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 JUNE 17
Hello GLA Marine Conservation & Turtle Expedition, 21 day friends and family!
The staff team is so excited Arrival Day is here!
We’re welcoming students in waves. Michelle, Matilda, Audrey and Alex were our first arrivals, quickly joined by Tanay. The day was filled with good food, rest, health checks, swim tests and of course, games! It’s been fun to hear these young leaders connect as we form our traveling learning community.
Of course, travel day can be long and sometimes flights get interrupted. Sadly, Charleigh, Jackson, Chloe, Evie, James, Lulu, Zadik, Farrah and Ellie have been delayed due to weather. We can’t wait to see them soon! (Safe travels you guys!)
We hope you enjoy this blog over the next 3 weeks as a snapshot into our learning, adventure, service and life together here in Costa Rica.
¡Pura vida!
Chelsea – International Director
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 18
The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind! We welcomed our final student leaders throughout the night and morning, finally having everyone by lunch today. We’re all so glad to be together safely, particularly those who had an extremely long travel day(or days). Suffice to say, everyone needed a nap this afternoon!
While we had planned to leave for home base in the morning, we stayed a little longer near the airport and rested at the hotel. Mentor Brian led us through some fun good ice-breakers before lunch and began orientation before packing up our bus and departing for Montezuma. This was a three part adventure: first a drive from Alajuela to Puntarenas port, a sunset ferry ride across the Gulf of Nicoya (yes, it was a lovely sunset), and a final hour drive to our first home base.
It was a surprisingly quiet ride as most students napped or chatted with a neighbor. When we arrived safely to the home base, a meal of a chicken sandwich and french fries was quickly eaten before unpacking luggage and getting ready for bed. It’s been a long day but it’s been filled with moments of connection and fun.
Tomorrow we have an orientation with our first service partner! Looking forward to learning more about turtles native to the area and this new town we’re calling home for the next 6 days.
Pura vida,
Chelsea
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 19
Hola todos! This morning we had a glorious breakfast of eggs, tortilla, rice and beans after sleeping in a bit (we’re still feeling those travel days). Local Director Katherine taught us a few Spanish words: tortuga, vivero, and tutti (word for cute little turtle, not sure how it’s spelled).
At 10am, we had orientation with our community service partner Asvo. They taught us about different types of turtles; the most common one here is the Olive Ridley. We walked down to see the hatchery (vivero) where they put collected eggs in nests to protect them from predators and insects. Over our time serving alongside them, we’ll help with turtle patrols at night and resanding the hatchery. More to come on that!
We came back to home base for more orientation before lunch. This focused on the Code of Conduct which we made more engaging by creating and performing skits in pairs (shout out to Ellie and Evie for best skit!).
Lunch was a delicious lentil, meat, potato mixture served hot with rice and fried plantain chips. We decided that during free time we wanted to go to the beach to play some volleyball and swim in the ocean. Right before we left, we saw a bunch of howler monkeys up in the trees next to our hotel, even a little baby! How cute.
After a neck and neck 6v6 volleyball game, we ran into the ocean to cool off. Jackson hosted a lively “3 flags up.” It was a ton of fun.
Orientation continued at 4pm when Katherine gave a cultural presentation on Costa Rica. We learned a lot about the geography, weather, people, economic activities, and language(s) here. Most importantly, we learned the phrase “pura vida”, which can be used in all kinds of situations to communicate thanks, how you’re doing, what’s happening, etc. A handy phrase during our time here!
After that we had our first leadership activity about phone and social media use, reflecting on how they impact our lives. Because we don’t have our phones much of the day while on program, this will be an experiment on how life is without them. We’ll see if how we feel about phones has changed at the end.
Next we had Chow Circle which is a time of shout outs and announcements. Dinner was a delicious pasta boloñesa and garlicy garlic bread. It was a big hit!
The day wasn’t over though! After dinner we created Community Agreements in the form of a tree. The roots represent our values as a community and the branches/leaves are the behaviors/actions we can take to live them out. We all signed it and will have it around our home base to remind us.
We wrapped up the night with our first mentor groups. Tonight was about getting to know each other, come up with a team name (Teams Bad Bugs and Terrific Tortugas!) and have some fun.
After an incredibly full day, it’s time for bed. Buenas noches!
