Costa Rica: Service and Sand Session 1, 2026
June 27, 2026
Saturday night we arrived in Alajuelas after the group flight and were met by our other two guides at baggage claim. The guides we met at the airport were very welcoming and made the expectation for the rest of this trip fun. We briefly introduced ourselves and got on a bus to the hotel we stayed at for the first two nights. It’s located on a hill with a beautiful view of the province below. Pizza was waiting for us, and we started to get to know each other through a nighttime meeting.
June 28, 2026
As we woke up this morning we could smell the breakfast awaiting us. It was made by a woman who was very kind. After breakfast we talked about expectations and plans for the trip. Although the plan of talking was boring, our guides made it fun. After that, we got ready and went into the town. The town was new to us with the way it was built and how people interacted with us. We did two mini scavenger hunts which were interactive and fun. We got to learn about some of the history at the first park we were at as well as ask questions in Spanish to the locals to practice. We got ice cream and headed back to the hotel we are staying at for now. Once we came back from our outings we had two hours of free-time to do whatever we wanted. During this time we relaxed in the pool and played some games in the pool, such as Marco Polo and a number game. After that, we had time to relax and shower after the hot day. Once we were done we had dinner and had a community meeting where we played games and discussed what we shall do tomorrow.
By Abby, Alex and Noah
June 29, 2026
This morning we woke up at 5:00 in the morning to embark on a 3 hour bus ride which seemed like a long struggle until we made it to a delicious breakfast of pineapples, papayas, strawberry yogurt, eggs, rice, beans, and toast. We locked our suitcases in a large locker and only took our day packs back onto the bus which dropped us off at a wooden buggy that was lugged around by a tractor. The buggy ride took us deep into the Costa Rican forest where we saw a three toed sloth, bright orange flowers, a variety of trees and insects as well as very friendly locals.
Once we arrived at the river we split into three different group and suited up with life jackets and helmets to ensure our safety on the upcoming white water rafting adventure. Once we positioned ourselves in the rafts, our guides directed commands in order for us to safely make our way through the rapids while also squeezing in fun little activities such as splashing the other rafts, surfing the rapids, and taking a couple plunges. Along the way we stopped at a large rock that we jumped off of and swam towards a shore where we would then hike to a tiny waterfall that had a pond for us to swim in at the bottom. There we dunked each other, raced one another, peacefully floated and even tried to breathe through an air pocket in the waterfall. As we headed back to the main river there was some yummy pineapple that the guides cut up for us as a snack and then we went back towards the rapids. Today we only experienced rapids that were classified as level two while tomorrow we are supposed to take on level four rapids. The level two rapids already tossed us around quite a bit so wish us luck for tomorrow. Aside from being tossed around, some of us took a pause from our position and sat all the way in the front as a little roller coaster ride down the calmer rapids.
Once we arrived at the campsite, we grabbed our towels and sheets for our tents and showered with the cold water that comes from the mountains, then changed into dry clothes. Some found it refreshing while others not so much. Our guides cooked us DIY style lunch of burritos with a side of chips and guacamole. After such a hearty meal, we hung out on the second floor of the communal gazebo where there are hammocks, couches, chairs, as we listened to music, took a nap, and had some more conversations to get to know each other better. Before dinner, we came together with the leaders by telling some jokes, asking some questions about how we are feeling, and ending with a fun game of mafia. For dinner we ate chicken and rice with a side of vegetables before some more games such as the human knot where we had to untangle ourselves from one another to form a circle, and swamp, where there was a lot of “hua!” sounds. To finish off the night we recapped about our day with a rose and thorn (or highlight and lowlight) and headed off to bed for part two of our white water rafting adventure.
