Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Alpha 3 in Carara National Park

2012-02-19T19:02:00.001-06:00

LastSaturday Alpha 3 arrived comfortably early at the Cara Park after just a threehour journey from fieldbase. Having met the rangers and their giant iguana, wewere shown to the casa verde, just a few kilometres from the crocodiles we sawon our way. We pulled together as a team and managed to overcome thedisappointment that the bamboo wouldn´t be ready for another day so we´d havenot one, but two nights sleeping inside on mattresses! Excitement was also atfever pitch at the prospect of showers and toilet facilities for the wholephase…apart from PM John, who was keen to ´go jungle´, and stick to the bucketplan.

Over thenext few days we met the Rangers who were keen to get us started on the workwe´d be doing; showing us around the jungle that is Carara National Park.On our very first morning we were fortunate enough to see numerous scarletmacaws, ant hills brimming with life and much more wildlife typical of thePark. We were also shown one of Raleigh´s previous projects, a footpath constructedback in 2001, and the area we would be working in during phase one, including a15m wall on which Raleigh Artist Jemma would be orchestrating the painting of amural. It appeared then that there was much to do in a park of some 2500kmsquared, covered by a mere 9 rangers! Our role predominantly entailed thereconstruction of pathways to increase tourist access to the national park,rebuilding stairways and digging irrigation drains along the footpaths. Anexciting prospect for the weeks ahead.

Meanwhile atthe casa verde we began the construction of what was to be our jungle camp;clearing a small area under trees home to capuchin monkeys, and constructingbasha beds, a longdrop and a pathway. It took around a day and a half, but theend result felt well worth it. Not only are there now 15 basha beds, we alsohave a welcome sign, a loo seat, signs directing us to our hometown and what issoon to be a swing. Understandably we were all excited at the prospect of ourfirst night in the jungle, and it lived up to our expectations, since, with thehelp of no rain to test our tarps, the bashas are still holding strong .It wasgreat to start our environmental work on our fourth day, a full schedule ofsourcing rocks for the path made the dinner of masa and refried beans tasteeven better.

In the pastweek, work has progressed at a good rate. Around 600m of pathway has beenconstructed, and the completion of the mural is imminent. It’s tiring, butrewarding work, especially as many tourists walk through, commending us for ourefforts. While we’ve been working we’ve seen our fair share of jungle life –more macaws, a morph butterfly and a poisonous dartfrog.

Alpha 3 hasalso adjusted to life without showers at jungle camp, bathing and washing inthe nearby stream every evening after a long day of work has become a fittingend to some tough days work, and other memorable moments included pancakes onshrove Tuesday, cooked by the indispensable trio of Jemma, John and Adri, in additionto learning Spanish, English, Dutch and Greek!

The next fewdays contain more of the same, mingled with a beach trip and a visit fromfieldbase, and Louisa’s 19^th birthday! We’re tired most evenings,but high spirited and looking forward to the rest of our phase!

Pura Vida!

Alpha 2: Corcovado Trek

2012-02-19T14:26:00.003-06:00

Short, but sweet update from Alpha Two's Pamela on the Corcovado Trek

Trek: unapelea con uno mismo sin duda alguna la mente tiene un enorme poder, nosotros Alpha2 vamos a ganar esta pelea.

Rose:caminar en la jungla y ver con mis propios ojos la belleza de Costa Rica y querealmente esta naturaleza existe y no solo en las películas.

Tom: Hoyfue un día increíble, a pesar de estar cansados, no podría decir que hubo algomalo durante el día.

Bud: Soloespero tener la fuerza suficiente para terminar el día de mañana y lograr quemi grupo esté junto a mí.

Alpha 8: San Jose

2012-02-17T22:47:00.001-06:00

Another Alpha update from Miraflor, this time from Alpha 8's Rachelle who are in San Jose, assisting the community in the construction of a Community Centre.

Challenging does not begin to describe the first few days ofour community centre works... The Nicaraguan sun beat down on us relentlesslyas we toiled in the heat, levelling the slope in preparation of laying the foundationsof the building on day five. A trip to the water hole was therefore muchdeserved leaving the group refreshed, relaxed and raring to go once again.

Our ‘foster’ families have been nothing short of amazing,feeding us far too much and taking far too good a care of us. Although thelanguage barrier has been challenging for some, we have all learnt thatlaughter is an international language and it is fair to say that everyone hasmanaged to bond well with their new Nicaraguan families. A discussion over thedelicious rice, beans and tortillas came to the common consensus that what was,at first, an overwhelming experience, is now an environment where all of Alpha8 are comfortable.

Work continues on the centre and next Wednesday we lookforward to the visit of Bravo One on their road trip next week. To all ourfriends and family at home – we are well and having an amazing time!

Pura Vida!

Alpha 8 x

Sorry that we can't bring you any photos so far from the Nicaragua groups - next week as stated, Bravo One will be visiting and receiving photos from Alphas 6, 7 and 8. Rest assured once we have them, blogs will be update accordingly.

Alpha 7: La Naranjita

2012-02-16T10:36:00.000-06:00

The second of our Alpha updates comes from Alpha 7's Mercedes, up in La Naranjita, Miraflor:

After a lengthy, but interesting journey up through CostaRica and Nicaragua including several bus changes it was pleasing to have allour tools, bags and group members intact as we disembarked in La Naranjita,Miraflor. Immediately we were impressed by the look of the preparatory work putin by the community, and the warm welcome we were given upon our arrival.Pleasing too is the spirit and camaraderie within the group, no word were truerspoken than the old adage, “a good team is a happy team”.

Progress has been fantastic thus far on our project,assisting with an emergency housing project – thus far we have completed onebase and hope to have two more completed in the coming days. PM Matt is livingup to his macho image, getting stuck in with the shovels, and Elliot hasfinally learned that the appropriate label for ‘small cows’ is ‘calves’. Theweather has been kind so far, evident by the number of pink shoulders ande legs wandering around the community!

The hospitality and welcome extended by the community of LaNaranjita is truly special. It’s incredibly humbling to live in such a simple,but happy and successful community and such a profound experience has shown usso much already about life outside ‘the bubble’ of our everyday lives.

Trek this out: Alpha One in Barbilla.

2012-02-15T11:04:00.000-06:00

Today we bring you thefirst update from the Alphas, and as a stickler for tradition, it makeschronological sense that Alpha One’s Azelle who gets us underway:

Alpha One have made a successful start to the TuirrisantosTrek! After a 2 hour snooze on the bus, (due to the previous night’s epic paintparty), we arrived at our start point. Day One was rather relaxed, and despitethere not being room at the ranger station, we were given more than adequate accommodationat a nearby community station. An afternoon of icebreakers ensued; frog murder(a tongue variation of that classic, wink murder) providing much hilarity,especially as poor Hanko was suspected in every round! Well he does play withthat penknife an awful lot...

Day Two was much tougher as we headed into the jungle, whichwas extremely muddy! We all ended the day covered in it, bar Julie, who has thevery annoying talent of staying perfectly clean while the rest of us are filthy!(Ed: Nicely done Julie). How does shedo it?! Another problem of trekking through the bogginess of the Costa Ricanjungle is that we fall over. A lot. But with every muddy fall (even if it isyour 3^rd in 5 minutes), we were able to have a laugh and pullourselves back up again. Various wails were audible throughout the day – “Myfoot is stuck in the mud” – “I think my boot’s about to come off”, from Claire,to rather embarrassingly, “I want my Mummy” from this author. Credit must go toMark in his role as day leader, for motivating us all to the finish. We are allenjoying our Raleigh rations too! A can of tuna with crackers,crushed from being at the bottom of your rucksack all day is absolutelydelicious after a morning of trekking!

Day Three was further trekking in Barbilla National Park,but we found it slightly easier after our tough introduction, andagain credit to day leader Claire, along with ‘tough-but-fair’ Dutch Army PMRoeland aka Chuck Norris aka Rolo (hard on the outside, soft interior) whoensured we reached our finish point ahead of time, and were able to enjoy adelicious and relaxed lunch of salami, noodles and crackers. Props to PM Katiefor that, it not only satisfied our meat craving, but was also a relief toJulie, who after carrying it for three days, was looking forward to not beingfollowed by hungry dogs! We are also learning lots of Spanish from our HCVs,Istvan and Michael; Rosh and Eika are top of the class and Michael’s English,in return, has come on leaps and bounds. He’s now at the point where he’scracking jokes!

We have all bonded really well in such a short time, andAllegra has established herself as Alpha 1 Mum, tucking in everyone’s mosquitonet at night. Tim however, needed no help in that department, as he created themost cocoon like structure, drawing awe from us all. Accommodation has so far,been rather comfy, with showers for 2 out of 3 nights and toilets for all 3,(if you include a long drop!) But don’t get too envious, tomorrow we’recracking out the tents, certainly not for the last time. We’ve now been joinedby Louis who had been at Fieldbase with a chest infection, and missed theopening days. Alpha One are a full contingent and ready to go!

3 days down, 16 to go, and Alpha One are in good spirits,Playa Hermosa here we come!

Adieu, to Bravo Two (said in accent of schoolboy linguist)

2012-02-14T10:37:00.002-06:00

Today we bid farewell to Bravo 2 (Pedro, Kelly, Jayshree,Dave Frazer) as they began their tour of Costa Rica’s stunning south – first stop,La Amistad International Park to visit Alpha 4. As I’m sure you may nowrealise, in the absence of some 94 venturers, 20 PMs and another 4 fieldbasestaff members, things are quieter than snow around Turrialba HQ. Indeed theLogs Team, God bless ‘em, barely know what to do with themselves. After weeksof sorting and sourcing various goods and supplies, a brief period of respiteis as unnatural to them as finding the afore mentioned white stuff blanketingthe Costa Rican countryside.

Later on Bravo One in the guise of Tim, Holly and David willbe visiting Alpha One at San Joaquin, where their fourth day’s trekkingculminates. We’ll be gathering all the goss’ from life on the Turrisantos Trek,and hopefully have some pictures to share with you on the blog tomorrow.

Until then

Pura Vida!

Alpha Update

2012-02-13T10:45:00.000-06:00

The Alpha groups are now settled in at their respectiveprojects and over the coming weeks we’ll be bringing you comprehensive reportsfrom their Project Comms Officers with all the new and views from life onphase. In the meantime, here’s a quick through of the Alpha’s progress to date,hot off the press from this morning’s Sitreps:

Alpha One are making good progress through the BarbillaIndigenous Territory and tomorrow will emerge from the jungle at San Joaquinwhere they will be joined by Fieldbase’s Holly, for a taste of trek.

Alpha Two are also in fine spirits and yesterday had thebizarre experience of walking several kilometres straddling the Costa Rican andPanamanian border. Today they too delve into the jungle.

Alpha Three’s bamboo has arrived and will spend the dayconstructing a jungle camp which will be their home for the phase.

Alpha Four have made a challenge for 'Alpha' status as they have thrown down the gauntlet to the other groupsand almost finished work on an irrigation system in proximity to the paththey will be constructing.

Alpha Five are sorting their accommodation at the rangerstation and are enjoying a ‘fresh’ morning up on Volcan Barva.

Alpha Six arrived at their community of El Portilloyesterday afternoon and have commenced work this morning on their site

Alpha Seven are spending their day planning their workduring the phase with the local maestro, before attending the opening of alocal pre-school this afternoon.

Alpha Eight have also settled in San Jose, and are beginningwork in the sunshine.

Tomorrow the southern leg of Fieldbase’s roadtrip begins asthey embark on a journey visiting Alpha’s One, Two, Three, Four AND Five. Onthe 20^th February the northern team departs to visit the Nicaraguangroups up in Achuapa and Miraflor.

Those of you with your eye on the Tico Times may havespotted that there was an earthquake just before dawn off the coast of southwest Costa Rica! Despite measuring 5.7 on the Richter Scale, some of Fieldbase sleptthrough the whole event and we can report no damage was done to any of thegroups.

We have liftoff

2012-02-11T16:36:00.000-06:00

PhaseOne has been deployed and Fieldbase is now a ghost town, as the buses rumbledout of Turrialba at the crack of dawn. We'll be seeing them at various pointson road trips around Nicaragua and Costa Rica, but for the folks at home,here's what the Alphas will be up to:

Alpha One – Turrisantos Trek

Beginning with achallenging ascent through dense jungle in Barbilla National Park, Alpha Onewill then skirt to the east of Turrialba before passing Guayabo NationalMonument, Costa Rica’s largest archaeological site, and estimated to be around3000 years old. They then enter Tapantí National Park for more wet and muddyjungle adventures before a final week tackling the ridges of the Fila deBustamente towards Cerro Dragon, before bearing for the Pacific and thedelights of Playa Matapalo.

Alpha Two – Corcovado Trek

Commencing in LaAmistad National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Central America’slargest reserve, trekkers can admire the region’s dazzling biodiversity,tumbling cascades and hot springs. From here it is onwards through theagricultural plains of the Coto Brus valley before launching an assaultcross-country over the Fila Costena mountain range. The best is arguably saveduntil last. The groups then descend to Corcovado National Park, the bestpreserved tropical rainforest on the Central American isthmus, before trekkingtheir final three days along the serene coastline of Playas Madrigal, Carateand Piro, enjoying the waters of the Golfo Dulce at the finish.

Alpha Three – Carara NationalPark

Carara wasestablished in 1978 as a biological reserve, but due to growing popularity itwas subsequently given national park status in 1998; it is now the fourth mostvisited in the country. The park lies around 30 miles from the capital, SanJose and includes one of the largest remaining populations of wild scarletmacaw in the country - the dense tree growth of its primary rainforestproviding the perfect home for other avian species including orange-chinned parakeets, jacamars and theblack throated trogon.

This is Raleigh’sfirst project in the park since 2007, and Alpha Three will be working on anaccess trail to Lago Meandrico, alongside general maintenance work in the park.It is hoped that through the development of such facilities, there will besubsequent benefits to the local community in terms of income procured throughincreased visitor numbers.

AlphaFour – La Amistad National Park

A UNESCO worldheritage site, and one of the remotest parts of Costa Rica, this is the firstRaleigh project in La Amistad since 2006, continuing their partnership withSINAC (National System of Conservation Areas).

ParqueInternational La Amistad is shared equally between Costa Rica and Nicaragua andis an important biological corridor protecting tropical habitats, ranging fromcloudforest to paramo, alongside a wealth of biological resources, some uniqueto the area. In 2011, a landslide destroyed one of the main trails up to theValle de Silencio, an important research area for scientists, and thedifficulty of the park’s terrain generally, means that it is relativelyunexplored.

During phase,Raleigh venturers will be working on a new trail to Casa Coca to improve accessto the ranger station at Valle de Silencio.

