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 AUGUST 4
The time has finally come for your teens to be here with us at Beachside Service here in Playa Junquillal. They arrived yesterday with smiling faces and with 3 buses, we loaded all of them back to homebase before nightfall. They met their new roommates for the week, ate some delicious Casado (traditional Costa Rican dish which typically consists of chicken, rice, beans, plantain, and salad) and went to bed before lights out at 9:30pm — it was a long travel day!
This morning, we woke up for breakfast at 7am, which was traditional Gallo Pinto, eggs, yogurt, cereal, and coffee. We spent most of the morning doing orientation activities — introducing students to homebase, laying ground rules, a cultural norms talk, and community agreements. We also completed swim tests and voted on our service projects for the week.
We will be participating in 3 service projects: a turtle hatchery called Verdiazul, a beach cleanup group called Grupo Ecologico de Avellanas (GEA), and a combination of service called Hope where students will work two days at a permaculture farm and two days with a local pet neutering campaign. Each of these projects will consist of their own activities and assignments according to what the community needs and asks for our help in. Students were able to rank the service projects and were separated based on first or second choice. Tomorrow, service day begins and everyone seems to be really excited!
We also went to a sea turtle hatchery called Verdiazul (where some will be doing service tomorrow) just down the street from the hotel. We worked with a local biologist, Valerie, to learn how to spot sea turtle tracks and potential nesting spots on the beach! Students simulated this with ping pong balls and they all did so well!
We wrapped up the day with some beach time, sunset circle, dinner (tacos!), and mentor group activities. They are excited for the adventures that await us!
Thank you for trusting us with your teens, we are excited to experience this adventure with them over the next 9 days.
Students will have busy days fostering in-person community and getting to know each other. To keep you in the loop, we’ll send regular blogs and be available as a staff support team 24/7.
Our blogs will start with myself, Kaitlyn Johnson, a mentor, and Isa Bertoli, international director, and will transition to students writing from their perspective.
¡Pura Vida!
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 5
Hola readers! Welcome to the GLA blog! Here’s an overview of what we did during our first day of community service.
Starting off with breakfast, crafted on site by the owners of our resort, we had a variety of options: cereal, rice and beans (also known as Casado, which translates to marriage because they’re the perfect combination), eggs, pancakes, yogurt, chia pudding, and more.
For breakast we had many options, including rice and beans, eggs, yogurt, fruit, and pancakes.
In GEA we got the ability to help out a school by cleaning a bodega. We took the time to organize all of the school supplies and recycling. After we played soccer with the locals and had the opportunity to see monkeys!
In Verde Azul we walked to the beach near the resort to start our work. We started off cleaning our buckets in the ocean, then we dug deep holes in the turtle hatchery, some of us dug while the others dumped the sand from the buckets, we switched the groups a lot to include everyone. Once we dug the holes deep enough and put turtle eggs in them, we made an assembly line where we shoveled sand into buckets and then carried it to the Hatcher to fill back in the holes. While we were doing this some of the eggs in another hole hatched and we got to take pictures with them and release them into the ocean.
In HOPE, we helped a local farmer plant plants and trees and met a very nice dog named Bigote (mustache in English).
For lunch we ate chili with beans and bread and a salad on the side.
On break there was lightning and thunder so we couldn’t go in the pool for a long time and ended up talking in groups while getting to know people.
The vender came a day early with food like cinnamon rolls and chocolate pretzels. They were so delicious and the women stayed up all night just to make them.
At the beach we took turns swimming in groups of ten while the rest of us had fun playing games like soccer and volleyball on the sand.
For dinner we had chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and peas. It was pouring rain but we still had fun getting to know each other.
We did two activities that night focused on our leadership styles, personalities, and values. In one group we circled ten words from a sheet that described us then narrowed it down to three. In the other we did a game where we stepped forward when we heard something that resonated with us and then split into groups depending on what side of a line we were on. This led us to be in four groups where we were read different qualities that a person with our leadership style might have.
