beach. I’ve never seen so many sea-lions on a beach before. A lot of us got delicious virgin pina coladas and ice cream. Before we headed back to dinner, we broke into groups and walked around the downtown area for around 40 minutes. Once we got back, we ate amazing chicken with rice and lentils. Leading into the evening, we talked about our thoughts on the trip so far and prepped for a debate that we will be continuing tomorrow night; about the cats and dogs of the Galápagos. And that was how we spent day eight.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 13
By Micah
We woke up later at 7:15 and a great buffet breakfast at 8:00. Afterwords we had some relax time then at 9:00 we took a cooking lesson and made empanadas with Nutella and cheese flavors. Afterwards we took a dance lesson where we learnt the salsa and that went to lunch which was very tasty. We then took a short bus ride to the beach La Loberia where we snorkeled and saw sea turtles sea lions and many different types of marine life. We then start wrapping up the day with and Spanish lesson taught by Rodrigo and a fulfilling dinner followed by a quick walk around town to slowly wind down to curfew at our new lodge.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 14
By Noah
Yesterday I was the Leader of the Day. We got split into two groups, one was adventuring in the morning and one was in the afternoon. We went hiking on Islas Lobos and got the opportunity to see the Blue-Footed Boobies, Frigate birds and Sea Lions. On the side of the rocks we got to see the crabs and learned about how the black ones are black for camouflaging from the birds. We also learned about how the Blue-Footed Boobies offspring have three eggs, the first ones live, second ones sometimes, and third almost always die. Afterwards we got onto a boat to go snorkeling. While snorkeling we got to see Sea Lions, Stingrays, Sea Turtles, lots of fish, and sand dollars which we got to throw for the Sea Lions to play with. After snorkeling we got back on the boat and drove to a beach to do extra snorkeling or just hang out on the beach. Last but not least we got to walk around town to end a good day.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 15
By Luc
What a neat time we enjoyed today! Although not especially sunny, the cloudy sky did provide some form of cover from the burn inducing sun. I know ;), it’s cringe, but to be honest, I can’t afford more itchy red skin. Having woken up at a regular time (about as early as school mornings), we hiked to a national park about 15 minutes away from the base. There, our guides explained some of the history of the city developments, as well as the initial times and locations of discovery of the island in 1535 which were later explored by the renown Charles Darwin (1835). From there, our parade walked over to a small bay (which we got to see on the boat ride yesterday) where we witnessed sea lions and turtles playing in the cold water while snorkeling. Some of us forgot our wetsuits, I’m not sure how those ones managed, but I sure am glad I brought mine. Following the hour or so hike from the cove, back to base, our group had lunch, listened to a presentation by one of our mentors and then walked over to a recycling workshop. The presentation, by Rodrigo, was phenomenal in my opinion. Our mentor told the story of his house which he constructed down in Brazil. Again, I am amazed with the size of it, seeing that he built it himself out of recycled materials. Later, at the recycling workshop, we sowed recycled jeans into neat sea lions key-chains to remember our visit on these islands. After a quick bakery stop and a longer ice cream promenade, we are now about to play soccer as a group. I’m signing off now as I’ve got to get prepared for our game against the locals tomorrow. Wish us luck.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 16
By Campbell
The GLA gang went out on a creative service adventure as we sketched details of the ocean in preparation for painting a mural for a small preschool on the island. After our rough drafts of these sketches, we went to a beach crawling with sea lions. Some swam in the waves and others played soccer with a local toddler named Mike and our guides son, Daniel. Following these morning activities we headed back for lunch and out to painting the mural where everyone’s artistic side came out. Towards the end of this service outing we all partook in a paint fight that led everyone to be covered in colorful paint. Later, we went out for a delectable pizza dinner and local soccer match. Our starting roster came out strong with me (Campbell) scoring in the first half and Owen L scoring in the second half. Ending the game tied 2-2. Today was the perfect final day on the island leaving everyone to reminise on good times and slowly come to the realization that our adventure is coming to an end.