Alpha Five – VolcanBarva Sector, Braulio Carrillio National Park

This project buildson Raleigh’s strong partnership developed over the past 7 years with ACCVC –Area Conservacion Cordillera Volcanica Central. Located in Costa Rica’s centralvalley, this stunning area of primary cloud forest plays host to a vast arrayof biodiversity, with habitats covered from nearly 3000m down to the calms ofthe Caribbean coast. It’s proximity to San Jose makes it a popular trip forinternational tourists, but the lure of the more popular Poás and ManuelAntonio National Parks means it is relatively undeveloped.

Living andworking in the park, Alpha Five will be assisting rangers in the constructionof a water system for their station, which will aid them in their aim ofcontrolling and managing this important protected area.

Alpha Six – El Portillo, Achuapa,Nicaragua

Basedin the communities of Las Tablas and El Portillo, Alpha Six will be supportingthe community in an eco-latrine project that will not only provide sanitationto the 35 families in the villages – critical for the health of the communityfor generations to come, but can also be used to produce compost forfertilising crops and fruiting trees. Living with local families, they will be assistingwith day-to-day chores and gaining a fascinating insight into a societydifferent to their own.

Alpha Seven – La Naranjita, Miraflor,Nicaragua

Miraflor– ‘Paradise in the clouds’, was declared a natural reserve in 1990 at therequest of its local people, such is the beauty of its resources. Within thereserve, communities have relatively few resources and lack access to basicservices such as education and healthcare. They live by predominantlysubsistence means, but supplement this through small tourism initiatives andcoffee growing.

LaNaranjita was just one of the communities affected by hurricanes at the latterend of 2011, and Alpha Seven will be working on a disaster relief project, rebuildinghouses and assisting their host families with day-to-day chores.

Alpha Eight – San Jose, MiraflorNicaragua

AnotherMiraflor based project sees the return of Raleigh, represented by Alpha Eight,to San Jose, where they will be building a multi-purpose building which will beused for adult education services and community meetings. Raleigh’s previoustrip on Expedition 05J assisted the community in constructing a pre-school forchildren in the village, and this is a great opportunity to renew ties withsome of the most welcoming, and hospitable people in the world.

We’llbe receiving updates from the groups in the coming days as they settle intolife on phase, so check back soon.

SSSSSSSSalsa!

2012-02-10T10:32:00.001-06:00

After the trials and tribulations of the previous twenty four hours,there was only one way to convey one’s feeling of celebration – through themedium of dance. Hosted by Host Country Coordinator, Keiner, and VM, Daniel; amaster class of all things salsa followed, with the HCVs on hand to providedemonstrations, tips and pointers, and an ability to make this writer all too awarethat he has as much rhythm as a lump of rubble up on Volcan Turrialba. I am byno means alone there... Uptake on the whole however was impressive, and beforelong Mambos, Cucarachas, Cocos and Coquittos were executed with the exuberanceof Harry Judd on Strictly.

Today is a diurnal course predominantly focused towardstomorrow’s departure for phase one. So soon? I hear you cry. Indeed it is so.Tools are being sourced and sharpened; bags packed, emptied and repacked withsolely essentials (embrace the aroma on trek) and excitement is reaching feverpitch in anticipation of tonight’s BBQ and party send off.

Jungle Fever

2012-02-09T13:48:00.000-06:00

The weather Gods conspired against Expedition 12B in trulyspectacular fashion yesterday, as the proverbial heavens well and truly openedto drench man and woman alike to the bone. Raleigh venturers however, are madeof sterner stuff, and once they made it to their respective sites it was allhands to the coal face to get camp ready as the rain continued its onslaught.

Venturers were given demonstrations in using bamboo toconstruct basha beds and hammocks, hanging the communal tarp (handy for keepingbags dry) and of course, digging the long drop, before settling in for hot drinks– is there anything a cup of tea cannot solve? Our trekking groups had aslightly different itinerary as they undertook arguably the most fun part oftrek – river crossings – perfecting the huddle and conga techniques in the RioReventazon.

Today began with an early start at 3.30am, celebratedwith that timeless culinary classic of porridge, before it was down with camp,and onto tools training, getting to grips with the mattocks, spades, shovelsand wrecking bars in anticipation of some on-phase labouring in just 4 daystime. Mercifully by this time, the sun had emerged bashfully from behind theclouds, but the morning’s events were far from over – it was time for Casevac(Casualty evacuation). I’d like to reassure you readers, that this was a drill,rather than an emergency situation with groups ringing in reports, constructingstretchers, and carrying their ‘injured’ member to Fieldbase, where remarkably,each and every one of them made a complete recovery.

Congratulations to all our venturers for their achievementsin such adverse conditions and for maintaining good humour throughout. Top effort, and as myold rugby coach used to say: “If it’s not Raining, It’s not Training!”.

12B Project Allocations!

2012-02-08T14:40:00.000-06:00

Turrialba Fieldbase awoke thismorning to a state of excitement and fervour usually associated with birthdays, Christmas and Olympic venueawarding ceremonies. It’s project allocation time for Phase One!

Trekking Groups

Alpha 1 – Turrisantos Trek

AzelleEgbe

ClaireEdgley

EikaWebb

HankoGerritsen

Istvan Sepulvede

LouisWorrall
Mark Fearon

Michael Romero

RoisinCarson

TimothyWelander

AllegraDowley

JulieBalfour

Alpha 2 – Corcovado Trek

AmeliaChristie-Miller

Edward Lilley

Emma Tivey

Jack Griffin

Markus Hjorth

Matthew Moore

Nicole Waller

Sjoerd Baardman

Tess de Jongh

Anna Blackwell

Marvin Uriel Perez

Pamela Quesada

EnvironmentalGroups

Alpha 3 – Carara National Park

Ravenna Westerhout

Alexi Meghir

Charles Pilkington

Deyanira Monterrey

Diana Fisher

Joni Moreno

Louisa Treadwell

Oliver Thomas

Savan Shah

Sian Lewis

Sophie van Woerkom

Mark Wardle

Alpha 4 – La Amistad

Ciara Atkinson

Amy Craddock

Andrew Sweerts

Dara Sternberg

Fleur Jansen

Harol Tercero

Jack Bannenberg

Jose Castillo

Mary Dashfield

RobertSutton-Mattocks

Rosie Henry

Tim A Phoa

Alpha 5 – Barva

Jezreel Lezama

Holly Courtier

Amanda Petersson

Georgina Webster

Harvey Burgess

Jessica Emerson

Joshua Biggs O’May

Sam Horbye

Samuel Marsden

Thomas Edney

Wing Tung Wong(Vivian)

Bryan Lobo

Community Groups

Alpha 6 – El Portillo, Achuapa

Maria Gerono

Daniel Meza

Dougal Mackenzie-Smith

Erika Lobo

Fosca Meyjes

George Moody

James Barlow

Lisa Steinmetz

Louis Manders

Phillip Houghton

Veronique Driebeek

Alpha 7 – La Naranjita,Miraflor

Elliot Gordon

Ant Gallagher

Gustavo Badilla

Ileana Boyes

Liam Ward

Max de Kroon

Mercedes White

Neneh Mae Whiting

PhoebeMackenzie-Smith

Sonia Deiters

Valeria Polimeni

Alpha 8 – San Jose, Miraflor

George Cosgrove

Alfredo Garro

Ben Chowdhury

Bethany Warren

Danielle Dowding

Josie Killen

Kevin Ho

Rachelle Bent

Thea Mikkelsen

Valeria Vasquez

Yuvraj Verma

Groups allocated, it’s straightto packing as the groups prepare for the hike to jungle camp this afternoon.Once there, they’ll be constructing their homes for the night – basha beds andhammocks, enjoying their dinner of pasta and tomato sauce (ranchera is superb)on trangias, before bedding down for the surreal experience of a night at one with nature.

You’ll also be pleased to learnthat our late arrivals have also made it to Fieldbase. Welcome Ben, George,Thomas, Nicole, Danielle and Jose!

****Remember, if you wish to posta message, make sure you leave details regarding who the message is for including surname andwho is sending it*****

Incoming

2012-02-06T13:26:00.000-06:00

Quick update. Team Fieldbase is San Jose bound to pick up the venturers. After all, it wouldn't be much of an expedition without them.... The rest of the VMs are hard at work, toiling away over the project plans, prior to deployment on Saturday. We've got an action-packed week ahead.

***

It begins. Fieldbase is now close to capacity as thismorning we welcomed a fairly tired bunch of venturers to Turrialba HQ, indeed Itoo am struggling to prevent my head from lolling after a late night/earlystart organising sleeping arrangements, feeding and marshalling half-asleepventurers onto buses at the British School in San Jose. A cracking gallo pintowith scrambled egg breakfast cooked by Sandrita and Mireya has been followed byan intense morning of icebreakers, swim tests, admin and accommodation arrangement,and despite the jet-lag, smiles are present all round.

The afternoon has progressed with radio training, thestandard method of communication whilst out on phase, giving the groups chanceto perfect their Maverick/Goose impersonations. Dinner was followed by acomprehensive run through of projects by Country Director Julian, as venturerswere given summaries of the amazing array of projects being undertaken inExpedition12B. The option of evening entertainment in the form of a movie, unsurprisinglyhad a take-up of zero given the hectic previous 24 hours-Tomorrow it’s project allocationand jungle camp.

'Ninja'

Turrialba Fieldbase

Breakfast on the terrace

HCVs in full swing

Pedro and Ross greet the venturers

Spinning around - Rafting and Burn's Dinner

2012-02-04T22:58:00.001-06:00

After another hard week of training, the task masters at Fieldbasekindly gifted the weary VMs a rare day off. Jolly decent of them, and a decisionwell received by all. The substitute for a day of labour: a trip rafting onthe Rio Pacuare; recognised by National Geographic as one of the top five mostbeautiful rafting locations in the world. Surprisingly, there were a mere twoincidents of VMs overboard – congratulations go to Miss Lucinda Ryan, as shefell out on a flat stretch of water in an over-exuberant attempt to splash arival boat.... You have to admire the commitment to anarchy.

The previous night was also an evening of note, as HQcelebrated a belated Burns supper. As I’m sure can be appreciated, haggis issomewhat difficult to source in Central America, nonetheless an outstandingspread was put on by the irrepressible Sandra, heavens knows what we’d dowithout her. All the traditions were observed including some interesting(awful) Scots accents in the group dictation of ‘The Immortal Memory’,alongside fine toasts to the Lairds and Lassies by Caroline and Rossrespectively (token Jocks). In true spirit, dinner was followed by a ceilidh,Gay Gordon’s and Dashing White Sergeant’s attempted with mixed success, in some‘remarkable’ fancy dress costumes.

More PPV business

2012-02-03T10:17:00.000-06:00

With just five days until our venturers arrive from allcorners of the United States of Eurasia, it’s time to check in with the finalAlpha groups who have become very familiar with the Trans-Nica bus service as theyreturn from community sites in Nicaragua. Luckily they were given redemptionfrom more public transport-induced-torture with a lift from San Jose (CostaRica) in the gleaming new Bravos (they’re absolute beauties).

Alpha 6

A6’s Fran Hodge and DoJo Donovan visited their community ofEl Portillo, Achuapa located in the north west of Nicaragua. In phase one thegroup will be living with local families whilst undertaking an eco-latrineproject, which in the long run, will create compost suitable for fertilisingtheir crops. During their visit, Fran and DoJo visited the Co-operative JuanFrancisco Paz Silva, which works with local farmers in the farming of sesameseed and cattle, whilst providing members with health, veterinary and financialservices. A jamming session with DonBrigedo and various culinary treats including a delicious crab soup, weresamples of what will be a fantastic project.

Alpha 7

Fiona Arakelian, Matthew Jewers and Amanda Payne-Danson ofA7 visited their community of La Naranjita, Miraflor, where they will beundertaking an emergency housing project. A spate of bad weather at the tailend of 2011 inflicted major damage on homes in the area and Raleigh will beassisting the community in constructing new buildings from traditional adobebricks. This project is in conjunction with El Foro, an NGO responsible for theco-management of the Miraflor Nature Reserve, with whom Raleigh have worked onnumerous projects in the area.

Alpha 8

Victoria Brennan, Danielle Percival and Clare Wright madethe long trip to San Jose, Nicaragua where A8 will be building a communitycentre. After 4 days on various buses, the common consensus was that Danniwould be an unnatural selection as a companion on future public transporttrips, as she showed minimal resistance to fatigue and slept her way toManagua. Possibly the most surreal moment of the trip came on the ‘chicken bus’to San Jose, as the bus driver stuck on the 80s/90s classics, with Europe’sFinal Countdown being well received by locals and A8 alike. This is not Raleigh’sfirst project in San Jose as several years ago they built a school in thevillage and expedition 12B will be contributing in a similar vein, working withEl Foro to construct an adult education centre/pre-school in the village.

And notforgetting......Alpha 2! (Wouldn’t want a small scale uprising on my hands)

A2’s Daniel Walsh and Lucinda Ryan enjoyed a sampler ofCosta Rica’s Corcovado Trek as a warm up for phase one. Just like A1, they tootackled dense jungle but were thankfully in capable hands, Raleigh vet and MKUltra’s, Oscar Saborio, elder brother of 12B’s very own Daniel, pulling on theboots for a hike in the hills. After a dip in some ‘aguas calientes’ (hotsprings) they bedded down in a local bullring before driving with Raleighstalwarts Dave and Tim to the Laguna Vueltas for another spot of swimming. Whosays trekking can’t be fun. From here they teamed up with local guide, Elvin,to take on the Cerro Pelon, before descending to Venecia for the bus back tobase.

Readers, I belong to you. Whilst I’m in the perhapsunenviable position of editing my own work, at times a guiding light can be asteadying influence, so enclose your undisclosed desires in the commentssection below. Such cross-pollination between your ideas and mine could bequite the overture.

Alphas 3, 4 and 5 return

2012-02-01T11:43:00.001-06:00

Alphas 3, 4 and 5 have returned to fieldbase after anenjoyable couple of days at their respective environmental project sites. Sowithout further ado, let’s get started, following the logical approach ofchronological order:

Alpha 3

During phase one, Alpha 3’s Adri Rodriguez and JonathanBaguley will be leading a group working in Carara National Park, some 30 milesfrom the capital San Jose. Joined on their PPV by special Fieldbase guest JemmaGrundon, they admired the park’s plethora of flora and fauna, and witnessed naturein all its glory – a cat chasing an iguana. Under the stewardship of headranger Gabriel, venturers will be working on an important disabled access routethrough the park, alongside general maintenance trails, whilst gaining theunique opportunity of living in a jungle camp. Jon’s tip: Watch out for theants!

