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Monday July 2, 2018

Hola Dear Parents!

We couldn’t have started our Soccer program in a better way! All of our students have arrived and are at the Home Base with us. Airport procedures were smooth and the drive to Playa Flamingo was beautiful. Katelyn’s bag didn’t arrive but we’re expecting it to be here tomorrow and she’s being a trooper about it!

Even though everyone was tired after a long day of travel, we all enjoyed a delicious dinner together, played some fun name games and icebreakers, and shared some important information regarding safety and our schedule for tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more news!

Christina, Ferney, and Luismi (el equipo)

Tuesday July 3, 2018

After our first gallo pinto breakfast, we jumped straight into our Community Agreement and setting the foundation for our program. We also did a few team building activities and icebreakers. We then traveled to our Community Service site for a short visit and got a better idea of what we’ll be working on this week.

Lunch took place back at the Home Base while watching the Colombia – England soccer game (Ferney and Luismi were very sad). We then went to a nearby hotel for a “pool party”, which turned out to be a swim test to ensure all students knew how to swim and it was safe to bring them to the beach. Our awesome driver Alex then took us to the beautiful Playa Flamingo where we swam, played volleyball and soccer, and enjoyed the beach next to many Costa Rican tourists.

Our amazing cook Veronica delighted us with some homemade pizza and our Mentors had prepared some interesting and fun evening activities around leadership and community service.

Wednesday July 4, 2018

Today we had our first Community Service session! It went very well. Our long-term project involves upgrading a basketball court and surrounding areas in the community center of a small town called Brasilito. Today we started by washing the court – a very important step in preparation for painting it. We also collected some big tree branches from the surrounding area and some trash. At the end we got to play soccer for a little bit in the field that’s next to the basketball court.

In the afternoon we went to the La Paz School for our first soccer practice. The first part consisted of a couple of friendly matches with little kids from the school, where our students took on the role of leaders and shared some very valuable moments with the younger players. We then had our own practice with coach Danielle that ended with a very tight match (so tight it ended in penalty kicks!).

Stay tuned for more updates!

Luismi

Thursday July 5, 2018

Today we started the day surfing! We did a little chant before leaving the Home Base to increase our chances of having good waves and it totally worked. Our local surfing instructors were great at teaching us the basic skills and keeping us safe at the same time. We surfed for about 1.5 hours and then had some free time in beautiful Playa Grande. Everyone had a blast!

After we had lunch back at the Home Base, we went back to Brasilito to continue working on our service project. Today we finished washing the court and we got it ready for the next step: painting!.

Back at the home base some of us attended a yoga class while others chilled around the campus. After dinner we had a guest speaker who led a very interesting workshop about sports leadership.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Luismi

Friday July 6, 2018

Today we did a different kind of community service project. We visited the Monkey Park. Here we learned a lot about wildlife rehabilitation in Costa Rica and got a few laughs out trying to get the talkative parrots to repeat our words. Our work consisted of moving and painting some rocks to mark paths, painting a few walls, and collecting grass and branches. Everyone worked hard and had a great time!

Back at the Home Base we ate lunch and watched Brazil get eliminated from the world cup. Some people were sad and some were happy. Either way, we all agreed it was a fantastic game.

In the afternoon we had a very intense soccer practice with coach Moreira that left everyone tired and ready for dinner and bed.

Oh yeah, and thanks to Aidan for being born on July 6th! We all sang Feliz Cumpleaños to him and ate some delicious homemade cake that our chef Verónica made.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Saturday July 7, 2018

Saturday was a very productive day for our GLA students. They started the day hosting a soccer clinic for children from a local community. This awesome opportunity allowed them to take on leadership roles to coordinate different soccer drills, as well as showcase their soccer experience and talent with the local youth. Afterwards, the students had a formal soccer practice with our FIFA certified coaches. This incredible experience was one to remember as the students were fully immersed in the local culture and, of course, the breathtaking jungle and greenery of the Guanacaste region.

The excitement continued into the afternoon as the students started the next step in the service project – painting the basketball court! The students’ goal for the day was to complete the base layer and paint half of the court. Working together as a team, they successfully completed it!

To top off the rewarding day, we walked down to the local beach in Brasilito to cool off in the water and play beach fútbol. It was as if mother nature wanted to recognize the students for all of their hard work and achievements, for the students enjoyed the most outstanding sunset thus far of the trip. And they deserved it!

