PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
TIME CAPSULE LETTER
Hola chicos!
It’s hard to believe that it has already been so long since our time in Costa Rica came to an end. Often, it feels like yesterday that we were working at Rancho Avellanas in the pouring rain, surfing Avellanas, and enjoying so many Peace Retreat burritos (and Chase’s favorite – the ice cream!). I hope that you have all had a great fall starting your next year of high school (or in Kyle’s case, having a great first semester at UTI!!) and that you have all stayed connected and continue to think back fondly on the experiences you had in Costa Rica.
I want to take this opportunity to remind you of your amazing work and the great learning opportunities you took advantage of while there:
Gathering mangrove seeds and collecting trash along Playa Avellanas with Frank after learning an important lesson about the crucial role mangroves play along the Costa Rican coast
Beautifying the chicken coop, weeding the garden in the pouring rain, and mucking out goat stalls at Rancho Avellanas (Shout out to Charlie, Chase, Jackson, and Michael for venturing out through the “lakes” to the compost beds!)
Planting trees, clearing out beds, and getting mangoes for the kids (shout out to Michael!) at Los Pargos School, learning about non-violent communication, collecting mangoes for Tom, installing signs by local waterways, and repairing bicycles with the Guanacaste Water Center
Meeting local community members and participating in a beach cleanup at Playa Negra
I was impressed by your group’s ability to work hard and persevere through illnesses, injuries (I’m still so proud of Ella for pushing through and surfing even with her foot pain!), rain, and a few scorpions. I loved leading mentor group each night and hearing the insights that each of you had after each day. My favorite part about this group, though, was how close you all were. It was so impressive to watch you all come together in a matter of hours and remain close over the entire two weeks. It made all of us so happy to see you push tables together to eat together, capture the experience in such a fun way (shout out to our resident photographer Jane!), spend each night hanging out until the last possible minute, and work through problems that arose with maturity and open communication. Even though the closeness of the group led to many negotiations with us (shout out to Molly and Charlie for representing the group interests!), we enjoyed seeing you work together so well.
And a friendly reminder of not just the personal goals that we talked about toward the end of the program, but also our group goal to travel more sustainably. I hope we’re all following Regan’s suggestion to stop flying private 😉 But seriously, I hope that you kept this goal in mind on your summer travels and will continue to make more sustainable choices as ski season approaches.
We’d love to hear from you about how you’ve been working on this goal and your personal goals! Thank you for helping to make these special memories and the best of luck with improving yourself, your communities, and the communities you explore abroad.
Pura Vida,
Mentor Caitlin and the Surf, Sports, and Sustainability Team
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 JUNE 10
Hola family and friends!
It was an exciting arrival day today for our ten Surf, Sports, and Sustainability students. Seven students arrived in the early afternoon, and one everyone got settled into their rooms, we got to know our beautiful home base and played games to get to know each other.
After spotting a howler monkey, we enjoyed a delicious family dinner of pesto pasta and chicken with fresh salad. We ended the nights with games of UNO before everyone went to rest up for orientation day.
Our other 3 students went on an adventure to San Jose after their flight to Liberia was redirected due to lots of rain on the runway. They had a long journey by bus to Guanacaste, but they arrived safe and sound in the early hours of the morning. We’re so glad that all 10 students are here and ready for two weeks of service and adventure.
Stay tuned for more daily updates coming soon from our Leaders of the Day!
Pura Vida,
GLA Staff Team — Noel, Tiffany, and Caitlin
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 11
Hola family and friends!
Our students had an informative first full day at our beautiful home base. We kicked off the day with games to get everyone moving and learn more about each other before practicing our swim skills for our surf lessons tomorrow.
After a lunch of quesadillas that was very popular with the group, we learned about Costa Rican culture from our amazing Local Director Tiffany and tried local fruits – mamon, jocote, dragonfruit, and guava. Then they collectively drew a mural about all of the fun facts about Costa Rica and things they’re excited to see and experience during the program.
In the evening, we loaded up the bus to visit Playa Negra, where students walked along the beach, played volleyball, and cracked open some coconuts to try the water inside.
