Join me on an adventure: Help Costa Rican youth join the 2026 Raleigh International expedition!

I’m going on an expedition with Raleigh international as a Venturer Manager (VM) and creating a full circle moment for myself: I was a Venturer myself in 2005!

While I cover my own expenses (flights, kit, outdoor first aid course etc), your donation (and all fundraising done by VMs) goes towards covering the costs of us "managers" being on Expedition + helps cover the costs of National Venturers joining Expedition, ensuring that Expeditions create impact and are accessible to young people from diverse backgrounds.

(read more about these National Venturers here)

Why does this matter to me?

According to Raleigh's Impact Report, I'm not alone in saying that going on a Raleigh expedition is the best thing I've ever done.

Of all 2024 Venturers, 87% agreed with this statement.

Honestly, it's the craziest, most rewarding, and at the same time challenging thing I've done to date. And I'm certain my life wouldn't be what it is today had I not. (81% of the 2024 Venturers said the same)

I have such enormously fond memories of that entire time - not in the least because of the VMs who shared the experience with us and supported us along the way - and I simply want to relive that, and give back, with 20+ added years of experience, and dare I say lots of new perspectives.

I dug up some pictures from back then, to give you an idea what I'm getting myself into :

Trek Phase (a.k.a Self-Development phase)

The person on the left is me, at 17, during what's called "Trek phase" 250+km spread over 19 days (from memory) with everything we needed on our backs - the biggest adventure of my life to date.

Community phase

Here you see a very pixelated version of me, still 17, hugging my tiny abuela, and the rest of the family that hosted my co-venturer José (a National Venturer) and me during Community phase, where we helped dig a well and connect it to this little community without running water nor electricity.

Abuela and her chickens:

My little host-sister showing me how the bathroom works :

Environmental and Conservation phase:

And finally, our home away from home during Environmental phase.

Built ourselves with bamboo that we chopped down with our very own (borrowed) machetes. (I'm sitting next to Simon on the very left, in the dark part of the picture)

We lived in a national park called La Cangreja, once threatened by logging and deforestation, where we helped build and maintain paths, supporting eco-tourism, which in turn supports conservation, local livelihoods, and long-term protection of the forest.

This by the way, is Ely, one of the National Venturers that joined us on expedition.

His smile got us all through the most difficult moments of the experience. He loved to show off his breakdancing skills (but also taught us some salsa!) and was beyond patient while we practiced our Spanish with him.

He in return, got to practice his English, and - just like the rest of us - incredible lessons in self-leadership, teamwork, confidence and resilience, and an opportunity to meet and connect with people from all over the world.

My experience wouldn't have been the same without locals like José and Ely, and it's precisely young people like them that will get to join the 2026 expedition thanks to your contribution to this fundraiser.

Every contribution helps a local youth join the team, so thank you for your support!

PS: did I mention this is a phone-free adventure? We'll be completely disconnected from the outside world during phases, so I'll be updating you every 3 weeks or so, during "changeover" between projects, at field base in Turrialba.

Final picture:

Me and "my" VM Jo, who has no idea how much her insights and kindness, and the way she once shared how she experienced me as a person, completely changed the way I saw myself … and still influences how I carry myself through the world today.