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 JULY 18
Hello dear Families and Friends!
Arrival and Check-In.
We are thrilled to announce that our students from ‘The Costa Rica, Marine Conservation and Sea Turtle expedition 14 days, have safely arrived at San José Home Base. All our students have successfully connected with a parent or guardian back home.
The atmosphere at Home Base has been great. Despite a long travel day we see our students making new connections and friendships with their peers and roommates.
Everyone in the group is very excited about our upcoming journey in the country of Pura Via (the good life). Today we kept things simple in order to give our students the time to rest and recover after a long travel day.
Late arrival
We are still eagerly awaiting the arrival of Andrew, Isabel, Barret, Ada, Alexandra and Emily that will join the group later tonight around 10-11 pm. We will make sure all our students call parents as soon as they arrive in-country.
Starting tomorrow our students will be sharing reflections, photos and updates of our journey in Costa Rica. Stay tuned and Pura Vida.
Best,
The Marine Conservation and Sea Turtle expedition session 3
Alan, Val, Isa and Peggy
BLOG POST FOR JULY 19
Hola,
We spent the day traveling to home base in Montezuma by bus and ferry. Everyone has explored home base and settled into their rooms for our time here.
Our afternoon was spent getting to know each other and completing orientation. Everyone now knows the rules and each other. We broke into mentor groups twice once for an exciting round of getting to know your mentor (which there is some debate over which group won) and then again for our first official mentor group. We checked in and wrote letters to ourselves to read in two weeks.
After dinner and a quick visit to see the beach at night everyone headed to bed to be ready for our first day of service tomorrow. Our leaders of the day will officially take over the blog tomorrow.
Pura Vida,
–Peggy and Isa
BLOG POST FOR JULY 20
Today was our first official day of volunteer work! The night before, we were told of the work we would be completing, consisting of both beach cleaning and sea turtle night walks.
Early in the morning, we scarfed down our delicious breakfast as we packed our bags to head over to the ASVO base on the beach. After a brief walk, we arrived and were talked to about some of the species of turtles on the coast. At the end of the lesson, we began our first beach cleanup. As we traversed the beach, we picked up hundreds of pieces of plastic and trash. Finally, we got to the end of the beach and took a quick swim in the water and eventually headed back to home base!
Back at home base, we ate lunch and prepared for our waterfall hike through the rainforest. We quickly discovered the difficulty of the terrain as we climbed up slick rocks and muddy slopes. However, the hike was quite worth it as we reached the tall waterfall at the end of the trail. We were able to cool off by swimming in the cold water of the falls, jumping off rocks too.
Our last activity of the day was returning back to the beach for a protective beach walk. On arrival back to the ASVO preserve, we were told about the many responsibilities a turtle hatcher has regarding the safety of the eggs. We were brought through the hatchery and we learned about the conditions needed for an egg to hatch. Then it was time to patrol the beach in search of any more sea turtle eggs and to make sure it was safe.
Overall, today we learned about the importance of sea turtle preservation work and how quickly the species are becoming at risk. We were able to explore new areas of the coast and enjoy its natural amenities!
–Sasha and Giovanna
BLOG POST FOR JULY 21
Today we started our morning by heading down to ASVO for our service work after breakfast, which today consisted of moving logs and tree branches to clear the beach for the turtles to make their way around. After that, we went swimming at Montezuma beach to cool off and reward ourselves! Then we headed back to home base and had a great lunch. After lunch we went and drove into Santa Teresa to go explore and get things from the beautiful town. Then we went to the beach and tried to see as much of the sunset as we could from behind the clouds, hanging out there until dinner time. Post-dinner back at home base, we trekked out for our night patrol, to end the night off!
Written by today’s awesome team: Sofia and Andrew 🙂
BLOG POST FOR JULY 22
Today was a break from service for us. We had a great beach morning, followed by a delicious meal of burgers and fries. After that, we enjoyed more swimming at the curu national park. As it approached night time we snorkeled and saw bioluminescence in the water. We then had dinner at the park and headed home.
–Summer and Scarlet
BLOG POST FOR JULY 23
Today, we woke up at 7:30 to Jamaican happy birthday for Heston’s big 15th. Then we had a delicious breakfast of eggs, tortilla, rice crispy treats, and sausage. From 9-11 we did community service and moved the logs from the beach. We came back to home base for lunch, had time to rest, and then traveled Cabuya to see the cemetery. Then we had dinner with a surprise live music dance party to end the night. We danced, sang, and Ivy took a turn on the guitar. A great night to end our time in Montezuma.