They wrapped up the day with a dinner where they insisted on squeezing in together at one table so they could eat as a full group. We pushed tables together after so they’ll be able to eat as one big team the entire session.
Tomorrow begins surf lessons and local service projects!
Pura Vida,
GLA Staff Team – Noel, Tiffany, and Caitlin
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 12
Hola friends and family!
The group kicked off the day early with breakfast burritos that everyone loved. Then we went straight to our surf lessons on Playa Avellanas. After meeting the instructors, going over safety, and learning how to stand up on the board, we hit the waves! Every member of the group managed stand up on the board and ride waves.
After an hour and a half of successful surfing, we enjoyed time on the beach and drinking delicious fresh smoothing.
For lunch, we tried a typical Costa Rican “Casado” dish with rice, beans, plantains, chicken, veggies.
After some rest, we started our service projects for the day with a tour of a local school where we got to see service projects completed by former GLA students. Then we walked through a huge mangrove forest, learned about these important trees, and had a competition to see if the boys or the girls could collect more trash and mangrove seeds from the beach (the boys collected more trash and the girls collected more seeds!).
Tomorrow we’re excited to visit a local goat farm and learn about the projects they do there.
Pura vida!
GLA Student Leaders of the Day – Molly and Kyle
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 13
Hola family and friends!
We began our day bright and early with an “American” breakfast of eggs and potatoes before leaving for Rancho Avellanas, a local sustainable goat farm. There, we had a tour of there farm and got to see many parts of the production of goat products. We fed older goats leaves as a snack, got to bottle feed the babies, and some of us tried milking a goat. After seeing the process, we got to try goat feta cheese, goat cheese, and goat milk yogurt with local honey.
Then we began our service project: cleaning and sanding the outside walls of the farm’s chicken coop so that we can paint it bright colors tomorrow.
In the afternoon, we took a walk from our Home Base to Playa Negra to hang out on the beach and in the water. Fortunately, after it began raining, our amazing driver Henry was already there to pick us up.
We ended the day with a game of 20 questions in the pool, chicken burgers for dinner, mentor group, and hanging out in our favorite spot by the hammocks.
We are excited to get back to surf lessons tomorrow!
Pura vida mae,
GLA Student Leaders of the Day – Tanner and Jackson
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 14
Hola friends and family!
Today we traveled to Playa Avellanas for a morning surf and there was a very strong wave current that was pulling us South. However, our surf instructors came prepared and were able to successfully find us good waves to surf. After our morning surf session we headed a local market y compramos dulces.
After acquiring sustenance, we returned to Rancho Avellanas, a local sustainable goat farm, and finished our paint job on the chicken coop. It felt like it was 100 degrees, even in the absurd heat and humidity we were able to sand and finish the chicken coop. We then wrapped up with a game of soccer in the rain. As a reward for our hard work we went to a local hangout area where we listened to live music and immersed ourselves in the local culture. We were able to practice our spanish with locals. We then finished off our day with a mentor group.
Pura vida,
GLA Student Leaders of the Day – Charlie and Ella
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 15
¡Buenas!
Today was our final day at Rancho Avellanas. After being fueled by some delicious burritos, we were prepared to take on the false coral snakes that invaded the garden we were weeding. After clearing away half of the weeds, it started to rain gatos y perros and we had to go inside. We played an intense game of zip zap zoom as we waited for the rain to calm down. Once it cleared a bit we headed towards the goat stables where we cleared out old rocks and prepared them with fresh wood chips for the coming pregnant goats. We had to wheel the excess contents in a wheel barrel through rivers and lakes to the other side of the farm. Our shoes were no longer recognizable however we had a great time running through the muddy puddles and helping out the farm.
After a chilly bus ride home listening to the Beatles and Train, we arrived to a tangy ceviche for lunch. Now energized, we were ready to dive into the Costa Rican culture and learn how to make authentic empanadas from a local “Tica”. We had an enriching experience and everyone felt fulfilled both mentally and physically (after some amazing food).