Alpha 4

Consisting of Jessica Soane, Alex Beaumont, Alex Dennis and specialFB guest Alejandra Campos, Alpha 4 made the long trip down to La AmistadNational Park, a UNESCO Heritage site, and one of the remotest regions of CostaRica. On phase the group will be maintaining the ‘Gigantes del Bosque’ trail(Giants of the forest), flattening, adding steps and drainage to a trail around1.5km long which contains a high concentration of avian species, includingcedros and Ira rosa.

Alpha 5

Slightly closer to home than their Alpha 4 counterparts, A5’sAfsana Tahirova, Daniel Saborio, and Caroline Bolt headed out to the Barvasector of Braulio Carrillio National Park and had the pleasure of a night’sstay at the new ranger station. The choice of entertainment for the evening: KungFu Panda 2. Result. Apparently a nightat 2700m above sea level was a chilly affair, yup, that’s right folks even inCosta Rica, Brits know how to complain about the cold. During phase the groupwill be installing a water pipe into the ranger station from a pipe just shy ofthe 3000m mark, and if they’re lucky, will catch a glimpse of the tapirs andpumas that call the dense jungle their home.

Alpha One in Barbilla National Park

2012-01-31T10:58:00.001-06:00

First of all I’d like to offer an apology for the sporadictiming of blog entries this past week. This has been due to the team beingabsent from the office on various training exercises. From here on in, we’ll beas ever present as the mouse and keyboard at your desktop, as you savour allthe news from Raleigh Expedition 12B.

To business; Alpha One have returned from Barbilla NationalPark after trekking the opening 3 days of their phase: The Turrisantos Trek,and it may impress you to learn that this feat was achieved in a mere 2 days(they’re a wily bunch, Alpha One).A morning start at Barbilla Ranger Station allowed the groupstunning views over the jungle and as the sun began its rapid ascent, it seemedA1 were in for an absolute peach of day. Not so. Shortly after entering thejungle the heavens well and truly opened, leaving Katie, Roeland and Dave asdrowned as the proverbial rats (classic idiom). The going was fairly tough overundulating terrain, and the path for most parts was the consistency of kitchencondiments – throw in several river crossings and you’d be forgiven for wonderingif they threw in the towel. That can be denied with a resounding no as goodspirits and ground speed was maintained throughout as they made it to the ValleEscondido (Hidden Valley) to make camp around 2pm.

The next day saw a variation on a theme – more jungle, but atough ascent and the absence of the rain. The previous days deluge had donelittle for conditions underfoot however, but with the bonhomie for which theyare renowned, A1 slogged on and emerged from the trees. A moments rest to allowtheir eyes to readjust from the gloom of the jungle and they were back on theprize – a fairly steep descent through the fields to Bajo Pacuare, the Raleighpick-up, and the ride back to fieldbase. A cracking trip.

Dawn at Valle Escondido

Entering Barbilla National Park

Alpha One's Roeland and Katie

View down to Bajo Pacuare

Dave, Katie and Roeland above the Rio Pacuare

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

2012-01-28T13:49:00.001-06:00

After a tough couple of days in the jungle you would perhapsbelieve that some well-earned R&R would be in line for the brave VMs of12B. Not so. Another day, another trip – its project allocation time.

The ceremony, although lacking the special effects and dramaof an ITV reality show, was no less exciting, as VMs discovered where theywould spending Phase One of Expedition 12B. Sadly this is just the briefest ofentries as we prepare to set off for various destinations around Costa Rica andNicaragua. Nonetheless I’ve helpfully listed the projects and groups below asthey undertake their Project Planning Visits for the next 5 days, so you are aware of your lovedones’ progress:

Treks (all CostaRica)

Alpha 1: TurrisantosTrek

Roeland Terpstra, Katie Philpott + special FB guest DavidWinterflood

Alpha 2: CorcovadoTrek

Daniel Walsh, LucindaRyan

Environment (allCosta Rica)

Alpha 3: Carara NationalPark

Adri Rodriguez, JonathanBaguley + special FB guest Jemma Grundon

Alpha 4: La AmistadNational Park

Jessica Soane, Alex Beaumont, Alex Dennis + special FB guestAlejandra Campos

Alpha 5: BarvaNational Park

Afsana Tahirova, Daniel Saborio, Caroline Bolt

Community (allNicaragua)

Alpha 6: Achuapa, ElPortillo

Francesca Hodge, Joseph Donovan

Alpha 7: Miraflor, LaNaranjita

Fiona Arakelian, Matthew Jewers, Amanda Payne-Danson

Alpha 8: Miraflor,San Jose

Victoria Brennan, Danielle Percival, Clare Wright

Pura Vida!

Marching to the Jungle Beat

2012-01-27T17:28:00.000-06:00

You’ll be pleased to know dear readers, that after 2 daystrampling the terrain around Turrialba, the VMs have returned safe and sound tofieldbase. Hip Hip Hooray etc.

Rewind to Wednesday morning. Four groups were allocated anddesignated a Mountain Leader, who kindly gave a refresher of that timelessrecreational activity – map reading. Following a few hours getting to gripswith the finer points of (compass) needle-work, the Whiskey Groups were ontheir way. One factor which became apparent after only a few minutes trekkingwas the heat – Central America is a far cry from the Cairngorms, and a waterbottle, sunhat, sun-cream combo was essential under the afternoon sun.

After a ‘refreshing’ nights sleep camping on variousfootball fields in the Tucurrique region it was a 3.30am rise in order to makethe next scheduled meet point – for river crossing training! Two techniques canbe adopted for this. First of all, there is the huddle – a 3-4 man effort whichshuffles sideways like a corral rotating on the ebb/a planet of the apes’ styleritual. The second approach is the Gandalf conga – the lead person wielding astaff in the face of the flow (for balance) as the fellow team mates hold on ina column behind as they side-step across in unison. Both beautifully effective,dryness however cannot be guaranteed.

Thankfully it was yet another sun drenched day and clothesdried quickly in preparation for the biggie – Jungle Camp. After someimpressive demonstrations in basha bed and hammock construction, it was thegroups turn to set up for their camp for the night and the VMs didn’tdisappoint with some truly enterprising camp craft – Whiskey One’s DoJo(Joseph Donovan) taking the plaudits for best bathroom; his concealed, andtastefully decorated design, gaining admirers throughout the VM’s. Maybe he’sin the wrong profession....

The unique experienceof a night’s stay in the jungle was perhaps disturbed by the incessant rain onthe covering tarps through the night, but it was yet another early start intime for tool training before the march back to base in time for lunch. If onlyit were so simple. In a spate of ‘accidents’, all medics were struck down withan array of ‘injuries’. I would like to reassure you all, it was just a drill,enabling the groups to practise their medical skills, with all groups making itback to base safely.

Just as you thought it couldn’t get any better, it does. It’sProject Allocation time! Check back soon for info regarding first phase projects,and which VMs will be undertaking them.

Until then

Pura Vida!

Bienvenido II

2012-01-24T19:49:00.001-06:00

Numbers swelled on Monday at fieldbase as fresh facedfrom a 6am San Jose – Turrialba bus ride, the Venturer Managers rolled into HQ– huzzah.

After a traditional breakfast of Gallo Pinto (rice andbeans) cooked by the indispensable Sandra (who has been an ever present sincethe first Costa Rica/Nicaragua expedition) it was onto the tour, with Raleighveterans Pedro and Claire showing the troops (VMs) around the barracks(house/office).

After a refreshing dip in the pool (swim test) it wasback to base for Comms training, setting up radios and practising calling inSITREPs (Situation Reports) to fieldbase – before settling in early to recoverfrom the ardours of trans-Atlantic travel.

The second day of VM training has continued in similarvein. The morning was spent understanding health and safety proceduresresulting in some entertaining performances in the group role plays ( is Tim Saltthe new Colin Firth?) before a comprehensive run through of medical proceduresand theory by our Medics. Lucinda, Joseph, Caroline, Jessica, Clare, Katie andJayshree take a bow. Finally Raleigh guru, Ross gave a run through of packingfor trek; let’s just say hikers will be fairly ‘aromatic’ by the end of it!

The VMs arrive

Comms - a team effort

Radio - pretty nifty piece of kit

Comms Hub

Ninja

Interpretitive New Age Dance/Transport Safety

Interpretitive New Age Dance II

As you may have guessed our training on Wednesdaycontinues with trekking, as groups tackle the Costa Rican countryside. Wildcamping, river crossings, jungle training and Casevacs (Casualty Evacuation) willall be undertaken in the next couple of days. Until then...

Living For The Weekend

2012-01-22T10:49:00.005-06:00

It is now a full week since the Advanced Fieldbase Teamtouched down in Costa Rica and as a reward for their endeavours (pats on theback all round), were given the morning to take a trip up Volcan Irazú on aglorious Saturday. Bravos 2 and 4, both noble steeds, were loaded up and 90minutes later, Team FB (Fieldbase) had ascended through the clouds to thesummit. Scenery aside, a striking observation was the number of cyclistsbattling their way up Irazu’s flanks in the 25 degree heat. We doff our caps toyou; a feat worthy of the upmost respect. Dubbed ‘El Coloso’, Irazú towersabove the city of Cartago at 3432m and the views from the top were spectacularto say the least - the layer of cloud cover below providing an almost heavenlyview (admire Ale’s stunning snaps below).

Sunday/Monday will see the relentless activity atFieldbase kick up yet another gear – the Venturer Managers are on their way.Dave F, Tim and Pedro are San Jose bound to meet the recruits and return themsafe and sound to Turrialba, where they will be welcomed over a breakfast ofGallo Pinto before the fun and games of training begin.

Ralei-leaks

2012-01-20T16:40:00.000-06:00

Title doesn't quite roll off the tongue does it? ....sigh....

I’m a man of my word.As promised here’s the scoop on some of the first-rate projects beingundertaken by venturers on Expedition 12B, you lucky things, you:

Community phase

Miraflor Disaster Relief Housing project, Nicaragua

An incredibleopportunity to work in an unbelievable setting, with possibly the friendliestand most hospitable people on the planet.

The gorgeous MiraflorReserve is 206sqkm of beautiful mountainous terrain with various differentecosystems such as tropical savannah, dry tropical forest and mountain cloudforest.

Within the reservethere are a number of communities living through subsistence farming andgaining income from coffee growing, cattle farming and some small tourisminitiatives. However the people have few resources and lack access to basicservices such as health and education.

Towards the end of2011, Miraflor was hit with a spate of bad weather and Raleigh groups will beworking on a disaster relief project to rebuild houses in communities affected.

AdventurePhase

CorcovadoTrek

Grab yer boots, andlace ‘em tight. This is a corker of a trek.

Starting in thestunning montane La Amistad National Park, the largest national park in CostaRica and a UNESCO World Heritage site, the trek gets the chance to walk throughbeautiful mountain scenery and towering cloud forest. After passing bywaterfalls and hot springs the group will cross the Coto Brus valley to theFila Costena – a chain of mountains that run parallel to the sea.

Once they are out ofthe mountains the group will finish the trek by crossing the famous CorcovadoNational Park that straddles the Osa Peninsula, walking through the bestpreserved tropical rainforest in Central America. The group will have a chanceto see monkeys and Tapirs before the walk along the beaches of the Pacific Oceanfor three days to meet the bus home.

Environmental Phase

Braulio Carillo NationalPark, Volcan Barva Sector

Possibly the closestyou’ll get to playing Tarzan...

This phase willwork at Volcan Barva sector of the Braulio Carrillo National Park – a stunningarea of primary cloudforest situated on the Cordillera Central. Braulio CarrilloNational Park abounds with animals, birds, insects and plants. The reserve actsas a biological corridor between many neighbouring protected areas. Raleigh hasbeen approached to build a water system for the ranger station in this sectorso that the rangers are able to manage and control this important protectedarea.

We are now a fullcomplement of Advance Fieldbase staff as Lucinda our medic has arrived.Hopefully she will be underutilised (I think you understand what I mean bythis). Below is a snap of your advanced fieldbase team. Compliments on haircutsand dress sense are most welcome.

Some Background Information

2012-01-19T12:00:00.001-06:00

With 19 days until the venturers arrive at field base, itwould perhaps be helpful of me to provide some interesting facts on the two magnificentcountries of Costa Rica and Nicaragua....only some of which you may find useful(I love Google).

Costa Rica

Population: 4.64million

Total Area: 51,100kmsq

Where? : Sandwichedbetween Nicaragua and Panama on the Central American isthmus

Predominant Language:Spanish (97%), start brushing up!

Interesting Facts:

- -Costa Rica aims to be carbon-neutral by 2021(the world’s first).

- -Limes are lemons. (struggle to get my head roundthis one)

- -25% of its land area made up by National Parksand Environmental Protection Areas.

- -Top of the New Economics Foundation’s HappyPlanet Index (index of well-being and environmental impact). Great stuff.

Nicaragua

Population: 5.82million

Total Area: 130,370kmsq(largest in Central America)

Where? : CostaRica’s neighbour to the north.

Predominant Language:You guessed it, Spanish (96%)

Interesting Facts:

- -Lake Nicaragua is not only Central America’slargest freshwater lake, but it is also home to Ometepe, the world’s largest volcanicisland inside a freshwater lake.

- -86 of the 88 constellations can be observed fromNicaragua.

- -Daylight saving time is named after the currentruler or political party, therefore 2012’s daylight saving time will be called Sandinistatime after the political party of top man Daniel Ortega. Line that fact up for any dinner parties youmay be attending on the 25^th March.

Remember knowledge is power friends. I'll be back soon with more from field base and some sneakpeeks into some of Expedition 12B’s projects.

Meet the Squadron

2012-01-18T18:31:00.002-06:00

20 degrees on the thermometer and a 3 minute walk to theoffice – Kirsty Allsopp and Phil Spencer would have their work cut out tryingto find a better location. But it’s not all plain sailing for the sterlinggroup of men and women who comprise Team Fieldbase. The past days have seen thembusier than banana salesmen at a monkey convention as they continue theirpreparations for 12B. Time to meet the squadron:

The‘veteran’ of the team, Julian is ourCountry Director and started working for Raleigh in 2001. Aside fromproviding Stephen Fry-esque tidbits of knowledge, he will be liaising with ourproject partners, focusing on our external relationships, project planning,funding and business development.

No-nonsenseCountry ProgrammeManager Ross has worked his way upthrough the ranks since 2006, previously working as Logistics Manager,Expeditions Leader and Accounts. His main responsibility lies in the delivery ofthe expedition programmes and management of our volunteer managers; running and organizing allexpeditions.

