Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!

Here are a few things to know and expect:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
4. Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
5. Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.

For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team

Click here to jump down to the most recent post!

BLOG POST FOR JULY 1

Hi family and friends, The GLA Costa Rica: Marine Conversation and Sea Turtle Expedition 14 (MCSTE 14) day program is officially up and running!

Between 7.55am and 11.20pm, all 24 students arrived safely in country.

Today was a chill day in which students got a chance to get to know each other and the staff team.

This morning we woke up early and are currently about 1 hour into our 5 hour trip to Montezuma, where we will be based for the next 6 nights. Later today once we’re checked into our hotel, we will play some energizer games, do some team building challenges and run our program orientation.

That’s all for now folks!

Saludos,

GLA MCSTE 14 Team (Ryan, Fernanda, Cos and Laila)

BLOG POST FOR JULY 2

The GLA Marine Conservation and Sea Turtle Expedition kicked off its second day of programming!

We woke up bright and early to catch the ferry from San Jose over to our second home base in Montezuma. We got settled in, enjoyed a yummy lunch, and soon began our GLA program orientation.

We covered important policies, the GLA leadership curriculum, and much more! Afterwards, students bonded through card games and a yummy pasta dinner!

To end the night we developed a Community Agreement to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students.

We are excited to welcome all 24 students to the program, pictured in our first official program group photo!

Looking forward to our first day of service tomorrow!

Best,

GLA MCSTE 14 Team Mentor – Laila Jones

BLOG POST FOR JULY 3

Hola from Costa Rica!

Today, we woke up and got ready for service at ASVO. ASVO is an organization focused on sea turtle conservation. We learned how to create nests for sea turtle eggs and we also learned about the differences between the species of turtles in Costa Rica!

After service, we walked into town for gelato and snacks at the super market. We spent some time enjoying our gelato then went back to our Homebase for lunch before getting ready for our swim tests at a the pool at a nearby hotel.

At the hotel with the pool we played fun games like splat and follow the leader while small groups of five were assessed on their swimming skills. After every person finished their test we all got in the pool for some swimming time and also enjoyed delicious snacks and drinks at the restaurant.

We ended the day with a delicious dinner and some more team building activities. We talked about the importance of being present during our GLA program and taking a step away from our tech, in order to learn and benefit from this experience in the most impactful way.

So far it’s been an amazing program filled with amazing food, friends, and fun!

Pura Vida from your leaders of the day: Isabelle C, Isabel Y, and Laney!

Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!

Here are a few things to know and expect:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
4. Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
5. Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.

For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team

Click here to jump down to the most recent post!

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 14

Hi Family and Friends, The GLA Costa Rica: Marine Conversation and Sea Turtle Expedition 14 day program is officially up and running!

By 2.30pm 18 of our 21 students arrived in Costa Rica. One more student will be arriving later tonight and two more will join us tomorrow.

Today we had lunch, completed the swim test and then had dinner before having an early night to catch up on sleep.

Tomorrow morning we will be waking up early to travel approximately 5 hours to Montezuma, where we will be based for the next 6 nights. Tomorrow afternoon, we will play some energizer games, do some team building challenges and run our program orientation.

That’s all for now folks!

Saludos,

GLA MCSTE Team (Fernanda, Ryan, Cos, Laila and Stacey)

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 15

The GLA Marine Conservation and Sea Turtle Expedition kicked off its second day of programming!

We woke up bright and early to catch the ferry from San Jose over to our second home base in Montezuma; we got settled in and soon began our GLA program orientation.

We covered important policies, the GLA leadership curriculum, and much more. As orientation continued, we were kindly greeted by several visitors: white-faced monkeys! We took a break to observe the wildlife, ate some snacks, and continued with orientation. Afterwards, we settled for a yummy dinner!

To close the night out students wrote a future letter to themselves to read after their GLA experience, and they reflected on ways they hope to grow from their time abroad. We ended the night by developing our community agreement and welcoming our last two students who arrived!

We can now welcome all 21 students to the program, pictured in our first official program group photo!

Looking forward to our first day of service tomorrow!

Best,

GLA MCSTE Team Mentor – Laila Jones

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 16

Hello from Montezuma!

Today we started off the day with breakfast at 7 am followed by service with ASVO. ASVO focuses on expanding the sea turtle population through creating a habitat for the turtle eggs.

At service we practiced digging holes for sea turtles to lay their eggs in. It was super rainy and we were soaking wet by the end, but we still had a great time. After service we enjoyed some free time and a yummy meal!

Following that we all did a fun leadership activity called Social Sync involving what GLA stands for, such as the phone policy, and some time to get to know each other better.

The last part of the day was spent exploring the beautiful coastal town of Montezuma and a lovely dinner. We began our mentor groups and ended our third day here in Costa Rica!