We said our “gracias”’s and our “adios”’s and headed out to the market. We were welcomed in by an upbeat marimba and many smiling faces. Through a game created by our mentors, we were able to really engage with the local vendors and practice our spanish speaking skills. We arrived back at the Home Base to a delicious ramen dinner and spent the rest of our night bonding at our favorite spot: the hammocks. We had a super great first week of our trip and can’t wait to experience the country further!
Hasta Luego!
Your favorite GLA Student Leaders,
Chase and Jane
🙂
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 16
Hola family and friends!
The boys amazed by making it to breakfast on time, where we had corn flakes and delicious watermelon. Then, we headed to our third surf lesson of the program. The weather was a bit gloomy, but we still managed to catch some olas. After surfing, we got refreshed with some fresh fruit smoothies.
The club sandwiches we had for lunch were definitely enjoyed by all. On our way to afternoon service, we jammed out to nostalgic music. Then we arrived at the Guanacaste Water Center, a local organization focused on water conservation.
There, even though it was pouring rain, we got to learn about our upcoming service projects. We learned the names of different bike parts in Spanish in preparation for a bicycle repair project with local children later in the week. We learned a lot about how water travels and the impacts of pollution and development on waterways.
We are pumped for our adventure day on the catamaran tomorrow. Shout out to all of our amazing fathers.
Feliz Día de los Padres,
Your Kids Sending Love from Costa Rica
(Written collectively by all of Surf, Sports, and Sustainability program one)
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 17
Hola!
Today our group had our first adventure day! After an hour drive, our group hopped on “The Lazy Lizard” – a 38ft catamaran that we spent the morning on. We all sat at the bow (front) of the ship, listened to music, and saw beautiful Costa Rica from a different perspective.
We anchored at “Honeymoon Beach” and despite the hard rains, had a great time swimming, jumping off the stern of the ship, and venturing onto the beach. We ate a quick lunch of burritos, fruit, pasta salad, etc before heading back towards shore!
After spending some time back at home base, guest speaker Andrea Diaz, a professional surfer from Costa Rica, came to speak about her experiences with the sport as well as her nonprofit organization (Surf4Youth) which helps at-risk youth escape the cycle of poverty through surfing.
Additionally, today was Tiffany’s birthday! After dinner we all celebrated her birthday with a delicious cake and ice cream.
We’re excited for yoga with the owner of our home base tomorrow morning!
Pura Vida,
GLA Student Leaders of the Day – Molly and Kyle
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 18
Hola!
Today our group slept in and played cards before breakfast. Then Kevin, the owner of our Home Base, lead us in a moving Yoga practice that he started off with the story of his inspirational life journey. We had the best 5 minute nap in shavasana to end our practice.
After a relaxing lunch at home base, this afternoon we went to the local school with the Guanacaste Water Center and helped sort their recycling, planted trees, fertilized the soil, and played with the kids. We met lots of great local kids and had fun playing a pickup soccer game with them and getting to know them all.
We’re excited to hang out with the locals at the beach clean up event tomorrow morning!
Pura Vida,
GLA Student Leader of the Day Regan
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 19
Hola family and friends!
We started our day at 8 —slightly later than usual—with delicious egg frittatas filled with potatoes, chicken, and veggies. After breakfast, we headed to Playa Negra for a quick beach cleanup with local community leaders. Although the rain kept the local school kids away from the beach, we all worked hard to clear the trash and plastic from the beautiful shore.
Post cleanup, we visited the local school, meeting back up with the children, to help the students sort the collected plastic into three groups: grande, medio, and pequeña. After the plastic was all sorted we had a great time playing many games with the students including an exciting twist on rock-paper-scissors with the kids.
Back at home base, we enjoyed our favorite lunch: chicken, rice, and cheese quesadillas—a perfect 10/10! After lunch, we quickly set off for the Guanacaste Water Center. There, we picked mangos off trees and also from the ground to help a local named Tom. We also prepared signs to raise awareness about local watersheds, which we then installed around the community.
On our way back, we stopped at a local supermercado for snacks before heading home for dinner, which was a delightful Indian curry that gave us a break from the usual Costa Rican cuisine. We wrapped up our day discussing local farming issues and different organic strategies. We are excited for our last day of surfing and service tomorrow before heading off for our final excursion.
Pura vida!