-by Christina

Sunday July 8, 2018

This weekend we went on a short two-day excursion to La Fortuna. It started with a quick breakfast, then we got on a 6 hour bus ride. Everyone was so energetic and eager to go.

We briefly stopped at a small restaurant for lunch and saw the cutest puppies. After lunch we got a chance to buy some wonderful souvenirs to bring home.

When we got to the Magic Mountain hotel we got the opportunity to relax by the pool and enjoyed a free pineapple drink. We also got a chance to check our phones with the wifi.

We ended the day at the Baldi Hot Springs where we ate dinner at a buffet. After dinner we explored the hot springs and had fun on all the water slides.

Monday July 9, 2018

After our long night at the hot springs we had a great night of sleep. We woke up the next morning and had breakfast, then checked out awaiting a ziplining trip at the Arenal volcano.

The beginning of the zipline was really scary but after the first one everyone got over their nerves and had so much fun. We also got a lot of great pictures. We rode across 7 ziplines and for the best view of the whole jungle and a few waterfalls. After the ziplines we enjoyed a nice lunch before getting back on the bus.

The bus ride home was another 6 hours but we had a lot of good talks. We arrived back at home base with the sweet smell of Veronica’s delicious food. We were all so tired, but Veronica’s food fueled us up in time for another night of great sleep.

Blogs by: Drew Wong with collaboration by Hannah Chang and the three amigos (Esteban Sanchez, Justin Quiroz, and Drew Wong).

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Our second official week of service began today. We finished painting the final half of the basketball court. It was hot out, but with great attitudes and determination we finished with ease.

We arrived back at the Homebase in time to watch the France vs. Belgium semifinal world cup match. France’s victory put Wyatt, Sierra, and Simon at the top of our World Cup bracket competition, or Totogol as it’s known in Latin America.

Our day ended with a 5 vs 5 tournament on a local turf field. We played short 5-minute games against each other and a local team. Overall, it was another exciting day of service and soccer in Costa Rica.

-Kelsey and Aidan S.

Wednesday July 11, 2018

Our Wednesday began bright and early with a 7am strength and conditioning class with two local personal trainers. It was very difficult, but certainly worth it.

After a quick breakfast, we headed out for service. We split into two groups: one group began outlining the futsal court while the other group worked with a local youth summer camp.

We again came back to Homebase to watch the England vs Croatia world cup semifinal match and eat lunch. Our day continued with a beach soccer tournament and some fun beach time. Finally, Veronica treated us all to a cooking class, where we made delicious empanadas, pico de gallo and guacamole. We ended our day well fed and ready for our next adventure.

-by Kelsey and Aidan S.

Thursday July 12, 2018

Another day of service began with a filling breakfast of cheese omelettes cooked by our wonderful chef Veronica. Paint was running low for the basketball court so instead we painted trees 1 meter high with white paint with the purpose of preventing insect infestation. We split into two groups: one to continue painting trees and the other worked with kids from the local community at a summer camp. In order to learn more about volcanoes, we walked to the beach so the kids could create their own with baking soda and vinegar. After an hour the painting group switched with the group playing with the kids, we then headed back to home base for lunch and preparations for our upcoming scrimmage with another service group.

The game took place at a nearby school with yours truly winning 2-0. The goals were scored by Wyatt and Diego (assisted by our wonderful coach Danielle). After the hard-fought game both teams returned to Home base for dinner. A little while after our “season 2” friends left, we had our very own dance class where we learned 3 different types of Latin American dance: meringue, salsa, and batchata. It was quite the workout, everyone ended up sweaty and tired after having so much fun dancing. Everyone headed back to the dorms for a good night’s sleep after a very full day.

-by Sierra and Wyatt

Friday July 13, 2018

On Friday we woke up to a wonderful breakfast made by our amazing chef Veronica. At 9 we hopped on the bus to our last day of service. We met a Costa Rican native friend named Kenyum, who helped us paint the basketball court. After a few hours we finished our part of the basketball court cementing our mark on the community.