~A communal blog post organized by Chelsea.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 20
Written by Leader of the Day: Tanay Desai
Today was a hard working day at the vivero. We started with a delicious breakfast and after that we went to the turtle hatchery to do some service. Some people were filling bags of sand and some were carrying sandbags. All around everyone did a tremendous job. After 2 hours of hard, rigorous work, we went back to the hotel and had some free time. In around an hour, we had lunch. The lunch was plantains, fried rice and a salad. After lunch, we did some mentor group activities and went off for some souvenir shopping. We then went off to do some bioluminescent kayaking. The kayaking was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. We ended with a chow circle, and pretty much ended the day there.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 21
Written by Leader of the Day: Jackson Tarlow
Today was a day full of emotions. We experienced a mix of sadness for the weather and excitement for the water fall.
We started the day with 1.5 slices of toast spread with butter and jam, also with a side of mixed fruit. Later that morning, we helped carry heavy plastic bags filled with washed up plastics across a kilometer-long beach. We were all super exhausted so we went back to homebase and rested. For lunch, we ate hamburgers with french fries on the side. After that, we took a hike to a nearby waterfall that we could swim in the river of. After around 2 hours of having fun, we went back to homebase and had 3 very long hours of free time. For dinner we had fish with mashed potatoes and salad. Then, we got ready for night patrol of the beach so we could help turtles lay their eggs. A couple minutes after we started walking along the shore, a huge storm came and we huddled inside a small covered area. We played some games to pass the time and then headed to home base to relax and end our night.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 22
Written by Leader of the Day: Michelle Summers
In the morning we traveled an hour to the national park called Curu where hiked to see animals like monkeys, cayman, etc. Afterwards we got to swim the ocean. Once we got back to our home base we had lunch and relaxed for a bit. We then all met up and had a debate on turtle conservation vs. the need for a strong economy in Montezuma.
After dinner we headed to Asvo where we met up with volunteers to go on night patrol. This is when we split into groups to walk the beach looking for turtles and nests, though unfortunately, none were out last night.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 23
Written by Leader of the Day: James Titus
We started the day off with delicious toast and fruit before heading out for surfing lessons in the scenic town of Santa Teresa. Everyone gave their best effort to learn to surf and we had some successful results and everyone enjoyed it. We then got extra time on the beach to enjoy nature and everyone tried water from coconuts. Then we went to a cafe for lunch where we enjoyed a variety of delicious foods. Then we drove back to the hotel and everyone enjoyed playing cards before Chow Circle. For dinner, we enjoyed an enticing barbecue and tiramisu cake for dessert (provided by Charleigh and Farrah). Finally, we enjoyed a lively performance by local musicians where everyone danced, played the drums and sang along to end the night before leaving Montezuma tomorrow morning.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 24
Written by Leader of the Day: Farrah Caldwell
Travel Day!!
Today we got an early start to catch the 9:00 AM ferry. The ferry ride had pleasant weather and people took the time to nap. After arriving on the mainland we headed for lunch (buffet style) at a restaurant. Then, we shopped around for souvenirs at a shop adjacent to the restaurant. With snacks and other goodies in hand, we headed to the famous Crocodile Bridge. We spent a few minutes looking at the crocodiles and then headed to the new home base in Parrita.
The new base offers travelers a pool and beachside access. After exploring home base, we played volleyball by the beach. We ended the night with some competitive games.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 25
We started our day bright with a to-go breakfast! We had a long morning of community service. Our community service consisted of building a hatchery to help turtles hatch their eggs. It was a hot morning and we spent a lot of time moving sand and learning about turtle breeding. After a music-filled drive home, we spent the afternoon relaxing. We played an intense game of kemps, but it was exhilarating. We had a filling dinner and a ginormous chocolate cake to celebrate my birthday, we had an entertaining night full of karaoke. Everyone showed off their singing skills and attempted to play pool. And now we are off to bed!
Written by Audrey Willscher, the birthday girl
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 26
We started with a breakfast at the hotel. We left after and headed to ziplining. It was so much fun. I and others were able to get over a fear of heights as the funny guides took us along. Throughout the 10 lines we were able to go upside down and do front flips off the platforms! We also got dropped down a platform, revealing everyone’s little girl screams.
We returned back for lunch and then left soon again for a cooking class with Señora Lulu. We learned lots about her community and the leadership she does in it while making delicious empanadas. She has been working for over 40 years devoting her life to turtle conservation and living simply. Her grandson also sold us adorable bracelets that the kids of the town made. We got to practice our Spanish while talking to him! On the way back we stopped at a store and all loaded up with snack to last us for days. After a delicious dinner, we had mentor groups and ended the night with cards and free time.
