20 days of hard graft later...success all round!

Yesterday all the participants packed up camp and headed off for the changeover into the trekking phase of the programme. So what have they achieved on their individual project sites? Have they done any work in amongst all the fun and frollicks? Well, yes they have. Here's the run down on the amazing things they have achieved...

Alpha 1 - Playa Nancite

In amongst the trips along the beach and leaping in the sea, Alpha 1 have cleared the full length of the path between the ranger station at Playa Nancite and the nearest quad-bike accessible track. They have also injected some pace into a variety of improvements in the ranger station itself, clearing away old parts of the buildings and shifting in new materials by boat. On the last night they also had a precautionary trip to the top of their now-familiar 'mountain' to make absolutely sure there wouldn't be any big waves heading their way from Peru - some excitement that will doubtless feature in their stories for their grandchildren in years to come.







Alpha 2 - Volcan Tenorio

Alpha 2 have cleared more than 1000m of track through the jungle at Volcan Tenorio, helping to open up access to the spectacular waterfall, blue lagoon and hot springs that lie in in the national park there. The local community and rangers are really delighted with the improvements Alpha 2 have brought about, describing them now as "part of the family". The forest gets a regular drenching, so developing the paths to be relatively rain-proof will make sure that the paths remain useable by everyone who wants to appreciate this amazing landscape.







Alpha 3 - Las Rosas, Salitre

The indigenous community at Las Rosas now have a storm-proof eating area for their primary school thanks to the efforts of Alpha 3. The comedor was formally opened on Thursday, when the British Ambassador Tom Kennedy joined the local community in thanking the team for their hard work. Having the comedor means that the school gets government grant to provide food, which in turn will encourage more people to attend school.







Alpha 4 - Quetzal, Chirippo

The hill-top indigenous community at Quetzal now have a new landmark - a cheerfully coloured secondary school made from wood from the forest and the enthusiasm of Alpha 4, who have now renamed themselves 'Alpha Hardcore'. The daily treks into the forest to collect sawn up tree have certainly provided good training for the trekking phase of the programme.







We're sure you'll agree this is an amazing amount to have got done in slightly under three weeks. All the projects have ended on a real high, and the teams have become well-oiled work machines.

The participants are now spending four days trekking through the mountainous area of Turrubares. They have been rearranged into new groups to maximise the enjoyment of sharing stories from the last three weeks - so there were some tearful farewells and a lot of happy reunions as they prepared to head off. In two days time they will reconvene ready to be moved to the mystery location of the final stage of the programme - the Survival Challenge...