–Viv and Blake and Ada
BLOG POST FOR JULY 24
Today we got up and rode the ferry. Afterwards we drove to lunch and the souvenir store. Then we drove through lots of traffic and rain to the Cartago Home Base and had dinner after arrival.
We finished the night with a quick check in. Tomorrow we explore Cartago and Irazu Volcano.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 25
Starting the day off bright and early at 7:30, everyone headed down for a wonderful breakfast of sausage, eggs and hash browns which got everyone fueled for our long day ahead. We packed everyone in the busses and rode to one of the highest points in costa rica! Irazu volcano. Afterward we had a wonderful meal out in the town of Cartago and visited museums and churches and even the local fruit market. We ended the day with ravioli for dinner and mentor groups for the evening!
By Rylan and Wyatt
BLOG POST FOR JULY 26
This morning our group woke up and went ziplining through the rain forest. After that we traveled to our new destination, Parasmina. We took a 10 minute boat ride to our new Eco Lodge and were met with a baby alligator. Once we got off the boat, we all settled into our new home for the next four days and got to know each other a little better with some fun games and dinner. Over all it was a great day!!
Salumee and Hailey
BLOG POST FOR JULY 27
We started our day with a delicious homemade breakfast. We then embarked on an adventure led by Jason (our host) where we toured his beautiful farm. We picked limes out of the tree, tried cacao seeds and broke open coconuts and other delicious fruits. We returned to home base to have lunch before a debate on a hypothetical bill. We were then divided into groups and assigned different roles for a discussion on the most effective legal route to turtle conservation without compromising the economy or culture. We followed this with a game led by our leaders of the day and a seminar with a member of the organization we are volunteering with. We learned about the devastating environmental effects of human activity on turtle habitat and population and our role in protecting them. We concluded our day with a lovely dinner of homemade chips, beans, rice, and lemonade made from the lemons we harvested in the morning. We are about to set out for night patrol on the beach and will provide further updates in tomorrow’s blog!
Kyla and Heston
BLOG POST FOR JULY 28
Today was another great day in our Parismina ecolodge. We had a delicious breakfast of beignets, eggs and fruit. After breakfast, we had a boat tour with ecolodge owner Jason – we got to see so many different species of wildlife including crocodiles, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, caimans, sloths and so much more, as well as a stop ashore to see strawberry dart frogs.
Then, we had a delicious gallo pinto lunch followed by some hefty free time where some people played volleyball and relaxed in the pool.
In the afternoon, we did a beach clean-up and picked up lots of trash, then cooled off in the ocean (although the waves were very rough!)
After this, we had an amazing dance class where we learnt salsa and bachata, as well as popular dances such as the macarena – jt was very hot but everyone had lots of fun.
In the evening, we played a game of silent football and did a leadership activity in our mentor groups. Overall, it was a wonderful day!
Pura vida from the leaders of the day, Florence, Ivy and Emily
BLOG POST FOR JULY 29
To begin the day we had a wonderful breakfast at the ecolodge before heading to town for a town tour. After an exciting but bumpy ride we made our way to the ASTOP hatchery to meet our tour guide. After a wonderful stroll through Parismina we learned about the culture and customs of the town and its people. After the town tour we made our way to locals homes to make empanadas. After we enjoyed lunch at the ASTOP headquarters before getting milkshakes at a local place to relax. Afterwards we walked to an art fair with many locals who were selling beautiful handmade goods. Some of the money they made from selling the goods went towards the organization. When everyone was finished buying the goods they wanted, we went to the soccer field to chill out and play a game. At the field there was a nearby volleyball court that some members played at. While others sat to get their braids done by people who were at the art fair. After that we went back to the home base taking the same bumpy ride in the back of the same cool trucks. At home base everyone had time to chill out and take in the day’s experiences. Some went to the beach, others took naps, some had fun in the pool, while others wrote down their thoughts in journals. After the period of chill time, we had dinner circle where this time everyone shared their shoutouts to someone of some group across the entire trip, reminiscing about the amazing time we have had across the trip thus far. Then we ate yet another delicious dinner including rice, beans, beef, and potatoes. To end the day off we will have night patrol where we will walk along the coast of the beach searching for the turtle tracks that will hopefully lead to a turtle nest.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 30
Pura Vida from Costa Rica!
Our last day was a blast. We said goodbye to Parismina and took the boat to Cano Blanco where we reunited with our drivers. A quick (3 hours and 45 minutes with one stop) bus ride later we were back at Adventure Inn. We ate lunch and swam in the pool for a relaxing afternoon. Before dinner we had one last mentor group and after dinner had our appreciation circle. We spent the rest of the evening saying our goodbyes, especially to those with early morning departures tomorrow.
Adios Costa Rica!!!
