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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JULY 6
Greetings from Santo Domingo!
Today marked the exciting kickoff of our Dominican Republic Island Service Adventure Session 1! Our students finally touched down in the vibrant capital of the DR, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome them.
Most of the day was spent greeting students at the airport, helping them settle in, and getting to know one another. From the very beginning, we could feel the positive energy—there were lots of smiles, introductions, and even some friendly games as we waited for the full group to arrive.
In the evening, we headed into the Colonial City, the historic heart of Santo Domingo, for dinner. Surrounded by centuries-old buildings and the warm Caribbean evening air, it was the perfect setting to launch our journey. We shared a delicious meal, talked about our hopes for the week ahead, and reflected on how lucky we are to be here together. We are excited to have an international crew spanning the US, UK and France.
Tonight we rest up—tomorrow we head east to the beautiful coastal town of Bayahibe, where our adventure truly begins. From service projects to snorkeling and cultural exchange, the week ahead is packed with meaningful experiences, and we can’t wait to dive in.
Stay tuned for more updates—and thank you for sharing your amazing kids with us!
Warmly,
The DR Island Service Adventure Team 🌴🇩🇴
JULY 7
Hello friends and family, we have just completed our first full day in the Dominican Republic. We started it off the day by leaving our hotel in Santo Domingo to go to Bayahibe.
On our way to the hotel we went to a national park called Tres Ojos, Three Eyes. It was a system of caves with several cenotes, large freshwater lagoons, where we saw some breathtaking views and beautiful nature. It was very exciting to learn about the history behind the Cenote and see why it is so important for them to be preserved, especially the crystal clear water.
We then went to a grocery store where we bought a football and lots of snacks and after this we finished our drive to the home base in Bayahibe. We had a delicious meal consisting of rice, beans, chicken, and vegetables.
After lunch, we completed our swim tests to ensure we could enjoy the day tomorrow. We used our football to play a fun game of pool volleyball. This was then followed by a game of Marco Polo. We finished the night with dinner and then got to know our new friends better. After dinner we had a history lesson covering DR history by our local director Jackson, followed by a dance lesson. Our directors Jackson and Ariel taught us merengue and bachata, which soon turned into a dance party with dembow.
We are excited for our first day of service tomorrow with our new friends and new adventures!!
Stay tuned for more!
Abby and Max
on behalf of the Dominican Republic Island Service team
JULY 8
We have had the most exciting experience yet on our third day in the Dominican Republic! We started with an early 7:30 breakfast call, where we enjoyed a bowl of fresh fruits and ham sandwiches. This was then followed by our brief safety meeting where the team provided instructions and safety guidelines.
Soon after, we were met with a stunning coastline where we prepared ourselves to tackle our first community work experience. We split ourselves into two different groups, whereby each group took turns collecting litter on the beach and planting a series of 4 different plant species: brown mangroves, beach grapes, guayacanes and flor de Bayahibe, the DR’s national flower. After finishing our hard work, we all swam in the crystal clear bay where we played volleyball, held chicken fights and went snorkelling. We held a quick lunch of rice and chicken which was followed by another dip into the sea. We took many photos together making long-lasting memories.
Then we took a quick trip to explore another part of one of the beautiful national parks, Padre Nuestro. While there, we hiked up and down, exploring the native plants and the interesting limestone structures. We then arrived at a freshwater underground cenote where we took a dip before climbing out and hiking back to the bus for our trip back to home base. We cleaned up then together played cards and games before heading to dinner. After dinner we wrote letters to ourselves as a goal-setting activity. Finally it was time to hit the hay!
Stay tuned tomorrow for another full day of service in the beautiful national park!
We’ll keep the updates coming!
Michael and Riley
on behalf of the Dominican Republic Island Service team
BLOG POST FOR JULY 9
On day 4 of our Dominican Republic island service adventure, we started off the day with an early 7:30 breakfast, and soon after headed off to Boca De Yuma national park for a long day of trash pick-up.
This day proved to be tiring but impactful. We took a short hike through the forest to make our way to the coast. We soon came across lots of rubbish that had been washed up by the sea. After a good hour of work we finally filled up 50 trash bags, using an assembly line to work together and make sure the beach was clean. The instructors told us about the effect of the trash and how impactful it is on both the environment and home of the people of the Dominican republic. In addition, we took a break for lunch and had more water as well as reapplying suncream and bug repellent. Afterwards, we continued to find more trash and enjoyed the scenery.