All action man and Country Expedition Manager PedroRodriguez/Peter Rogers is responsible for the day-to-day running of allexpeditions, and ensures that everything here at HQ runs smoothly. He spendshis days making sure that all project managers are fully trained, knowingexactly where to go and what to do at what time.

The unsungheroes, and lifeline of the team are the logistics cohort; the tireless workerswho ensure the venturers have all the necessary kit, are properly fed, and takecare of the vehicle maintenance to enable the delivery of supplies mid-phase.Grafting away behind the scenes for all hours, they perhaps don’t get thecredit they deserve, but the simple fact is that Raleigh couldn’t functionwithout them. They are Claire, Dave, Tim, and Kelly – workhorses and decent folk to boot,everyone one of 'em.

Jayshree is our administrator overseeing a whole rangeof nitty gritty details ranging from passports to insurance, and making sureall our documents are up to date and the Project Managers are suitablyorganized.

Holly is our Accountant, managing the budget and‘keeping our house in order’. From preparing project budgets, to auditingexpenses, Holly also runs the Raleigh shop – stocked full of home-comfortsready for changeover between phases – and currency exchange.

Chargedwith bring Raleigh to life is our photographer Ale. She will be ensuring that everyone leaves with unforgettablememories, as well as making sure that you lot back home can get a glimpse intolife at Fieldbase, and out on project.

Workingclosely alongside Ally is the Communications Officer, yours truly dear readers,I go by the name of David. I’ll beattempting to find words to describe the multitude of magnificent work ourventurers will be undertaking on Expedition 12B, keeping you at home updatedvia the blog.

Finallythere is Splatches the dog, unofficialRaleigh Costa Rica/Nicaragua mascot who enjoys the enviable balance of no workand all play. I’m considering applying for her role next time….

(Team photo to follow imminently - Ally is away in San Jose)

Splatches

Sport of Kings

Tim seeing to the Bravos

Bravos

After-dinner Anecdotes

Business Time

Logs Team

A Warm Welcome

2012-01-16T22:13:00.001-06:00

Bienvenidos! Welcome to the blog for Raleigh Expedition 12B!

Over the coming weeks we hope you think of us as a companionas comforting as a cup of tea (Earl Grey), your favourite teddy bear, or thesoothing tones of an Attenborough nature-narrative; we’ll be here to provideyou with a one-stop destination for all the news regarding Raleigh’s firstexpedition of 2012 in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

The advance team of project managers arrived in Turrialbathis morning, and fieldbase is a hive of activity as they get to grips withtheir new roles, settle in to their new surroundings, and put the finishingtouches to what is sure to be an unbelievable adventure.

More information will be forthcoming as we meet the team inthe coming days, until then.

Pura Vida!

The time has come...to say goodbye

2011-12-17T11:13:00.000-06:00

Wow fieldbase is quiet just now! Just the PMs and a few slightly lost looking venturers remain. Yes, ladies and gentlemen the awesome 10 weeks that was Expedition 11L has come to an end.

There were tears, laughter and heartfelt goodbyes this morning as the venturers boarded their buses to Nicaragua, the airport, and Puerto Viejo (the beach!). It has been an amazing experience for all concerned, lifelong friendships have been made, unforgettable experiences stored away, and blood sweat and tears put into every phase.

The venturers have been amazing putting their all into every challenge they face. Many have surprised themselves with what they’ve achieved, pushing themselves to their limits and beyond; be it tackling yet another steep climb on trek, digging the hundredth metre of trench on an environmental project or getting to know a Nicaraguan family when there is no common language.

Everyone on Expedition 11L can be extremely proud of their achievements both as individuals and as groups that have had a truly positive impact during their time here.

Our treks (Guanacaste, Turrisantos and Miratombo) have taken in some of the most stunning landscapes in Central America, in the South and North West of Costa Rica, and in Nicaragua. Trekking more than 270km over 19 days, the intrepid adventurers have met the challenge of pouring rain, blazing sunshine, steep climbs and long days on the road...and come out smiling.

Our environmental projects had an amazing impact across Costa Rica. In the stunning Cerro Chirripo national park, volunteers cleared over 1.5km of path, improving access for visitor. In La Cangreja, the groups dug over 300m of trenches in hard, rocky ground, and laid water pipes that will enable further improvement of facilities in the national park. Finally, in an ongoing and very valuable project at Playa Hermosa, volunteers gathered and saved thousands of turtle eggs as well as releasing hundreds of baby turtles into the sea.

We have run community projects in San Nicolás and Las Brisas in Achuapa and El Cebollal in Miraflor. In El Cebollal we built a youth centre, in 2 phases, that will provide young people in the community with somewhere to meet and will also help to grow eco-tourism in the area. In Achuapa, the volunteers built gravity waterfeed systems and wells that hugely improve access to clean water in those communities.

So it’s time to say goodbye folks. On a personal note, it’s been an amazing experience. From being lucky enough to go on the Guanacaste Trek with an amazing group of venturers in phase 1, to updating the blog, organising the magazine and getting to visit the groups in both Costa Rica and Nicragua. For each group I visited, I was always amazed at the enthusiasm on show, and how venturers and PMs coped with the challenging, unfamiliar circumstance they faced, A true inspiration to me for one, and, more importantly to each other.

Goodbye Expedition 11L and thanks for the memories.

Pura vida y Feliz navidad!

The final group blogs...

2011-12-14T19:30:00.000-06:00

Zulu 1 final blog

6^th December

Today we walked 12km, 10 of which were up hill, we passed many farms and coffee plantations in order to reach the electricity pylons where we had to camp(which was a first for all of us)!

On the 7^th December we headed into the jungle and had to cross a precarious ‘Indiana Jones’ style bridge. Reaching our first peak ‘chunta’ 2582 m above sea level gave us extra motivation and after more muddy and unpredictable terrain we reached our next peak ‘Esperansa’ 2842m up. This was beautiful, as we were looking over the whole jungle. The community centre was already in use but we managed to stay in the back of a charcoal warehouse. On a good note, it was supposed to take 9 hours, and only took us 6!!

The 8^th December was a very long day in terms of distance but all the walking was along a highway.

The 9^th December was another very long tiring day but with some amazing scenery. Despite being just one long track we had views of the Pacific and walked very high up. The campsite itself was great, high up in the hills we had to prepare for our tough day of climbing ‘The Dragon’.

On the 10^th December we climbed the mountain known as ‘The Dragon’, the sun was out so the views at the top were the best we could have asked for. We passed two snakes called ‘mata’ (or as Bruce explained meaning ‘ox killer’) and an armadillo on our way up. Matt decided on the way down we would skip going back through the jungle and just climb down the face of the hill. This meant sliding down our backsides for most of us! We then continued to the destination of our next stop, a large wooden building that we soon found to be occupied by scorpions!!

The 11^th December our travels took us to a river which because of the chemical reaction turned the water a green aqua colour. We didn’t complete the amount intended because the hills slowed us down so much. We were lucky enough to be taken in by a family who let us camp in their drive as struggled to find a suitable place to sleep!

On the 12^th December, we had the final push to the beach. With a 3am wake up we had to trek the final 25km. This was a long never ending road, surrounded by palm trees eventually leading us to the main road. All of us were so excited when we finally got to the last stretch and could see the sea in the distance. We all threw off our rucksacks and boots and ran into the sea fully clothed! What an amazing moment, everyone was so thrilled and congratulated each other. We had the beach to ourselves, surrounded by coconut trees and we celebrated with marshmallows on the bonfire.

What we have achieved: milestones accomplished

We walked from the Caribbean to the Pacific ocean,

We climbed Volcan Turrialba

We saw the Costa Rican monument

We climbed the Dragon Mountain

We all made it to Playa Palo Seco

All this by walking through jungle, clay tracks, main roads, national parks, gravel, mud, rain drenched farms and lots of different terrains.

QUOTES

Favourite moment of trek:

Sarah: “When we climbed to the top of Volcan Turrialba and the mist cleared, after we’d been walking in the rain all day, so we got to see all three craters in the beautiful sunshine and look down from above the clouds..amazing!!

Cristiany:’The very first day going through the jungle surrounded by all the wildlife and so many different types of trees’

Heading into the jungle.

Volcan Turrialba

Zulu 1 going strong...

....fuelled by energy bombs!

Zulu 2

Zulu 2 have now finished their trek in Nicaragua, taking in some amazing views, braving blisters, bites and sunburn to emerge triumphantly at our final destination with the magnificent scenery of Lake Asososca.

Throughout the trek, we stayed at a combination of schools, farms, community centres, and tents, relying on the kindness of the locals to guide and host us with somewhere to sleep for the night and they were always extremely helpful and friendly.

In the last few days we summited Volcan Cerro Negro and reached the top for sunrise. We all sat on the warm rock and admired the astonishing views from the edge of the crater.

Whilst the ascent took an hour or so, the way down was an exhilarating 2-minute sprint and Zulu 2 ran down Cerro Negro in a cascade of black sand.

Later that day we tackled another mountain to reach a picturesque campsite overlooking Volcan Miratombo and Lake Managua.

We finished on a high by running into the lake all holding hands with a necessary and well-deserved swim.

The trek was hard work and challenging at times but was hugely rewarding.

'I reckon it's this way!'

Just one of many stunning views

The group check the map again!

A brief stop off at El Cebollal...where Alpha and X-Ray groups built a community centre

Lake Asososca: the group's final destination

Cerro Negro - the descent

Zulu 3

We survived! Zulu 3 have finished their amazing jungle phase and are back a t fieldbase for a final few days. We managed to lay 218m of pipes and are now eagerly awaiting the cake that the PMs promised us if we reached 200m!! The rangers were also really pleased with our work and so made us a lovely celebratory dinner on the final night.

We all agree that this has been a really enjoyable phase with the highlights including dressing up with costumes made from our surroundings fro the ‘jungle rave’, swimming in the beautiful Rio Negro next to our camp, and eating the ingenious mess-tin cakes.

It has been a truly unique experience living and working in the jungle. We are all proud of the positive contribution that we have made to the park and have taken away many great memories. Pura vida!

The farewell meal

Jesus treat the group to empinadas.

The jungle rave!!!

Ally completes the Raleigh sign

Zulu 4 final blog:

Life’s a beach!

Zulu 4 are still enjoying life at the beach, liberation was even more exciting for Jeanette and Gemma when they found 47 natural born turtles just hatched on the beach. With the help of Don Marco they were rescued from the driftwood and released with the other turtles.

After a week of hard work with the turtles and rangers along came a day off and a trip into the local town, Playa Hermosa.

After a 7km walk, it was time for an amazing lunch.

“The tuna steak was amazing, so fresh and tasty.” Hilmar relished in not having to eat re-fried beans and Daisy counted her strawberry milkshake as the best she’s ever had.

Tummies full, it was time for an afternoon stroll along the beach back to camp, where they were met by returnees Alice, Gemma and Jeanette.

A birthday weekend lay ahead of us! With energy bomb birthday cakes and homemade presents, Alice and Gemma celebrated quite possibly their best birthday yet. As night patrols were cancelled, we had a lot more time to spend on hatchery shifts and with the group. Lucky-oke with Bon Jovi and a Scottish Eminem (PM Julie!) performing and a very competitive Brainiac quiz definitely kept us entertained.

The last sunset and saying goodbye to the turtles and the rangers was a perfect ending to an amazing phase.

Birthday celebrations for Alice and Gemma

Skit practice!

A fond farewell to Playa Hermosa

Zulu 5

The final week in Las Brisas, Achuapa saw Zulu 5 working very hard to finish the water project. Two wels were made from scratch, two were improved, 15m3 of rocks were collected, trenches were dug and pipes were laid. This will benefit 26 families, almost 200 people in total.

Before this project a single person would walk at least 300m to collect water and carry it home but now they have water readily available in their homes. This will enable people in Las Brisas to spend more time on daily tasks.

“It was a great experience working with the locals and making a real difference in this community,” said venture Josue.

The venturers and the PMs formed a tight knit bond with the community and the families they stayed with. There was always something happening in the village where the locals and Raleigh volunteers interacted, be it a football match or a trip to the waterfall.

The time spent in Las Brisas has enabled those who speak Spanish to practice their speaking skills and those with limited Spanish to learn new words and phrases. The group even attended a Spanish lesson run by a local lady who gave her time voluntarily.

“The lessons were extremely useful and helped me interact with my family,” said venturer Jayne.

The final days of phase 3 were tough, especially in the scorching heat but Zulu 5 came together with blood, sweat and tears to complete the project. Community leader Don Eladio stated: “Raleigh has really made difference in this community. The family thoroughly enjoy having the volunteers staying in their homes.”

On the penultimate day, Zulu 5 were lead up a mountain by the some of the locals. They saw a spectacular view of Achuapa, a volcano and a beautiful sunset. The evening was spent singing songs, both Spanish and English, and playing guitar around the campfire. Early next morning the descended the mountain and returned home to pack and spend time with their families before their departure.

Zulu 5 then met at Don Adrian’s house to see the first tap turned on. “It made me realise that people would have more time now that the water was readily available in their own home,” said Jasper on seeing the tap turned on.

The last night in Las Brisas was spent partying! The locals organised a huge party, with a live band, a piñata, food and dancing. It was an unforgettable night.

Emotional goodbyes and gift exchanges between venturers, PMs and the residents of the village took place as Zulu 5 left Las Brisas.

The group take a well-earned rest

Spanish lessons

Hot work

Hi ho hi ho, it's off to work we go!

Festive fieldbase

2011-12-13T14:06:00.000-06:00

As the Zulu groups are enjoying their last full day on phase – the Nicaraguan groups wending their way home, the environmental groups packing up camp and Zulu 1 sunning themselves on the beach – the fieldbase crew are feverishly preparing for their arrival.

And, quite rightly, we are getting in the festive spirit...decorations are going up, Christmas tunes are blaring out and presents are being wrapped. Most importantly though, the leaving party (festive-themed of course) is being prepared and what a party it’s going to be!

In amongst all that, reports are being written, award shortlists being drawn up, presentations prepared and, the all-important fieldbase skit being fine-tuned.

So with the groups returning tomorrow, I will leave you with some images of fieldbase’s preparations.

Presents ready and wrapped for children on a local indigenous reserve

A festive logs manager!

DPM Brie busy preparing for the Christmas party

Santa and her elves paid a visit to Playa Hermosa!

Zulu groups...the home stretch

2011-12-12T23:15:00.000-06:00

Unbelievably the end of Expedition 11L is nigh, Wednesday will see the groups return to fieldbase for the final time as phase draws to an end. A few days of skits, awards, rafting and tearful goodbyes will follow but before then here’s a final update from the Zulus.