After lunch we had an hour to rest and get hyped for the big soccer game against a U17 Costa Rican team at Libera stiadium. We picked up the team on the way and then we were off. About 2 hours later we arrived at the stadium and immediately headed towards the home locker rooms. Everyone suited up in their GLA shirts, even some customizing them, and took the field. Unfortunately we were no match for them and lost 4-0, but Ferney’s apples on the sideline and Sierra’s flip throw kept our spirits up. When the game was over, we got on the bus and headed home after a long day.

We dropped off the other team and went right to our dinner of chicken fried rice and beans. At this point everyone was so exhausted, so the councelors gave us the night off in preparation for our big day on Saturday!

-by Abby and Aidan F.

Saturday July 14, 2018

What an incredible and adventure filled day! Although we woke up bright and early to have breakfast at 6:30am, we knocked right back out on the 7:00am bus ride. A few hours later, we arrived at the Tenorio River for white water rafting. It was majority of the group’s first time rafting, so we knew this would be super fun (to watch people fall in)!

We boarded small rafts of up to 8 people and were introduced to our entertaining guides. They loved to splash us, make jokes and scare us with jungle animal noises. And yes, we did see animals. We spotted snakes, howler monkeys, tiger heralds, tilapia and – the absolute favorite – a tarantula! When one of the rafts spotted a tarantula, their guide threw a big leaf into the raft and made everyone believe it was the tarantula. The reactions were hilarious and unforgettable. Another raft passed under a large tree that smelled like a skunk; turns out that smell was a family of sloths! If we didn’t get to see a sloth, at least we were able to smell one. Overall, the currents were perfect and we even cascaded down a 12ft waterfall. And to top it off, we all (safely) flipped over. We even had one champion hold the record for falling in three times. Be sure to check out the photos for the best reactions!

On our way back from rafting we stopped at a local souvenir shop before heading to Plawya Potrero for our farewell dinner. We enjoyed the perfectly warm water of Costa Rica one last time and seized the sunset by taking endless photos. No words, only photos, can truly describe the emotions we were feeling as we captured our last moments together. After dinner, we wrapped up the evening with inspirational parting words from our mentors and quality time with our closest friends and newest family. From our deepest hearts, thank you to all the GLA students for making the first Costa Rica: Soccer Beyond Borders experience one-of-a-kind, unforgettable and absolutely life changing. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and can’t wait to watch you change the world!

Pura vida!

Christina

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Sunday July 22, 2018

Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!

It’s a lovely day in San Jose! Our local and international staff have excitedly been preparing for our newest GLA arrivals! FINALLY the big day is HERE!!!

Each student began their adventure by securely exchanging their dollars into colones with the help of a mentor, and arrived safely at Hotel Pacande to freshen up and settle into their next 10 days of Pura Vida! After enjoying lunch at the hotel, students had the option to rest, or participate in activities to break the ice and get to know their new GLA family.

Tomorrow, we will depart for our beachside rainforest home base, but not before stopping in the cloud forest for a zipline excursion! We are so excited to share updates and photos of our trek to the Caribbean coast where students will call home.

Not pictured due to late arrival: Tristin, Jenna, Sage, Jesse, and Siena.

Staff from left to right: Local Director Jason, Mentor Brittany, International Director Adriana, Mentors Emily and Erin at the Green Gold Lodge in Parismina, Limon, Costa Rica.

Tuesday July 24, 2018

Today we woke up to a rainy day. We had a breakfast of toast, eggs, bananas, watermelon, and pineapple juice. We then waited for the rain to clear up and began our beach cleanup where we filled up trash bags with litter from the beach.

After lunch we had mentioned groups where we talked about how our activities, beach cleanup, and daily life impacted the sea turtles and other marine life. Finally, we had dinner, relaxed, and went to bed early to prepare for our surfing adventure early tomorrow.

-by Giles, Julia, Gwen, and Flora

Wednesday July 25, 2018

On day 3, our first full day at home base we write up to the sound of howler monkeys at five. It was a great start! We wrote in our journals until breakfast. After breakfast, we had orientation to set the guidelines. Jason, the owner of the establishment, took us on a tour around the area. On the tour we saw spider monkeys, red ants, and howler monkeys as we made our way through the jungle on his property. Afterwards, we visited his farm and saw his vanilla plantation where we learned that organic vanilla could sell for $400 a kilo. We continued along his farm and saw many of the plants on the property like the banana and coconut trees. Jason let us try the coconut water and meat by chopping through the coconut quite impressively with his machete. Emily said it would be some of the healthiest water we may ever drink.

