PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
Here are a few things you can expect:
- We typically receive 2-3 blog posts per week here at GLA Headquarters from our program staff and students, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post daily – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors, including but not limited to internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes onsite program staff are only able to send text back to Headquarters, where our team updates the blog.
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 MARCH 11
Bienvenidos!
It is Spring Break here! And we are excited to start our first session of Costa Rica: Spring Break Service Adventure!
Today, our students made their way to Guanacaste Province in Costa Rica to jump into their adventures and learning opportunities that are coming along! We hope that you will enjoy using this blog as a way to experience this journey with us!
Our group has safely arrived and is getting comfortable in their new home on the beach of Junquillal. Most of the students shared that a long day of traveling tired them, but they are all super enthusiastic and looking forward to the adventure and service days to come!
We picked up our first group of students in the afternoon at the Liberia airport. After their 1.5-hour van ride they reached their home for a coming week to get settled, walk around, and start living their Pura Vida. The students finished their night with a delicious homemade dinner.
The second group of our team joined all of us a bit later and got settled for the night, getting some much needed sleep before we start bright and early tomorrow morning!
We can’t wait for the week of service learning , lifelong memories, and deep friendships that await.
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 12
Today we woke up to our first full day in Costa Rica!
We had a breakfast of cereal, rice, beans and eggs – all washed down with some juice. After breakfast we met up in Ranchito(our outside meeting area) to go over the plan for the week. We played some fun games to get to know each other as well as different ways we can become leaders on the program.
Then we all did the swim test in the pool at the homebase and as we finished, the rain started. It rained for a few hours and we enjoyed some down time before enjoying our lunch which was fries and chicken.
In the afternoon we went down to Junquillal beach and played some more games which were really fun. A lot of us got really sandy and decided to stay and play soccer on the beach and the other half of the group went back to the Home Base pool where we played a game of volleyball. The homebase owner gave us some snacks and we ate fruit and crackers while listening to some music around the pool. After one last game of pool volleyball, we went and got changed for the evening.
We headed back down to the beach for sunset where we all took part in sharing our highs and lows of the day. Most students enjoyed getting to know each other or playing volleyball/soccer and the lows were the rain or the mosquitos. The sunset was beautiful and it lit up the sky in different shades of red.
We had dinner all together and then finished the day with two more leadership activities before heading to bed. Tomorrow we start our service so we are going to get a good night’s sleep!
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 13
Written by Jake, Gabriel, Anaya and Benjamin
Today we woke up at 6:30, ready to take on the day. Fortunately it was pancake day so we were very happy!!! After breakfast we packed our bags and went to our service projects.
Sea Turtle Track
We walked up the road and met our service leader, Valerie, who then taught us all about Sea Turtle nests and eggs. We put on our best acting performances as we pretended to be sea turtles digging a nest for our eggs. We also learnt how to find a nest of eggs – you take a stick and poke the sand, if it’s soft you then dig for the eggs carefully with your hands. We dug for ping pong balls today, but we did get to see real nests of eggs in the hatchery. The group cleaned out the hatchery turtle nests by taking buckets of sand out and replacing it with new sand. We cleaned out the beach around the service site, removing the sticks and palm tree leaves so they are not used for bonfires by tourists which would then harm the turtles. Lily & Michaela found a hatchling in one of the empty nests which were both released at the end of the day(more to come about that later).
Community Service Track
We jumped in the bus and travelled 10 minutes to the water center where we met Marcia who runs the project. She split us into groups where some of us helped to shovel the dirt and compost from one area of the centre to another. Some students were pulling baby trees from an unwanted area and bringing them down to the centre. both of these groups helped one of the other groups who took the trees and planted them in the compost to keep them in the nursery where they will receive all the attention and help they need to grow into big trees. Some students took the trees and leaves who were dead and mushed them with cow dung to make compost. After lunch one group went to concrete the signs by the rivers which had been made by previous GLA students.
We all joined back together at the Homebase in the afternoon where we received the exciting news that there was a turtle release happening on the beach!!! We all got to watch over two dozen turtles be released as the sun set. We named the turtles and watched them race into the ocean. After they hatched we did our sunset circle and reflected on the day. It was a lot of hard work but knowing we helped them was good.
we had taco night for dinner and lots of toppings for everyone to choose from. After dinner a guest speaker came to tell us all about the way of life, the culture and some fun facts about Costa Rica. This was really interesting and a lot of our questions from the first few days were answered.
Now we are going to bed to get ready for our adventure day tomorrow!!!!
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 14
Written by Written by Will, Aline, Michaela, Erin, and Harry
Today, we woke up at 6.00 AM for an adventure. We had breakfast on the bus for a long, 2-hour bus ride. This bus took us to Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja, where we prepared to tube and zipline. We started off with tubing where we spent 2 hours going along a river. After having a lot of fun tubing, we were met with a buffet for lunch. We went to zipline, one of the other adventures offered at the park. Everyone had a thrilling time ziplining and was very tired when it ended. With this tiredness everyone took the time to nap in the 3 hours it took us to get back. We got back at around 6:30 for a 7:00 dinner. Where we had wok with chicken and vegetables. This meal prepared us for an 8:00 evening activity. Overall, everyone had a great day. And we are looking forward to the second service day that is coming our way!
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 15
Written by Caroline G., Caroline S. & Gabriela
In the beginning of the day we had a yummy breakfast which was French toast and sausages. Then we headed out for a hard day of service where we split into our service groups. The community service group went to el Guapote school where we cleaned and built a garden with all the school kids. Some of our highlights were playing soccer with the kids and eating the delicious empanadas and watermelon.
Then we proceeded to the forest and plant signs in front of rivers, collected seeds to grow in the nursery, and meditated with the trees. Hopefully we can teach some of it to you! The turtle restoration group did an ocean cleanup and organized different kinds of plastics. They cleaned the turtle nests out by replacing the old sand with new sand.
After the service projects the groups rejoined at a local’s house where she taught us how to make empanadas and some of her traditional cooking techniques. Then everyone returned to the homebase and we attempted to debate for pool time despite the rain. After a delicious dinner of chicken wings, mash potatoes, and salad our request was accepted and we swam until bedtime.
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 16
We woke up early and had breakfast on the buses as we headed to the ocean. Today we enjoyed an exciting, relaxing and fun catamaran ride. When we arrived at the beach we loaded into a boat which took us to the catamaran. We all got to lay out the front and watch for any animals in the water. After driving out to a small beach we unloaded the water toys and snorkels. Some of us jumped off the front of the boat, others took the standup paddle boards out, others played on the floating platform. The instructors on the boat took us snorkeling around the bay to spot the fish below the water.
After all the water activities we had a buffet lunch on the boat and then travelled back in to the original beach where we got back on the bus. When we got back to the homebase we had some pool time where we played volleyball and cooled off.
After packing out suitcases ready for departure day we got together to do some final activities including the appreciation circle and our One Meaningful Goal. We also had a dance class where we learnt the basics of salsa as well as a local dance. It was a lot of fun! After a dinner of hamburgers we got to go back in the pool before bed. Tomorrow we are going back home. It has been an amazing week full of adventure.