A quick reminder: Please do not send any more post from now on as it will not reach us before the venturers leave.

Zulu 1: After some 270km of trekking Zulu 1 are currently enjoying a well-earned rest at the beach at Palo Seco. Bodies are weary, feet are sore but spirits are high. Well done Zulu 1.

Zulu 2: Completed the Miratombo Trek in Nicaragua on Sunday and rested their weary bones at the stunning Lake Asososca. They have seen some amazing sights during their 250km trek and enjoyed some beautiful weather. Tuesday and Wednesday will see them continue to cover some impressive distances but this time by bus rather than foot.

Zulu 3: Continue to impress and amaze the rangers as they tackles set for them. They have dug over 220 metres of trench and laid the corresponding pipe. They were able to celebrate by turning on the first tap in the system. A truly awesome group!

Zulu 4: Have been continuing with their turtle patrols and work in the hatchery. They have also been doing great work around the rangers’ station. They also celebrated Alice’s birthday on Sunday with a fine energy bomb cake.

Zulu 5: Working across 4 project sites, the group have been making great progress improving wells, digging trenches, and laying pipes for water that will benefit many families in the community. They will begin their long journey back from Nicaragua on Tuesday,

So that’s almost ladies and gentlemen, all the groups are safe and well and enjoying their few days on phase. It will be an action-packed few days at fieldbase before they are homeward-bound.

It's all go in the jungle with Zulu 3

2011-12-11T11:20:00.000-06:00

We're sorry for the lack of blogs from Zulu 3 but here they are now with a Spanish blog from Jesus.

The Bravo 1 roadtrip was with the group on Thursday and Friday and they are all doing extremely well. Their pace and quality of work (over 200m of trench dug) has impressed the rangers. and when not working hard they are certainly playing hard as you will see in the blog.

Raleighando – En La Cangreja por Jesús y Millie

Son las 5.35am y es la hora de… Zulú 3. En la selva de Parque Nacional La Cangreja aun oscuro tres dormidos ventureros se levantan para preparar desayuno. Basta con hervir agua, agregar avena, dos docenas de azúcar, canela y leche y el tradicional porridge está listo. Amanece y los primeros rayos de luz atraviesan el fichaje del bosque, momento de iniciar la caminata cuesta arriba, hacia la casa de los guarda parques. Pico, pala y caratillo es lo necesario para continuar. Trabajando cavando la lanza de 70 centímetros de profundidad entre el recoso suelo.

El trabajo es arduo y pesado sin embargo el equipo ha logrado cavar más de 218 metros, colocar un grifo para beber agua, limpiar senderos y pintar algunos letreros.

Con el sol de mediodía, llega el momento de regresar al campamento para almorzar – pasteles de atún, empanadas de refried beans o soya, noodles con vegetales, panqueques y los ingenios queques mess tin de ken nunca antes vistos en Raleigh! A la hora de bañarse en el rio negro frese naturales jacuzzis y posas de limpia cristalina agua.

Por la tarde es común jugar el adictivo ‘monopoly Deal cards’, actividades planadas por Kelly, Vic y Ken como el ‘pop quiz’, ‘ready, steady, cook’, y ‘Raleigh Prison Break’. La navidad esta cerca y como es común en Holanda celebramos el día de San Nicolás (5 de diciembre) – Marette, Friso y Eleonore algunas confites y galletas de bajo del improvisado árbol de navidad hicieron memorable este día.

Por la noche el plan es irse de fiesta. El requisito para entrar a Zulú 3 discoteque es verter ropa hecha con hojas y naturaleza, algunas snacks, cinco queques de: limón, chocolate, marshmallows y jalea y una increíble fogata a guardan el Bar de la mono borracho.

No hay dude de que Raleigh ha sido una experiencia para nunca olvidar, a pesar del cansancio, mosquitos, ropa olorosa y trabajo arduo, basta salirse de la rutina de cada día, entrarse a la montana y probar de que estamos hechos y quienes verdaderamente somos. Atrás se quedaran los arboles, las aves, la lluvia, el rio y los momentos inolvidable para Zulú 3 en el increíble Parque Nacional La Cangreja.

Zulu 3 hard at work clocking up the metres!

Blogger Jesus cooking up a storm with PM Kelly

The Zulu 3 swimming pool

Home sweet home AKA Jungle Camp

A Spanish update from Zulu 4

2011-12-10T19:48:00.000-06:00

Here's a Spanish blog from our Zulu 4 comms team in Playa Hermosa; Jahari and Jeanette.

Mientras todos dormían, las laboriosas Jeanette, Gemma y Molly salieron a trabajar...redactando huevos en una larga noche de patrulla; pero el trabajo duro fue recompensado con un exitoso encuentro de huevos de Tortugas negras.

Don Marcos realizo una interesante presentación para nosotros y aprendimos mucho sobre las diferentes especies de Tortugas y su conservación.

Todo puede pasar: el otro día algunos de los muchachos en su guardia encontraron una Tortuga albino, si eso dije una Tortuga albino... y como todo puede pasar ahora se llama Zulú… cuidamos mucha de ella o el...y ahora se está preparando para ser liberada e ir a casa en el océano.

Y el valiente Hilmar tomo a un cocodrilo por sus fauces y en una constante lucha tu a tu, fue capaz de dominar al cocodrilo... si y el valiente Hilmar salió victorioso con el cocodrilo en hombres… y el cocodrilo no medía 2m, ni 3m, ni 5m.. No. Medía 40cm!

Mientras tanto en el campo Jahari y Jeanette preparaban el mejor de los almuerzos que Zulú 4 había podido tener....si señor estas muchachas se mandaron con el almuerzo! Una riquísima sopa con todo; yuca, pasas, plátanos y lo principal noodles! Hasta el suertudo de Erick pudo disfrutar, de la riquísima sopa.

Zulú 4 esta completo y listo para el gran campeonato de voleibol que se realiza en Playa Hermosa... hagan sus apuestas! Porque Zulú 4 ya comenzó, cada día por la tarde tienen un duro entrenamiento y creo que cuentan con los mejores jugadores del mundo entero: Julie, David y Brian.

Trabajo, trabajo y más trabajo?! No, no, no. También se dan su escapaditas par ver todos juntos la puesta de sol.

Y a Don Marcos y Jhonny quienes se fueron hoy... que tristes son las despedidas y más aun cuando el adiós es a alguien tan especial...Siempre se les recordará y mil gracias por todo.

Playa Hermosa: home of the stunning sunset

Zulu 4 jungle camp...bashas all in one piece!

Hilmar's reptilian nemesis!

Zulu 4 hard at work in the hatchery...

.... and relaxing at home.

Zulu 5 Update by Sarah Church and Clare Jones

2011-12-09T16:45:00.000-06:00

A free day for Zulu 5 began with breakfast with their families before all meeting at 7.30am. The group were guided by the locals a short walk down the cobbled pathways to a spectacular river and waterfall. A total length of 13 km, the river runs from Las Brisas into Achuapa. Zulu 5 enjoyed a day of swimming, sunbathing and interacting with the locals A clear blue sky and strong heat made the scene even more beautiful.

At midday the Venturers and PMs returned to their homes to eat lunch before participating in a friendly baseball game with all the locals.

“It was fun to mix and play with the locals” says Anna and Emma thought it was a ‘unique experience playing with the locals, both old and young!’

After baseball everyone joined in with the daily football match until sunset. The group were greeted by Fieldbase Ross, Randy, Tom and the newest member of Zulu 5, Duncan. The group sadly had to say goodbye to Owen, the PM, who has been awesome in Achuapa!

The family of Serena and Clare organised a fiesta in the evening in which everyone was invited: live music, home cooked food and dancing made it a special night in Las Brisas. Zulu 5 are enjoying forming bonds with their respective families and learning about their culture.

Fun days of socialising before a very busy week of work, as the group really want to finish all the projects that have been set.

Zulu 2 ... Laughter and Lost Flip Flops

2011-12-09T10:25:00.000-06:00

After 10 totally amazing days of trekking with Zulu 2 I have returned to field base (sorry it’s Brie, the expedition DPM!) in definitely a physically fitter state, 10 days of walking will have that effect! In order to regale my tales of laughter, lost flip flops and stunning views on the Miratombo trek ... and what a trek it was!

We started off with the 2 day travel up to the community of El Cebollal in Miraflor taking in the youth centre that Alpha 6 and X-ray 6 build over the last couple of phases as well as all the hard work that both the two groups put in to getting it finished! From there we turned east taking in all the spectacular scenery that Miraflor has to offer before heading down through the community of los Apantes and making our way down towards Estelí. Whilst passing to the East of Estelí we managed to find time to take in a beautiful Waterfall at Estanzuela before heading along the mountain ridge that run south through Nicaragua displaying some stunning of rolling green fields and pretty rural villages. The group are currently on the final furlong heading towards Malpaisillo and on to the final destination of Cerro Negro, an amazing black volcano, and El Hoye, a volcanic crater lake, where the group will finish camping along side this spectacular sight.

But it wasn’t all walking, fantastic views and random chats about whether you would rather have cheese for arms or bacon for legs. We also had some very important decisions to make along the way, including Bone head of the day. The winner of this much coveted award got to wear (usually drawn on in pen) a moustache for the day as there prize, which would have been hugely funny had the winner of this prize 90% of the time not been me!

The Miratombo trek for me has been an amazing experience, we met so many kind and generous people on each leg of the journey and the Zulu 2 group has been amazing giving 110% of effort along the way. All of which made this an experience I will take with me forever.

Zulu 2 Update

2011-12-04T10:12:00.000-06:00

Ahoy there. A quick update on Zulu 2 to say they are progressing well with their trek to reach the monumental Momotombo Volcano. They have passed the town of Estelí and are now walking through the rolling hills and jungle that surround the area. As they are still massively out in the sticks we haven't had a chance to get any photos from them directly, however to give you a feel for the part of country they are in, here are some pics taken by our recent road trip to the area.

It really has been wet for Zulu 1

2011-12-03T18:36:00.000-06:00

If you thought Barney was over-exaggerating when describing the weather on the Turrisantos Trek...here's the evidence!!

Rain!

Rain and a river crossing

More rain!

Rain and heavy bags!

But then the amazing generosity that we meet time and time again in Costa Rica...a lovely lady feeds Zulu 1 coffee and cakes and lets 12 wet, muddy trekkers stay in her beautiful home. Pura vida!!!

Nice weather for ducks (Barney)

2011-12-03T14:49:00.000-06:00

Following our unforgettable summit of Volcan Turrialba, Zulu 1 continued our trek towards the Pacific coast in the torrential rain. Passing through Wetsock city and Crinklytoez we made our way to El Monumento Nacional Arqeologico Guayabo where the group was, understandably, more interested in a first shower in 5 days than any archeological site!

Spirits were further lifted by a fantastic salami and chickpea curry cooked by the team with ingredients from local Pulperías to celebrate Dinora’s 19^th birthday. A tasty birthday cake, resourcefully made from condensed milk, chocolate powder, raisons and porridge, complete with candles, more than made up for our 5^th consecutive night of rain.

Following this we took on some mighty hills and squelched our up various river banks until we reached the small village of Silencio in the hills around Turrialba. Here we struck gold when a generous old lady invited us into her house to drink coffee, eat cake and even use her tumble dryer! Smiles all round despite our tired feet, and time to say goodbye to Barney who tags out with another Raleigh medic, Matt, stepping in to join Zulu 1 on their adventure towards the sea. Pura Vida!

Zulus 4 and 5 - settled in and working hard!

2011-12-02T09:33:00.000-06:00

The time is flying by, we’re already almost a week into phase 3 of Expedition 11L and all the groups are truly making the most of their last few weeks with Raleigh. Below are updates from Zulus 4 and 5, who are settled into their homes for the next 19 days and cracking on with the work.

We have been promised a blog from Zulu 2 this afternoon so will post that asap, suffice to say the Nicaraguan Trekkers are safe and well and enjoying much better weather than we are here at fieldbase.

Bravo 1 is meeting up with Zulu 1 for a food drop this afternoon and we will endeavour to return with some photos of their last few days.

Zulu 5 (Clare)

After two long days of travel on the TransNica coach Zulu 5 eventually met their host families and settled in to their homes. An early start on the first day of work was in order as the group were informed of their jobs.

Zulu 5 joined forces with the locals to help repair the main road running through the village. The sun was beating down and enthusiasm surrounded the group as they dug, lifted heavy rocks and shovelled gravel. The venturers and PMs learnt more about the village and inhabitants as thy chatted whilst working.

To celebrate Jasper’s 19^th birthday all of the children in the village performed a showed which was dedicated to the birthday boy! Talents were shown all round and the children sang, danced and acted. The show ended with the children singing happy birthday...Jasper was very appreciative.

After much dancing and laughter with the locals, we all had a massive game of ninja. The children even continued when the venturers retreated to bed.

We’re enjoying our experience in Achuapa and eager to complete the work as soon as possible.

Zulu 4 (Alice)

Beach here we come, vamos a la playa!

After a hearty breakfast, we set off on a 4-hour journey to paradise. We arrived at Playa Hermosa with our nine barrels of food and high hopes of saving baby turtles. However we did a slight setback when we had to dig the bus out of the sand. Fourteen strong venturers, four spades and donkey-loads of manpower pushed Don German’s bus onto solid ground.

Our first task was to build basha beds we could trust and rely on for our much needed sleep over the next 19 days – please note some were more stable than others!! After pimping jungle camp complete with kitchen, diner and a group chillout spot, we finished the day off nicely with traditional Raleigh pasta and sauce.

Harneel jump-started the first working day with a serenade for each of us. After delicious porridge, we headed to the ranger station to meet the rangers and were set to the task of clearing the area around the forest. Throughout the next few days we all adjusted to the night patrol and hatchery routines. The rangers are extremely knowledgeable and we spend a lot of time learning about turtles and the importance of protecting them.

Zulu 4 have already started some friendly competition with a beach volleyball game. It is safe to say we all need a lot of practice! Dripping with sweat we finished the day with a paddle in the sea. Under a perfect sunset, Daisy noted that she had not had this much in all her teenage years. Something even the old fogies in the group could relate to!!

The turtles head for the sea.

A Playa Hermosa sunset...a fine reward after a hard day's work!

Who said the jungle was tough??!!

2011-11-30T10:47:00.000-06:00

Here's an update from Zulu 3 (by blogger Serena) who are certainly making the most of their time in the jungle and setting themselves some though challenges.

The Zulu 3 jungle warriors have arrived and settled into camp where we will be living in deep jungle for 19 days. Whilst here we are digging a trench and laying water pipes to supply water for a project that includes building a wheelchair access path and providing toilet facilities to visitors to the national park.

