Along the way Alpha 3 were abandoned in Esteli where they were to catch another bus out to their community in Miraflor, whilst after some minor tyre repairs, Alpha 1 and 2 continued on to their respective drop off points.
I was fortunate enough to deploy with Alpha 3 for the first 7 days of the phase. In that time I was able to work and live alongside a fantastic group of people. The project in Miraflor covered a diverse range of activities from tree planting to creating and restoring trails through the reserve as well as being educated on how to make organic compost and building view points.
For many of the venturers, this was also their first opportunity at living with the communities. We were all split into pairs and allocated house parents and for many of us that also involved looking after and playing with our new found brothers and sisters!
All the families were incredibly hospitable and after developing our long-drop skills and mastering the art of washing out of a bucket, everyone seemed more than happy in their family setting. An evenings ‘house-crawl’ enabled everyone to visit each others houses and make comparisons on who has the most number of chickens and who had the smelliest long-drop.
For all of us this was a great chance to put our Spanish phrases into practice even if they were accompanied by many exaggerated hand movements.
Most evenings after work the locals would invite us for a game of baseball on the village plaza. Although the horses had to be moved out the way first, this was far more than an evenings ‘knock-about’. The first strike of the first match saw Christophe destroy the bat but thankfully a few more were on hand. This was a great opportunity to interact with our community and much fun was had by all.
Most evenings after work the locals would invite us for a game of baseball on the village plaza. Although the horses had to be moved out the way first, this was far more than an evenings ‘knock-about’. The first strike of the first match saw Christophe destroy the bat but thankfully a few more were on hand. This was a great opportunity to interact with our community and much fun was had by all.
On our day off we were able to take a short walk to a waterfall where most of us took this opportunity as a chance to bathe. With shampoo, soap and razors in hand we set about beautifying ourselves, much to the amusement of our onlookers!
Unfortunately my time with Alpha 3 came to an end when Julian arrived and whisked me off to visit the other Alpha groups. But all of Alpha 3 send their ‘hellos’ to families and friends back home and many of them have popped letters in the post.
Rachel Staniland(Logistics)
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