Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Food glorious food!

Sunday, 8 February 2009

Food glorious food!

Our internet is down at fieldbase so sorry for the lack of blog yesterday! But here it is...

Food is very important, not only to me but also to our trekkers! Yesterday saw our first food drop to Alpha 2!

The food bags were packed into the back of the Bravo 3 (The Hylux), and John, Wendy and I jumped into the cab (along side the all important shop stocked with sugary treats) and off we went!

We followed the dirt road the trekkers had walked along earlier that day; driving through sugar cane fields that were being harvested, over pot holes, across bridges that spanned swollen and flooded rivers all the while the rain never let up!

Dispute all this the trekkers were in high spirits and pleased to see us, or pleased to see the chocolate either way the group were all doing well and enjoying themselves!

Today the second road trip begins. Wendy and John head off to deliver food in Bravo 3 to Alpha 1, visit Alpha 9 – I am sure both groups will welcome them with open arms, once again this maybe due to the chocolate they bring!

And just as you have all been asking for a quick update on where the other groups are at.

Alpha 1: It’s been hard work for these guys trekking through thick jungle, complete with river crossings but they are looking forward to meeting up with Bravo 3 today.

Alpha 4: Are putting the finishing touches to their jungle camp today and starting work on the trail tomorrow.

Alpha 5: Have finished their forest camp and are getting busy measuring trees – I hear they are planning a Valentines Day party for when field base visit them in a weeks time!

Alpha 7: Are all settled in well with their families, enjoying the home cooked meals and working hard, they worked until close to nightfall last night!

Alpha 8: Their foreman (quote “a great guy”) has been teaching the venturers all the skills they need to build the community centre, which they are using today as they start work.

Alpha 9: Enjoyed a campfire with the community last night and have started carrying wood to their building site. No small task as this is over 2km away!

5 comments:

Anonymous8 February 2009 at 14:00
Hi Tom - and alpha 2! How are you all? Great to see you in action !!!! It looks very wet......saves you having a shower. It is snowing here yet again today so don't know what Monday am will be like. We have phoned Nana so that Gill can show her your photo on the blog as she is at Gill's today. It is so exciting to see you! There was no blog yesterday as they had no internet connection so we really missed catching up with you all. Bur great today as ther e was a double fix. Take care LOL Mum dad and Jamie and M xxx
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Anonymous8 February 2009 at 16:08
Hey James, weather isn't quite on par with the snow + ice in Exeter but glad to see you + everyone are in high spirits in the photos! Your m+d phoned me on thurs; portishead was hit quite badly as was Exe on friday! Bday card was sent to Mel by the way! :) Still no news on you know what. Have a great time + i look forward to the update when you get back! denver xx
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Mr Kim9 February 2009 at 13:44
Great to see some photos on here of you Laura, as you're usually the one taking the photos. Lots of nice comments on here about your photos, and your haircuts! You're list of skills is endless! Is cool that you are in the middle of the jungle, and you get these messages read to you over the radio. This is way better than Facebook!
Soaking wet and you still look fabulous! Looking forward to seeing more of your wonderful photos! Take care, Kim x
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Anonymous9 February 2009 at 14:03
Hey Holly (stokeeee)!! hope the camera hasnt run out of battery yet and zog is being kept at bay. Bushby's just about to leave for New Zealand, we miss you and hope you are having a great time. Love hobbit and bush xxxxxxxxxxx
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Anonymous11 February 2009 at 04:18
Hi Tom! Fulham got a draw at the weekend and Chelsea have sacked Scoleri! You can see dad's facebook when you have inernet. lol Mum xxx
Hi Alpha 2 - hope it has stopped raining.........
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Raleigh Lingo

Copy that?

Sometimes our Raleigh technical terms can be a tad confusing so we've put together a glossary for you blog followers. This will appear as a quick-reference section on the right-hand column so you can translate our Tico-terms into something a bit more palatable. And for those keen to brush up their Central American Spanish, we've included some handy translations. Here's a few to get you started...

Alpha, X-Ray and Zulu groups
(Grupos Alfa, X-Ray y Zulu)
The official name for project groups during the phases of CR&N 13A. Alpha will be out on project from 3rd to 23rd February, X-Ray from 24th February to 15th March and Zulu from 17th March to 5th April. Project groups are allocated during induction

Basha
Jungle ‘bed’: consists of a tarpaulin for shelter, a hammock and mosquito net. A basha is hung up between two trees and supported by rope, bamboo and canvas straps

Bodega
A Spanish word meaning store or warehouse

Bravo
A term of endearment for our hard-working Land Rovers. The four vehicles are officially, and imaginatively named Bravo One, Two, Three and Four

C.A.T.I.E.
The agricultural and development research institute on whose campus Fieldbase is situated. Find out more at http://www.catie.ac.cr/

Changeover (Cambio de Fase)
Two day period where all staff and Venturers return from their project sites for some respite before they are all reallocated and sent off to do it all over again...

Chicas, Chicos
Spanish term meaning girls (chicas) or guys (chicos) or both (chicos aswell). As in “Vamonos chicos!” or “Let’s go guys!”

