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
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BLOG POST FOR JULY 20
Hola GLA families and friends,
We are very excited to welcome our interns and get this amazing adventure started. ¡Bienvenidos chicos y chicas!
Everyone arrived safely to Cusco airport in the morning, and we made it to the homebase for a delicious lunch.
Afterwards we had our introductions and orientation, followed by a walk around Pisac to get to know the little town we are staying in, and obviously get some snacks.
When we came back, there was some time to relax and get to know each other, just before dinner. Hopefully everyone gets a great rest tonight, to recharge their batteries for the wonderful adventures ahead!
In this program students will dive deep in the Peruvian culture and connect with the local communities through our engineering project and lots of fun activities, so keep on following this blog to learn about our interns’ amazing adventures!
– Your GLA Peruvian Team
BLOG POST FOR JULY 21
Hello GLA families and friends,
Today everyone showed up for breakfast with a big smile, after having a very restful night. We started with our first curriculum lesson, which was about the Sustainable Development Goals. The conversation progressed to a very interesting debate on why haven’t we been able to end poverty yet.
After lunch we headed to the community of Chahuaytire, to learn more about the work that has been done with the local members and where our project site is going to be.
We had some time to recharge before dinner, and ended the night with our first mentor group session to set our personal goals for this program.
Tomorrow is going to be our first day working at the project site, so stay tuned to find out how that went.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 22
For our third day in Peru, we woke up at 8:00am to have breakfast all together. Excited to get to work, at 9:00am we set off on our journey to begin constructing an irrigation system to help the local community of Chahuaytire with their crops. We started by taking measurements and marking our place ofwork with plaster as our first hands on task. Next we learned the recipe for concrete: mixing sand, cement powder, and water. While we took turns struggling to mix the concrete, we were able to witness a master at work, LUCIO, the “maestro” or “head” of the construction workers (that included us), who showed us his ways. For our main task of the day, we put our muscles to work lifting hefty rocks (“piedras” inSpanish) creating a stone bed supporting the pipes that carried the water for the irrigation system.
As a reward for a good few hours of work, we enjoyed our lunch in the van where we tried a new Peruvian drink called chicha morada which is made from black corn. We also learned that our dear colleague, Ryan, eats VERY slowly! This is a PSA to thoroughly chew your food to avoid choking. After we ate, we finished laying down the bed of stones for the pipe and walked down a trail to complete the next step in the process: hand drilling the pipes so that farmers can use the water for irrigation. During the walk along the trail, we were able to admire the breathtaking landscapes of the Andes mountains, and some of the wildlife that inhabits these lands.
Specifically, there was a young bull that caught all of our attention by approaching us with loud moos that echoed through the mountains.Upon our return to home base, we participated in a gratitude ceremony for Mother Earth that was called “Pago a la Tierra.” This consisted of an Andean Prince, a spiritual leader, guiding us through a meaningful ritual to rid us of all our negative energies and inviting new light and energy into our lives. His main message being to keep our lives in balance, not too much of anything, nor too little. An inspiring moment for all members was when the fire that had burned out relit in the middle of a powerful prayer.
We concluded this eventful day with a delicious hot meal and a yummy chocolate cake, ready to continue our adventures!
– Ari and Ary
BLOG POST FOR JULY 23
Today, we awoke to discover one of our teammates had fallen ill. After making sure she received the proper care, we had a quick breakfast in preparation for the day ahead. Next, a representative from Medlife showed us a presentation on their organization and efforts to empower local communities, as well as the impacts of climate change on the people they help.
After this, we were off to the job site to do our part in bringing water to the Chahuaytire community. The day’s work consisted primarily of laying pipes alongside a road, taking the spools and rolling them vertically along the road until the entire length was in position. Despite missing a member, we managed well and were relieved to not be lifting the stones from the day before. Following our labor, we returned to base and participated in a structured dialogue about cultural humility, discussing differences in our cultures and the best ways to navigate them.
Shortly after, we went out into Pisac, having our dessert before dinner with tiramisu and ice cream from the town. We ate dinner upon our return, with our teammate having recovered enough to join us. The day concluded with a journal activity, writing letters to ourselves in the next stage of our lives.