By Camila, Gigi G (lil g), Luke
June 30, 2026
Many of us started the day with a cold shower in nature. The walls of the shower were the rainforest, and water fell from the inside of a bamboo shoot. Then we moved onto a delicious breakfast which contained pancakes, eggs, plantains, and toast. After breakfast we packed up and headed for day two on the river. We got on our helmets and life jackets and we started our rafting adventure. Then after a fun time of tumbling across level four rapids we stopped and ate some pineapple along the river. We watched the fish eat some of the pineapple as we tossed some in. We got back on the river and along the way we spotted tiger heron, fish, lizards, and butterflies. We finished the journey and had a lunch at the base of the river. Lunch was delicious: burritos with chicken, lettuce, potatoes, and rice. After lunch we got back on the bus for a drive to the farm. Before arriving at the farm we made an important stop: picking up a cake for the leader Karina’s son Bastian’s birthday. When we made it to the farm we went for a swim in the pool and met the adorable kids that live on the farm. Next came the birthday celebration for Bastian. Dinner was pork with rice, beans, and salad. We drank refreshing mango juice with the meal. After dinner we watched a traditional dance performance and even got to try it ourselves after. We continued dancing and playing with the balloons, which the little kids loved. Then we ate slides of the Dulce de leche cake which Bastian handed to us himself. Finally it was time for the piñata. Bastian swung with all of his might and with the help of the other little kids (and eventually some of the bigger people too) the candy went flying out of the piñata. After things settle down we finished the day with our meeting and entertainment. Today’s entertainment was musical chairs which one of the kids on the farm won! Bastian gets an honorable mention for selflessly giving up his chair. Happy birthday Bastian!
By Kai, Ariel, Thomas
July 1, 2026
Today we woke up at a ripe 6:45 am. That start gave us a load of energy for the activities we had in store. We started off the day milking a cow and getting as much milk as we could get for the amazing activity of making cheese later in the morning. Before we made cheese, we fueled up on a delicious traditional breakfast that consisted of eggs, bacon, cereal, pancakes, and pineapple. After breakfast, the farm owner Crisley told us the inspiring story of how the farm came to its success and the journey and hardships they had to endure along the way. Once we wrapped up our story time we separated into groups to see the real process of making the mozzarella, we even got a sneak peak at what our pasta dinner would taste like! An adventure to see the newly born pigs 🐷 followed with a surprise coming from a two toed sloth! 🦥
Once we came back from the adventure around the farm, we had a relaxation period of 15 minutes where we each got to decompress before lunch where we ate a great meal of nachos with beef, cheese (from the cow), lettuce and tomatoes. Once we all finished our meals, we all got ready for the next excursion of zip lining!😲 We split up into 2 buses to depart on our thrillful ride to the beautiful mountains of Arenal. After a stormy delay, we went on 7 different insane zip lines giving us the view of the forest below. Suddenly, at zip line number 5, we all had to take a stop because of thunder surrounding the area. Thankfully one of the leaders, Karina, was there to conquer our boredom with some fun facts about the area and the history of how it came to be. Soaked in rain and laughter we began our final descent with a thrilling zip line through the rainforest. We finished off our excursion with hot cocoa and watched a World Cup match.
To end our final full day on the farm we had yet another delicious meal of pasta with meat sauce and the cheese made right here authentically. After our nightly group meeting and usual shenanigans, we all retreated back to our rooms to prepare for the next day of adventure that awaits us! 🌅
By Gigi D (big G), John (Juan), Orly
July 2, 2026
On our last day on the farm we woke up to a natural shower of rain, which made it so that we didn’t have to shower, yay! 🙂 We had another traditional breakfast with beans, rice, and eggs, and got to choose between many different types of juices. Afterwards we embarked on a nature walk in a torrential downpour. We got to learn a lot about the fruits and healing properties of different plants growing on the farm. We got to eat some papaya and herbs. After, we packed while we called our family. We then prepared for our home-stays by practicing Spanish phrases as well as reading letters from our hosts.
