Blog

Past student Abigail recalls her time on her Central America Gap Semester with Pacific Discovery in a three-part blog series. In part three, we head to Costa Rica! We continued to Costa Rica, where we participated in various service learning activities, such as animal care at the Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center, sustainability education at Rancho Mastatal, and whitewater rafting on the Sarapiqui River.   The Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center was very cool because we got … Read more

Past student Abigail recalls her time on her Central America Gap Semester with Pacific Discovery in a three-part blog series. In part two, we head to Guatemala! Guatemala was the part of the trip that I was most excited for and most anxious for.  This was a country I'd never explored before, so I was excited to see a new place. However, I think I had a lot of preconceived notions about Guatemala -- that it was a very poor and humid country, and that our accommodations a… Read more

Past student Abigail recalls her time on her Central America Gap Semester with Pacific Discovery in a three-part blog series. In part one, we head to Mexico! It was 3 a.m. on February 1, 2021.  The COVID-19 pandemic was raging across the United States. And I was choosing to travel. This may not have seemed like the wisest decision, but I knew that the gap year organization I was traveling with, Pacific Discovery, was taking safety precautions. Masks, routine PCR tests, … Read more

This week we are writing from the Natural Reserve in Cerro Alto where we are beginning to wrap up our wonderful program. This past week was still full of adventure that we are so excited to share with you. At the beginning of the week, we were still working on our service project at the Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center. Everyday, we were divided into 4 groups - birds, sloths/deer/pigs, nocturnals, and monkeys. Each group worked with the current volunteers and staff to he… Read more

This past week has been full of so many adventures! After our Volcan Pacaya hike last week, we stepped it up and climb Volcan Acatenango. This 8 hour hike took us up to an elevation of 11,480 feet (or 3500 meters). We felt like we were on top of the world. The best part? We were right next to the neighboring active volcano, Fuego. From our campsite, we watched as Fuego erupted every half hour. Fuego would alert us of an eruption with a sound similar to thunder, then a br… Read more

Throughout this past month we have had some of the best experiences of our lives. Here are our top 10 most epic moments of the trip so far.  10. The cenotes in TulumOne of my favorite parts of Tulum was getting to experience the various cenotes in the area. A cenote is a cave-like formation, typically with freshwater, where we got to enjoy activities like cliff-jumping and swimming. These formations were also sacred to the ancient Mayan populations, which made the exper… Read more

Did you know that our instructors keep the parents up-to-date on what's been happening each week on program? These weekly emails are undoubtedly something to look forward for the home front. To give you a better idea on what these look like, here's the final update from the incredible instructors Jack and Tari on the Central America Program.   Hey families! Our last week on the Central America semester with this crazy, fun, smart, thoughtful, and hilarious group of st… Read more

Antigua is known for its remarkable volcanic landscapes nearby, so our Central America Program students embark on a multi-day hike in search of volcanoes and high-altitude lakes. Climbing Volcan Acatenango is on the bucket list of most travelers, and our students certainly understand why after this adventure! Read all about this adventure from a student's point of view.   When our hike began, the group was already a bit overwhelmed. We were fraught with emotional turmo… Read more

Matthew and Liv here to give an update on our travels!   We arrived in panajanchel after a long journey hiking through the beautiful mountains and valleys of Guatemala. After a yummy lunch at a local restaurant, we jumped in a boat to head to the yoga retreat! Once everyone arrived, we were very thankful for some warm showers and a nice bed to jump into. The next morning we jumped right into yoga starting at 6:45 am! it felt good to finally stretch out the muscles t… Read more

Hiking Volcanoes in Antigua (by Emily and Anna P)What a week! After a long bus ride to Antigua, we settled into our hotel and set out to explore the cobblestone streets, local cuisine, and distinct culture- everywhere we turned there were mountains and volcanoes! Little did we know just how difficult some of those volcanoes would be to climb. After a day to catch our breath from the travel, we set out on our first “warm-up” hike up Mt Cucurucho. We were supposed to hike… Read more