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 JUNE 29
Yassou!
Today was all about arrivals, first impressions, and the start of an unforgettable adventure. Our amazing young leaders landed in beautiful Greece throughout the day, and with every new arrival, the excitement grew!
Once everyone arrived at our home base, they checked in, completed their health checks and swim test, and started getting to know each other during our first orientation. We ended the day with a delicious buffet dinner and our very first Chow Circle—a favorite GLA tradition.
Tomorrow, the real adventure begins! We’ll explore some incredible historical sites, learn more about our service project, and welcome our 24th student to the group. We can’t wait to meet her and have our whole team together.
To all the parents, family, and friends back home, thank you for following along. Your support means so much to our students, so keep checking the blog and leave us a comment—we’d love to hear from you!
The GLA Team
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 30
Yassas from Greece!
This morning we woke up to the sounds of Athens coming to life! Our first full day in the city started with a bus ride to the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre at Gyflada. At the hospital, our gracious guide told us all about all the reasons that a sea turtle might need medical attention and how different injuries or illnesses are treated. We heard about the intentional and unintentional harm humans have on the animals, including fishing net entanglement, boat collisions, and diseases made worse by warming waters. Our group also learned more about sea turtle biology. The guide had a realistic puppet of a loggerhead turtle as well as an accurate depiction of their underground nests, which she used to show us the life history of sea turtles all the way from the dinosaurs to the ones we see today!
Following the presentation, we tiptoed over to the observation tanks. In the first one, a beautiful female loggerhead breached the surface for air before continuing her rest in the shade. She had been at the center for 3 years and, after rehabilitation, was finally ready to be released in the wild! The finale of the tour came next; we got a glimpse into the actual treatment area of the center, where we got a glimpse of Cherry, the sea turtle we adopted as a GLA group!
Once the visit ended, we hopped back on the bus to go to the hotel. After a short rest, we made our way to Monastiraki Square, where we broke into 2 groups and started our Greek Food Tour! We tried the most delicious Greek cuisine. Our group was stuffed after eating so many amazing foods such as spinach pies, Loukoumades (Greek doughnuts), fresh olives, and gyros. To stave off the food coma, the group made their way to Ermou, the commercial street of Athens. We shopped for souvenirs, jewelry, and ice cream to cool off. All in preparation for the finale of our day: The Acropolis!
We gathered in the shade with our guide to hear all about the history of the ancient sanctuary, which had been used by multiple regimes as a fortress, a holy place, and now as a symbol of freedom to the Greek people. Clambering up the marble steps, our group learned about the theater of Dionysus and the Temple of Asclepius. We ooed and ahhed as we stepped under the towering pillars of the entrance to the Acropolis, near where the Temple of Nike once stood. Our afternoon view of the Parthenon was spectacular! It stood so tall and proud on the hill as a proper tribute to the patron Goddess of Athens, Athena. Following a quick photoshoot, we made our way down the steps, walking past groves of olive trees and listening to music from street performers. We hopped on the bus and made our way back to the hotel for dinner.
After dinner, our second chow circle commenced. We shared our highlights, takeaways, and shoutouts of the day before nominating the Leaders of the Day for tomorrow.
We loved Athens, and we are excited to continue our Greece Adventure tomorrow as we make our way to the beautiful island of Kefalonia!
Sincerely,
GLA Staff RJ, Jose Luis, Leah, and Margarita
BLOG POST FOR JULY 1
Good morning!
We woke up around 8 am today to pack up our things in preparation for our travel to Kefalonia. We had a delicious breakfast from the buffet at the hotel, before departing at 9:15 for our ride on the ferry!
At noon, we stopped our bus ride halfway through for a scenic lunch at the Paralia Eleona beach. Our lunch consisted of salad, chicken & fries, fried zucchini, and pita & tzatziki sauce!
After lunch, we continued our bus ride to the ferry. We arrived around 4 to load the ferry, which brought us yummy snacks, lots of wind up top, fun games, and some great conversation.
After an exuberant ferry ride, we arrived at our destination: Kefalonia, a small island in Greece! On the ride to our hotel, we witnessed starstriking views of the mountains, oceans, and other incredible scenes.
We dropped off our luggage at the hotel and went directly to our dinner which consisted of another delicious salad, SO much cheesy pasta, and greek doughnuts covered in nutella for dessert.
At 10:30, we ended dinner and started our Chow Circle! We discussed our highlights (the unbelievable views, the delicious food, and going into the water at lunch), takeaways (there is so much new food to try, it’s important to stick together, and a long journey almost always results in a fun destination), and shout-outs of the day before heading back to the hotel. Due to a VERY early morning tomorrow, we all headed to bed promptly!
Good night!
Leaders of the Day Caroline, Toby, and Riley
BLOG POST FOR JULY 2
Good morning from Kefalonia! Today we woke up at 5am to go to the beach and survey the turtles. Late into the night when the beaches are quiet the turtles will come out of the ocean and attempt to make a nest to lay their eggs. Both of the groups saw trails that indicated turtles had attempted to create nest but one group was able to find a nest that housed eggs! When they found this nest they worked with the Wildlife Sense team to determine if the location was safe and then when it was found to be unsafe they moved the nest to a controlled area. After all of our hard work we ate breakfast as a team and then went swimming!!
After arriving home from the beach we took a rest period and then came back together around 1 to get lunch. Today we ate chicken and potato’s with an overall consensus that it was delicious! Then we had to free time to shop and explore the town square. Many got jewelry, clothes, trinkets, and other things to commemorate the trip. Soon after we reunited at the harbor where our survey will take place tomorrow and got to see a sneak peak at the turtles.