When we got back from the tour we had lunch. We had a group about rules for our community. Shortly after, Maco, a leader of the organization for saving turtles (ASTOP), discussed the expectations for night patrol and cool turtle facts. Then we went to the beach. The surf was pretty rough so they tested our swimming abilities. Thankfully everyone was able to pass the swim test so we had the opportunity to swim in the untamed waters of Costa Rica. One of the mentors found a sand bar so we got to go farther out. One of the beauties of this special beach is the black sand, it is due to a local volcano.

At night, we returned from the beach and all showered off and sat in the hammocks at home base and waited for dinner. After another amazing meal, the two tables went against each other in a game where you had to guess the song JP was playing on his guitar. Then we went on night patrol for four hours and we were unfortunate not to see a turtle. Hopefully, we have better, we have better luck in future night patrols.

Julen, Imi, Hazard, and SiSi

Thursday July 26, 2018

After two night patrols, on day four of our program we participated in a beach cleanup. The completion of our goal was satisfying, with a beautiful and clean result manifesting from our labor. Sea turtles need clean, plastic-free beaches to nest, this is why beach cleanups are a vital aspect of turtle conservation.

After three hours of cleanup, we swam in the ocean for about an hour. It was a refreshing contrast to the scorching heat and high humidity. In the morning, we discussed culture differences around the world.

For breakfast, scrambled eggs were served with the surprising addition of a new type of bread (arrepas)–it was delicious! Our lunch was just as exquisite. Dinner, in continuing with the theme of serving Costa Rican classics, was a traditional pasta*. Currently as we type this blog post we are anxiously waiting for tomorrow’s adventure of surfing.

Christophe, Layla, Tristin, and Amelia

*Editor’s note: The pasta was spaghetti with alfredo sauce which is not comida tipica in Costa Rica.

Monday July 30, 2018

It’s been an amazing ten days with these wonderful humans. Tonight we learned about the ways we touched each others’ lives in our Appreciation Circle, and then we went out for pizza to celebrate our last night all together.

Tomorrow we head home but a piece of our hearts will always belong in Costa Rica.

Pura vida!

Thursday July 12, 2018

¡Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!

Our local and international staff was excitedly been preparing for our newest GLA arrivals! And FINALLY the big day came on Tuesday and we picked up all 24 students at the airport!!

Each student began their adventure by securely exchanging their dollars into colones with the help of a mentor, and arrived safely at Hotel Pacande to freshen up and settle into their next 10 days of Pura Vida!

After enjoying lunch at the hotel, students had the option to rest, or participate in activities to break the ice and get to know their new GLA family.

Yesterday, we departed for our beachside rainforest home base, but not before stopping in the cloud forest for a zipline excursion! We are so excited to share updates and photos of our trek to the Caribbean coast where students will call home.

Here is our staff from left to right: Local Director Jason, Mentor Brittany, International Director Adriana, Mentors Emily and Erin at the Green Gold Lodge in Parismina, Limon, Costa Rica.

And here is a group photo of all the students! Stay tuned for more updates!

Thursday July 12, 2018

On Thursday Day 3, we woke up to a delicious breakfast me by four cooks that come from town each day. The breakfast consisted of eggs, watermelon, bananas, and toast. Our tour guide Jason then took us on a tour through his farm. We were able to see things like bananas, coconuts, breadfruit, iguanas, and even were able to eat live termites. We later came back for a little rest time before the rest of the day.

Our lunch consisted of breadfruit, chicken, and rice. Emily, Brie, and Erin then took us to the nearby ocean for a quick and easy swim test to test our abilities in the rough waters. The water was warm and the other kids found the rough waves fun to swim in. We came back with three hours to spare before night patrol.

Our dinner was rice and a delicious salad. Night patrol was a tough four hours, but we were able to really engage into the wildlife around us. It was nice to be able to look up at the thousands of stars while doing it too. Overall, it was really fun first day at home base.

Friday July 13, 2018

Today we woke up to a rainy day. We had a breakfast of toast, eggs, bananas, watermelon, and pineapple juice. We then waited for the rain to clear and began our beach cleanup where we filled up trash bags with trash such as bottle caps, toys, lighters, utensils, combs, buckets, bottles, and other small plastics. It was hard but rewarding to see the impact we were making on the Earth.

