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
Click here to jump down to the most recent post!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 6
Hello everyone back home!!
We are off to a great start here in San Jose, Costa Rica. Most of us have made it to the hotel we are excitedly awaiting our last arrival. Tomorrow we will officially be a complete group, and we can’t wait to get down to our Home Base in Uvita, see the beach, start working with all of the wildlife at our conservation project, and so much more!
Some of us are excited for water activities like surfing and the waterfall, some of us are looking forward to making an impact at our community service projects, and some of us are looking forward to getting to know each other and making lasting connections in this beautiful place.
After landing in San Jose, most of us came back to the hotel and enjoyed a traditional dish called chifrijo, a meal made with fried pork, beans, rice, fresh vegetables, and chips. We then completed some health checks and swim tests, hung out by the pool, and enjoyed our first sunset circle followed by dinner. We enjoyed watching the World Cup matches together and went to bed early after a long travel day.
Looking forward to what these next two weeks will bring!!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 7
Hi Everyone!!
Day 2 is officially completed!
We spent the morning driving down from San Jose to finally arrive at our Home Base in Uvita. On our way, we stopped at the Crocodile Bridge and saw crocodile floating in the river, and were also able to buy some snacks and get some last minute items that we may have forgotten.
We made it to the Hone Base for lunch and we able to get comfortable in our rooms and unpack a bit. We toured our home for the next couple weeks which is a beautiful space full of fruit trees, flowers, a pool; and even macaws and the occasional monkey.
We did our orientation and finished in time to have a chance to go to the beach for sunset at Playa Hermosa, which was much needed! We also were able to finally welcome our last member, Lillian, and can now officially say that we are a complete group! We finished the night with our first mentor groups and got some much needed rest.
Pura vida!!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 8
Hey parents! My name is Harlan and I am a student on the Costa Rica wildlife conservation trip.
Today we had a good healthy breakfast with rice, beans, fruits and eggs. We then had a community walk through Uvita led by Wayne who was very sweet and made sure to teach us everything he could. He taught us about the differences of trees in the area as well as the history of the community. A little cherry on top he took us to get apretado (ice cream). As a group we then got lunch and headed to kids save the rainforest (kstf). We will be doing most of our community service there.
It was about an hours drive from home base but it was very worth it getting to see all the animals that we get to work with or around. We would have done a little more there today but it started to rain a little too hard to continue. When back at home base we got to relax for a bit and then have dinner. The last part of the day was introducing the full group activity where we dove into the different aspects of this trip and what it may cause to what is around us. We will be working on that with a partner across the rest of the trip.
We had a lot of fun and we all can’t wait for the days to come!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 11
Hi everyone, my name is Jocelyn and I am a student on the Costa Rica wildlife conservation trip. We spent most of our day at marina ballena beach. There we did community service with the help of a local guide named Wayne. We painted signs, built trash cans holders and cleared leaves and garbage from the paths. As we were working we saw above us a sloth and her baby, macaws as well as monkeys. Half way through our work we stopped back at the home base for a delicious lunch to refuel us for more work. After a tiring day of work we were rewarded with snow cones and a trip to the supermarket.
After some free time and dinner we split into groups and discussed our core values and how that can be applied to this trip.Although it was a tiring day it was very nice to see our hard work being used by the public very quickly.
We had lots of fun and can’t wait for the days to come!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 12
Hello everyone! My name is Bella and I am a student on the Costa Rica wildlife conservation program. To start off the day, we ate a delicious and balanced breakfast that consisted of rice, beans, empanadas, and fruit. The first activity of the day was a surf lesson which was very exciting and enjoyable throughout the morning. We were taught many interesting things including how to surf, ocean wildlife, and all about the waves and tides. After the lesson, we headed back to the home base and had an amazing lunch. Later, we drove about ten minutes to Uvita waterfall and had a great time. There was a natural water slide at the waterfall in which we all had so much fun at. After the waterfall we had a lot of free time to play ping pong or card games. To end the day we finished with our sunset circle where we reflected on takeaways, shoutouts, and highlights. We are all looking forward to the adventures to come!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 13
Hi everyone! My name is Lillian and I am a student on the Costa Rica wildlife conservation trip.
We started off our morning with breakfast and then community service work at a local school in Uvita. We painted and stained desks and chairs as well as painted the back wall of a classroom. This was our last service project in Marina Ballena with Wayne and Kevin, and we are very sad to see them go but very grateful for all they’ve taught us!
After lunch we had some free time to relax and socialize by the pool, after which we were off to take a yoga class. We learned how to breathe effectively and maintain balance, and afterwards we joined a couple of local kids for a community soccer game.
After dinner we got to do a fun roleplaying activity to mimic how to resolve conflict, and at 7:30 we welcomed our newest mentor, Peggy, to our midst. We can’t wait to see what the next few days have in store for us!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 14
Hi everyone,
My name is Manuela and I was a group leader today. This morning we went ziplining which involved a fast monkey drop into the water. We drove back and had a delicious lunch and some free time. After lunch we headed to a local Costa Rican restaurant to watch the Spain vs. France match and enjoyed some homemade ice cream. Our afternoon activity was a heated debate about bills designed for the protection of sea turtles. Following this we ate our dinner and prepared for movie night. Tonight we watched a documentary of polar bears, penguins, narwhals, and penguins by David Attenborough that explored their habits and the impact melting sea ice from climate change has on wildlife. Today was a very busy day but also very fun.
Manu
BLOG POST FOR JULY 15
Blog post for 7/15/26
Hi everyone, my name is Sienna and I am a student on the Costa Rica wildlife conservation program. We started our day volunteering at Kids Saving the Rainforest (KSTR). In our time there, we helped out with many tasks, including preparing meals and enrichment toys for the animals at the sanctuary. We also got to feed the animals and it was exciting to watch them eat the food we prepared for them. After our community service, we headed back to the home base for lunch and got to have some free time. In the afternoon, we headed to meet our guest speaker, James, at the Costa Rica Coral Restoration. We learned about the importance of coral and how to protect and restore it. We ended the day with dinner and mentor groups. In our mentor groups we created roadmaps for our goals in the future. Today was a great day, and everyone is looking forward to the activities coming up!
