Expedition 08D&E Blog 5: Week 1 Round-up

Greetings from Field Base – with twelve groups around the country, our HF radios are going off all day long with Venturers calling sitreps, tripreps, requesting supplies (chocolate and foot powder being the most popular) and generally looking for some news from civilisation! I’m sure you are all very keen to find out how your friends and loved ones are doing out there, so fortunately every project has a Communications Officer that will prepare a weekly summary of the work, games and gossip happening on each site. Here’s a quick rundown on the first week of projects on Expedition 08D&E. Again, we are still having problems with inserting photographs – they will be uploaded as soon as possible.

Alpha 1
A1 have got off to a storming start on the Guanacaste Trek. This evening they will be bunking down in Las Pailas before climbing the mighty volcano Rincon de la Vieja tomorrow. Other highlights have included bathing in thermal waters near Volcan Tenorio, witnessing the stunning turquoise waterfalls, and staying the night with the locals in the Tonjibe Indigenoue Reserve.

Weather report from A1 – the Bermudan Hurricane named Wendelle has swept Guanacaste with gale force winds! His high energy has kept the group going on their trek in even the toughest moments.

A1 has a new member, Beany the dog, who has followed them for over 40km. I wonder how far he will go?!

Alpha 2
A2 are planning to accomplish a route that has never been done before – the mighty Coast 2 Coast. Day one started at the Caribbean side of the country, trudging along the sandy beach as the heat pounded down. Along their travels they have crossed a railway track over crocodile infested waters, and spotted poisonous frogs and snakes. Their first five days were extremely challenging, including two days of trekking through dense jungle – they had the fortune of spending the night with Delta 4 in Barbilla National Park on day 5. The group have left the jungle and are now passing through small communities and villages in rural Costa Rica. Two days ago they were accommodated by a local friendly family, while last night they slept on a community centre floor in Taus. With the hardest part done, there is now no stopping Alpha 2.

Alpha 3
A3 have been braving the incessant rain up in Bosque del Nino. Nonetheless they have got off to a flying start, having demolished the old, inadequate visitor centre. They are now hard at work building the foundations and mixing cement for the new building. In their spare time, they have been playing lots of football with the locals and endless games of cards, including the Raleigh classic, ‘Mafia’. Nick (Logistics Manager) and Julian (Country Director) are visiting them tonight and have delighted them with post, a new part for their radio, and enough meat for a huge barbecue.

Alpha 4
Al4 finally got into Santa Rosa National Park, having freed their bus from the muddy entrance. They got straight to work, refurbishing many of the buildings in this historic park. They have already painted five buildings, although the amount of paint on the floor is almost the same as the paint on the wall. Luckily, Alpha 4 doesn’t worry about minor details like that. To keep themselves amused they have been playing a constant game of Cluedo – unfortunately Lewis came to a sticky end last night – death by Sam’s porridge!

Alpha 5
After an eventful two and a half days travel, some of which was spent on a school bus on the mountainous Nicaraguan roads, and also included a four and a half hour trek, A5 entered the village and Danny asked “Who’s my new mum then?” The group are all staying with local families and are getting used to the early wake up call from the roosters, constant rice & beans, and the somewhat unwanted continual attention from the children who are fascinated by them! The water project is underway, and the team are getting stuck in with mattocks and pick-axes to dig the ditch that will host the water pipes, and eventually provide the families with clean drinking water.

Alpha 6
Having shared the bus with Alpha 5, Alpha 6 have settled well into the beautiful community of El Cebollal in Miraflor. Weather ranges from rainy to warm, sunny to thunderous storms. The group are getting used to the local sites, with cows wandering freely around the work site, as do the rather lovely local men (in their words!) - much to the delight of the Alpha 6 ladies. Construction work on the community centre is progressing splendidly, with the foundations already laid.

Alpha 7
A7 were worried that they would have to carry their gear all the way to La Cangreja National Park, as the bus was having a few difficulties navigating a route to avoid the landslides in the area caused by heavy rain. However, trusty driver Bryan never lets us down, and the group made it safe and sound all the way to their front door…or jungle as it was in this case. The accommodation is very basic, but the campsite was a pleasant surprise – it has running toilets! However, the group has broken five hammocks already, while Matt demolished two A-frames in one night. They tell us the nearby waterfall is beautiful and that he path building is going very well.

Delta 1
D1 made it all the way down south to the beautiful Salitre Indigenous Reserve. The heavy rain of the first few days was challenging but didn’t stop the group from getting on with some good old mattocking and digging. They have made good headway with their ditch, and have also begun to construct the first of three water towers that will bring water to the local school. Well done Delta 1.

Delta 2
For the first few days Delta 2 got to know the locals by bonding through football. By Friday, building was well underway, with the floor already completed. After all that hard work, they took the weekend off to go and support the local football team in Grana de Oro, and then trekked to a beautiful river to swim and cool off. D2 are cruising and well on track to completing the ‘comedor’ for the local high school.

Delta 3
D3 have earned their rice and beans this week, having used their brute force to carry wood from the jungle, and sand and rocks from the river in order to have materials to build their ‘comedor’. They are making incredible progress and have laid foundations and started to construct the walls.

Delta 4
For a full report on Delta 4, see Blog 6.

Delta 5
Having spent 7 hours on a bus, 2 hours on a ferry and one night on the floor of a random café, D5 arrived in the beautiful Caletas-Ario Nature Reserve. They have moved into their luxury Ranger Station and are woken each morning by howler monkeys. They’ve been working hard on sanding their accommodation and will move onto the varnishing very soon. Also awaiting them is their exciting turtle project. D5 have also been entertaining themselves with dinner parties, and inventing desert recipes from their simple rations.