Following that, we returned to Home Base, ate lunch, and we all took a very deserved and much needed nap in the hammocks. Unfortunately, due to poor weather, we were not able to go out for a second round of beach cleanup or go swimming, so we participated in activities to further get to know each other, other cultures, and the world we live in. After that we split into three groups and had a contest to see who could build the tallest tower with their shoes. We then split into our Mentor Groups and discussed how our activities, beach cleanup, and daily life impacted the sea turtles and other marine life. Finally, we had dinner, relaxed, and went to bed early to prepare for our surfing adventure early tomorrow.

-Giles, Julia, Gwen, and Flora

Saturday July 14, 2018

Today we woke up to a kind of rainy day, had breakfast, got changed, and went downstairs for a town briefing. After that, we walked through the jungle to the town. After we arrived to the town we were greeted by ASTOP workers and had an hour slideshow with an ASTOP guide, Maco. After learning more about turtles we met up with a villager named Maya who toured us around the village for about an hour. After finishing the tour, we took large trucks home on the jungle path. After our unique experience in the jungle we came back and ate a delicious dinner of beans and rice, before we enjoyed a team building activity called Human Knot and then made prayer flags and had a rest time before we ate dinner. Then after eating dinner we went out to night patrol to find turtles for about three hours, returned back to home base, and then went to sleep.

Luke, Lola, Spencer, and Odin

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Thursday June 28, 2018

¡Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!

It’s a lovely day in San Jose! Our local and international staff have excitedly been preparing for our newest GLA arrivals! FINALLY the big day is HERE!!!

Here is our staff from left to right: Local Director Jason, Mentor Brittany, International Director Adriana, Mentors Emily and Erin at the Green Gold Lodge in Parismina, Limon, Costa Rica.

Each student began their adventure by securely exchanging their dollars into colones with the help of a mentor, and arrived safely at Hotel Pacande to freshen up and settle into their next 10 days of Pura Vida!

After enjoying lunch at the hotel, students had the option to rest, or participate in activities to break the ice and get to know their new GLA family.

Tomorrow, we will depart for our beachside rainforest home base, but not before stopping in the cloud forest for a zipline excursion! We are so excited to share updates and photos of our trek to the Caribbean coast where students will call home.

We had a few late arrivals, but a full group pic is coming soon…we promise!

Sunday July 1, 2018

This morning we all woke up in our new rooms in our lodge here on Parismina. A lot of us learned an important lesson about tucking our mosquito nets into our beds, because we woke up with upward of ten bites. We then had some morning free time and many of us headed downstairs to rest in the hammocks. After our breakfast we got ready for our first walk of our organic farm tour led by our house leader Jason. Here we saw various plants, fruits, and insects (and some of which we got to taste!).

During our nature walk we got to see a sloth, some iguanas, grasshoppers, a ribbon snake, and a nest of biting fire ants. After some free time we got to see a presentation from ASTOP, an organization for the preservation of sea turtles. This group taught us the reasons poaching of sea turtles occurs here in Costa Rica and what they have been doing to stop poaching. This information got us very excited for our first night patrol. The very nice man left and then we were given time to go swim in the ocean. The ocean was gorgeous, and had black sand which many of us had not seen before.

After we passed a swim test (which we all did AWESOME at) we got to swim. About half-way through swimming, more and more people went off to go play in the sand. Some people were buried while others of us just relaxed on their towels. The heat of the day was wiped off of us while swimming. After that, we came back where we all rinsed off and then had some downtime to relax and talk with everybody. All in all we had a great day and are looking forward to hopefully seeing a turtle on our night patrol. If not, at least it will be an awesome week.

-Tanya, Maddie, and Jackson

Wednesday July July 4, 2018

Today was day 2 in our expedition at Parismina lodge. After we woke up we were BLESSED with an amazing breakfast, especially fried dough that was the definition of comfort food (shoutout Julianna). Next we took a 45 minute walk through the rainforest and across an airplane runway into town. During the walk we had the opportunity to see multiple monkeys and a sloth. In the village we all got to eat ice cream and snow cones. Then ASTOP gave a second presentation which went more into depth about the turtles.