– Peder Whitridge
BLOG POST FOR JULY 24
Today was a full day as we said goodbye to our home base in Pisaq and made our way to Cusco. We ate breakfast at 8:15 AM and departed at 9:00 AM with a few exciting stops along the way.
Our first adventures included visiting some of the Incan ruins, where we learned more about Peru’s history and got to walk through ancient structures that have stood the test of time. At one of the sites, there was a pitch-black tunnel that the Incas dug, and let’s just say not everyone was calm about the tunnel. Ryan deserves a shoutout for screaming the entire way through, providing the rest of us with lots of entertainment.
Later, we visited a large animal farm, where we spent time with some of the fluffiest llamas and alpacas in the world and had a ton of fun taking selfies with them. After all the fun and learning, we arrived in Cusco and had lunch at a fancy restaurant downtown, which was great.
After lunch, we did a Cusco scavenger hunt: Lobos vs. Dolphins. We split into teams and raced around the San Pedro Market asking people questions about the town in Spanish. I thought it was going to be a close game, but my team, Los Lobos, won by a landslide.
After the hunt, we walked around and visited a café called Three Monkeys Café, which was a great spot to just chill out. Once we reached our amazing hotel, we were blown away by how great it was. Unlike Pisaq, the showers here actually let us control both the temperature and water pressure (It was one of the best showers I have ever taken).
We ended the night by walking down the beautiful streets of Cusco to an upscale Peruvian restaurant, where I tried Inca Kola and raw alpaca for the first time. Back at the hotel, we wrapped up the day with our shoutout circle and the itinerary for the next day.
From ancient tunnels to scavenger hunts, today was the perfect blend of adventure, laughter, and bonding. Looking forward to tomorrow already! 🙂
BLOG POST FOR JULY 25
Today we continued our excursion in Cusco and took a trip to the lake for some nice kayaking. We started our day with a yummy breakfast and a surprise adorable puppy named Nala. Nala is a black possible Labrador and is just the cutest little land shark (because boy is she teething).
After breakfast we brought our bags into the car and drove to this gorgeous lake to do some paddle boarding and kayaking. The air was so fresh and the water was quite chilly. We continued our lakeside experience with a tasty lunch and yet another adorable puppy named Lila. Lila was a firecracker, biting everyone’s ankles and stealing everyone’s shoes, but even then we couldn’t get enough of her squishy face.
Once we finished lunch we took off to explore some ancient Inca farms that looked like big stadiums. Big rings that grew in size hollowed into the earth. Each layer was for a different type of crop as Hector explained to us. The holes were supposedly first created by meteorites that crashed and made big craters.
We walked around the rings, then made our way to some salt farms. The nearby mountains contain salt, which is transported as a sediment by a stream into pools where the water is evaporated. The original spring comes out of the mountains at a scorching 32 degrees. By this point we were all exhausted. After a short tour we got back in our van.
We ended up eating hamburgers for dinner. This was followed by a short health check in, and the rest was free to relax and prepare for lights out.
– Ari and Zadik
BLOG POST FOR JULY 26
Today was another typical day of work. After breakfast, the engineer for the project gave a presentation on different topics we would learn about during the trip.
On the drive to work, Maggie let us play music on the speaker, which made the car ride a lot more exciting. When we got to the work site, we unraveled another heavy pipe and connected it to the others using valves. It’s starting to come together, little by little.
We were still blasting music on the speaker, which made the work more fun. At one point, we started smashing open rocks just for fun; it was weirdly satisfying.
For lunch, we had chicken and rice, and the best part was the passionfruit juice. It was super good and really refreshing after working so hard. Later in the day, it started to rain a little while we were still working, but it actually felt kind of nice.
After working for a while, it was finally over. We all hopped into the van and started our drive back to Pisaq. When we got back to home base, Maggie suggested that we get crepes. We all loved the idea, so we said we would leave in an hour. After getting to the crepe place, we saw a sign that said they were closed on Saturdays, of course. The group then decided to go to a cafe in the main plaza. At the cafe, there were some cats that greeted us once we sat down. I love cats, so I obviously went to say hi. The cat was very friendly and looked very similar to my old cat, Landis. As I was petting the cat, she climbed into my lap and was very comfortable.