Next, we drove to a historic museum that was the house of Ponce de Leon. Inside, we met our tour guide, Carolina, who explained to us the background of the colonization of Quisqueya, the indigenous name for the Dominican Republic. We were able to look at old artifacts like an ancient safe and old weapons. We saw footprints dating back to the 1500s, and were able to see armour from this time. We also saw hens and roosters outside the museum and we relaxed in the garden briefly.
Lastly, we went to the store on the way back, and bought snacks and drinks to replenish ourselves for tomorrow, and regain energy. Finally we enjoyed ourselves at the hotel by playing in the pool and playing games on the rooftop, showing better connection and friendship being achieved. Finally, we had dinner and had our mentor groups to discuss the day. We finished the day with a leader of the day ceremony, to choose the new groups leaders and plan the next day.
Today was a great day, and we can’t wait experience more soon.
Stay tuned for tomorrow where we get a rest day at the beach and a local swimming hole.
Thanks for reading and sharing our experience.
~ Ori and Jake
on behalf of the Dominican Republic Island Service team 🏝️🇩🇴
BLOG POST FOR JULY 10
Hey guys, Xavier and Claire here.
We’re essentially half way through the GLA trip and were lucky enough to have immersed ourselves in new surroundings and made an impact. We were also blessed enough to be leaders of the day on a relaxing day where we went to the beach and took a nice rest before we get back into service later this week.
We had a slower morning waking around 8 for breakfast relative to the usual 7am. Then, we headed off to Hoyo Claro, a cenote near Punta Cana. Our bus ride was filled with games, stories, and music. On the hike to the cenote, we saw seven wild cows right on the trail while we were blasting music. At the cenote, we spent time jumping off rocks into the clear freshwater. Refreshing! We walked back to the bus after cooling off and headed back to the hotel before quickly trailing off to the local beach. On the way to the beach, we stopped for assorted tropical smoothies like mango, passionfruit, banana, and papaya. At the beach, we swam in the shallow water playing various games although it was a bit rocky. We got to see a little bit of the local life and bustling streets. We headed back to the hotel to change and get ready to go out to our first dinner out with an amazing view of the bay. Later in the night, we had a student debate about social issues where we educated ourselves on other points of view.
Thanks and we’re so grateful,
Xavier and Claire
On behalf of the Dominican Republic Island Service Adventure Team 🏝️ 🇩🇴
BLOG POST FOR JULY 11
Hi guys! We just wrapped up our 6th day in the Dominican Republic and we are continuing to learn more and more about the culture.
This morning we gathered for breakfast at 8am spirits high on the thought of seeing the children soon. After a quick breakfast we grabbed our work gloves and hopped on the bus. A quick drive later we arrived at the site of service, Arte Cuseco. After sitting through the short and sweet introductions we felt ready for the challenges to come. We grabbed our shovels and put on our sunglasses and were indulged in the task placed before us. We started pouring the powdered concrete on a pile of dirt and rocks and began to mix them. We created a mountain then a volcano of our mixture and began adding water. After a quick stage of mixing we were ready to start disposing the concrete into buckets. Although we were enthusiastic to spread out the concrete we left it to the professionals and took a break while pairs at a time helped prepare lunch. In addition we reintroduced ourselves to the kids and danced, played games, and danced some more.
We finally enjoyed a delicious homemade Dominican lunch of chicken, rice, beans, and veggies. Furthermore we faced the task of introducing them into American and English games. After that exchange we paired up and made bracelets for our partners. We then exchanged our bracelets and headed down to the jewelry shop after a heartbreaking farewell to our newly found friends. They were selling their handmade jewelry and other items. We stopped at a supermarket to grab snacks for tonight and tomorrow’s adventure and then headed back to the home base where we had dinner and mentor groups after.
Well keep you updated with our future adventures!
Addie and Will
On behalf of the Dominican Republic Island Service Adventure team 🏝️🇩🇴
BLOG POST FOR JULY 12
Hi guys! Today was the 8th day of our trip in Bayahibe.