It was pouring rain by the end of the presentation, so we caught a ride on the back of a truck to home base. It felt like Indiana Jones! At home base we took a 2 hour siesta in our hammocks, which was followed by a leadership activity on the beach. After a quick dip in the water, we ate dinner. We were rudely interrupted by an 8-legged friend in our room 🙁 but Jason saved the day and got rid of the traveler spider. Last night we didn’t see any turtles, only their tracks, but hopefully tonight luck will be on our side and we’ll get to see some tonight.

Hannah, Maggie, Taryn

Thursday July 5, 2018

This morning we were all blessed to wake up to more mosquito bites and howler monkeys near our lodge. We enjoyed eggs, toast, and fresh fruit for breakfast. Our plan for the day consisted of a boat trip around Parismina, leadership activities, and reforestation, but because of the nonstop rain, we had to cancel our boat trip. Instead, we had a lot of spare time to bond and share stories and snacks. We also played activities such as human knot, shoe tower, and “walk a mile in my shoes”. For lunch we ate rice, beans, carmelized plantains, and vegetables. We didn’t let the rain stop our next adventure.

As a group we walked on the rainforest trail and collected fallen coconuts that were sprouting small trees. With those, we walked the beach to bury the coconuts into the sand with our shovels. After about two hours, we counted a total of 109 planted coconut trees. We were all very proud of our hard work and team effort to make a positive impact on our environment. There was an opportunity after the reforestation to take a dip in the ocean for a while. After showers and rinsing off, we had some free time to relax. For dinner, we enjoyed rice, mac and cheese, salad, and weenies. Since there was no night patrol tonight, we were able to have early bedtime. This will contribute to tomorrow’s next adventure.

Friday July 6, 2018

This morning we woke up to clear skies, and had arrepas with syrup, and fresh fruit. Due to the good weather we finally had our boat tour, throughout the tour we managed to see a caiman, multiple tropical birds, fresh water turtles, and the poisonous dart frog. Directly after we went to town and made empanadas and tortillas in a cooking class and we had the pleasure of eating them. We traveled to ASTOP and had lunch which was hamburgers and chips for the Fourth of July. We were able to purchase gifts and keepsakes at the local artisan fair as well as having our hair partially braided.

After the fair, we walked over and joined the locals for games of volleyball and soccer, sad to say Costa Rica beat the U.S. 8-2. We had the opportunity to meet the children of Parismina as well as practicing our Spanish with them. Sadly we had to leave, but enjoyed the truck ride back to home base. We enjoyed a rose, bud, thorn exercise and talked about our day, we had a delicious dinner of pasta and garlic bread. Our Fourth of July wasn’t as traditional as normal but we had more fun celebrating the diversity and culture of Parismina.

Ally, Alex, and Emilio

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Saturday June 16, 2018

¡Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!

It’s a lovely day in San Jose! Our local and international staff have excitedly been preparing for our newest GLA arrivals! FINALLY the big day is HERE!!! From left to right: Local Director Jason, Mentor Brittany, International Director Adriana, Mentors Emily and Erin at the Green Gold Lodge in Parismina, Limon, Costa Rica.

Each student began their adventure by securely exchanging their dollars into colones with the help of a mentor, and arrived safely at Hotel Pacande to freshen up and settle into their next 10 days of Pura Vida! After enjoying lunch at the hotel, students had the option to rest, or participate in activities to break the ice and get to know their new GLA family.

Tomorrow, we will depart for our beachside rainforest home base, but not before stopping in the cloud forest for a zipline excursion! We are so excited to share updates and photos of our trek to the Caribbean coast where students will call home. We have a large group (24 students total!) which made today’s first group shot a bit difficult! We have two late arrivals, so their photos are coming soon! Tomorrow we will get a nice large group photo for the next blog post, we promise!

Sunday June 17, 2018

Today we left our hotel to go to home base. We made a pitstop at a Canopy Rainforest where we had an amazing experience zip lining. There were many lines ranging from short to long which led up to a 700 meter zipline. As the last few people were waiting in line it started pouring rain which made the experience sensational. We then had a very delicious lunch and headed on the road for another hour. We then made another pit stop at a local supermarket. After we bought snacks we drove another hour to a dock. Then we boated for about 10 minutes and then hiked to our final destination. After we settled in we ate dinner and discussed norms that should be followed in our mentor group.

Pictures coming soon!

Written by:
Jaden Perez, Alex Vogt, Jack Bushnell

Update: Here are some photos from the weekend!