Once we got back to the hotel, we had a little time to relax before shout-out circle. Dinner tonight was chicken and rice again, but dessert was some sort of rice pudding, which was amazing! We ended the night by talking about our strengths and weaknesses. This activity was pretty fun because I liked hearing the characteristics of other people in the group.
Adios!
– Jackson
BLOG POST FOR JULY 27
Today was filled with both friendly fun and hard work. We started the day bright and early waking up at 6:30 AM to do our daily routine such as showering and brushing our teeth. After eating breakfast at 7:00 AM we headed to the project cite.
Today was by far the most physically taxing yet and combined with the fact that we had almost half as much man power as we usually do, made it very hard to make any progress. Not only were we faced with carrying pipes laying them and connecting, but also had to refuel the trenches that previous groups dug. We spent an hour and a half just to make barely any progress and had to take frequent breaks. Thankfully shortly after lunch the worker’s supervising us saw this and let us return a little early.
We then had free time before learning how to do traditional Peruvian dances and the salsa. Finally we ended the day with group card games such as Go Fish and President.
– Ryan and Aryan
BLOG POST FOR JULY 28
Today was not a day of labor, it was a day of experiences. We began the day bright and early, ate a quick breakfast, and headed to the first activity: ceramics. Under the guidance of a local expert, we turned lumps of clay into small pots, pendants, and whatever else our hearts desired. Next, we walked a short distance to see a demonstration of Incan instruments. A scholar of Incan music demonstrated a wide range of instruments, from high-pitched woodwinds to low drums and a rain stick that filled the room.
We then returned to home base for lunch and some brief relaxation, during which a game of Hearts was played. In this game, the moon was shot two hands in a row. The following activity was a visit to Incan ruins in the mountains near Pisac. There were beautiful views of ancient farming terraces, as well as the valley below.
Upon our return, we rested briefly, then went into town to a local café. They specialize in crêpes, and the one I ordered was delicious. We continued playing Hearts while at the café.
Dinner was not long after we returned, which was the pizza we were promised several days prior. We concluded the day with a guided discussion about energy, burnout, and what is and isn’t in a person’s control. After one last hand of cards, we retired to our beds.
– Peder
BLOG POST FOR JULY 29
This morning was chaotic since all woke up late for breakfast. We all had to scramble to get to the work site. Once we arrived at the site things started off sloppy with everyone still tired it was a struggle to lift the first pipe. Keep in mind these pipes were heavier than they looked almost 300 pounds so it was no joke rolling them down hill. However, today was by far the most satisfying because we had finally sealed a leak that was a thorn in our side for two days.
Later in the afternoon, we got to do something cool and exciting. We visited locals who showed us how they make fabric using natural dyes.
Unfortunately, the day wasn’t all sun shined and rainbows because we were excited about playing sports but sadly the school with all the fields and courts was closed. After that the day didn’t get much better as we didn’t have our phones, but we went to our favorite crepe place again.
Finally after our dinner and evening event about CVs and resumes, Ariella, Aryan, Jackson, and I played some Roblox horror games to end the day. Honestly, it wasn’t a bad way to end the day. I think it was a great way to end the day since we all had fun and probably screamed more than we should have.
– Ryan
BLOG POST FOR JULY 30
Today we woke up bright and early at 7:30. We had an engineering workshop with Alvaro to discuss problems in the world that we wanted to solve. In that workshop we went over each partner’s ideas for their projects and got a professional opinion. After about 2 hours of discussion, we picked up and left for work.
At work we ran into a problem… one of the pipes had a manufacturing defect and was smaller in circumference on one end. This caused a leak in the pipe that would have been detrimental to the project. Although tired, we split up into groups to rectify this issue. One group sawed off a piece of another pipe, and the other went to fetch another valve so we could connect the new piece of pipe on both ends. In between work, we practiced our chicken trapping skills and almost all of us successfully caught ourselves a chicken.
After we finished our work, we returned to home base where a lovely lady gave us a presentation on her life as an agricultural farmer. She was very passionate about her work and had us sing a dainty tune to promote growth for her corn. She showed us about 20 various plants, each with their own unique properties and uses.