The work is very tough because of the rocky ground but we are all motivated by our PMs’ promise of a cake if we make 200m of pipe and our desire to beat the previous group!!!

In the middle of snakes, spiders, tropical birds, poisonous frogs and other wildlife we have set up an amazing jungle camp albeit with a few collapsing basher beds (belonging to Jesus, Friso and Annie).

We work hard in the morning but have time to play games and enjoy camp in the afternoon. We are midway through a weird and wonderful game of human cluedo and have a Ready, Steady, Cook competition, pub quiz and Raleigh prison break to come.

Out of our humble jungle kitchen, we have already been provided with tuna fish cakes, onion rings, brownies and an incredible fudge cake by Ken. We can’t wait for the next one!

The rangers are very friendly, the river is crystal clear and our beds are waterproof. We are all okking forward to the next two weeks in the jungle.

Pura vida!

Bravo 1 will be visiting Zulu 3 next week so we will return with photos of their work and impressive sounding jungle camp.

Zulu 1 off to a flyer

2011-11-30T10:03:00.000-06:00

Bravo 1 are back from their first roadtrip and have brought an update from Zulu 1 blogger Katie. This is followed by a report on our epic ascent of Volcan Turrialba.

We started walking at 9am on Saturday morning with our jungle guide Helberth. The day started with some particularly boggy areas where we went up to our calves in mud. People were quite apprehensive going through it and getting stuck in the mud so PM Bruce inspired us by yelling “get in the mud!” every five minutes!!!

In terms of distance we completed 5km which doesn’t sound like a lot with the steepness and mud it was certainly a challenge. We arrived at ‘camp’ for the night and had an early night to prepare ourselves for our daily 4am wake-up call! Lisa learnt a lesson in the evening when she put her socks a little too close for comfort to the fire to dry them out and when she came back she only had half a sock remaining!

Day 2 saw more jungle trekking and long grassy areas before we arrived at ‘murder mansion’ at 10am so everyone was in good spirits. The majority of us had fallen over at some point during the day but Afsy definitely took the prize when she fell into a stream and couldn’t get up for laughing so much. We had fun in ‘murder mansion’ where there were great views of the jungle. The story of the house is that two brothers lived there. They had an argument and one killed the other...it is now a great stop off point for trekkers!!

On day 3 we reached the end of the jungle and found ourselves overlooking a beautiful valley...an amazing, tranquil spot. Here we set up camp and steeled ourselves for the next day’s challenge...climbing Volcan Turrialba.

Bravo 1

After some fairly serious off-road action and an hour’s walk in heavy rain, we met up with the Zulu 1, who were preparing themselves for the following day’s ascent of the 3340m Volcan Turrialba, whose billowing smoke can be seen from fieldbase.

With PM Barney having motivated the group with descriptions of the stunning views of the Carribbean that we could expect during the ascent, there was a little disappointment when we awoke to the sound of pouring rain and the hardy trekkers pulled on wet clothes for the third morning running!

However, this is a tough bunch. They weren’t to be put off by a bit of moisture in the air and tackled the 1000m almost vertical ascent with gusto. Passing through lush green fields, thick, muddy forest and then impossibly steep slopes, the group pushed on taking regular breaks to fill the lungs.

It has to be said, when the group reached the top there weren’t the whoops of joy you might expect. I imagine this was mixture of extreme tiredness and fact the promised views were somewhat hidden by a thick bank of cloud. But then, right on cue, the cloud cleared and the group caught their first sight of the active volcano....then the cheers came.

A truly outstanding effort from a very determined group of venturers, who Bravo 1 left enjoying the amazing views.

Tired and wet but they made it!

Only to be greeted by this!!

But then the skies cleared and the smiles came out!

This is what it's all about.

Zulu 1 an awesome team of trekkers.

Phase 3 has lift-off!!!

2011-11-27T09:53:00.000-06:00

The third and final phase of the legendary Expedition 11L is underway. The Zulu grups boarded their buses at crack of dawn yeasterday and by 6.30am fieldbase was a much quieter place with a motely crew of eight staff left behind.

All groups reported in safe and sound yesterday evening and this morning will either continue their journeys or start getting camp set up.

Zulu 1 reached their destination and camped by Rio Guacimo let night, using the house that PMs Ken and Will rebuilt during their PPV. Bravo 1 will meet them with a food drop on Monday and then join them in climbing Volcan Turrialba on Tuesday.

Zulus 2 and 5 reached Jinotepe in Nicaragua yesterday afternoon, where they spent the night. Zulu 5 will continue onto to Achuapa today to meet their host families, while Zulu 2 will continue on to La Rampla in Miraflor to start the trek proper.

Zulu 3 are in La Cangreja, having waved good bye to the 7 weekers at San Jose airport, and spent the night in the rangers station before setting up camp today. The general consensus from the group is that jungle is ‘pretty amazing’!

Finally Zulu 4 will be setting up camp today at Playa Hermosa ready to start their night patrols and hatchery protection.

Yesterday was a mix of excitement at starting a new phase and sadness at waving goodbye to our awesome 7 weekers who will very soon be home.

Bravo 1 will be with Zulu 1 tomorrow so if you are posting blog messages for anyone in that group please try and do so by 11am Costa Rica time.

Pura vida!

Departure time approaches and there's still a bit of packing to be done!!

A Raleigh send-off for the 7-weekers - the hug line!

Members of Zulu 2 practice their walking technique.

Zulu groups announced....

2011-11-25T12:59:00.000-06:00

After last night’s high quality skits (joint winners were X-Ray 2 and 5), and the judging of our Movember competition (won by John Ward – evidence below) it’s time to get down to business again and so here are the Zulu groups for the third and final phase of Expedition 11L.

Please remember when posting messages from now on to use the Zulu groups.

Zulu 1: heading off on the Turrisantos Trek with Bruce, Kunmi, Matt and Barney are:

Afsaneh Mahloudji
Cristiany Alexander Alonso Torrez
Oscar Crol

Dinora del Carmen Flores Talavera

Jonathan Morales Munoz

Katie L Wilson

Lisa Rijsenbrij

Sarah Bartram

Alex P Shaw

Ying Bik Konica Kwok

Zulu 2: heading up to Nicaragua for the Miratombo Trek with Will, Lucy and DPM Brie are:

Mark Wem

Geoff Kirby

Ana Gabriela Herrera Corrales

Flor Mendieta Noguera

Imogen J Wetzell Ramsey

James Holland

Laura Smith

Poppy Bluman

Sascha Tubbeh

Julie Göllner

Zulu 3: continuing the digging and wildlife spotting in La Cangreja with Vic, Kelly and Ken are:

Eleonore Vollebregt

Friso Tigchelaar

Jeanette Reeves

Jesús Jiménez Valverde

Melissa H Kenney

Lidia Belén Mendoza Acuña

Ally Cheung

Millie Pierce

Moritz Steinbeck

Ross Skinner

Tim Sawrey

Marette B de Vos

Zulu 4: protecting the turtles at Playa Hermosa with James, Julie and Gemma are:

Alice Hall

Brian Lam

Daisy Knox-Murphy

David Hernán Sequeira Cascante

Erick Monge Castillo

Harneel Cheema

Hilmar Heijmans

Jacobus Rutgerrs

Jahari Lisseth Blandón Jarquin

Molly Sandquest

Jeanette Reeves

Zulu 5: starting a new water project in Achuapa with Rachel, Duncan and Owen are:

Anne Sleurink

Arnaud Laurencin

Clare Jones

Emma Jacob

Floris Muller

Issac Colom Viquez

Jasper Jongeneel

Jayne Deegan

Jonathan M Ward

Josue Gomez Rojas

Reinier van Doorn

Rob Farmer

Sarah Church

Serena Glynn

Thomas Coombs

So, the groups announced, it was time for last minute preparations but before that, the teams battled it out for the X trophy in the inaugural Zulu games. Such challenging events as the Bravo 3 pull, the slippy-side, soak the fieldbase team, and dodgeball helped to establish the champion Zulu team. After some pretty intense competition, Zulu came out on top...although they may struggle to fit the trophy into their hand luggage!!

Zulu 5...champions

Fieldbase staff get a soaking in the water bombs challenge!

The command challenge

The Bravo 3 pull

Final blogs X-Rays 4 and 6..

2011-11-25T00:30:00.000-06:00

I think writer's cramp has afflicted some of our bloggers hence the slightly delayed final blogs from X-Ray 4 and 6. X-Ray 5's comms officer is currently crafting a blog masterpiece which I will share with you in the morning!

X-Ray 4 (Monisha)

Looking back at our time in Playa Hermosa it really feels like it flew by. We becamer a family with the park rangers and even though Don Marco and Jonny, the volunteer, did not speak much English, we found a way to communicate with them, which was made easy by Don Marco’s animated way of expressing himself in Spanglish.

We were especially proud to finish the barrier on our last working day. During our time in Playa Hermosa we were also lucky enough to witness some breathtaking sunsets that I am sure we will not forget in a long time.

One of the unique aspects of this project was the direct contact we had with tourists visiting the beach and wildlife refuge. We were able to impart our knowledge and share our experiences with the people who keep the refuge going and spread awareness of the plight of the turtles.

Spending 19 days in Playa Hermosa made us aware of Costa Rica’s wider conservation issues and the need to protect and preserve the ecosystem. We felt privileged to be part of such efforts.

X-Ray 6: Huzy

The youth centre is all ready! It’s hard to imagine we built this turquoise beauty with our bare hands. When we got to work on our first day, there were just a few foundation structures. Then we slowly built it up under the watchful eye of our maestro, Don Rolando, who, by the way, had no designs of the building skectched out whatsoever. I guess when you’re that good you don’t need paper just imagination and a lot of confidence!!

We’re very proud of this building especially since, for some of us, it was our first time using a spade, hammer or saw!

Don Rolando threw a party for us to celebrate the completion of the youth centre. Lots of dsncing ensued and there were plenty of bodies being thrown around by the locals who were up for some serious salsa dancing.

Earlier in the day, we had lunch at the rangers station. Our hosts mums had cooked chicken for us and it was really special for us all to eat together with our families. This was followed by a speech from Don Rolando. Then we took turns to say our thanks and that was when got a bit emotional. Sometimes you don’t really need to understand the language to get the message.

All in all, it was a great project for X-Ray 6. We came in wanting to give back to the community but we ended up getting so much more from them in return. And we did all that with a beautiful backdrop provided by Mother Nature herself. This experience is something we won’t forget for a long time. After all this is the stuff that awesome memories are made of. With that we leave Miraflor with a sweet sorrow in our hearts.

Amazingly we are about to head into the third and final phase of what has been an awesome expedition. Tomorrow/this morning will see the announcement of the Zulu groups for third phase and we'll bring you those groups asap, along with an update on the eagerly anticipated Zulu games!!

The X-Rays are back!!

2011-11-23T19:51:00.000-06:00

The peace and quiet enjoyed over the past few weeks by the fieldbase team has been rudely interrupted. Yes, the X-Ray groups are back and kit-cleaning, reviews and the excited chatter of comparing experiences has been the order of the day.

The final blogs are coming in so without further ado here the first three from, appropriately enough, X-Rays 1-3!

X-Ray 1 (Serena and Emma)

280km later, X-Ray 1 sprinted the last 100 metres in the pouring rain towards the final stp of the Turrisantos Trek: Playa Palo Seco.

Words cannot describe the overwhelming feeling each of us had as we reached the long-awaited beach. With each member present fro the final stretch of the trek, a communal sense of achievement prevailed as we realised we’d finished the 17-day trek together.

The days before proved to be some of the most challenging for X-Ray 1 as injuries intensified and we were unexpectedly greeted with even more hills. However, the constant supplies of pulperias never failed to lift our spirits at the end of a tough day.

Looking forward to the beach only 2 days away, X-Ray 1, with immense determination, powered through the last 44km to smell the fresh sea air. Waking up to the sounds of crashing waves instead of a beeping alarm clock was hard for some of us to comprehend as that dreaded familiar ringing was all we’d known for the last 17 days. In hope of getting rid of our ridiculous sock tan lines we were up and out early hoping to absorb as much sun as possible. After a long day of swimming and sunbathing, some of us redder than others, we sat down for our last meal and final review. With all of us reflecting on our experiences during trek, we realised how self-sufficient we were with merely two trangias, a cooking pot and our backpacks. This back to basics lifestyle proved to be difficult yet extremely liberating.

So here we are now driving back to fieldbase, two hours from McDonalds! – an adventure we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

Proud of the team!

Pulperia anyone?

X-Ray 1 ..dedicated followers of fashion

If Carlsberg did sunsets....

X-Ray 2 (Clare)

An early start fro X-Ray 2 on Friday 18^th November as a long 29km trek awaited them. After saying their goodbyes to the roadtrip team the group headed off. The day was filled with highs and lows. Unfortunately Marette left the group after suffering from bad feet but she was always part of the team after trekking over 200km across the country with her fellow venturers and PMs.

Some of the group were hindered by blistered feet and sore joints but everyone pulled together and made it an unforgettable day. Amazing views, river crossings and a stunning sunset were jsut a few of the day’s highlights.

When X-Ray 2 reached their destination – Lilias – they were greeted by a friendly Costa Rican family and an enthusiastic girl named Karina, who cheered up the venturers. All exhausted from the long trip and tiring day, X-Ray 2 went to bed read for the next day’s trek.

Saturday 19^th November started off better than expected when the lady in the house next door cooked everyone a delicious breakfast of gallo pinto, scrambled egg and bread along with the best cup of coffee. Bursting with energy, the group headed off at sunrise. The 18km trek ended with a steep climb through the jungle to the Cacao Plateau. The group were taken aback by the stunning scenery and were able to see their final destination – the beach and the Pacific Ocean. Sitting on the balcony of the ranger’s station, we took in the amazing scenery, all with huge smiles on our faces and looking forward to completing the challenge.

The following days were tough. Navigator Tom felt the pressure on day 16 when the group headed the wrong way through the jungle. When asked if we were going the right way, Tom replied: “If you want to head south to Panama be my guest but I’m heading west to the beach!” after fits of laughter, the group worked together and reached their destination – Maritza after an 8km struggle through the jungle.

The final day of the trek proved to be tough – a 30km battle through rain, puddles and long roads but after games, jokes and singing the group reached the final km of their entire trek. One by one each group member recalled their favourite moment. Mortiz: “When we camped at Lake Arenal and had an awesome view of the volcano with the most beautiful sunset.” Delun said her favourite moment was: “falling over in the jungle – so funny! Don Luz was legendary guiding us through the jungle.”

When the team finally reached the beach they all took their final steps in a line and ran into the sea. After emotional hugs and congratulations all round the group set up camp and celebrated with a delicious and well-deserved bbq.