Monday June 18, 2018

On a hot day like this one, nothing’s better than going to the beach. From playing games like Marco Polo to soccer, the beach was a blast. The sand is also black which is super dope, and Greyson was spotting some wild life. Not to mention the perfect ocean temperature that would make you think you’re in a wave pool.

On day three of our GLA trip, we explored the beauty of a Costa Rica. We had the chance to see different species of animals from tarantulas, lover’s grasshoppers, monkeys, and geckos. We got to see the fresh fruit they grow and experienced how they become the yummy food we eat for our daily meals.

Tonight, we are going on our very first night patrol to collect eggs and (hopefully) witness a mother sea turtle completing her nesting period. Tomorrow, we will be going on a boat tour of the mangroves and participating in a beach cleanup that will be crucial to the marine life and wildlife in the surrounding area, as well as going on our 2nd night patrol.

-by Gehrig, Greyson, Minnea

Update: Here are some photos from Monday

 

Tuesday June 19, 2018

After the long night patrol we finally spotted a 400 pound turtle laying eggs. The group was amazed to see the “small” turtle in a trance while laying its 80 eggs, sadly less than 1% of its babies will survive. We learned that only a 1 degree difference determines the sex of the hatchling. We went to bed well rested and excited for what else was in store for us.

Today we rose early with the sounds of the jungle. The boat tour fascinated us with diverse and colorful wildlife. We also did some community service work by beach clean up. All of us were dumbfounded by the rubbish we picked up. We returned to home base and relaxed in the hammocks gearing up for the night ahead. Tonight’s night patrol was not nearly as enthralling but returning to home base we knew that we made a difference.

-Jade, Amelie, and Parker

Wednesday June 20, 2018

Today was a hot one! Lots of hardwork was done by everyone all day long. In the morning, we went to see the village of Parismina for the first time. Many were surprised at how small and laid back the village was. The tour was given by Mia, one of the locals. She showed us the school, holding a total of 30 kids, which we will be visiting in the coming days. We were then giving a ride back to home base by locals, in the back of their trucks. Once we got back we had lunch, and then we received news that we would be able to help an ASTOP worker release two (very cute) baby leatherback sea turtles into the sea. This was an amazing and very fun opportunity the we were all very grateful to have witnessed. Next we had day two of beach cleanup. This time, we were even more prepared, and we got even more done. After all that hard work, we were all very ready for a nice, refreshing swim in the ocean to end our long day.

-By Reese, Izzy, Erin

Thursday June 21, 2018

The morning was very refreshing and a few students woke up early to watch the sun rise at the beach. After an early, but delicious breakfast of arrepas, we saw an adorable family of Capuchin monkeys eating bananas that Jason put out for them. Then, we hopped on the bus for a 3 hour ride to Puerto Viejo for a surfing lesson with Naima and some other friendly instructors. Thought it took a few tries, all of us had a lot of fun catching waves on the clear Caribbean waves. It was also exciting for those of us not surfing to watch our friends having a blast. After sharing cookies with the surfers, we headed downtown to Lidia’s Caribbean cafe to enjoy beautiful Afro-centric art and delicious food. Traffic behind a crowd of Chiquita trucks made our ride stretch a bit. When we got back, it was dark, but thankfully, our friend Chico was still willing to take us back to home base in his nose. We were all exhausted from surfing and after the scrumptious meal the señoras left for us, we were all ready to pass out!

Good night,
Karson, Maddie, and Keira

Friday June 22, 2018

Day 7 was an adventure filled day where we had the opportunity to be welcomed into Parismina’s community. The students learned how to cook empanadas from locals. Then we refreshed ourselves with smoothies and other cold treats. After that we walked to ASTOP and had lunch and chilled for a bit. We then participatd in the artisan fair where some of the locals had booths set up selling their hand crafted treasures. Later on we played games with the local kids in the area such as soccer and volleyball.

After we re-hydrated, we rode back from town and had a few playful wrestling matches. During that time some of the girls made bracelets. After chilling in the hammocks we had our mentor groups and reflected on our stay in Costa Rica. Finally we had our dinner and went out for our third night patrol where it rained hard, but that did not stop us from saving the sea turtles because the grind does not stop.

Eva, Serenity, and Kenai

Photos coming soon!