Written by leader of the day: Matilda F.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 27
This morning we got to sleep in a little! Thank goodness, lol. We had breakfast which was french toast, scrambled eggs, sausage, and cereal if we had wanted some. The french toast was amazing and so is the cereal! We all scarfed it down. After we had finished eating breakfast, we started our service work for the day. Today we went to plant trees. Mau, the leader for our service today, explained what we were going to be doing and how we were going to be doing it. We split up into groups and chose two leaders. Ellie and myself! Ellie and I were in charge of getting the supplies for our groups and kind of being in charge of them, but of course with Mau’s guidance. We had gotten all of our supplies and we went and started to pick up coconuts that had fallen on the ground that had started to grow their own roots, stems, and leaves. Once Carlos, our bus driver, had filled up the back of the bus with coconuts, we drove about ten minutes down to another part of the beach. We got to the other part of the beach and helped each other dig holes and put those old coconuts into the ground. Mau explained to us that these will grow into new coconuts trees and help prevent the water going up any further than it should if there was another storm. Next, we had picked almond plants from the ground. Mau then took us to the river to show what they would become in the future! And, of course, the whole time we were being eaten up my mosquitoes no matter how much bug spray we put on! We then cleaned up our equipment that we had used and walked over to the nursery. There we all worked as a team to put the almond plants into little bags of soil. Zadik carried us when putting the almond plants in the soil!
We got back all sweaty and wet from the rain and went straight into lunch. For lunch, we had fish, fries, and salad with a fruit punch flavored drink. We had a little bit of free time after lunch and Mau came back and did a presentation on the different turtles here in Costa Rica. We learned the three main ones and then even tracked different turtles across the world! Tippy was my favorite one!
After the presentation we all got ready for GLA Olympics. Brian’s team color was blue and Chelsea’s was red. We first did a rock, paper, scissors activity with Jorge, our new staff member. Then we played a game of who could throw the coconut closest to the center of the circle. Next was a game of carrying an egg while running and trying not to drop it, spinning, running and then getting to the finish line and lastly doing a human pyramid. We got very competitive with this and ended up having to do the egg race 3 times. It was a tough race between Evie and Zadik, but Zadik ended up taking the win for the red team! Next up was a game of corn hole and Chelsea’s team ended up taking the win. Sad for Brian’s team, but we all have good sportsmanship most of the time. Just for fun we ended up getting in the pool and doing a game and then Brian’s team ended up winning! But the GLA Olympics had already come to an end with the red team getting gold and the blue team getting silver.
We then had a little bit of free time, with dinner being in a few short minutes. Before dinner, we played a group game getting to know each either more and so Jorge could get to know us a little more too! We had kabobs, potatoes, and salad for dinner with a whipped strawberry dessert. We got to sit in new groups and talk. We ended the night with games of pool and cards!
Written by leader of the day: Charleigh D.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 28
We started the day out early. We all got ready and headed out to breakfast by 7 am. We were greeted with an amazing gourmet breakfast consisting of ham and cheese omelets with salsa, sausage, delicious hash browns, toast with our choice of butter and jam, and finally mixed berry yogurt with granola on top. And we can’t forget about the delicious orange juice.
After breakfast we gathered our belongings/essentials for the day and made sure that we had our swim suits on! We grabbed our to-go lunches and headed onto the bus. Carlos, our bus driver, drove us to the Manuel Antonio National Park. We saw an assortment of wildlife consisting of 2 species of monkeys, 2 species of sloths, scary spiders, grasshoppers, crabs, lizards, bats, and we listened to the birds singing. Surprisingly, the two toed sloth is much more aggressive than the three toed sloth. (Shout out to Audrey and Zadak for winning Wildlife Bingo!)
After our adventure walk, we went to the beach where we splashed in the water. Once we dried off, many went through the small town, Quepos, and shopped for souvenirs while learning how to bargain like the locals.
Back at home base we participated in our mentor groups and we talked about our carbon footprint. We had a traditional dinner of beans, rice, and veggies. We ended our night with a friendly debate about whose responsibility it is to preserve the environment.
Overall we had an amazing time searching for animals, swimming, shopping, and debating. And we can’t wait for our next adventure tomorrow!
Written by leader of the day: Ellie Mazeika
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 29
Written by leader of the day: Lulu Hardie
This morning we woke up at 6:30 for breakfast at 7:00am. For breakfast we had pancakes, eggs, hash browns, toast and our choice of fruit loops or chocolate Rice Krispie cereal with marshmallows. We then went to service where we painted tables made out of tires and a chain fence for a hatchery. Farrah painted a crab, Michelle painted a whale, and our leader Brian painted a seahorse. We got to paint the tables/chairs blue and the fence black. We learned today that the blue paint that we used is used for most hatchery.
