Expedition 08D & E: Blog 3 – Participant Induction and Phase 1 Deployment

Greetings from Turrialba. Dennis has packed his bags and headed out on project, so this is Ross McKenzie (Country Programme Manager) to give you the all the news from the last week in Raleigh Costa Rica & Nicaragua. I’m afraid we are not able to provide you with photographs at the moment, but as soon as we resolve technical difficulties we will post lots of pics from induction and deployment.

On the 31st of June the Volunteer Managers had their last party before the mass arrivals – this lot never misses the chance to dress up and dance, or take off a classic scene or two from Top Gun (photographic evidence coming soon!). The next day we kicked off the Headstart programme for our HCVs (Host Country Venturers) The HCVs are our Latino Venturers from Costa Rica & Nicaragua. They enjoyed a ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ competition, which gave the VMs a chance to start practising their Spanish.

After some incredibly long delays, and some interesting overnight diversions, all of the Venturers eventually made it to FB (Field Base). There were some blurry eyes and lost baggage, but the positive attitude of everyone ensured a great start to the expedition. The first day consisted of swim tests, an admin session, an introduction to radio theory & voice procedure, and a presentation on the projects they would be doing (keep reading to find out about who is going where and what the projects are). The Venturers on the 5 week expedition (08E) gave their preferences, as they have the opportunity to do either an environmental or a community project – an amazing 48 out of 55 were able to get their first choice, with the remainder getting their second choice – they were very happy with this. There was an early night for all as jet lag quickly kicked in.

A very early start began the next two days of training. The first thing to do was find out where they would be going – this was the most memorable project allocation I have seen, with Jimmy the Faff and James, Lord of the D.A.N.C.E. running down the aisles and along the tables screaming their team members names and greeting them with high fives and bear hugs! During the next two days the groups went to jungle camp and learned how to adapt and survive to life in the jungle – this included making basha beds and hammocks, setting up a group tarp, digging short drops, cooking on trangias, using HF radios, learning how to run a Casevac (Casualty Evacuation) and much more. They also had sessions on First Aid, the history of Costa Rica & Nicaragua, as well as a bit of salsa dancing.

The last day of induction was the most hectic of all. This involved returning from jungle camp, cleaning kit, checking equipment and food for the impending phase, and topping it all off with a barbecue and foam party. The terrace at FB was rocking well into the wee hours…and then the buses arrived to take the teams to their projects. The Nicaraguan groups were first, leaving at 0430. The Costa Rican groups then left one at a time, with the last group rolling out at 0700, at which point FB staff collapsed after three weeks of intense training, preparation and hard work.

So I bet you can’t wait to find out who is going where and what they are doing? Here we go…

08D – 10 Week Expedition

· Alpha 1 - The Guanacaste Trek
The setting for this trek covers a huge variety of different ecosystems from cloud forest above 3000 metres down to one of the last remaining stands of primary dry tropical forest left in the Americas. The group will start by circumnavigating Volcan Tenorio via the Caribbean slopes visiting Turquoise waterfalls and moist rainforest. After passing by Volcan Miravalles the group will head to Rincon de la Vieja National Park to climb one of the volcanoes and to witness steaming mud pots, geysers, and hot sulphur springs. After several days of walking through the forest they will arrive at the foot of Cerro Cacao in Guanacaste National park where they will climb the volcano. From here they will descend down into the dry tropical forests of Santa Rosa National Park where scientists have identified over 3,000 plant species, some 300 bird species, and 5,000 insects. The trek will finish at Playa Junquillal to relax by the beautiful calm waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Project Managers
Alex ‘Coops’ Cooper
Helen Machin

Venturers
Jamie Beacall
Stephen Hosking
Rachael Kelly
Wendelle Lightbourne
Jasper Mackisack
Teliqua Mallory
Benjamin Masterman
Anna Reay
William Vasquez
Laura Wilkins

· Alpha 2 - The Coast to Coast Trek
Starting on the shores of the Caribbean Sea this group will walk across a continent in 19 days to the Pacific Ocean. The trek begins through the Caribbean lowlands, hiking through the jungle at Barbilla National Park before heading to the climb over the continental divide through Tapanti National Park. Once up to nearly 3,000m the group will descend through the stunning cloud forests of Los Santos to the Pacific Ocean at Playa El Rey, part of Manuel Antonio National. This trek will be challenging but achievable by all, encompassing a wide range of scenery and habitat. It will feel like an awesome achievement to have walked coast to coast and I’m sure it will be an unforgettable experience.