Then we were on the way to the community to stay with a local Costa Rican family. Before we met everyone we got to try some Costa Rican foods from a market where we met the first person from the community at the cash register. When we arrived we were greeted by everyone and got to watch a traditional dance performed by the kids in the community. Then we even got to participate. The kids came to us and shared their traditional skirts. They then taught us many different moves before we preformed for everyone. Then, to our surprise, even the boys put on the skirts and did the dance, even better than the girls! After we all danced there was one more presentation the kids did for us with soccer jerseys representing the World Cup with the littlest girl leading the dance. Then we all went with our roommates and our moms to our homes. We all had a different experience with practicing Spanish and meeting families as well as pets. We all ate many different dinners. Overall today was an amazing day where we were pushed out of our comfort zone to experience the true welcoming Costa Rican culture.
Alma, Abby, Kai
July 3, 2026
Today we woke up in our host homes and ate some delicious breakfasts, each house having something different. We started the day bright and early to begin our community service construction work. Our project is to build a new cement floor for the community center. First we smashed the old tiles out and cleaned the mess. After tedious hours of taking out tiles and cleaning we were ready to start the cement. For the rest of the morning into some of the afternoon we mixed and poured. After a traditional lunch of more rice, beans, and chicken, we finally got to go back to our homes to shower and change. We then came back and played some games with the local kids, including octopus (Costa Rican sharks and minnows), duck duck goose, and red light green light. Then we made some candy with coconut and sugar and got some ice cream. Next, it was time for dance class! We learned some steps for bachata, salsa, and merengue.
During the class we witnessed a gorgeous sunset where we took some group photos. To end our night we played with the local kids some more while waiting for our moms to finish their meetings. After heading home some people went over to others houses where they played fun games with prizes. Then finally we all layed our heads down and had a restful night getting ready for the work tomorrow.
Abby, John, & Alma
July 4, 2026
We woke up bright and early to yet another amazing breakfast from our homestay families. After our morning meeting, we went back to work at 8:30 am. We continued on with our cement work. However, if we completed our task early, we got to get off at an earlier time to celebrate the 4th of July! During our hard work we were rewarded with the sighting of a sloth and its baby! The families cooked us the traditional American meal of hamburgers, with a side of fries, and fruit punch to top it off for lunch. After we took our break, we learned how to make traditional Costa Rican tamales which the moms took very seriously. We constructed them using smoked plantain leaves, peppers, green beans, carrots, rice, masa, and pork. We played some fútbol and headed to our families to eat dinner and had the choice to attend traditional Saturday mass with our families.
By Noah, Orly, & Thomas
July 5, 2026
We got to sleep in until 9 am! After waking up we started our day with individual breakfasts with our families. After, we got to have some time to rest and chill. We got the opportunity to visit each other at our host families houses and play games with their families. At three, the whole group met up at one of the mothers’ house where we walked to a nearby ranch to prepare a special meal: empanadas! Young kids in the area nearby kept us entertained while we waited for the preparation to start. We assembled our own empanadas and while we waited for them to fry, we had some good conversations and took pictures. We all headed back to our casas and some of us stayed together to watch the Mexico vs England match and have dinner. We went to bed after spending time with our families and got ready for the next day. It was relaxing taking a break and spending time with each other, and it gave us the energy for work the following day!
By Noah, Orly, & Thomas
July 6, 2026
We woke up to our wonderful individual breakfasts from our parents. We then got ready for our last day of service work at the main gathering spot in town. We had a lot of work to get through in order to finish the section of the community center that we were renovating. We began working as soon as we could so that we could finish early to practice for the talent show we were hosting later. In 3 hours, all the cement was laid out with a quick break in between where we ate some delicious fruits of watermelons, pineapples, and soursop. We also ate a big meal of rice and beans, salad, and delicious sausage with potatoes for lunch. Once all our work was complete, some of us practiced our acts that we would perform and others got ready to be the MCs of the night. Exhausted and needing to get ready for the rest of the night, we headed back to our homes where we rested and prepared for the event. Before the talent show, we enjoyed one last dinner together with all the families gathered at the community center and shared the traditional Christmas meal of our homemade tamales. After the meal many of the kids and families in town came to the community center to participate in and watch the talent show. There were so many amazing acts including magic, dancing, music, singing, the cup song, and impersonation. The night ended with a fun dance with our mamas to some popular Spanish songs! Finally, everyone walked back home with their families to get some sleep and pack for our early wake up to venture to the beach and enjoy a last morning with our families who will be deeply missed!