For our free time, we went to a nearby soccer field and played a fun game of 5v4 soccer. After that, we played a thrilling game of volleyball (this got very competitive).
Thank you for reading.
– Ary and Ari
BLOG POST FOR JULY 31
Today we woke up at around 7:45 to have breakfast at 8:00. We had a super fun and packed day today, filled with rafting, hail, and dancing around a fire.
We headed out at 9:00 for rafting. The drive was about 2 hours long, so that meant a quick nap for everyone. Once we arrived at the rafting cabin, we put on wetsuits, rain jackets, and water shoes. In the water, we went on rapids up to class 3. Some of them got my heart racing, and I think Ryan’s too. On one of the rapids, Ryan went flying out into the freezing cold water.
At the end of the rapids, where it was a lot calmer, some people and I jumped off the raft into the water; it was so cold! After getting back to the cabin, we all took hot showers and ate some tasty soup and chicken.
Next was our drive to meet the home-stay family. On our drive to the home-stay, it started hailing and raining super hard. We all ran straight to the house to avoid getting wet. The family was super kind and welcoming.
After eating a great dinner, we all put on Peruvian clothes and walked over to the fire. A man started playing the guitar, and the ladies were singing in another language. We all started to walk around the fire and dance. Overall, today was an amazing day. Goodbye.
– Jackson and Zadik
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 1
Today kind of passed in a blur. We all woke up still tired from rafting the day before, and took a walk over to a nearby messenger resting village from Inca times.
Afterwards, we helped our hosts harvest some very important Fava beans. We each got a gift to help us remember the families we stayed with. It was then that we began traveling. We stopped at a salty lagoon for the taste and the rock skipping. Much later, we stopped again and played volleyball and fútbol with local women (the score was up for “debate”).
More traveling was had, and we arrived back at home base just in time for a Pulse Check™ and dinner. Finally, we kind of just went to bed. The End.
– Zadik
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 2
Today’s activities were a diverse mix of the types of experiences this program has to offer. The day’s first event was a presentation given by Alvaro, the civil engineer in charge of the service project. He showed us examples of various digital models and modeling tools used in his career, from a 3D render of a house to more traditional diagrams.
After this, we left for the project site, where we spent a few hours burying sections of the pipe that will eventually supply water to several local fields. Following our labor, we took a short hike to see rock paintings dated to around 6000 years ago.
We then returned to home base, and after a short rest, we listened as our counselor and Cusco native Hector talked to us about his life, leadership, and how important people carry big sticks. Dinner consisted of rice, black beans, and beef, about which there were no complaints.
The day’s final activity was designated time to work on our presentations for theoretical engineering projects. We then played a few rounds of Among Us, after which we headed off to rest up for the next day.
– Peder
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 3
Today we woke up bright and early at 7:00 am for breakfast. After a lesson on the different forms of reciprocity in Incan society, we head off for our final day of work. We enthusiastically got to work filling in the last stretch of trenches, covering up the pipes and completing our main task of bringing the community of Chahuaytire water. Our work was harder today than any other as the soil was much more rocky and coarse than before, and many of our teammates were succumbing to sickness. Nonetheless, we got the job done and took a fire pic with our tools to show our success.
Soon after we had lunch along with a celebratory game of soccer, after which we journeyed home and took a well deserved rest. After free time ended we were honored to have a guest speaker named Mark who educated us about the dangerous problem of melting glaciers in Peru. He then went on to talk about how the problem needed to be addressed because Peruvian people get majority of their drinking water from glaciers and Peru has 70% of the total tropical glaciers in South America. On top of that 56% of the glaciers in Peru have already melted. Unfortunately there’s nothing anybody can do to stop the glaciers from melting but the people in Peru should be aware of the problem and know how to adapt when they run out of water. After the presentation Mark asked us trivia about what we learned and Peder and Ryan absolutely demolished me. It came down to one question but Peder took home the win and won a cool custom hat as a prize.
Later me, Ryan, Jackson, and Peder headed to get crépes and play Uno which was a blast. We then made a quick stop at the convenience store and went to the hotel.
