Countdown to changeover

It’s been quiet in terms of numbers at Fieldbase over the last few days, but that’s not to say we haven’t been busy – the phones have been ringing off the hook and there are now only 4 and a half days left until the Alpha groups start returning from phase one and there is a lot to do!

Yesterday we had yet another huge food delivery, which Wendy and Julian are busy counting in the Bodega right now. We’ve also been planning the schedule for changeover, including, most importantly, the food and a big party!

I went up to CATIE this morning to stock up on stamps ready for everyone to send their letters home during changeover and to collect the post – as you can see we’ve had absolutely loads…

We’ve been delivering the post received so far on the Fieldbase road trips and everyone gets very excited when they’ve got mail from home! So... If you want to send post to anyone out here you can do so at the following address:

Raleigh International
Apartado Postal 17
Codigo Postal 7170
CATIE
Costa Rica

Items take around 3 weeks to get here from Europe so make sure you don’t send anything past about mid-march or it might not arrive in time!

Of course all this time the Alpha groups have been busy getting on with their projects so here we go with more Alpha Groups updates…

Alpha one have made great progress and last night made it to Los Patos Ranger Station at the edge of the Corcovado National Park. They celebrated with a cake for Sophie’s birthday! Today they are heading through the park to La Sirena, where they will have a very well deserved day off tomorrow and will hopefully be able to some really cool woldlife including Tapirs and monkeys. Here are some pictures of Corcovado National Park from our previous treks so you can see where they'll be…
La Sirena Ranger station where Alpha one will be staying tonight...

Alpha two had an early start this morning in order to climb the mighty Cerro Bares, where they were rewarded with stunning views towards the Gulf of Nicoya with its many islands. Apparently they can see the beach they're headed to and it looks (and I quote) "a. ma. zing!" Later today they are heading on to Galan.

The Gulf of Nicoya...

Alpha four have had a spring cleaning day for their jungle camp. They’ve made such good progress on the work in the park that they are now starting on phase 2 work early!

Alpha five are ploughing through the tree measuring. Last night they rocked the jungle with a live music night with the park rangers!

Alpha seven held a cultural exchange evening with the local community last night. Today they are continuing with their well digging and concreting and are going to be taking a well deserved break this afternoon with a trip up the local volcano.

Alpha eight had an early start this morning. They were up at 4am to climb up to watch the sunrise, after which they helped the community dig out the river that supplies the village with water, as it tends to block up with sand and debris from time to time. This afternoon they are having a bit of a break and are waiting for the arrival of some of the Fieldbase team. Tomorrow it will be back to work as usual.

Alpha nine have been making good progress on the foundations for the Comedor. They’ve also used up all the wood they lugged down the hill last week and so have been collecting more, although I think they were quite relieved to find out that this wood is a lot closer!

We're expecting some pictures of Alpha 5 to come through from the Bravo one road trip, which is currently in Nicaragua, on email later on today so when these arrive I'll make sure they're uploaded asap!

We also have one very important final update - Libby has finally had her cast removed!!!

Needless to say we have a very happy bunny buzzing around Fieldbase today, although she is still on crutches and under doctor's orders to take it easy for at least another week - I think we'll probably have to tie her down to make that happen!