GLA Student Leader of the Day Jackson
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 20
Hola!
We got up early this morning to have a special bonus yoga class with Kevin, the owner of our home base. Then we got to visit a local cafe, fueling up on caffeine and croissants. We then continued our surfing conquest and ventured into the depths of the ocean. Everyone caught great waves and we eneded our final surfing lesson on a great note.
After surfing we came back to home base and had some delicious casado with rice, beans, plantains, and chicken. We then headed to a local elemetary school and repaired and maintained their bicycles – we gave them a nice wash, fixed issues with the bikes, and added stickers to them.
We also practiced our spanish, played soccer, and made snow cones with the local children. After this long afternoon, we finished the night off with birria tacos.
We are sad to say goodbye to our beautiful home base tomorrow, but we’re excited to see our new hotel and have some jungle adventures.
Pura Vida,
GLA Student Leaders of the Day – Charlie and Ella
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 21
¡Hola hola!
Today was our big travel day! We started the day off with some delicious banana pancakes which fueled us for our day. We made the impulse decision to go to the beach after seeing the sun for the first time and had a great time. We got some good vitamin D, enjoyed some fruit smoothies and enjoyed our final time by the salty blue water.
After the beach, we headed back to Peace Retreat where we devoured the infamous burritos and finished packing up our stuff. We said our farewells to our favorite hangout spot, the hammocks, and after reminiscing on our good times spent there, we packed up the bus, and got to driving.
In total the drive took about 3 hours but it was nothing short of entertaining. By now, we have asked each other every question that exists yet we still kept conversing the whole trip. After making a quick stop at El Jardín, a tourist trap, we added many cositas into our already full luggage and kept traveling.
We arrived to our next home base for the next 3 days and got settled in with a traditional Costa Rican dinner. Estamos entusiasmados for our many excursions on our last day of our trip.
¡Hasta manaña!
GLA Student Leaders of the Day
Chase and Jane
🙂
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 22
Hola!
We started off the morning with an early 6am wake up and a delicious homemade breakfast at Hotel Wilson. Then we headed off on Henry’s bus to Hacienda Guachipelín.
We began our adventure day with a relaxing hike through the forest to the Red Pond where some of us swam in a cold and very clear river. Upon our return walk back to the base we prepared for zip lining and got all suited up in our harnesses and helmets. We then took a conopy zip line tour which included many zip lines (some upside down), rock climbing, and a giant swing!
We fueled up with a quick snack break before continuing on with our adventures for the day. We took a short hike to a sacred ground where we participated in a relaxing and meditative exercise with gorgeous views of the surrounding volcanoes. We all felt very relaxed and refreshed, and ready to take on our next adventure, tubing!
We changed into swim suits and took a short bus ride to the river head. We grabbed our life vests, took a few pictures, and hit the rapids. We enjoyed the thrill of getting stuck on rocks, getting flipped over and out of our tubes, and even sightings of HUGE spiders. The group grew even stronger together when they attempted to hold hands throughout the rapids. This effort did not end as successfully as the group hoped, but we stayed together through all the flips and turns and spiders!
We enjoyed a buffet style american lunch. Shortly after, we headed to the hot springs where we enjoyed multiple hot springs of a wide variety of temperatures. Unfortunately the camera died so we couldn’t capture the sheer joy on our faces through swimming in the river, the mud bath, and the actual hot springs. We made our way through a couple until we settled on the coolest pool at 98°F after not lasting long in the others which were up to 114°F. We were sad to go, but quickly changed so we didn’t get Henry’s bus wet!
Lastly, to end our adventure day, the group enjoyed a tasty final dinner which included salad, sausages, hamburgers, carne, and the classic rice and beans. We negotiated for an exciting excursion after dinner where we headed to a local ice cream shop. We had our final mentor group when we returned to the hotel. It was very bittersweet! We have our last hangout time tonight and we will say our goodbyes early tomorrow morning.
We have had such a great time, learned so much, and made so many new friends over these past two weeks! Saying goodbye will be difficult tomorrow but we hope to stay in touch! We truly appreciate everything that Costa Rica has had to offer.
Pura Vida!
GLA Student Leader of the Day Regan