Pura vida!
Max Monkarsh, Olivia wall, Aurora Pfeiffee
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 6
August 6th, 2026
Today we woke up to a delightful breakfast of gallo pinto, eggs, and fruit loops. As well as yogurt and fruit.
Then we boarded the buses to venture out to make a positive impact on the Costa Rican community with service.
At GEA we began with clearing out closets and sorting through trash. Then we sifted through gravel to find rocks to create a wall so the scorpions from nature cannot enter the school, at the end of our time at the school we were faced with a wonderful surprise. We got to hang out with some Costa Rican children that attend the school. Finally, we finished out the day with picking up trash at the beach.
At Hope we went to the farm house, and a dog named mustache greeted us happily. Adrian, one of the workers at the farm, helped us dig trenches for new plants. Reuben, the owner, took a team of us to collect cow dung in order to build up the fertility of the soil. We then visited the cows and got to say hi to them. Finally, we found a beautiful tree and said goodbye to the farm (and mustache).
Finally at Verdeazul we dug three new turtle hatchery’s that are 4 1/2 feet deep each and then filled them with clean sand and added nets that will have eggs when turtles lay them. To cool off we jumped in the ocean for a quick break. Then we helped staff members create a barrier to add more turtle hatchery’s to and protect them from storms.
Once back from service we ate chorizo for lunch then got ice cream and swam in the pool for a while.
For the afternoon we went to a locals house and learned how to make authentic empanadas with materials that have been passed down for generations. We also played soccer with some local kids.
When we got back we had a nice sunset circle where we shoutout people and chose new leaders of the day!
For dinner we all sat down and ate pasta where we had a large variety of sauces and toppings, like bolognese, Alfredo, chicken, ground beef, and more. Then we all came together for a last GLA activity to end the day.
Tomorrow is our first adventure day and we are looking forward to tubing and ziplining!
Pura vida!
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 8
Hey GLA blog! Artemis, Lindsay, Jagger, Kellen, and Zoe here. For breakfast, we had French toast and fruit and Chia pudding and then we went to our service.
VerdiAzul built a new foundation for the hatchery and released more baby turtles into the ocean. At HOPE we took care of dogs and cats fresh out of surgery to help stimulate them out of anesthesia. At GEA we met workers from a local farm. The group was divided into two, one to plant trees and the other to plant tires in the dirt to act as seats.
We all came back after working hard at service to have lunch which was rice with chicken, corn and beans and had fries and salad on the side. After lunch we had some free time where we all got ice cream and ha We then had an eventful afternoon of Beach Olympics which consisted of pool volleyball, beach soccer, a sandcastle contest and a lip syncing dance competition.
Dinner was beef with mushrooms, mash potato with carrots and lime strawberry tea. We finished the day with our sunset circle, reflecting on the amazing day we had and celebrating little wins!
¡Pura Vida!
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 9
This morning we had eggs, beans and rice, and fruit for breakfast.
At Verdiazul, we finally finished rebuilding the turtle sanctuary that had previously been destroyed by a storm. We shoveled buckets of sand and carried them up the hill and then flattened it out. It felt very good to see all our hard work in its final form!
At HOPE we continued our work with the pets that were neutered and spayed continuing to stimulate them after the surgery and making them comfortable so they could wake up.
In GEA, we went to the beach and made signs for environmental awareness. After we finished, we got smoothies and did our rose, bud, thorn group circle with Frank, our service partner.
For lunch, we had an assortment of options for tacos! Everyone loved it. For our afternoon activity, first we had a debate on gentrification. We learned its importance and had a heated debate from 3 parties on what was the right point of view, and eventually we came to a conclusion.
After that, we jumped right into a fun dance class! We learned 3 different style dances, the final one being a classic Guanacaste bull dance.
For dinner, we had pork tenderloins with rice and veggies for a side. After that, we all participated in the sunset circle. We chose our final leaders of the day and reflected on our amazing trip together!