We celebrated Wyatt’s 17th birthday after dinner with a special cake.

“Pura Vida” from the leaders of the day, Alicia and Aislean!

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 17

Hola!

For our fourth day in Costa Rica, following a filling breakfast the crew left for our first service of the day. Today we cleaned the beach by picking up plastic and trash. We filled so many bags! This work improves the quality of the beach and makes it safer for turtles to come onto shore. After our first service of the day, we came back to another amazing meal.

After lunch we all got together in the Yoga room where we participated in plenty of leadership activities. We created a tree drawing where we expressed where we come from (our roots) and our core values (the tree trunk). We then split off into small groups and agreed on a main goal that we have for this program, and an individual goal we can strive to!

Next we all slapped on our rain jackets and took a stroll into town where we got to enjoy the local gelato! On our way back we played a big game of beach volleyball before heading back to home base.

Everyone showered up before we had a fantastic dinner that Chef Kati prepared for us. We all then surprised Paige with some yummy cake for her big 17th birthday!

The day is not over yet! We then got ready in all black attire for our second service of the day. We walked back to ASVO, where we walked along the beach patrolling the turtles fortresses and had a hermit crab race! At around 10 pm we stumbled upon an olive redly turtle that was ready to lay her eggs. Abby and Wyatt won the race and collected 104 sea turtle eggs and brought them back to the hatchery.

After a long busy day, everyone was ready for lights out and got cozy for bedtime!

I hope you enjoyed today’s update from your group leaders, Willa and Abby! Adios!

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 18

Today for our fifth day of the program we got up at 7:00 ate breakfast and then prepared our self for our third day of service. At service we helped pick up logs in front of the beach in Monezuma. It was very exciting to help the beach and make it a better place than we found it. After that then we went back to the hotel where we cleaned up and ate lunch afterwards we headed off for a very fun pool day!! The weather held up very nicely and everyone got to relax after our hard work this morning. After the pool we all headed back for dinner and then got ready for our night patrol at the beach! We patrolled for turtles and helped clean the hermit crabs out of the hatchery. Overall a very fun and eventful day with great sunny weather!!!

Sea you later from Paige

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 19

Hello from Montezuma! It is day 6 the second to last day here. We started off the day with a debate about whether to prioritize marine conservation over the local economy or the local economy over marine conservation. We had 4 different perspectives to hear from including the fisherman, local businesses, students and the locals. Before lunch we had a quick check in with our mentor groups about our experience on the trip so far.

After lunch we drove 40 minutes to a beach where we saw Costa Rican raccoons that looked like lemurs. We boarded 2 separate boats and headed out to tortuga island which like its name looks like a turtle. Arriving to the beach we jumped out of the boat and swam ashore. The island was beautiful, had a beach volleyball court, peacocks, and they even gave us fresh fruit. After around an hour of swimming we all got back on the boats and headed towards the bioluminescent.

After 10 minutes of boating and we arrived at the spot looking down into the water small blue dots all around to boat. Sticking our hands in the magical blue swarmed all around us. The tour guides then scooped up a bucket of water and poured it in the boat which was awesome. The dinoflagellates, the creatures that produce the blue light, lit up all around our feet, eventually we went back to the dock and on the way back we could see the bioluminescent all around us. Getting back to the original beach we ate dinner and had spaghetti. Over all it was amazing and everyone had a great time.

Talk to you later from Kaiden and Corinne

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 20

Today was our 7th day of the program, and we started it off by getting up at around 8:30 for breakfast. Then, we left for the Montezuma beach at 9:45 for swimming, volleyball, and other beach activities. After that, we walked back to the hotel for rest/shower time. After refreshing and recharging we had a delicious Costa Rican lunch to fuel us for the beach Olympics.

In our beach olympics, mentor groups competed against each other artistic, theatrical, logical, and sporty challenges. There was lots of fun and laughter mixed with competitiveness, and in the end, the Fish Group took the win!

After our exciting games we headed to Cabuya, a cemetery island that is only able to be walked to during low tide. We walked around and took in the beauty before heading back to the hotel for a delicious barbecue dinner.

Lastly, after our meal, we had some live music played for us on our last night in Montezuma! We danced our hearts out to traditional Costa Rican music, and got ready to head out tomorrow morning for Parrita.

Pura Vida 🌺

-Leaders of the Day, Grace and Wyatt

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 21

Today, after a late night of dancing, we slept in and woke up to a hearty breakfast of smoothie bowls, eggs, and toast to energize us for our long day of traveling. We departed from Montezuma at 9:45 after saying goodbye to our home base, and headed for the ferry port.