We got back to home base at 12:00 for a great lunch. The lunch consisted of chicken fried rice, potato chips, and salad. Next, we participated in a dance class that was so much fun! We then had dinner which was Mac and cheese and it was so good. After dinner we had a bonfire on the beach and made s’mores!
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 30
Written by Leader of the Day: Alex Masella
Today we had a leisurely start with breakfast at 9:00. At 10:00, we said farewell to Parrita before entering the bus to travel to Uvita, about 2 hours away. We arrived at 11:30, giving us time to unpack and relax before a delicious lunch of rice, tuna pasta salad, plantains, vegetables, and more. Then, we revisited our community values with a thoughtful partner activity, eventually participating in a whole group activity that helped us reflect on cultural differences.
Afterwards, we participated in a community walk through Uvita. Our guide explained the history of the community, including the origin of the name, the original owners of the land, and the process of adding a school, grocery store, and other spaces to the community when it was established. We finished the walk at Bahia Ballena, a national park with a beautiful beach. We played a spirited game of beach volleyball and frolicked by the water before heading back to the hotel for Chow Circle and a delectable dinner of fried chicken, vegetables, salad, and iced tea. Finally, we ended our day by gathering in mentor groups, planning performances for our upcoming talent show to celebrate our director Katherine’s birthday.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 1
Welcome back to the blog, where we had an early awakening. 6:30 breakfast led to our surfing session 2.0. After some excellent wave riding, we headed back to home base for a lunch of chicken rice, pasta salad, and chips. Afterward, we went to volunteer at Bahia Bellen. We had a bit of a meet and greet with some monkey friends, and then split into two groups. One group went to clean trails using rakes, and the other cleaned up the beach.
The beach cleaners found all kinds of trash, ranging from fire-starters to tiny crocs, meanwhile the trail cleaners fought through clouds of mosquitos and waterways. When they met back up, the two groups decided to split up again. Some of us went out into the rain to go see the whale tail peninsula and the rest went back to home base. When everyone eventually arrived back, we enjoyed a dinner of potatoes, salad, and barbecued skewers. Afterwards, we celebrated our local director’s birthday with a talent show, and some heavy metal. That’s all for now folks.
See you soon.
Written by Leader of the Day: Zadik Beckstead
BLOG POST FOR JULY 2
Written by Leader of the Day: Chloe
Today we started the morning off with breakfast at 7:30. We had pancakes with fruit such as watermelon, pineapple and papaya. After breakfast, we went to morning service at Bahía Ballena. We arrived around 8:30 and were instructed by Henry on what to do. We were split into two groups, one to start on beach cleanup and the other to plant coconut trees. While planting, the group started by carefully removing small coconut trees from the ground and placing them into a wheelbarrow for easy transport. We then dispersed the trees across the nearby land and planted some closer to the shore as well. We had a small break after the first rotation and then moved onto beach cleanup which was pretty straightforward. Picking up whatever garbage we saw while walking down the shore.
Once service was over, we came back to home base around 12 and cleaned up a bit for lunch. Lunch was at 12:30 and we had nachos with beans, meat, lettuce, cheese and pico de gallo. After lunch, the group decided to split up and either go shopping or to a nearby cafe. Although we had a few hours to look around, it started pouring so everybody decided to head back to home base a little early.
Once we were back we had some free-time before mentor groups at 4:30. During mentor groups we first talked about whether or not we agree with certain statements regarding volunteering and ecological issues. After that, we thought about the impacts of voluntourism on local communities and the environment along with the impacts it has on us as volunteers. These impacts consisted of both positive and negative effects that may occur.
When mentor groups were over we had Chow Circle at 6:15 and did our daily shoutouts. Dinner was at 6:30 and we had hamburgers, along with french fries. At 7:15 we listened to a presentation about pollution and what the main causes are. The presentation began with an introduction about single use plastic and microplastics in the environment and how these are extremely harmful. Throughout the presentation, Erica continued to explain major contributors to the pollution across the world, including oil spills, and the production of fast fashion. Many people do not understand how harmful fast fashion has been and how much they may be over consuming clothing without thinking of it. This presentation was very eye opening for the entire group as they realized how much they may be contributing to the issue. After the presentation we got to relax and end our day.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 3
Written by Leader of the Day: Tanay
Today, we had an exciting day of adventure and fun. We started early at 6:30 with a nutritious breakfast. We then loaded the bus and left for some snorkeling. After an hour-long and bumpy boat ride, we arrived at our beautiful island. We then went for snorkeling round one. We were stung by countless baby jellyfish but it was worth it because we saw tons of really colorful fish, and 2 sea turtles. One of them was a cute little baby one.
