Hello welcome back to the Global Glimpse blog!

On today’s wild adventure, we started the day off by waking up the glimpsers with some beautiful Christmas carols to get into the Christmas spirit – although we are in summer, it’s never too early to start.  Unfortunately, some glimpsers did not wake up even though we gave them that extra hour of sleep and we leaders woke up early just for them. FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!!

After everyone was woken up and ready to start off the day, we had a delicious breakfast which consisted of the typical Costa Rican breakfast, gallo pinto, eggs, fruit, rolls of bread, and juices of Maracuya (passionfruit), and Tamarind. We have been introduced to many great fruits in Costa Rica such as watermelon, pineapple, and papaya and today we were introduced to the Costa Rican mango, which is truly delicious.

Following our breakfast, we went into the base house balcony to warm up our brains with our mental wake-up. We went over the day’s agenda, as we prepared to get ready for today’s activities. We were filled with anticipation as we realized that the weather was in good condition and took advantage of it because it is always unpredictable. This is when we set off to our very, very, very, majestic hike but when we got there reality hit us and it wasn’t as majestic as it may seem in these pictures. We faced many obstacles and when we say many we mean many #lostcroc!! #RIPcroc#runawaywaterbottle#eatenalivebythebugs#walkingdead#livelaughlove#accomplished

Mikiah was in the front leading everyone through the wilderness, with a brave face, to face off not just the bugs but the rocks, mud, dirt, and some grass. Martha and Carmen were in the back making sure everyone was walking at their own pace and no one would fall behind. Many interesting birds, ants, spiders, dirt, mushrooms and so much more. The cool thing was that we were stopping to get the perfect pic for the gram. After the long walk, we started to hear that we were getting closer to the waterfall, and we did not put music on to be able to hear everything. We walked stone through stone, spiders everywhere, birds KAWKAWKAWKAW and many turns that felt like we walked through the water version of a Sahara desert – rather than it being too dry it was too wet. But after those obstacles, it was all worth it in the end as we got to see the most beautiful waterfall. When we arrived at the waterfall everyone let loose and just got ready to get into the water and cool off with the amazing feeling of cooling water. Although many didn’t fully get into the water and some were fully submerged in, we all had an amazing time taking pictures, having laughs amongst each other, and enjoying each other’s company.

The walk back was harder than watching your parents argue with the cashier because the cereal wasn’t $1 dollar off. It was mostly a hike up on the way back but we all pushed through it and made it back to the bus to travel back to the base house where we would be getting ready for lunch. As we waited for the pizza to arrive we had some intense games of cards such as the card game “President” and a card game called “Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, and Pizza.” When lunch arrived, everyone was excited to dig into the pizza because we were all starving after that long hike.  We paired up the pizzas with some Pepsi and others just had some water. After lunch, many of us went into the living room and talked for hours about some pretty funny life stories as others were taking a swim in the pool and others were taking a nap.

Today was one of the most anticipated days because we finally got to call home and check in with our loved ones. It was truly emotional for many but still a great thing to do because although we might not show it many do miss the voices of those familiar people – parents, siblings, friends, and even cats.

The meal everyone anticipates is dinner because, after a long day, everyone is ready to devour a plate of whatever is to offer. For our dinner tonight we had Chicken Alfredo, though some had red pasta sauce, and a side of salad with juices of mixed fruit, lemonade, and water to pair it all up. Emilia, Diego, and Andrea always work wonders and cook up the most magnificent foods. We all truly appreciate them and their hard work.

After dinner, we had some free time before our nightly meeting where everyone comes together and recaps the best parts of the day and gives us leaders some feedback. It’s a time of reflection and a time where we can all be open and share our thoughts. It is also a very exciting day because we get to pass the torch to our next leaders, which are Chelsea and Ashley. We hope to see very great things from them and can’t wait to see how they lead the day. Wishing them the best of luck for tomorrow!!

Today we truly got to see the wonders Costa Rica has to offer and how being outdoors can truly lead us to finding nature’s beauties and even the uglies but we all worked as a team to make this the best free day!

So long readers #livelaughloveya #missingyouall #seeyousoon

-Signing off Martha, Mikiah, and Carmen