The final day was spent relaxing on the beach, taking in the beautiful surroundings and enjoying each other’s company.

“The best experience of my life – challenging but extremely rewarding.” Clare Jones.

X-Ray 2 trekkers extraordinaire!

X-Ray 2 with possibly the world's kindest family!

A well-earned group hug at the beach

X-Ray 3 (Sarah B)

A lot has been happening with X-Ray 3 since our last blog – most notably Laura’s 23^rd birthday. To celebrate, we spent the morning trekking about 4km to the nearest restaurant, where we enjoyed some delicious food for lunch and took in the incredible views across a huge valley covered in cloud forest.

In the afternoon we returned to camp fro birthday banoffee pie (which Will had managed to create with just bananas, oats and condensed milk), followed by an after-dark headtorch and ipod rave in our ‘rave-cave’ under the group tarpaulin.

Another great day was our day off on Sunday, which we spent trekking 19km through the National Park learning about different plants and trees from Don Guido along the way. We briefly stopped at a beautiful waterfall mid-morning, then continued on to a local restaurant for another delicious lunch. This also gave Ani a chance to find out the all-important football results.

We’ve also had a couple more bed-related incidents – Will’s basha bed broke in the middle of the night, then there was the ‘tarantula’ in Kate’s bed, which after much hysteria and Flor leaping out bed to kill turned out to be a regular spider.

In amongst all this excitement, we’ve been taking on the rockface that the water-pipes have to be laid into and have laid approximately 70m of pipework and partially dug a further 15m of trench.

After our final day’s digging (and a tough day of carrying all our group kit up the extremely steep hill between our camp and the ranger station), these efforts were rewarded with a really interesting talk on the biodiversity in the Central Pacific region in Costa Rica by one of the rangers, followed by a delicious meal cooked for us at the ranger station.

It is this hospitality from the rangers along with the unique opportunity to live in the middle of the rainforest and, of course, the members of X-Ray 3, that have made this project so much fun (in spite of the hard work and lack of dry clothes).

I think it’s safe to say we have all learnt a lot on this phase and take away some great memories.

Group shot...on a bridge!

X-Ray 3 blogger Sarah enjoys the view

X-Ray 3 find an alternative use for their trench!

70 metres dug...quite a lot more to go!

The X-Rays are coming

2011-11-21T22:09:00.000-06:00

The X-Rays are coming

Believe it not phase 2 is drawing to a close. After almost 3 weeks of digging trenches, building foundations, putting up walls, moving boulders, climbing volcanoes, and trekking through the jungles, the X-Ray groups will be back at fieldbase on Wednesday, another awesome experience under their belts.

The comms officer from each group will provide us with their final blog on their return but in the meantime here’s a quick update on the groups.

X-Rays 1&2: the trek is done! After 17 days of solid walking, the intrepid venturers in each group have reached their final destination...the beach (different beaches I should add!!). Tomorrow will be a well-earned day of rest before their return to fieldbase on Wednesday.

X-Ray 3: This has been one hard-core group. In today’s SITREP, they reported 125 metres of trench dug..that is a trench one metre deep ladies and gentlemen. Not content with the digging they decided to walk 19km across the stunning national park on their day off.

X-Ray 4: All are well at Playa Hermosa and, vitally, so are the turtles! The group has been busy building a barrier to protect the hatchery and continuing their night patrols.

X-Ray 5: The group has been working very hard and finished their work for the phase including laying the final pipes. With the work done, they were able to enjoy a camping trip to a nearby beauty spot on Saturday. They also took the time to celebrate Brian’s birthday. With a long journey ahead of them, the group will be bidding a fond farewell to their host families on Tuesday morning as they start heading back to Costa Rica.

X-Ray 6: The group has finished their phase with the wonderful satisfaction of completing their project and today were putting the final touches to the community centre that has been built over the last two phases. Like X-Ray 5 they will be leaving their village on Tuesday morning.

Fieldbase: There may not be a lot of digging or trekking going on at fieldbase but it has been a busy place. As well as the vital radio duty to keep in touch with all the groups and updating the blog; there has been circuit training every night, tough runs on the campus, planning the X-Ray games for changeover (report to follow), filming the fieldbase skit...and, most importantly, growing moustaches for ‘Movember’.

I’m sure you’re all dying to see the efforts so far...so here they are...some more impressive than others.

Alex a fine two-tone effort!

Pedro he carries it off with Argentinian style

Reggie - have you seen this man?

Ross: we had to shoot it on a white background so it would show up better

Tom: have you ever seen a man prouder of his facial hair!

It remains to be seen if the groups on phase have been taking part in 'Movember' but rest assured we will bring you the photos if they have!

So just two days before fieldbase is once again alive with venturers and PMs, and we'll bring final blogs from the groups along a report on the eagerly awaited X-Ray games.

Updates from X-Ray 4 and 5

2011-11-19T17:48:00.000-06:00

With phase 2 drawing ever closer to its conclusion, here are some blog reports from X-Rays 4 and 5 at Playa Hermosa and Achuapa respectively.

X-Ray 4

X-Ray 4 have currently settled into the roles of park rangers at Playa Hermosa. Our nightly patrol are full of anticipation for who will find the most nests, 10 is the best so far. Usually we find about 100 eggs.

We have been working hard all the time to protect the hatchery from high tide and rangers are pleased with our progress. We are determined to finish the project by the end of phase.

When fieldbase visited our camp, we organised a mini Olympics with disciplines including pinball, dancing, coconut throwing and the best sandcastle built in 10 minutes.

On Saturday, we had the pleasure to welcome a special visitor to camp when the Australian Ambassador came to say hello during her visit to Central America. The Australian Embassy and Raleigh work closely together and we were proud to show her the hatchery, the work we have been doing and our jungle camp.

The luxurious jungle camp

PM Lucy doing some path clearing

X-Ray 5

Having spent the last week and half adapting to a different lifestyle within a Nicaraguan family, the culture and expectation within the community seem to be the main differences from our own personal upbringing.

We found it fascinating that children get married from the age of 14-25. Also there have been recent developments in the education system.

Without knowing what was to be expected when living in a different environment, the way we have been treated in our households has been spectacular, from making tortillas to the unexpected situation of having our clothes washed for us!

The weather has been amazing in comparison to the previous week of torrential rainfall. In terms of the project itself we have built the dam and still need to establish a few waterpipes in order to provide sanitation to families in the village.

It has been a remarkable experience to be living in such a different environment and enjoying many laughs along the way. These included half an hour of Spanish lessons every day where 10 press-ups was the consequences of any mistakes...it’s fair to say some of us have developed quite a lot of upper body strength.

We have also had the idiot of the day award for anyone coming out with the silliest remark...the winner of that has to wear Halloween pumpkin dress for the day.

It’s been an action-packed last 3 days from finishing our project to a few last minute activities with community including a very enjoyable leaving party.

The completed dam

X-Ray 5: trench diggers, dam builders, boulder lifters

The evening radio checks are done with this view...not bad!!!

X-Ray 1: up to the Turrisantos challenge

2011-11-18T10:59:00.000-06:00

Th blogs are coming in thick and fast and here's an update from X-Ray 1 comms team Molly, Serena and Emma.

After an unexpected, comfortable night’s sleep, X-Ray 1 began tackling a few days of tough hills. Luckily there were some amazing views which made the endless climbs so worthwhile. While we were fast asleep and none the wiser, our PMs packed up their tents and snuck off ahead of us on trek. We awoke to a letter, leaving us to navigate and organize the group throughout the day. It was a great opportunity to bond and gain leadership and teamwork sills. With injuries prevailing, X-Ray 1 struggled through the day but a real sense of achievement flooded through the group when we finally reached our destination. The next few days were filled with intense thigh workouts which felt never-ending but “Hope” awaited us after 3 days in the town of Esperanza. This was closely followed by an incredible 06.30am breakfast consisting of chicken burgers, pastries, fresh fruit, bacon and eggs. Today X-Ray 1 are challenged to defeat El Dragon which on a clear day has a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean.

Updates from X-Ray 2

2011-11-17T11:22:00.000-06:00

Well, the blogs are flying in after Bravo 1 phoned with updates from X-Rays 2 and 3. The two blogs from X-Ray 2 are a little delayed due to a lot of their communications with fieldbase being via satphone, which doesn't lend itself to passing on long blog messages!! So without further ado, here are our group bloggers.

X-Ray 2 - Clare Jones

Blog 1: Monday 7^th November

Day leader Tom attempted to gently wake X-ray 2, after the success of the previous morning’s alarm call but failed to operate the radio! Instead the group were woken by the sound of the radio crackling and Tom shouting “get up” as if we were convicts! X-ray 2 left Alto Cebadilla at 05.30am ready for the day’s 13km trek lead by Jesus, the day’s navigator. The day began with light drizzle and steep hills from the onset. Eventually Moritz, Tom, Clare and Jonathan came across an old shack which the group had lunch in out of the rain. The lunch hour consisted of laughter from playing “elephant, bibalibob-bob”, chici-chici-cho, chici-cho-coco” and ron-maka-ron”, raising everyone’s spirits after 800m worth of hills and getting soaked. After lunch the sun shone and X-Ray 2 reached their destination at 1.30pm. they set up their camp over stunning views of Lake Arenal and Volcano Arenal. Dinner was cooked by Jesus, whilst everyone was snuggled in their tents due to the chill of beginning 1000m above sea level. After playing card games and having teeth chattering while chatting, X-Ray 2 suddenly felt the ground shaking; with panic on her face, Rachel shouted “Everyone don’t panic!”. In fact everyone else was calm. Day leader Tom managed to keep everyone calm by using the toilet nearby and not realizing we had just experienced an earthquake measured at 5.9 on the richter scale. X-Ray 2 ended the eventful day under the stars in their tents preparing for the following day’s 18km trek.

Lake and Volcan Arenal - a fitting reward after a hard day's trekking

Blog 2: Saturday 12^th Nov

The camp awoke at 03.30am ready to be lead through the jungle by the legendary Don Luz. Don Luz hacked his way through the jungle with his machete ensuring X-Ray 2 were safe and sound. When asked whether he enjoyed working with Raleigh, Don Lux replied; “yes I do a lot, I enjoy talking with the venturers and the PMs and enjoy listening to them speaking English. I enjoy this job a lot”.

The jungle’s tough terrain resulted in many of the venturers falling flat and skidding down the muddy slopes. Exciting but very challenging trekking through the jungle but the main consensus of the group was that it was an enjoyable experience. Don Luz then took X-Ray 2 to the hot springs where they bathed in warm water such luxury for the smelly, dirty venturers. PM Rachel thought the experience was magnificent and unique. After the springs the group walked a steep descent to the waterfall on the Rio Celeste which was an awesome sight. X-Ray 2 then continued their trek until they reached their final destination, El Pilon. After picking up their food supplies and setting up camp, we had a lovely dinner of chickpeas, rice and sauce and then retreated to our tents. The distance of the day was 15km through the difficult terrain of the jungle. Day leader Marette kept the group in high spirits. The weather was hot and humid and the scenery was amazing!

The jungle...quite a lot of trees!

Rio Celeste..yes the colours are real!

Just some of the stunning scenery witnessed by X-Ray 2

X-Ray 3 15^th November: Sarah Bartram

Blog 2: since the last update x-ray 3 have had the first La Cangreca table tennis tournament (on a broken ping-pong table we found in the Rangers station, balanced on a picnic bench). We were all kept entertained by Laura’s heated disputes with referee Randy; and there were some impressive performances from Lisa, Randy and Sarah Church. But the real star of the show was Don Boliver, one of the park rangers who put us all to shame.

We’ve almost been to see a waterfall. We walked for about 45 minutes before heading back to camp, only to find out from the rangers the next day that we’d been about 300m away from it! We walked through some beautiful rainforest along the way though and plan to go back another time.

It hasn’t all been fun and games though, the project is proving tougher than we anticipated. As the ground where we are digging trenches is made up of hard rock and clay, which takes a long time to break up with a pic-axe before it can be dug up. However, fuelled by such culinary delights as chips, sausages, salad and Anna and Lisa’s empanadas, X-Ray 3 have been powering through and have dug over 60m of trench and have started laying and filling the pipes. After all this hard work we have spent our afternoons swimming in the river, working on our chess skills and stretching out to Randy’s river-side yoga classes.

Updates from X-Ray 4

2011-11-16T14:46:00.000-06:00

Jed from Bravo 1 has returned from the road trip and brought with him some blogs from X-Ray 4 bloggers Monisha and Flor.

A day in the life of X-Ray 4

06:00: Everyone gathers in our camp kitchen for breakfast, fuelling up for the hard day's work ahead of us.

07:00: We make our way from camp to the rangers' station which is a short walk away. Our charismatic maestro Don Marco and the other rangers have kept us very amused by communicating in Spanglish. Our mornign work has involved building a barrier between the beach and hatchery to protect from high tide and tsunamis, improving the road leading the rangers' station and smartening up the wildlife refuge.

11:00: Before the afternoon heat sets in, we return to camp for lunch. The middle of afternoon is spent resting, recouping our energy and playing cards with the rangers.

15:00: We make our way back to the rangers' station for some more work clearing the paths to the beach by removing driftwood that has been washed to shore. The afternoons are also spent in the hatchery excavating the new-born turtles from their nests. it's an incredible feeling to pull each turtle out and then release them in to the sea.

17:00: Dinner time! Our group has been blessed with some awesome chefs that have treated us to delicious gallo pinto and empenadas with soya mince and beans. Perfect meals to keep us all going for the night shifts.

20:00 - 05:00: Hatchery
Two people start the first hatchery shift at 20:00 - 00:30 and then swap with the second shift who do 00:30 -05:00. Every 30 minutes we check certains nests to see if any turtles have hatched. If they have, we count and collect them and bring them back to the rangers' station. If the turtles are very active and the tide is low we can release them into the ocean. The turtles are placed in a line about 10 metres away from the water and we watch them take their first steps in life.

22:00 - 05:00: Patrols
The patrol timings vary depending on the tide but usually patrol 1 starts at 22:00 and patrol 2 sets off at 03:00 for either a 7km and 14km distance with one of the rangers. We walk along the beach in the moonlight searching for turtle trails that lead to a nest to uncover eggs that have been laid. If we;re lucky we can catch the turtles laying their eggs or making their nests and then watch them silently make their way back to the sea. We collect the eggs which can way up to 7kg and continue our patrol. Initially we thought patrol would be a leisurely walk along the beach but we soon had to get used to the fast pace set by ranger Jonny.

