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 14
Hello Friends and Family!
Today, 22 of our 24 students arrived in beautiful, sunny Belize (and we can’t wait to welcome our final 2 tomorrow!) After mostly smooth arrivals at the airport, our crew set off for a 3ish hour van ride to Sartaneja. We made a quick stop at a local supermarket for last minute essentials and snacks, and then our students were able to enjoy dinner and games together and start getting to know one another.
We look forward to having orientation, a tour of Sartaneja, and the chance to meet our first service partners tomorrow!
Buenas Noches,
Belize Staff – Dayana, Jema, Courtney, and AC
BLOG POST FOR JULY 16
Hey friends and family!
A quick update about yesterday, orientation day! We started our GLA experience with an orientation morning, going over rules and expectations, along with learning more about Belize and Belizean customs. We also played some games to start getting to know one another. Then, we got to take a short walking tour of Sartaneja, during which we visited a local artist and got to eat mango and coconuts straight from the trees. We ended the day watching the sunset from the pier, which was a highlight for the whole group.
Today, as leaders of the day, we were tasked with waking everybody up at 7:30 to get some delicioso breakfast including chicken quesadillas, tomato sauce, and papaya. After our breakfast we walked down to the pier to go on a 40 minute boat ride to the New River where we learned to identify mangrove trees. The most common mangrove tree we saw was the red mangrove.
After the river tour we took the boat to Warrie Bight, which is a site of our service partner, where we picked and planted mangrove propagules. While we were there, we also performed our swim test and had a scrumptious lunch including chicken, rice, and veggies. During the afternoon we were able to swim a lot in the salty and rocky water.
We then came back to the home base, rinsed off, and we went and had dinner at a local restaurant called Racquel’s. During the dinner we played a local bingo-style game called Chalupa. After dinner we came back to home base and got into mentor groups and got to know each other better in smaller groups, and now we are about to go enjoy free time before lights out.
—Evan, Harris, and Will
BLOG POST FOR JULY 17 & 18
Day 4 started at 8am, and we were met with steaming fresh waffles, cheesy eggs, and watermelon.
After breakfast, we headed to the pier, and after a music-filled boat ride, we arrived at the site where seagrass is commonly found. There, we dropped the anchor and began collecting seagrass to feed manatees. While heading back to home base, we saw many bottlenose dolphin pods, creating a heartwarming experience that was just as impactful as it was spectacular.
After lunch, we rotated in two groups from mentoring to the WildTracks rehabilitation center. At the rehab center, we learned and appreciated how the lengthy process of conservation between manatees and primates is tiring but necessary. One of our highlights of the day was when we had the opportunity to feed the manatees with the seagrass that we harvested previously. We were also told several stories involving both the manatees and primates that WildTracks has rehabilitated. This experience increased our understanding of the critical thinking skills and problem solving necessary for successful rehabilitation efforts.
During our mentoring session, we talked about how to make SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely) goals. We each wrote several goals that specifically applied to ourselves and showed the lessons that we wanted to learn on this trip.
To finish off the night, we had dinner and played group-bonding games with each other. We particularly enjoyed playing a game involving getting to know our counselors better. Finally, tired from a day filled with meaningful service and learning, we ended our day with a good night’s sleep.
On day 5, waking up to yet another beautiful Belizean morning, we were met downstairs with fresh and steamy hot pancakes, juicy local watermelon, and sausage. After a quick debrief of the day, we headed to the pier, where we met local fishermen who took us to one of their beautiful fishing sites and showed us a traditional Belizean fishing method. There we watched as the fishermen collected their haul. It ranged from small indigenous fish, to large Barracudas, and…wait for it…AN ACTUAL SALTWATER CROCODILE! After taking an infinite amount of group photos with the beast, we said our goodbyes to the fishermen and headed back to Sartaneja where we had the opportunity to fillet the fresh fish that was just caught, and fry them. And boom, lunch served: rice and beans, onions, lime, watermelon, cantaloupe, and freshly caught fish…yummm!