By Thomas, Camila, & Kai
July 7, 2026
After waking up on the last day of our homestays we had a filling breakfast and said our sad goodbyes. We had such a great time with host parents so it was a very bittersweet morning! And then we are back on the road to Uvita! On the way we stopped at a local fruit stand and tried numerous different types of exotic fruits and some of us even drank out of a coconut!
Half way through the long drive we stopped for lunch at a buffet style restaurant and ate a good meal. Then in the restaurant there was a very large souvenir shop where we all bought some fun things. Then continued on the journey. We saw the ocean and more beautiful sights until finally we arrived at our last destination. We arrived at our new hotel which has a beautiful pool and ate at a near-by restaurant where we even saw another Global Works group on a pre-med trip in Costa Rica! We ended the night with a meeting discussing our plans for tomorrow and said goodnight!
Kai, Abby, Ariel
July 8, 2026
Today we woke up and immediately packed our bags for surfing! We fueled up with eggs and sausage at the Tex-Mex place come to our hotel and then walked to the beach! We met our amazing surf instructors and they taught us the basics of getting on the surfboard and catching waves. We practiced on the sand first before we got our boards. Then, they sent us off into the ocean to catch the real waves! After a while of exciting surfing we took a break to eat watermelon and hydrate, and then got back to surfing! The water was warm, sun was hot, and surfing was overall a great experience. We then headed to lunch at a nearby place with some fun music. After that, we went back to the hotel for time to chill in the pool, play some games, and relax. We then met for a group leadership activity where we talked about which type of leader we are. The group then headed back to the beach to take sunset pictures and stop for some ice cream or shaved ice. Finally, after a long exciting day we headed to dinner where we had quesadillas, burgers and many other things. Near the end of dinner we all did some karaoke to wrap up the night. Back at the hotel we had another meeting to discuss tomorrow and went to sleep!
By Kai, Alex, Ariel
July 9, 2026
We woke up at the Playa Luna hotel on the pacific coast of Costa Rica and ate a breakfast of eggs, rice/beans and fruits at a restaurant connected to the hotel. We then got ready to depart for our next activity. We went on a hike where we planted trees for a secondary forest owned by a local family. We continued farther and took a very refreshing swim around the base of a waterfall. It was very beautiful because the waterfall was very high, and we skipped rocks. We also learned more about the country’s history and headed back for lunch. For lunch we went to a wonderful restaurant by the beach where we were served a series of options to choose from. After the lunch we swam in the ocean where we jumped in the waves and played some games! After we came back from the ocean we had a couple hours of free time where we had a dip in the pool and had plenty of time to shower before we went to yoga. We then had yoga for one and a half hours where we stretched and relaxed. After our stretch we headed to dinner and enjoyed some semi authentic Mexican food. After a long day we headed to bed thinking of all the memories we made and how this trip will shape us in the long run.
By John, Noah, Alex
July 10, 2026
WE MADE IT FOLKS!! Last day of the trip has been completed and there’s so much to say about it but we don’t want to be here all night! We started off the day in our beautiful hotel in Uvita. Then we had our last breakfast of pancakes, fruit and eggs. Then we started our journey back to where it all started in Alajuela. In the middle we stopped at the same lunch/souvenir shop to eat and shop again. Then we stopped at the store to grab some ice cream before making it back to the villa.
When we arrived we settled in our rooms before having an awesome dance party while baking cookies. We then wrote some letters to ourselves in one year. We read letters written by our leaders while eating dinner and danced some more. We then did some fun and meaningful activities before getting our phones back and heading to bed. This trip has been more amazing than we could have ever imagined!
Costa Rica Service and Sand Session 1 Group!
