Endgame adventures is always in a state of becoming. There is no arrival. The journey never ends. The endgame is the understanding that there is no end. As the company evolved we added a service component to have a positive impact on the communities where we travel. We are their guests and appreciate their contributions on this journey of transformation. On a recent surf adventure in Nosara, Costa Rica we traveled down the road to Playa Garza to deliver Easter gifts, play games, and plant trees at the local elementary school.
Adventure travel takes a toll on even the most seasoned of travellers. A day of exercise, surfing and just being in a foreign country is exhausting. Tired and exhausted I pushed the group to do one more activity, the service. I don’t think a person in the van was happy about driving into Playa Garza to plant trees after the exhaustive day we just experienced. However, once we got there the energy intake far exceeded the energy expenditure and led to this renewal that is hard to put into words. In his book “Social Intelligence” Daniel Goleman explains the impact of mirror neurons. The observer imitates the emotional state of the the person being observed as though he or she was experiencing the same emotional state. This is where I believe that service is just as beneficial to the one delivering it as the one receiving it. I can tell you firsthand that at the end of the night when we were doing highs and lows that everyone of the adventure travellers put their high as helping those kids at the top of their list that day and maybe even for the trip. Observing kids receiving unexpected gifts and helping adults beautify a school they care about is priceless. Dream Big. Train Hard. Never Settle.
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