Wow! It seems like just yesterday we were all in little Bahia Ballena working hard to protect the Pacific Ocean. I can close my eyes and so clearly see scarlet macaws flying over our heads, smell the rice and beans cooking for dinner, and hear Canelo and Soul chasing each other around the home base. You’re all probably back at school, getting back into the swing of your sports, clubs, and activities. While dreaming of returning to Costa Rica at night!

We worked so incredibly hard as a team and made a massive difference in a little community. All our baby trees are still working hard to grow big and strong one day! Our trees on the beach might be home to sloths, monkeys, or even bats some day! All those cute little animals will have us to thank! The beach will also thank us for providing strong roots and biodiversity that will help prevent erosion and keep the beach strong for years and years to come.

Our baby river trees will provide a lovely path with cool shade for ticos and ticas to walk along and enjoy nature, while also keeping the river banks strong and sturdy! The mini viveros are looking pristine and pretty in hotels, where guests have been inspired to make a purchase and plant a tree! It really is the gift that keeps on giving. Finally, our colorful trash stands are placed all over the community helping to keep Bahia Ballena clean! PHEW we did a lot of service!

I also love to reflect on all the adventures we had! We got totally tubular and surfed some gnarly waves, took an hour and a half boat ride (where we saw WHALES) to the most magical place on earth (aka Corcovado National Park), hiked out to a naturally formed whale tale sand bar, splashed and swam in a waterfall, and ziplined/repelled/swung through the jungle canopy! It was so amazing to have all these adrenaline-filled and eye-opening adventures in the very same beaches and jungles we were working so hard to protect and preserve.

Our team really was the epitome of work hard/play hard. We had so much fun quoting vines, swimming in the river after service, dancing with Charlie the Street Drummer after eating pizza, cooking with Dona Dora and Sonia, playing games in the pool, and jamming to music on the many bus rides.

We all miss you so much and hope that you’ve been able to make even more eco-friendly decisions and take some action back home to your own communities since our 14 days together.

Pura Vida,

-Shannon and the rest of the Protecting the Pacific team!

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

When I say “Costa” you say “Rica!” Costa, Rica! Costa Rica!

Hola amigos! We can’t believe it has been so long since we were all gathered together in Rancho Quemado. Hope you all dried out after that crazy last walk to our home-base at Laguna del Valle in the pouring rain! Although it’s been a while since we have actually been in Osa Peninsula, our impact remains with the community.

The work we did making the wall in front of the library, painting the library and the plaza fence, and working on the land uprooting and replanting made such a difference to the community. Just imagine the smiling faces of the children, Yolanda, Jessica, and more friends using the colorful library and enjoying of all the work we did!

Not only did our service work leave the community in wonderful shape, also our time-shared doing things with the local people left a strong impact. Remember learning from Johnny at the Trapiche and tasting all the different types of sugar cane? Also, horse-back riding with Sandro and learning from Vistor about the incredible biodiversity in Rancho Quemado was an amazing experience. Spending time learning lessons from Abuelos was incredible and learning how to make delicious homemade tortillas—how rico! Those experiences were not only special for us but helped the whole town of Rancho Quemado prepare for eco-tourism. Has anyone tried to make heart of palm at home?! How about mining for gold?? 😉

Something else to reflect on is all the incredible nature we experienced there. It was amazing when we saw that big school of fish while snorkeling, and all the plants and trees we saw while zip-lining through the jungle. Not to mention our time at Dante lodge and Corcovado, how amazing to be surrounded by nature like that! We hope you are still continuing to find the nature at home, and to appreciate the environment around you.

Special Moments We Shared:

-Talking with Robert in the Sensory Garden

-Swimming and playing chicken in Playa Blanca

-Soccer and basketball with the community

-Opening coconuts on Islay de Caño

-Eating pizza on the last night in Alajeula

-Cooking class and making delicious juice

-Seeing monkeys in the trees

-Not stepping on snakes during our walk to Abuelos

-Two minutes of silence on the Plataforma before our night hike

We shared so many laughs during our time together—our group was so lucky to have such a close bond. We miss you all and know that our time in Rancho Quemado will always be in our hearts!

Pura Vida, everyone, hope all is well!

Laaauuuuren, Hannacita, and DiNamita

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

When I say Pura, you say Vida…! Pura, Vida! Pura, Vida!

Hey guys, we cannot believe how time flies and that our days and bug bites of Rancho Quemado are fading into memories! It feels like yesterday that we were stomping through rain to make it to mountain top views and quietly listening to chirping frogs. We hope you had a great rest of the summer and imagine that some of you are starting school again—or even college! Despite this, down in Rancho Quemado, the impact that you made remains!

Our time there really did make an impact of the community. From beautiful murals and stool seats, to a huge contribution to the garden project, your efforts are now part of the community. The economic impact that we made by purchasing from local vendors was matched by the impact of the knowledge we gained about traditional methods of making cane sugar, “agua dulce,” gold mining, butterflies and more! Those experiences of learning community traditions, not to mention all the wildlife we saw, are memories that will last a lifetime!

Remember the photos of the “dantes” we saw on the forest cameras? Amazing! Not to mention the sloth! Among our memories of our service work and animals are those of the fun and laughter our group shared all through Rancho Quemado, in the library, the plaza, zip-lining from tree to tree, and even in the ocean waves. Not even the ant bites could stop us from having a wonderful time and enjoying the fresh food of the organic farm there. We’re so glad that you were all a piece in the puzzle in the special time we shared leaning, laughing, and giving in Rancho Quemado! Thanks for all the work you did, all the laughs we shared, and all the knowledge we gained and exchanged during our June GLA program of 2018!