Project Managers
Mike ‘Jungle’ Bateman
Anna Tate

Venturers
Hannah Allan
Annabel Gray
Alshauntae Harvey-Hollis
William Hatton
Matthew Hoghton
Miles Kaye
Joanne Lockey
Zeko Rubaine
Tom Smart
Roberto Ulloa


· Alpha 3 - Bosque del Nino Environmental Project – Camping area and trail construction
Bosque del Nino holds one of the largest remaining areas of forest in the Central Valley and being close to the major cities is an attractive site for local visitors and schools. The project will be to repair some of the visitor facilities such as the main reception area, camping zones and trails.

Project Managers
Karen Forrester
Laura Skinner
Alison Moyce

Venturers
Santos Yessenia Blandon Picado
Rudo Chimbghandah
Iesha Dill
George Finlay
James Lee
Katarzyna Lukjaniec
Darwin Solis
Marie-Claire Streets
Mark Taylor
Tom Williams

· Alpha 4 Environmental Project - Santa Rosa National Park
During this expedition we will spend two phases in this area – one in Santa Rosa National Park and the other at Playa Junquillal which is connected to Santa Rosa. In Santa Rosa the group will be painting the administration building whilst at Playa Junquillal they will be repairing the camping area and some trails. Santa Rosa National Park is one of the oldest national parks in the country and contains one of the only large areas of primary and secondary dry-tropical forest left in the world.

Project Managers
Aleks Sawyer
Dennis Monteiro

Venturers
Esteban Castillo
Susannah Compton
Makeda DeShield
Colm Doris
Lewis Laing
Rosamond Luther
Meriel Mulhall
Sam Newman
Gabriela Sanchez
Ricai Williams

· Alpha 5 Community Project - Las Caraos, Achuapa, Nicaragua
High in the hills above Achuapa, in one of the poorest most remote areas of Nicaragua, Raleigh will be working on a series of small projects to bring clean and safe drinking water to 80 families in the community of Monte Frio. At present the local people get their water from the river which often dries up in summer or comes from polluted water sources. This project is a multi-stakeholder partnership with the local community, the Cooperativa Juan Francisco Paz Silva, Nottingdale International and Raleigh. The group will be working with the local population to dam small streams, build tanks to collect the water from where it can run through pipes to all the local houses. The benefits of clean water will be felt by many generations to come. The participants will be living directly with families in the village and will help out with their day to day tasks.

Project Managers
Mani ‘Peanut’ Cea-Poblete
Vicky Easton
Carolyn Henry

Venturers
Zakina Allen
Helen Buss
Jonathan Cox
Juan Pablo Cruz
Edward Davies
Joy Hardyman
Emma Houston
Shakii Pearman
Jason Reading
Daniel Rooke
Yasmin Vora

· Alpha 6 Community Project - Miraflor, Nicaragua
The Miraflor reserve is 206sqkm of beautiful mountainous terrain with various different ecosystems such as tropical savannah, dry tropical forest and mountain cloud forest. Within the reserve there are a number of communities living through subsistence farming and gaining income from coffee growing, cattle farming and some small tourism initiatives. However the people have few resources and lack access to basic services such as health and education. On this project the participants will be building two preschools/community centres in the communities of El Coyolito and El Cebollal Abajo where currently there are no facilities for very young children to learn and the communities persevere with basic lessons in people’s houses. Raleigh volunteers will live with local families and experience the lives of local people whilst enjoying the beauties of the local natural environment.

Project Managers
Miranda Schnitger
Amanda ‘Dura-Bunny’ Irwin
Theresa Bailey

Venturers
Viviana Aguilar
Katie Baxter
Madeleine Gardner
Ben Haigh
Shohaib Hussain
Ashley Phipps
Kandrea Romaine
Hugo Ross
Daniel Wigmore-Shepherd
Laura Wyglendacz

· Alpha 7 Environmental Project - La Cangreja – Camping area and trail development
La Cangreja is Costa Rica’s newest National Park which owes its name to the striking 1,305 metre peak Cerro Cangreja. The park has a mixture of Tropical Humid forest and Pre-Montane forest with a number of species of plant found nowhere else in the world which makes the area important for research purposes and for conservation. The park is also blessed with amazing waterfalls only to be found through exploring the forest. At present the government is developing the facilities in the park and during the expedition Raleigh venturers will be working on the reception area and extending the trail network within the park. This project is a unique opportunity to live right in the middle of the jungle!

Project Managers
Andrew White
Sarah Finch

Venturers
Natalie Ali
Che Augustus
Rebecca Butland
Alasdair Conn
Sarah Long
Jorge Marin
Lee Mulligan
Felicity Shapland
Matthew Theakston
Ashun Wolffe

08E – 5 Week Expedition

· Delta 1 Community Project - La Rosa – Salitre Indigenous Reserve, Costa Rica
In the South of Costa Rica in the Salitre Indigenous reserve Raleigh International will be building a water system for a primary school in the community of La Rosa. The water system will allow the children to drink clean and safe drinking water whilst they are at school and for the school to provide cooked meals. This remote community is part of the Salitre Indigenous reserve where Bri Bri people maintain their cultural heritage and mostly live through subsistence farming. The indigenous reserve has been largely forgotten by the local authorities and the community has no electricity, running water or sanitary facilities. During this project we will be working in partnership with a local village association who have applied to Raleigh International for support. This is a unique project where the Raleigh volunteers will be able to gain a unique experience of living with an indigenous community as well as undertaking a much needed project.