It has been fantastic time so far in Playa Hermosa. working with the turtles and living in our beach camp has been incredible. Our body clocks are slowly getting used to the challenging but rewarding night shifts!
Pura Vida!

And now some thoughts (in Spanish) from fellow blogger Flor.

Qué hay en el misterio de la vida?

Qué hay en la vida de cada ser humano que le hace tan importante and especial?

Qué hace que todo se mueva?

Eschuchar el mar, sentirlo tan vivo, alegre y fuerte; pensar que dentro de él existen milliones de seres los cuales no conocemos y que forman parte importante en el ciclo diario de la vida.

Cada vez que salimos a patrollar es tan interesante caminar y sentir la naturaleza, ver cuando las tortugas salen a desobar y dar inicio a un nuveo ciclo de vida. Pesnar que somos parecidas: naceoms, crecemos, nos reproducimos and morimos, pero nosotros tenemos el poder de la decisión, depende de cada uno darle sentido a la vida y marcar la diferencia, dejando huella en otros corazones, transformando vidas, asi que: sea bueno o malo nuestro dia, siempre trae buenas razones para cantar y reìr.

Pienso que en los momentos de adversidad siempre hay que tener una visión emprendedora, y si nos vemos frente a un abismop, dar un paso atras, razonar que estamos haciendo y buscar un nuevo horizonte, no ver el cielo gris que nos rodea, si no, agregarle estrellas y pintarlo de colores, al final despues de todo los obstaculos son solo para probar el guerrero que tenemos dentro.

Exitos en tu vida, vievela y no dejes que nadie, nunca te diga como, cada quien anda a su paso, lento o rapido. Buena suerte! Camina como te de la gana, claro siempre es bueno escuchar consejos, y toma nota de tus experiencias, para no cometer el mismo error dos veces. Buena suerte y brilla brilla!

One of the friendly locals...don;t worry they keep their ditance!

PM Ken joins the team after a spell in fieldbase.

The team is called X-Ray in case you weren't sure!

Previous projects in Miraflor

2011-11-15T13:17:00.000-06:00

After a few days sampling the delights of Nicaragua’s local buses (actually pretty good), the carless Bravo 4 team arrived back at fieldbase (to be fair Julian very kindly picked us up from the bus station in San Jose!)

As well as visiting the groups in Nicaragua, we also had the excellent opportunity to see the work that previous Raleigh groups had done in the rural communities in Miraflor. From building community centres to rebuilding houses destroyed by floods, the positive impact of Raleigh’s work is evident everywhere.

Luckily in each community, we were able to speak to people who had benefited from various projects. In El Coyolito, a women’s group was meeting in the community centre built by Raleigh volunteers; while in El Rodeo we visited homes rebuilt after flooding.

During any Raleigh expedition, the volunteers work extremely hard with local people on the current project and over a three-week phase will see a lot of progress. However, they may not see the impact that their hard work and commitment has in the long-term. Visiting previous projects and speaking to those people using the facilities confirmed what we have always known; that a group of volunteers working with the community can make a big difference to people’s lives.

The community centre in El Coyolito, Miraflor

A women's group meeting in the community centre

Above and below: new houses in El Rodeo, Miraflor

X-ray 1 (Turrisantos Trek) Blog Update by Emma Jacob & Serena Glynn

2011-11-13T17:02:00.000-06:00

A beautiful day greeted us as we arrived at the start of the Turrisantos Trek. Geared up with our backpacks and local guide, Helbert, we set off on a path leading us into the jungle. X-ray 1 was on snake patrol as Helbert cleared the way with his razor sharp machete. Heavy rainfall had left us a sludgy mud path and to add to the excitement, Helbert pointed out a poisonous snake along the trail. The next few days only heightened our sense of adventure as we spent a night in “murder mansion” (infamously named after its previous inhabitant killed his brother with an axe). Here, we played our first game of ‘Mafia’ and formed our group contract, written on Barneys t-shirt. Some of the favourites are; “singing is allowed... but not encouraged”, “laugh more than 50 times a day”and “limited amounts of bad jokes by Buncan (Barney and Duncan)”. That same t-shirt is now covered in sweat and mud after a challenging trek to the top of Volcan Turrialba and has survived its first 21km day trek, however, we can’t say the same for the writing on the shirt. During this time, along with endless kilometres of trekking, X-ray 1 have raided many pulperias, inhaling sweets and crisps like they hadn’t eaten for days (some more than others). Fuelled with Costa Rican goodies, X-ray 1 defeated endless hills and muddy paths through a day of relentless rain without knowing where they we going to stay that night. 21km later, a local Costa Rican unexpectedly offered us shelter for the night. Here we are now, gathered around the fire, showered and drained of energy, awaiting freshly cut pineapple, courtesy of Vic. The next few days will bring some highs and lows and we’re not just talking about the hills, but it’s nothing X-ray 1 can’t handle.

The beautiful campsite at Silencio

Bravo 3 in their standard ´food drop´attire

Put your back in to it Molly!

X1 split up the food for the next 5 days

Guest blogger Serena wishes every day was a refried beans day

Boulders moved, trenches dug, clean water on its way to San Nicholas

2011-11-12T16:36:00.000-06:00

Hello from Bravo 4 in Managua where our road trip is coming to an end having visited X-Rays 5 and 6 in their communities, taken hundreds of photos and even done a bit of work on project sites.

We left X-Ray 5 in Achuapa this morning having attended a hugely entertaining Sandanista celebration party, where the group performed a couple of songs before dancing to a local band.

Parties aside, X-Ray 5 are doing very well in their community in San Nicholas where they are working hard and being very well looked after by their families. The work is certainly very physical, with a lot of rocks being moved to improve paths and to channel a river, as well digging trenches. It will all be worth it though as the project will eventually bring clean water to the community.

Enough from me though, here is an X-Ray 5 update from blogger Harneel.

After a hectic changeover at fieldbase, we all boarded the bus for Nicaragua ready for another challenging but rewarding phase. The two community groups travelled together up to a town called Estelli before splitting to go to our respective villages.

Arriving in the village was quite daunting as we met our families, and contemplated the next two weeks of learning about a different culture and tackling the challenge of living with families who do not speak any English. However, we have all adapted and it's surprising how easy it is to communicate and many of us are learning some Spanish as we go along.

The work is certainly physically challenging and everyone is getting involved and helping out as we know all our efforts are for the benefit of our host families.

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for our next blog update.

Blogger Harneel with his host family

Cordon bleu: perfect tortillas by Jihari

Elly bonding with her host family

Another boulder shifted by X-Ray 5

The team take a well-earned rest!!

X-Ray 3: Living it up in the Jungle! by X-Ray 3

2011-11-11T10:54:00.000-06:00

We set off bright and early to La Cangreja National Park and with just a slight delay whilst Floris replaced the 19 days worth of cigarettes he had left at fieldbase, we had made it with plenty of time to see some of the amazing views of the rainforest we would be living in. After settling into the ranger station we would be staying in until our jungle camp was ready we started building our camp the next day. We quickly realised how much work goes into cutting and preparing bamboo!

Despite this, by Monday night we had a jungle camp to be proud of. Even when our camp craft skills were severely tested by heavy rain the next day, we only had a few tarpaulins to repair. Sadly there was no saving the long drop, with that being at the bottom of the valley. It was completely flooded and was unusable until the water had drained away the next morning.

We’ve since had a few more bed alterations to make though - fixing Laura’s basher bed (which broke in the middle of the night), and making a new basher bed for Floris (after he fell out of his hammock in his sleep!).

However all this has been more than made up for by this beautiful little spot in our part of the rainforest, beside a river complete with it’s own bubbly (if cold) Jacuzzi.

We have seen plenty of local wildlife too - monkeys, snakes, scorpions, iguanas and the occasional naked venture bathing in the river.

As for the project, the water system has been designed by very own Raleigh fieldbase VM Jed and work is now underway, digging a 60cm trench to lay water pipes in. Our efforts have certainly not gone unrewarded, our gracious park rangers even gave us cheesy baguettes to add to our already luxurious diet of fresh fruit and veg, along with the usual Raleigh staples.

All in all we are truly in the garden of Eden!

Welcome to La Cangreja National Park!

X-Ray 3 getting ready to build Jungle Camp!

The walk to Jungle Camp!

X-Ray 6 : What a team!!

2011-11-10T10:54:00.000-06:00

The Bravo 4 road trip of Alex and Reggie (I say Bravo 4 but we no longer have a car after Julian cruelly abandoned us in El Cebollal!) has just finished two awesome days with X-Ray 6. They are making great progress with the youth centre, foundations almost completed, and they are determined to get the work finished. in between all the hard work, there have been games of football (successful) and baseball (some work still needed) with the locals.
They are gertting on famously and appear to be integrating very well with the community. The pace of work will obvisouly drop now that the Bravo 4 dream team has left but I'm sure they will continue to try their best!
Enough from us, here, without further ado, is a blog update from X-Ray 6 comms officer Huzy.

After spending nearly 10 hours on a bumpy bus ride and gaining about 1500 metres in height, we finally reached our home for the next 16 days - El Cebollal, Miraflor. our host families greeted uswith ample hugs and kisses and they were definitely generous with their hospitality and food. As we arrived during election period, all work was put on hold for the first two days. so we used the time to visit the nearby waterfall. Some people used it as a photo opportunity, some as a chance to shower Whatever it was, the trail that led to the waterfall was breathtaking to say the least.
We member of X-Ray 6 may speak in different languages but when confronted with such beauty the universal lanaguage is speechlessness. We have yet to watch a sunset but it's definitely on our list of things to do.
Work has already started for us now and we're really excited to complete the Youth Centre asap. The team is working really well together with everyone mucking in and learning new buiding skills as we go along.
Watch this space for more updates and enjoy the photos.

The carless Bravo 4 are now heading to see X-Ray 5 in San Nicholas in Achuapa so we'll be back online at the weekend with a blog update from them.
Until then, Pura vida and de acachimba!

Clouds of gas, Caribbean vistas and a punishing climb – X-ray 1 Conquer Volcan Turrialba!

2011-11-09T22:10:00.000-06:00

Asdawn began to break around the stunning plateau of Bajo Bonilla yesterday, theintrepid trekkers of X-Ray 1 surfaced from their slumber with a sense ofexcitement and anticipation, for this was a day to live long in the memory!Buoyed by the clear weather and blue skies the team wolfed down their stapleporridge breakfast and set off to tackle the 1000m vertical ascent of theactive and very lively Volcan Turrialba. Bring it on!!

Carryingjust enough supplies for the day, and joined by Fieldbase boys Ross ‘Menzie’McKenzie and today’s guest blogger ‘Cowboy’ Tom (complete with dodgy Movemberfacial hair and silly hat), the team made light work of the first part of theclimb. Man these X-Ray 1 guys are in good shape!

However,as the morning wore on, the temperature rose and the altitude increased, thepace began to slow. Mercy for Tom and Ross! More frequent and longer breakswere required to fill the lungs with oxygen and to fully appreciate thebreathtaking views east to the glorious Caribbean. By this time we were wellabove the clouds which made for some stunning vistas as you can see from thephotos below.

Despitethe huge effort required to conquer the sheer ascent, X-Ray 1 nailed the climband we lapped up the atmosphere as we reached the crater’s edge. The proximalview of enormous bellows of sulphurous gas surging into the blue above and the thunderousrumblings coming from beneath our feet certainly justified the exertion. Whatan awe-inspiring place and an exhilarating feeling to be that close to suchdynamic volcanic activity. Happy days!

Muchasgracias to X-Ray 1 for sharing such an epic day with us and I look forward tocatching up with them again for their next food drop on Friday evening.

Ciaofor now, enjoy the photos!

The first 100m complete... time for the first break

Barney ´Blue Steel´Flowers

Ross instinctively strikes his ´the beach is that way´pose

´MOOOOOOOOoooooo...

A bit of indigestion there Molly... regretting taking the cheese sauce challenge last night? Thought so...

Wowsers...

Millie clocks up fall number 487 for the day

MAAAADE ITTTTTTTTT!!!

X to the 1 baby!

Gas masks... we don´t need no stinking gas masks...

...okay, fine - maybe we do... we still look cool though right?! Ah, well... at least it takes the attention away from Erni ;)

Jump up really high if you haven´t washed for five days

Tom ´Selleck´Blindell... your guest blogger

Back from the Jungle and Still Breathing!

2011-11-08T14:33:00.000-06:00

After returning from 3 days of hot and humid exploring deep in the jungle that is La Cangreja, your guest Blogger (Jed) can now update you on all our beloved groups' progress.

A bit of background on La Cangreja, where X-Ray 3 are ensconced. La Cangreja translates as 'The Crab' - as the hills are said to resemble a huge crab. I couldn't quite see it myself, but it's a good a name as any! La Cangreja is a national park of preserved pristine jungle. In my 2 nights there I saw beautiful scarlet macaws, giant (and I mean giant) butterflies, bigger than life beetles and the ever-present never-ending hordes of ants.

During this nature-fest I was working hard to set up the water supply project, so I spent my time designing the system that the group will install. It will enable a further project to allow disabled access to the park and assist with the ongoing ecological research. The water supply system is over 850m long and the group will have to dig (by hand!) a 1m trench for this distance over remarkably steep terrain. X-Ray 3 will certainly have their work cut out over the next few weeks, but the results of their hard graft should last for the next 50 years.

The group themselves have now got their jungle camp set up with basher beds, hammocks, long drop, cooking station and even a communal games area. The camp is on the banks of the Rio Negra, which is great for a dip after a hard day's work! I'm sure they will have a unforgettable jungle experience. There's a few pics below (thanks to Anni and Lisa) showing the group in action.

As for the other groups here's today's round-up:

X-Ray 1 - Turrisantos Trek
The field base team have met up with them and they are currently descending Volcan Turrialba as I write this. Hopefully they will have hit the summit and had a chance to smell the sulphur! Tomorrow they head off to Guayabo National Monument, which is the remains from a previous civilisation thought to be over 3,000 years old.

X-Ray 2 - Guanacaste Trek
The trek group are making good progress and will reach Lake Arenal tonight, where they can take in the stunning views of the lake and volcano, and also go for a deserved and refreshing swim.

X-Ray 4 - Playa Hermosa
They are having what I'm told is a 'lovely time at the beach'! They've also managed to collect a huge number of eggs and have already released countless tiny turtles into the Pacific Ocean.

X-Ray 5 - Achuapa
Now fully settled in to the village, the work kicks off today. They will be continuing the work from last phase on the youth centre. They should also be setting up some time with the community to play games of football and baseball with them.

X-Ray 6 - Miraflor
They arrived safely in their community last night and today will be starting work on the water supply project for the village. They'll also get to explore their new home a bit more and get to know the families they are staying with.