After a long day of service yesterday, today was more relaxed. We started by having a delicious breakfast in the city. Then, we headed to the port where we discovered the boat that took us to Saona Island. We had about 45 minutes of dancing, laughing, pictures, tanning and music! We made a quick stop in the magnificent turquoise water of the coast of Saona Island. We all had a great time playing water games and didn’t want to go but ended up leaving anyway after we heard that we could have some Nachos on the boat!
After that, we talked with a turtle rehabilitator that explained to us how he saved the turtle eggs of the island and learned a lot of interesting facts about them. We continued our day by enjoying a delicious meal made by the locals. There, our view of the beach was beautiful. After finishing lunch, we had the chance to play volleyball with the locals. After swimming again, we returned to the boat and made another stop near Bayahibe to admire the incredible fishes. On our way back to the homebase, we enjoyed some fresh ice cream. We finished our day by having dinner all together and had a talent show.
Stay tuned for tomorrow,
Elia and Vincent
On behalf of the Dominican Republic Island Service Adventure team 🇩🇴🏝️
BLOG POST FOR JULY 13
Hey everyone, today was day 8 of our adventure in Bayahibe, and it’s sad to think that it’s coming to a close. We started our day with breakfast at 8, allowing us a little more time to sleep in and fuel up for our adventures of the day. After breakfast we took a walk to the beautiful Playa Magallanes for some swimming, snorkeling, and time in the sun. After our time at the beach, we took a stop at a nice lunch spot with a view of the bay to fill our hungry bellies.
We started the afternoon with an appreciation circle at Bayahibe’s mirador, where we reflected on our gratitude for the community we have created in such a short time. After that we took a walk to a local smoothie shop for some of the best smoothies of our lives! After our smoothie stop, we enjoyed the rest of our walk back to home base and had a little bit of time to pack, clean up and prepare for our next adventure of the day – souvenir shopping!
At the souvenir shops we picked up some items to remember all the fun times we had in the Last few Republic. To end the day, we walked back to the mirador to watch the sunset for the last time in Bayahibe. Director Ariel surprised us each with a heartwarming “service superlative” and keychain as a reminder of our time here.
After a long day of fun activities and preparing ourselves both mentally and physically for the end of our journey, it is nice to finally sit down, relax, and enjoy our dinner. To close the night, we had our last leader of the day ceremony and some free time to enjoy our last night in Bayahibe together.
Hope you’re ready for the last update tomorrow and to see your kids soon!
Margot and Logan
On behalf of the Dominican Republic Island Service Adventure Team🇩🇴🏝️
BLOG POST FOR JULY 14
Hello everybody! Today was the final day of the GLA adventure, filled with plenty of fun and a few sad faces.
The day began with an early morning sunrise outing for the early birds of the group, which was followed by packing until breakfast at 7:30. After breakfast, we began our long journey back to Santo Domingo. Along the way, we stopped at a local supermarket to refuel on snacks and supplies and at a pizza place to satiate our appetites. Upon arriving at Santo Domingo, we were assigned our rooms at the Novus Plaza Hodelpa, and quickly came back down to begin the main activity of the day.
For this activity, we had a scavenger hunt around the old colonial city. We were split up into two teams and had to race to take photos in front of various historical structures and objects. After an hour or so of traversing the city and taking photos, we met up and decided on a winner. Then, we had the opportunity to reflect on our experiences in GLA and how they had helped us grow. We read letters that we had written a few days prior, and decided on a goal that we would individually work towards upon returning home. Once we had spent enough time reflecting, we headed to a souvenir shop. There we browsed a number of small trinkets and cheaply made clothign that we could remember the trip by. Next, we went to an ice cream store and had a sweet treat to recover from the oppressive heat and humidity of the city. This fueled us as we travelled back to the hotel. Once we arrived, we completed a quick GLA survey and prepared for our final dinner.
This dinner was unique in that we were able to choose our dish from a variety of typical Dominican names, and that we were finally able to wear our nice outfits. After we had cleaned our plates, we went out onto the dance floor. We danced merengue, bachata and even the macarena until we had exhausted ourselves, at which point we took some photos and exited the restaurant, going to bed with plenty of food in our bellies and dreams of home on our minds.
See you soon!
Dylan and Yvess
On behalf of the Dominican Republic Island Service Adventure team