After lunch, it started to rain pretty heavy, but we couldn’t let that stop us. We played basketball in the rain, with one of our peers yelling “Come on everyone! How many times will you be able to play basketball in the rain in Belize!” After that we went for a generous snack run at the local mini Mart. Everyone got chips and candy in preparation for tomorrow, you’ll understand tomorrow 🙂 The leader of the days Isaac and Enzo had other plans though. After buying some vegetable oil, three eggs, and some cake mix, we headed over to the generous SACD Manager, Diveana’s home where we met her mother, a local baker, who helped us out with the baking. While waiting for the cake to finish in the oven, Diviana showed us some locally harvested mangos, (literally the best we’ve ever had no cap). After having our fill of mangos and leaving with the freshly baked cake, we arrived back at home base, meeting the rest of our peers who were having their fill of some free time.
We then made some Lion fish jewelry with the help of a local Belizean Jewelry company. We had dinner— tender chicken, mashed potatoes and fresh cucumber salad. After a hilarious sunset circle (parents, your kids will tell you all about it) we ended the day with some mentor groups, basketball (not in the rain this time), and fun free time. Isaac and Enzo then wrote today’s blog post and called it a day.
Leaders of Days 4 & 5 — Ben, Isaac, Logan, Nico, and Zain
BLOG POST FOR JULY 19 & 20
We started Day 6 with an early 6:30 wake up in Sarteneja and took a boat over to Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve, changing to Mexico time on the way. A delicious breakfast of ham and cheese sandwiches (often called johnny cakes in belize) and fresh fruit waited for us there. Shortly after another boat took us through a man-made Mayan canal for a snorkeling adventure on the world’s largest natural barrier reef. We saw many tropical fish, a sting ray, and a large nerf shark. When we arrived back, we were treated delicious chicken nachos. Following lunch we had enough free time to go back and play in the ocean and also explore the reserve. Before a dinner of homemade chicken and tortillas, we took a scenic group photo on the pier. We closed off our day by telling stories over a large bonfire.
-Nico and Thomas
Today (day 7) we woke up bright and early at Bacalar Chico in our cabins and tents, with some students choosing to watch the sunrise. We had a yummy breakfast of eggs, beans, fruits, bacon, and fresh tortillas.
Shortly after the students hopped on to the boats to go snorkeling and find the invasive species of lion fish. After catching five lion fish, the students watched a live dissection and got to see what a lion fish eat. This was followed by packing before making over way back via boat to Sarteneja Village where they headed to a local’s house to learn how to make tamales. After finishing the tamales, the students went back to home base for some free time followed by ‘Chow Circle’ and then headed back to the local’s house for a delicious dinner to try what they made. Then they returned to the hotel where they played a few rounds of speed friending and then got free time. Finally, they went to bed.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 21 & 22
On Day 8, the students woke up bright and early to some delicious breakfast. They proceeded to head out to the local village in Sarteneja and cleaned up trash. After the service, the students got some downtime where they made friendship bracelets and played guitar. Following lunch, they met up with SACD to plan for the conservation camp with the kids. They broke into groups, creating posters and designing fun games for the children to play the following day. The students got more downtime to hang out before a yummy dinner!
-Jasmine and Josie
Today (day 9) we woke up, ate a great breakfast and got prepared for a day of fun in the sun with the kids at camp. We had gotten to the park and started setting up when some bees started swarming so we had to go back to homebase. After everything was sorted out, we resumed our activity with the local kids. We split up into groups and played classic outdoor games with them, such as freeze tag, which the kids called, “hunters and manatees”, hide and seek, and they even told us scary stories. At around twelve thirty we had lunch, and then reassembled back into our groups to present the sustainability posters that we made the previous day. The kids loved them and said that they learned a lot.
Sadly, at three o’clock, they had to leave, so we took a group photo and said goodbye. Then we had some free time, and some of the guys played a tournament style basketball game. We also had the option to go swimming in the ocean that afternoon. Later, we had dinner, and then had a campfire that we told stories around. The counselors even gave us an extra fifteen minutes to stay up to enjoy the bonfire.
-Josh and Noah
BLOG POST FOR JULY 23
Today, we started out the day around 8:30 with a breakfast of omelettes and fresh fruit. After breakfast we had a long day of traveling. We said goodbye to our home for the last 10 days and set on the road for Central Belize, where we will stay for the last four days of our trip. After 2 hours, we stopped for a quick supermarket stop to pick up a couple of snacks for the last few days.
