Expedition 08A Blog 16: Bravo 4 Road Trip and Opening Ceremony in Conte Burika

Bravo 4 (the Toyota Prado) dispatched from Field Base with Julian Olivier and Liz Killick on board. They paid a visit to the newly relocated Alpha 5 at El Bonito in Piedras Blancas National Park, and then Alpha 9 for the grand opening ceremony of the pre-school in the Conte Burika Indigenous Reserve.

Despite recent rains the ‘river road’ to Alpha 5 proved no obstacle for Bravo 4. Heading up-stream we arrived to find a very relaxed group, chilling in their new camp.

Having finished their 1.5km of trail clearing in nearby Riyito they had decamped to El Bonito to continue the work on the walls started in Phases 1 and 2. Their progress has been rapid and the bottom wall has been completed along with a groyne to slow the river, put in place by the Phase 2 team.
Under Stephen’s direction as Day Leader the group set to completing work on the top wall, with the new wire that had arrived. With just one day worth of work left for them to complete, they were looking forward to some football and sunbathing action before the return to Field Base.


After a walk to “the big tree” the next morning (a vast 800 year old tree hosting its own ecosystem in the secondary forest) it was time for Bravo 4 to set off again.

After a short drive down to the Panama border, we were on our way to Puerto Armuelles to meet our guide, Jose, who led us into the Conte Burika community of La Carona. Our rucksacks were laden with the travelling shop, post and two metal plaques for the inauguration ceremony the next day. The stifling heat made for a sweaty 6 hour hike into the remote village of Carona where we were welcomed by a very proud community and Alpha 9, ready to show us the completed pre-school.

The opening ceremony the next day involved the whole community, many who walked from miles around to be there.

The local women were resplendent in their traditional dress and had prepared a magnificent feast for the event.

The atmosphere was electric as the whole community and Raleigh volunteers took part in a Conte Burika ceremony of filing around a bench and hammering in a nail each. This represents the involvement of the entire community in the realisation of the project and the power of teamwork.

Then, after speeches by Julian and, Khanaki the community leader, Julian and Project Manager John Cecil-Wright had the honour of opening the ceremonial ribbon and declaring the pre-school open.

After 3 months of hard work put in by all the volunteers and the community members, it was immensely rewarding to see the finished school in pride of place in the village, painted and shining to perfection. We all hope that the building and what it stands for will enable the young children from Carona that we fell in love with will get the best start in life, and the dreams of the community to produce their own generation of educated professionals will be fulfilled.