Project Managers
Oscar Saborio
Ping Choi
Nigel Kinsman

Venturers
Abd-Allah Ayaz
Sarah Hamilton
Euan Ivory
Cheuk Lei
Katharine McDonnell
Daniel Renfrey
Catalina Retana
James Reynoldson
Laura Richardson
David Simms
driana Solorzano Ramirez

· Delta 2 Quetzal & Delta 3 Simiriñak Community – Chirripo Indigenous Reserve, Costa Rica
This Raleigh International group will be working on two projects in the Chirripo Indigenous Reserve to build two ‘comedors’ for the secondary school in the community of Quetzal and the primary school in the community of Simiriñak. These remote communities, 5 hours apart on foot, are found in the foothills of the Caribbean slope of Central Costa Rica and are inhabited by the Cabecar indigenous people who maintain their own language and culture. The comedors will allow these newly established schools to receive meals for the students, paid for by the government. This group will also have a unique experience where they can learn about the lives of the Cabecar people and understand the challenges that face this indigenous community at the beginning of the 21st century.

Delta 2
Project Managers
Alice Thompson
Ben ‘El Benito’ Fellows

Venturers
Allister Braithwaite
Franck Brown
Emma Damant
Tessa Deykin
Alexander Ennis
Abdikhani Ghesad
Kirstie Hopkin
Matthieu Leonard
Anna Nicholls
Paul Shifflet
Caroline Smith

Delta 3
Project Managers
Emma Palfreyman
James ‘Lord of the D.A.N.C.E.’ Hanslip
Jimmy ‘The Faff’ Murray
Jimmy ‘The Cruz Missile’ Cruz
*The Cruz will switch with Emma / The Faff will switch with the Lord of D.A.N.C.E

Venturers
Thomas Angier
Sophie Duffin
Sara Hughes
Luis Francisco Ledezma Vasquez
Alejandro Linan Martin
Maritza Loaiza
Daisy Pfeil
Safia Thobani
Rose Tweddle
Wing Yui Wan
Catherine Woollen

· Delta 4 Environmental Project - Barbilla National Park, Costa Rica
Barbilla National park, found on the central Caribbean slope of Costa Rica, contains some of the best quality primary rainforest in the country. One of the remotest and least visited national parks, surrounded by indigenous reserves, this area is considered important to protect the biodiversity that it contains. The park is used by scientists to study the great number of species of flora and fauna. One of the challenges that face the park administrators is controlling illegal logging and poaching in the area. This group will be building a trail that goes from the main park headquarters down to the river that runs through the centre of the park. The group will live in a jungle camp on the edge of this river surrounded by pristine forests. This once in lifetime experience will be remembered by the entire group whilst undertaking work important to the park rangers.

Project Managers
Dave Williams
Jules Duzant

Venturers
Ileana Bejarano
Adriana Chavarria Flores
Amy Chesterfield
John Gilbert
Olivia Hayward
Robert Lundgren
Holly Miller
Katharine Plant
Loreth Quesada - Bolanos
Huw Simmons
Douglas Wedderburn-Maxwell

· Delta 5 Environmental Project - Caletas- Ario National Park
Caletas-Ario wildlife reserve is one of the newest protected areas in the country and as such is just starting on developing the infrastructure necessary for conserving and protecting this beautiful area. The wildlife reserve is made up of some patches of dry tropical forest, large areas of mangroves, a series of beaches where turtles lay their eggs and a marine area. The group will be helping to work on the ranger station and preparing nurseries for the turtles. Some of the jobs the group will be doing are varnishing the ranger station, creating a turtle hatchery on the beach, and digging a trench in order to lay a pipe to deliver fresh water to the ranger station. The development of the wildlife reserve will have numerous knock-on benefits to the local community in terms of income through tourism and improved facilities.

Project Managers
Rod ‘Who’s on Rod Watch?’ McKenzie
Sancia Keogh

Venturers
Louise Baker
Rajbir Basra
Sarah Cowling
Holly David
Lauren Davies
Liam McCarthy
Pedro Munoz Ramirez
Luis Enrique Ortega Araya
Barnaby Redwood
Kate Stephen
Anjeela Wakil

Phew...and that’s the lot! Our Field Base team, including hot shot photographer Rachel Codling, will be out and about visiting the teams over the next three weeks. We hope to have updates and photos from each project site as soon as possible. Also, I promise we’ll have those shots of the last week available pronto. Watch this space…