Craic
A way to gauge how people are feeling, usually measured from 0 to 90. If your ‘craic’ is high, you’re pretty happy. If you announce a low craic, people will probably fix you up with an energy bomb and a nice big hug

CR&N 13A
Costa Rica and Nicaragua expeditions 13A

Day Leader (DL) (Líder del día)
Every day on project, one of the Team is designated DL – they are in charge of the day, including organising the day’s briefing, keeping group morale up, dealing with any problems, sticking to schedule and de-briefing at the end of the day. The DL role rotates round the whole group so everyone takes a turn

Energizer (Actividad Levanta Muertos)
An activity to gather the group together and raise energy levels. Can be used at the beginning of the day, or whenever a quick pick-me-up is required

Energy bombs (Explosión de azucar)
A trekking treat – mix together oats, raisins, condensed milk and chocolate powder and roll into little balls of gooey goodness to power you through the day

Fieldbase (FB) (Campo Base)
Refers to the Raleigh ‘office residence’ which is where the Fieldbase staff eat, sleep and work, whilst organising the expedition, manning the radios round the clock, supporting the projects, planning transport and logistics, keeping tabs on the finances and much, much more

Field Base Volunteer Managers (Equipo Logístico Voluntario del Campo Base)
Volunteer support staff for the expedition. The team looks after the ‘behind the scenes’ of the expedition and ensures everything runs smoothly. This consists of three permanent staff members - the Country Director, Country Project Manager and Country Expedition Manager - plus a team of volunteer staff including the, Medic, Photographer, Administrator, Finance Officer, three Logistics (logs) team members and the Communications Officer

Gallo Pinto
A traditional Costa Rican dish of rice and beans (yum!)

Icebreaker (Rompe Hielos)
A getting-to-know-you game

Longdrop (Letrina)
The camp loo. Literally a deep hole in the ground, it is one of the first tasks to complete when setting up jungle camp for obvious reasons! Short drops are similar, normally used for overnight stops when a shallower trench will suffice

Longs (Pantalones)
From 6pm onwards, we all don long trousers and sleeves to discourage the bugs that aren’t deterred by DEET

Maxis
Short for Maxi Pali, the stock-everything shop about a kilometer from Fieldbase where you can buy all those things you forgot/ran out of/lost

Nicas
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Nicaragua

Ninja
A popular game/energizer used by venturers and Project managers alike. Everyone stands in a circle and tries to hit the team members either side of them on the hand via a single ninja movements. Sound effects welcome

POPS
Legendary milkshake and ice-cream parlour chain found all over Costa Rica – perfect for a sweet splurge

Pork and beans (Frijoles con cerdo)
Another staple foodstuff for trekkers: tinned beans with a slightly sausage twang, served cold for lunch. Usually accompanied by dry cracker dust, sprinkled liberally on to the top. If you’re in a hurry, this can be consumed without cutlery straight from the can

Project Managers (PMs) (Guías)
Project staff for the expedition. Each of the groups has at least two PMs who work with the Venturers to develop skills, lead projects and challenge themselves

PURA VIDA!
A very special Costa Rican phrase that means hello, goodbye, I’m great, it’s good, pure life, basically any positive, feel-good thing can be Pura vida!

Radio check (Chequeo de Radio)
As well as a daily SITREP, all Alpha projects are required to complete a second radio call-in each day to check in, receive messages and report any developments

Review (Revisión)
A round-up that assesses how everyone feels, what went well and what needs work. This is sometimes an ‘activity’, sometimes a chat around the campfire, or sometimes just a bit of time to reflect. It’s an important part of everyone’s personal development so we make sure it happens every day

Roadtrip (Paseo Volando Rueda)
The logistics team and some of the Field Base team drive the Bravos on a loop round to each of the accessible project sites once per phase. They deliver kit, supplies, site visitors, messages from the blog and of course the all important post

Ropa Americana
Purveyors of the finest second hand American threads. Perfect for fancy dress/obtaining that long coveted college sports jersey

SITREP (Reporte de la Situación)
Literally Situation Report. A special radio message sent from the satellite project sites back to fieldbase once a day. It follows a certain format and includes all sort of handy information like where they are, what they’ve been up to, what they need and what they’re planning to do next

Tang
A fruity powder that is used to make squash. Jolly useful for taking away the chlorine taste of purified water

Ticos
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Costa Rica

Trangia (Mini Cocina)
A portable cooking stove. Used primarily for trekking, a trangia’s compact design makes it perfect for easy transportation. Literal translation in spanish - mini kitchen. Makes sense

Turrialba
The location of Fieldbase

Venturers (Aventureros)
Participants in the Raleigh expedition. Aged 17 to 24, they come in three varieties: Host Country Venturers (from Costa Rica and Nicaragua), Partnership Venturers (positive young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK who participate in Raleigh expeditions as part of a longer term development programme) and UK and International Fundraising Participants (who work hard to raise money to contribute towards the charities work and expenses in order to take part in the expedition)

Wash up (Revisión Final)
The last few days of expedition, spent debriefing, returning equipment, performing skits, and most importantly enjoying the farewell party (tears alert)

Zero (Cero)
A radio term that identifies the radio controller at Fieldbase. Fieldbase monitors the radios 24-7, listening out on three frequencies for calls from our satellite project sites. When the radio alarm sounds, we might answer something like this: “Hello unknown call sign, hello unknown call sign, this is Zero, this is zero, do you copy, OVER?”