After about an hour on the boat, we headed out to Crocodile Bridge, stopping for a buffet-style lunch. After our meal, we went over to the bridge previously mentioned, and looked down at the crocodiles there.

Then, we got back on the bus and drove to our final stop of the day- our new home base in Parrita. Our new location has lovely communal spaces of an open restaurant/bar area, a pool, and hammocks. It’s also filled with countless wildlife, including monkeys, iguanas, and birds.

After dinner, and unpacking, we met with our mentor groups where we had a quick check-in and played some fun games. Then, it was time to say goodnight, and rest for our first day of service in Parrita!

-Your leaders of the day,

Elle and Hadley

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 22

Today was our first day in our new location, Parrita. We started our morning with breakfast then drove to our service with Victor. Victor is a local who saw the need for action in his community, but nobody was stepping up so he decided he needed to. Last year, he saved over 200 nests, releasing 15,000 baby turtles

We first had a surprise with three newly hatched baby turtles who were ready to be released into the ocean. While there, we were accompanied by their friendly dogs. After, we split into three groups; one painted signs in english or spanish about the hatchery and planet, one to make a new turtle nest for the eggs found last night, and one to do beach cleanup in the area. When finished, Victor got some us some fresh coconuts from the tree to drink and eat the meat.

After service we made a pit stop to get fresh mango, pineapple, banana, and papaya. We headed back to the hotel for lunch, then went to our leadership activity. Today we learned about SDG’s (sustainable developmental goals). These 17 goals were agree on by the 193 United Nations member states in 2015. They are goals meant to be accomplished by 2030 to help create a better the world. We also discussed major issues that we saw on a local, national, and global level.

Later, we were able to have a couple hours of free time for bonding to go in the pool and get ready for dinner. After dinner, we met back up to finish our conversation on SDG’s and have sunset circle. Lastly, we met with our mentor groups to practice for tomorrow’s talent show, then spent the last hour before lights out playing pool and singing karaoke.

See you tomorrow!

Leader of the Day,
Maddie

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 23

Today we had an early start and enjoyed a packed breakfast on the bus. We had an hour drive to zip lining in the rainforest. Zip lining was so much fun and all of the students participated in exciting activities, such as 10 zip lines, 2 drops, 1 swing, and 1 Superman. (The Superman is a zip line where participants put on full body harnesses and travel horizontally down a zip line.) Afterwards, we took a tour through the butterfly and snake center, which hosted a variety of Costa Rican species. The zip lining place also had three crocodiles, which students were able to see clearly.

We had a delicious lunch including chicken, rice, beans, and salad provided by the restaurant at the zip lining location before heading back to the hotel.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel. We had some free time to take showers, swim, or take naps in the hammocks. We had a dance class led by a Costa Rican dance instructor, where we learned how to do the salsa, bachata, and merengue. The dance class was followed by some more free time in which we swam in the rain. After a quick shower we gathered again for sunset circle to pick new leaders, do shoutouts, and go over the following day. Dinner was at 6:30 where we ate mashed potatoes, chicken with salad, and for dessert, tres leches cake. After dinner we did some karaoke. At 10:00 we got ready for bed, and lights were out by 10:30.

Pura Vida – from your leaders of the day!

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 24

We started the day off with breakfast at 7 then took the bus to our service for the day. We met with (conservation organization) to help clear vegetation for a new turtle hatchery. After our service, we stopped at a famous ice cream shop called pops, then drove back for lunch.

Afterwards we met with a local Costa Rican lady to have our cooking class. We started from scratch with corn kernels then turned that into dough for empanadas with beans and cheese. We drove back to home base for sunset circle and dinner, then ended our day with a trip recap quiz, mentor groups and a super fun dance class from our international director Ryan.

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 25

We started off the morning early with breakfast on the bus and made our way to Manuel Antonio National Park. We got the chance to see bats, frog eggs, hummingbirds, crabs, iguanas, spiders, and five three toed sloths! After stopping for snacks, we swam at the beach and then headed off to lunch.

After having lunch at a restaurant nearby we headed off to the souvenir shops right down the street. Many of the shops sold dresses, tops, and jewelry. After walking around the shops for a bit, we headed back to our base where we rested before doing our daily sunset circle. Then we had dinner at the base and we wrapped up the night with a leadership activity reflecting our trip.

Talk to you later – From your leaders of the day!

Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!

Here are a few things to know and expect:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
4. Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
5. Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.

For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team

Click here to jump down to the most recent post!

COMING SOON!

Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!

Here are a few things to know and expect:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
4. Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
5. Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.

For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team

Click here to jump down to the most recent post!

COMING SOON!

Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!

Here are a few things to know and expect:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
4. Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
5. Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.

For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team

Click here to jump down to the most recent post!

COMING SOON!