Here are some more of our Special Memories:

-Our stay at Dante Lodge

-Trying all that fruit with Sandro on the Organic Farm Tour

-Playing the Serpent Song Game with Lizzie and Glenda

-Playing traditional games with the community

-The night talk with the Abeulos

-Horseback riding though the farm land

We hope you are all doing well!

Pura Vida,

Namita, Hannah, Lauren, and the Rancho Quemado Team

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

Greetings to the students of our last Costa Rica Beachside Service Adventure session of 2018!

Your proud team of directors and mentors – Callie, Daya, Carlitos, Sam, Sophie, and Michael- had the most
amazing and memorable time with each and every one of you. We hope that the following moments during
the ten days we spent together felt as meaningful for you as they did for us.

We had four service projects during the session, each one enlightening, challenging, and enjoyable in their
own way.

At ROW, we worked long and hard, learning about the environment with Alberto and Marcia. We had that
tree planting competition between Sam and Marcus – 60 trees total. Sam “tortured” our group doing the
values activity, but made up for it when we made a long exposure Thank You pic for Alberto and Marcia.
We had a great time on the last day, with an impromptu activity that made a competitive game out of
recycling for the local schoolkids.

At Avellanas, one of our best memories was when we all went surfing. We also had so much fun at the
party on the last day, watching Curtis werk it to Bum Bum Tam Tam. Beach Clean Up was hard work,
especially when Frank made us run down the beach to do it. It was all worth it when we got to ride that
horse! And we’ll never forget those refreshing swims after hours of service on the beach.

At Pargos, highlights included playing soccer with the kids, befriending cute little Curtis, and painting our
beautiful “orgullosamente de ser guanacestecos” mural. And we will definitely never forget sharing our stories of self on the beach under the stars!

At VerdiAzul, the highlight had to be releasing the baby turtles! We were the only GLA group all summer
that got to release them ourselves! It was also fun to go out in the dark and see what we could of the mama
turtle trying to make her nest and lay her eggs. We planned amazing activities for the kids of Paraiso, which
they loved… some of which they wouldn’t let us stop playing. We dug holes for posts to protect the land-
Fasted Hole-Digger Award is a tie for Parker & Catherine. And we will never forget the times we spent
together on that blue couch that we loved so much.

From the meaningful: sharing stories of self, reflecting on what it means to be a responsible tourist and
effective leader, participating in our final appreciation circle; to the thrilling: Snorkeling! Canopy ziplining!

Trying gallo pinto and trying new things in general; to the downright fun: Bus ride dance parties, playing
soccer with members of the local community, unexpected magic tricks and the talent show…No question
about it, we will remember our ten days with you for years to come. We hope that wherever you are
(perhaps someplace just a little bit colder?), you are able to look back on your experience with GLA and
use what you learned to be the change you want to see in the world.

¡Pura Vida, Mae!
-The GLA CR Beachside team

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

Greetings to the students of our fifth Costa Rica Beachside Service Adventure session of
2018!

Your proud team of directors and mentors – Callie, Daya, Carlitos, Bridget, Sam, Sophie,
Chanel, Bethany, Kasia, Michael and Ila- had the most amazing and memorable time with
each and every one of you. We hope that the following moments during the ten days we
spent together felt as meaningful for you as they did for us.

We had five service projects during the session, each one enlightening, challenging, and
enjoyable in their own way. Those of us at Escuela Paraíso spent our first day of service
adding finishing touches to the ocean themed mural in the front of the school. We also used
our creativity to build a playground made of tires and paint a minion planter. We learned how
to use cement in order to ensure that the tires were placed steadily in the ground. We even
had the chance to spend August 8th at the English Festival listening to impromptu english
speaking competitions followed by a spelling bee and precious moments with the students.

We’ll forever be bonded by our love for the caramel fudge that we ate in the school.
At Pargos, we were a small but mighty team of five. We played a lot with the students
including playing red rover. During mentor sessions, everyone had a nickname, including
Olga. We also painted murals with the students in Pargos and had fun helping them place
their handprints in the mural.

The people who were working in Avellanas had a blast working with with local leaders such
as Frank and Cindy. Each day, we picked up garbage along the beach in a local community
called Los Pargos. We also learned how important it is to pick up garbage along the beach,
especially microplastics, which are what the fish and other sea creatures ingest. Our service
combined painting and hanging signs to encourage people to take care of the beach.
On the final day Pargos and Avellanas groups got to plant trees, hang out with Lola (the
giant beautiful pig that lives at the local restaurant), and had a surprise surf lesson.

All of us working with Restoring Our Watershed (ROW) had a host of adventures and
surprises, including, eating moringa seeds, planting trees in La finca, beautifying the recycle
centre in Las delicias and playing games with the students there to teach about the
importance of recycling and of taking care of our planet. We enjoyed getting to know our
motorcycle-riding community leader, Alberto, with whom we made an energetic circle.

We used mentor groups to reflect about the day, listen to each other and visualizing our future.
Finally, VerdiAzul shone: We had a blast playing soccer with our local leader, Pan and
stargazing at night. We used mentor group time to finish our turtle relay races and it felt like
we were staying up late cramming for an exam with our second local leader, Bryan. We gave
our all as we dug holes and transplanted trees in extreme heat, nonetheless, we did it!

From the meaningful: sharing stories of self, reflecting on what it means to be a responsible
tourist and effective leader, participating in our final appreciation circle; to the thrilling:
Snorkeling! Canopy ziplining! Trying gallo pinto and trying new things in general; to the
downright fun: nightly games of UNO, bus ride dance parties, T25, playing soccer with
members of the local community at 5pm…No question about it, we will remember our ten
days with you for years to come. We hope that wherever you are (perhaps someplace just a
little bit colder?), you are able to look back on your experience with GLA and use what you
learned to be the change you want to see in the world.

¡Pura Vida, Mae!
-The GLA CR Beachside team

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.