We ended the day by preparing to give our presentations tomorrow on the projects we have been working on.
– Aryan and Ryan
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 4
Hello,
Today we went to Chahuaytire one last time to celebrate the end of our project. Kind words of appreciation were shared by the local members of the community and our group, and we ended with two traditions from this region: breaking a bottle of champagne (literally only breaking it, as no one drank it) and sharing a meal of potatoes and cheese.
Afterwards, we came back to the homebase, and started the afternoon with our presentations about our project proposals. Each group identified a problem here in Peru or the United States, later designing an engineering and social project that would address this. We, staff team, were very impressed with our students.
We followed with our last curriculum activity where students set goals for their lifes after the program, and with a quick snack run to get the right fuel for tomorrow’s hike.
We ended the night with a campfire, which was great to forget about the cold of the Andean mountains for while, and our attempt of Peruvian smores.
Stay tuned to hear about how adventure tomorrow in the Lares Trek.
– Maggie
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 6
We started the day off later than usual at 8 AM. We all struggled to pack our clothes back into the duffle bag because of both the lack of sleep and space inside the bag. Everyone got terrible sleep because we were kept up all night by a barking dog. I hobbled over to the breakfast table and shoved an omelet and bacon into my plate and ignored the pleads of the dogs for food. After breakfast Hector our counselor presented us with two choices. We could hike two hours down hill to the hotel or drive there and then hike up a mountain. Since everyone was tired and lazy we chose the easier first option.
After we finished our hike we arrived at a restaurant where we ate lunch and dinner. Me, Peter, Aryan, and Zadik waited for Ariella and Jackson and then after dinner we went to go to the hotel and everyone went straight to bed after the long day.
Overall the highlight of the day was the beautiful views on the hike.
– Ryan
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 7
Today was an exciting day—we woke up early for our much-anticipated visit to Machu Picchu. After a quick breakfast, we left Aguas Calientes around 6 a.m. to catch the bus. The ride wound its way up the mountain, offering breathtaking views of the Andes, showing us how far we had come. The road was bumpy at times, but the scenery more than made up for it.
At the top, our guide, Sonia, led us through the ancient city. She shared stories about the Incan civilization that once thrived here and gave us the best angles to capture the stone ruins in photos. We took plenty of pictures, not just of the site, but as a group which I think brought us closer together.
Once our photo session wrapped up, we began the descent back down the mountain and headed to a fancy restaurant in town for lunch. The food exceeded my expectations, and we found extra entertainment in watching MMA matches on the restaurant’s TV, which kept the energy high.
From there, we boarded the train to a nearby city, saying our final goodbye to Aguas Calientes. A short stop for snacks and drinks gave us fuel for the long drive back to Pisac. By the time we arrived at our home base, we were all thoroughly exhausted.
We closed the evening with our penultimate dinner at the hotel before retreating to our rooms to get some rest—because tomorrow would have its own challenges: packing.
As always, thank you for reading.
—Aryan
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 8
Hello!
Today we started with a late breakfast, which was much needed as everyone was so tired from the last three days of hiking, visiting one of the 7 wonders and travelling.
Afterwards, we headed out to the local artisan market to buy last minute gifts and unique souvenirs to take home.
After lunch, Ariella and Ryan presented their project proposal. It was about the construction of a homeless shelter in Los Angeles, to address the current problem in skid road.
Later in the afternoon, we all took some time to finish packing, before we started our trivia jeopardy style! There were questions on geography, science, sports and Peru.
Dinner was one of our favourite – burgers and cake. The night ended with an appreciation twister and a round of a game we all played.
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 9
The morning started bright and early for Jackson and Peder, who had to leave at 4am to Cusco airport.
The rest of us had a late breakfast, some more time for packing and to say goodbye to our favourite alpaca, Paco.
After one last hearty lunch at the homebase, we set our way to Cusco airport.
Firstly, we dropped Ariella and Aryan. Later we went to watch a local basketball game until it was time for Ryan to fly out.
The last one to leave was Zadik, who went to the airport after a “pretty alright” rotisserie chicken.
We wish our students safe travels and all the best in their future endeavours!
