Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Slideshow from Alpha four

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

Slideshow from Alpha four

You may have noticed that the slideshow from the previous post was missing - we've been having a few technical difficulties uploading it so we've put it into a seperate post and that seemed to work ok! Here you go...

12 comments:

Anonymous18 February 2009 at 16:36
Great slideshow Alpha Four. Many thanks. looks like you're doing some good work. Calum, I'm off for a steak in Houston this evening. Enjoy the beans & rice... Dad
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Anonymous18 February 2009 at 17:12
Hey Kayleigh,

that camp looks amazing and dare I say...it's definitely tidier than your room! Ste's even more jealous now he's seen the photos...maybe it will inspire him eh?

Everyone looks like they're working extremely hard, although I couldn't help but notice that there are no photos of you actually holding anything that remotely resembles a spade...I'm sure it's just a coincidence?

Had any close encounters with any Costa Rican critters yet...any of the six/eight/no legged variety?

Keep up the good work Pooch,

love from all of us x x x
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Anonymous18 February 2009 at 17:48
Hello to everyone working at field base in Costa Rica..........
Thank you so much for all your hard work in keeping us posted. The pictures of Alpha Four are simlpy great. They all look happy and hard at work. We simply love the blog, so thank you very much for going into all that trouble but I must say, it makes a big difference to see the group at work.
Hana's family
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Anonymous19 February 2009 at 03:27
Hi Adam @ Alpha 4
Super photos...no excuses for your room when you return..that camp looks spotless ! Trail looks pretty impressive too...I'm sure there is a job in the Outwoods for you this summer !Thank you fieldbase for sharing this adventure with us.
Will email you Adz in the hope that you might be able to pick it up at changeover.Lots of love Mum and Dad xx
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Anonymous19 February 2009 at 06:50
To Hana damirji
would you look at you! golly, you're a PROPER JUNGLY GIRL! it looks so exciting, am MOST jealous of your adventure, you sure i can't package myself there? how's mrs o been treating you??? got the hang of everything? i do hope so. lucky we've got words for these things eh? pre-made. not like the boat situation. that's marginally more complex. but not much. hope you're well and having as much fun as you look like you are
love emily xxxxx
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Anonymous19 February 2009 at 07:13
What an idyllic setting.
Shot yourself in the foot there, Sean: this is making you look way too useful on the labour front. Your father'll have you doing all sorts of jobs when you come back! Although, come to think of it, I didn't see you with any heavy tools!
Liked the picture of the abandoned wheelbarrow - must have meant another tea break!
All the best to all of you x
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Anonymous19 February 2009 at 15:17
Hola, Fieldbase!
What's happening about the 'Wildlife Watch' section? There's at least a sloth and a scorpion (cleverly using a spade) to show, maybe other pics too!

Your blog is fantastic - thank you for keeping it going so well.
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Anonymous19 February 2009 at 22:08
hi dominique,what a surprise all these great pictures of work and campsite.I'm impressed how nice and cosy all the bedrooms look and I even spotted your orange mug.Was hard to find you on the pictures,took a while before noticing you've had a serious haircut! Ghislaine says it looks like a mohawk....I gues it is more comfortable and less hot this way.Fieldbase has planned a nice program for this coming weekend.They keep us well informed !

Love from Calgary,mama
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Anonymous19 February 2009 at 22:10
Hi Dominique,
I saw that you have a mohawk/shaved head.
I saw the pictures of you're camp.
Looks fun, hot, and dusty!
Ghislaine
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Anonymous21 February 2009 at 01:08
How's George of the Jungle? Glad to see your keeping your chess skills honed! All in Z send their love.
xxx M
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Anonymous21 February 2009 at 08:45
Hi Adam Alpha 4
Its saturday here so G and G have just seen the slide show , there is some good work with the shovel .You will be able to dig grandads Veg patch when you get back.
Hope you enjoy the rest back at field base.
Expect some post in the next week or two.
GG and S
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Anonymous26 February 2009 at 04:53
Quick message to Olivia Knight. Great to see what you're all up to! Love from Chris, Merry, Matthew & Jenny x.
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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?”