After we then went to dinner where we had a bunch of amazing foods and deserts. At the end of the dinner we then celebrated Toby’s 18th birthday with a song and birthday cake. Dinner was an amazing time to talk and bond with fellow friends and to make new ones on the way back RJ then had a surprise for us. When we turned the corner a piñata dropped from the roof. It was really cool and funny seeing Toby break the piñata and everyone rush to get the candy. It was a great way to end the night and get some much needed rest.
Abby and Leo
Note to families: We’ve also added in new photos for the July 1 blog post. Scroll up to check them out! 🙂 -GLA HQ Staff
BLOG POST FOR JULY 3
Today we started our day with breakfast at 7:30 before heading to our harbor service. At the harbor, we observed and recorded turtles in different sections of the the dock. We split into three smaller groups and rotated through three stations, spending 35 minutes at each one. During our observations, we recorded how the turtles ate and interacted with each other. It was a great experience and we learned a lot about turtle behavior.
After our time at the harbor, we returned to the hotel for a short rest and to get ready for the rest of the day. We then visited a local fruit market, where we saw lots of different fruits.
After lunch, we visited the lighthouse, which had an amazing view of the ocean. We spent time enjoying the view and taking pictures. After that, we traveled to an old castle on top of a mountain, where we enjoyed even more beautiful views and stopped at a little cafe to get ice cream before coming back to the hotel.
At the hotel we did a small debate about tourism and how it affects locals and how it can be positive and negative after this debate we had a presentation from Wildlife Sense, where we we learned about the activities we will be doing tomorrow and how to identify different types of seagrass and turtles. We also had fun playing a guess the song game and taking part in a turtle identification quiz.
After the presentations, we went to dinner and spent some time relaxing on the balcony before it got too dark
Leaders of the Day: Samantha and Gabriela
BLOG POST FOR JULY 4
Hello and good morning! Today during our GLA session, we went to snorkel, cook traditional greek food, and rest before heading to get dinner. To start the day, we grabbed our breakfast bags and drove to a beach to prepare for our snorkeling session. During this session, we would document different types of seagrass and the depth of the water in which the seagrass grew. Snorkeling, many saw different types of sea life and fish that swam in the coast of Kefalonia. Our shift lasted around 4 hours, but we were still able to hang out, swim, snd tan in between sessions. After this we went to a cooking class where we got to cook and try greek foods.
For lunch we went to an amazing cooking class which took place at olive farm. We cooked pita bread, Greek salad, Taziki, and many other delicious delicacies. We also got a behind the scenes look at how olive oil is made and infused to taste so delicious! After a relaxing rainy bus ride and some resting we went to our mentor group and did a pulse check. We ate a delicious dinner and clothes at our day with Chow Circle. Day five was so amazing and we’re all looking forward to adventures to come!
By Kinzee and Eliza
BLOG POST FOR JULY 5
Today we woke up bright and early to start our morning. We snorkeled to collect data for sea grass observations. We saw lots of fish and the whole beach was very beautiful. After five hours of service, we headed to Melassani Cave. The water was crystal clear and we enjoyed a nice boat ride.
After our cave exploration we went to a small resort to eat lunch and relax by the beach or pool. The beach was lovely but we only got about 30-40 minutes of swimming and playing in the water before it started to thunder. We got back on the bus and had a 45 minute ride back to the hotel where we rested for about 2 hours. Sometime during the rest a small group went out to a local grocery store and stocked up on some great snacks! When the people at the grocery store returned the whole group headed to dinner. Dinner consisted of pork chops and fries, followed by some ice cream. We proceeded to Chow Circle and headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep since we have a 5am wake up tomorrow!!
by Cady and Charlotte
BLOG POST FOR JULY 6
Today we had a very early start to our morning and completed our final beach survey! During the survey, we got to see sea turtle tracks along the beach and even helped relocate a sea turtle nest. After our morning of service, we spent about two hours swimming and tanning at the beautiful Trapezaki beach here in Kefalonia. The water was so clear and the perfect temperature for a hot day! For lunch, we enjoyed a Caesar salad with chicken and fries at a restaurant called Denis right off of the beach. It was very delicious and a great meal after a long morning spent in the sun.
Once we returned from our pleasant lunch, we hopped onto the bus back to the hotel. At around 3pm we came back to the hotel, making sure that we took the time to shower and rest up before embarking on our next adventure.
At 5:15 we met downstairs in the lobby where we met a few of the leaders at Wildlife Sense who would lead of in another WS activity: coastal cleanup! We walked through town (in our closed toed shoes) and over the bridge and even spotted a loggerhead popping its head out to say hi! Once we reached the other part of the island, the leaders lead us in some facts that provided context to the dangers that climate change and humans do that hurts the environment; specially the sea turtles, and how we can help. We ended this short lecture by playing a quick game of true or false which many of us got correct!
We then divided into 5 groups, each with a singular plastic glove and a sack to collect rubbish around the water, parking lot, and trails. We were surprised to encounter so many different types of trash including 250 cigarettes, clothings, bottles, and more! As we walked through the trails we reflected on how much damage there was in one spot, putting into perspective the effects caused by humans.
After around 2 hours of cleanup, we walked back to the hotel to finish the day with a little treat: shopping! From 7-8:15 we each went our separate ways, accompanied by a buddy, to shop for any needs: fruit, pharmaceuticals, gifts, and clothes, including a fun stop at the arcade near the town square.
At 8:15 we closed the day by having a delicious dinner at one of our favorite spots: Premier, located in the town square. At dinner, we also celebrated Caroline’s birthday, and ate cake.
With our stomachs full, and very excited for sleep, we finished the day with a chow circle sharing highlights, takeaways and shoutouts for the day. As well as this, as a perfect birthday request, we played “the tortilla game” where we slapped tortillas against each other to try to make one another spit out water. All in all, a very full and rewarding day.
By Sophie, Brynn, and Ely