Then, we got back in the bus and drove to a Mayan archeological site, Altun Ha. We grabbed lunch, hot chicken and rice, while some of the students bought mangos and drank some coconut water. The site was breathtaking and we learned so much about the Mayan culture while we climbed to the top of the temples. We also shopped at some artisanal markets next to the site before hopping back on the bus.
At 6 PM, we finally arrived at the Tropical Education Center, our home for the last four days in Belize. We had a spectacular meal— fajitas with beans, lettuce, chicken, and cheese.
After some rest after dinner, we all gathered for a friendly debate. We were split up into four teams with three students acting as the mediators. We were given a packet which detailed our role, either as the Belizean government, Local Fishermen, a Non-profit environmental organization, or a tourist program. With the facts given in the packet, and our experience in Belize, we debated several questions to reach a group consensus of helping Belize as much as possible. We all had so much fun recounting the memories and facts we learned over our trip. To finish the night, we split off into our own rooms and went to bed.
-Alexis and Kaylee C.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 24 & 25
Our group woke up early today before a yummy breakfast of pancakes! We hopped in the bus and drove from our hotel in Central Belize to Belize City to get onto a catamaran boat, where we played cards, soaked up the sun and listened to music.
Then we arrived at the Barrier Reef, where we got the opportunity to snorkel. After spotting 2 eels, a nurse shark and sting rays, we enjoyed a hearty lunch of chicken rice and beans and a fresh salad on the water. Then, we headed back to our homebase, stopped at a local ice cream stop to pick up a delicious icy treat, and relaxed in the pool playing fun games.
We later had sunset circle, deciding our highlight of the day before heading to a delicious dinner, which was followed by mentor groups. In mentor groups, we looked back on our trip and created a motto that describes our goals. The motto was “Take action in your community whenever is possible”. After mentor groups, we enjoyed some much-needed free time before going to bed.
—Maggie and Maverick
Today (day 12) we woke up to some rainy weather in Central Belize. We quickly cheered up with a warm breakfast of eggs, sausage and pancakes. We then headed over to the Belize Zoo where we split into two groups and toured the area. Our group was able to see spider monkeys, crocodiles, otters, snakes, birds and more.
We then stopped by the foodcourt for lunch and a rest before doing service work. After lunch, we returned to our groups and did various acts of service from around 1:00-3:30 PM. These activities included raking leaves and cleaning railings within the zoo.
We then went back to homebase to have free time followed by sunset circle. After a delicious dinner of pork chops, potatoes and assorted vegetables, we got to return to the zoo for the night tour. We saw many nocturnal animals and our group got to even feed a jaguar and tapir. We then returned to home base and shortly after went to sleep.
-Grace and Hollen
BLOG POST FOR JULY 26
Today, our last full day, we had an early morning, getting up at 7:30 for breakfast sandwiches and an assortment of fruit. After breakfast, we hopped on the bus for a short drive to the zip line park! We started by getting our harnesses on, and then we set off for the lines. We did 6 in total, some of which we were allowed to go upside down on!
After an exhilarating time on the zip lines, we took a calming 30 minute hike to the river to go cave tubing. The water was a bit chilly, but very refreshing after the tropical heat. Our tubes were tied together as we drifted down the river through the cave.
When we reached the end of the river, we all got changed for lunch, a wonderful spread of chicken, coleslaw, and beans with a side of tortilla. Then, we took the bus to a souvenir store / cafe where some students got gifts for home, played games in the foyer, ate ice cream, and discussed the fun events of the day!
Finally, we returned back to home base and some students went swimming for the last time in the pool. Everyone then showered and dressed up in fancy clothes as a celebration for our last night. It also happened to be one of our fellow students birthdays so we celebrated with a piñata! (happy birthday Zain!) Next came one of our favorite activities throughout the trip, appreciation circle. We all gathered in a circle and one by one anonymously tapped the others on the shoulder, depending on the prompt, like: “who was a good leader on this trip” or “who did you get good advice from”.
To conclude the night, we had a bonfire, roasted marshmallows, and signed papers for each other expressing how much we all mean to one another.
Thank you so much for all the memories everyone!
-Chloe and Kaylee C.