After, we went to the beach and played around for a bit. The waves there were humongous and made it an exhilarating experience. After, we had a choice, we could either stay at the beach and continue playing in the waves, or we could go for snorkeling for round two. We didn’t see as much as we did in round one, but there were still a lot of coral reefs and colorful fishes. We came back to homebase at around 2ish, and had free time until 3:30. We went to a local organization who educated us about coral reefs. Did you know that coral reefs are actually not plants, but are animals, and they are made up of thousands of little algae?
After that, we came home, had dinner, and reflected on our strengths of being a leader, and what leadership should look like. Finally, lights out at 10:00 to rest from our early day today.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 4
We all woke up and headed to breakfast, where we ate toast, gallo pinto, and a tomato + sausage sauce on the side. After we finished up, we got ready for an outdoor adventure!! We got our bathing suits on in preparation for our exciting waterfall experience! We soon arrived at the Catarata Uvita, a small waterfall and swimming hole near our home base. We had tons of fun there, with jumping off a platform into the water as well as swimming around in the fresh, tame water. We stayed there for a couple hours and then headed back to homebase!
When we got back, we had a bit of freetime where everyone just rested/chilled. Soon we had lunch, which was yummy chicken tacos. After that deliciousness, we got ready for a nice afternoon of painting signs which educate people around the national park on how they could help the environment. Some were to not litter, some were to plant trees, some were to not disturb wildlife, etc. It was very relaxing to paint the signs and gave us a compensating afternoon for the energy we used up in the morning. The signs ended up pretty successful! When we were done, we went back to home base to enjoy even more free time!
After that, we gathered again for a dinner of hotdogs in celebration of U.S. Independence Day! It was very tasty! We sat at the dinner table for a while and had a nice time, but then it was time for our celebration to start!!
First, we roasted marshmallows and made s’mores! There was also cake that we could’ve had too if we wanted it. After we devoured the treats, we played a super fun game of ‘Chameleon’ that lasted pretty long but that was great because we all had a blast and didn’t want it to end!! Before going to bed, we finished packing up our bags so that we were ready to go tomorrow morning.
Written by leader of the day: Evie
BLOG POST FOR JULY 5
Travel Day!!
Started the day late with an 8:30 breakfast of pancakes and fruit. Then we said an official goodbye to Uvita and departed for the day. After a two and a half hour drive, we stopped for souvenir shopping at El Jardín. At El Jardín, we gathered snacks and got some last-minute trinkets before driving the last portion to our final hotel in Alajuela.
We got to the hotel around 1:30 to which we enjoyed a later lunch of casado (a treat of beans, rice, and fish). Then, we had some free time to relax until 4:30 when we engaged in a leadership activity. During this activity, we set our goals for how we might change to be more environmentally-positive when we return home.
We started to end the evening with a 7:00 dinner of cheeseburgers and fries. Later, we engaged in game night including a competitive game of Dutch Blitz. Finally, we headed to bed early, wrapping up one of our final days in Costa Rica!!
Written by Leader of the Day: Farrah
BLOG POST FOR JULY 6
Today was a very sad, yet appreciative day. Everyone woke up ready to share their final day together. We went down to breakfast to eat some pancakes, hash browns, and gallo pinto. We then left to go walk through Poas Volcano. Although it was very foggy, we still had a blast. We then went to a restaurant for a traditional Costa Rican lunch. It was delicious!
We then went back to homebase and had many hours of free time where we all hung out together and got ready for our final evening of the program! We all met up at 5pm to start our celebration. We participated in an appreciation circle that was very sweet. We then competed to see who knew the most Spanish!!
We had dinner, which consisted of mashed potatoes, rice, garlic bread, salad, and chicken, and then we were surprised by some guest dancers!! They performed for us for a while and then we joined in!!! We danced with the professionals and we had so much fun! They later left and we all said our sad goodbyes to the people leaving during the night. (Farrah, Lulu, James, and Jackson). We are so sad for the program to be over but had an amazing last day to celebrate the whole experience we were able to share!
Written by Leader of the Day: Evie
