Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Laura and Lizzy meet Alpha 2 and 4

Wednesday, 11 March 2009

Laura and Lizzy meet Alpha 2 and 4

The pictures below are from the recent visit by Laura and Lizzy to Alpha 2 and 4.
They found both groups in good spirits, the trekkers are looking forward to the beach and A4 had a 'ladies night' to welcome their visitors, where the boys cooked a three course dinner, the girls will be returning the favour soon.

11 comments:

Anonymous12 March 2009 at 03:17
Rainy cold Sheffield calling, hey there sweet girl, how you doing? Can you see the sea yet?!Good to get the latest update, and also to catch a look at you on the photo,with that lovely smile of yours, which always brightens my day, arrr, am i being too mumsy? Noticing the check shorts, not seen them before, did you take them with you? Helen and Robert in Hong Kong now, and fly out tomorrow to Singapore, she said she would try and send you a message. Time seems to be flying. Is Bella ok? send her our love. Mamma and Grandad send much love as always. Missing you, and sending mucho love, mucho hugs mucho kisses across the miles, Ma and Da xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Anonymous12 March 2009 at 05:41
Fabulous - thank you for the photos!
Tom's (Partridge) Mum Alpha 4
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Anonymous12 March 2009 at 06:24
Hi Raleigh bloggers
Again, wanted to say what a brilliant job you are doing with the blog.
Would you mind advertising your address again so that I can send something to Sean (Alpha 7)I did have it but have lost it and can't remember which bit of the blog I originally found it in! Sorry! And many thanks
Big hi to Sean and love xx
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Anonymous12 March 2009 at 12:19
hola!!! thank you for the blog, i look for updates every day, i hope will say this personally, Excelent job!!! one huge hug!!!! kei ;)
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Anonymous12 March 2009 at 12:44
My dear Florentine.
How are you?Still going strong,working and walking hard.
Vandaag leuke pictures van je gezien.Goed te zien dat je er nog van geniet,gehavend door insektebeten en klimpartijen.
Wij leven dagelijks,soms uurlijks met je mee en zijn blij met beelden en stories. Goed verzorgd trouwens door Raleigh.
Hier gaat het gewone leven zijn gang. Ook hier worden de temperaturen wat hoger en merk je aan langer licht en vogelgetjilp het voorzichtige begin van de lente.
Gisteren natuurlijk weer gegolfd, ingedeeld in flight met de vader vsn Folkert,je weet wel ,de ex van Karlijn,goede vent trouwens.
Folkert is 2,5 mnd vader van een zoontje. Dat vond Oma weer leuk te horen,Ook is hij pro in Breda.
Mijn prestaties waren weer niet zo goed ,beetje moe van dienst en praatje voor de huisartsen.
How is Philipe?Still in contact?
Vandaag en morgen weer als assistente je moeder,Ben ik ,je gelooft het niet, erg blij mee. De andere dagen heb ik die depressieve bitch en daar wordt ik nog steeds niet vrolijk van.Gelukkig is het eind van haar carriere hier in zicht.
Binnenkort kan je uitrusten aan de beach?Heb je dan ook wel verdiend, Benieuwd naar je volgende project?
Wij kregen gisteren ook een uitnodiging voor een nascholing in Costa Rica in sept.,Denken we nog over,mede afhankelijk van jouw enthousiaste verhalen natuurlijk!
N.B. de folder ziet er ook erg wervend uit.
We missen je ,hoe is het mogelijk? ,nog steeds. Het huis is nog nooit zo netjes geweest,ha ,ha.Niet echt dus.
We love you.
Kisses Daddy
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Anonymous12 March 2009 at 12:52
To Florentientje,
Stoere dochter van ons.
Het toerisme hier staat niet direkt te popelen na het zien van de foto's van je.
Dus mogelijk blijven de actieve vulkanen,exotische bloemen en planten,watervallen en nevelwouden ,vele stranden en baaien de groei van het toerisme voorlopig de baas.
Fientje vraagt wanneer je met haar naar het bal gaat ?
Hou het nog even vol en geniet over een paar dagen van het strand.Vergeet het flesje T-Three olie niet te gebruiken op je wondjes.
Zet het bad vast warm.
Heel veel liefs Mama.
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Anonymous13 March 2009 at 08:15
Hi Adam @ Alpha 2
Hope by now you have your feet up having a well earned r and r on 'The Beach ' ! We are really proud of you and your fellow trekkers making it over the top. Well done !
Lots of love Mum, Dad and Megz xxx
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Anonymous13 March 2009 at 13:15
To Floor (Alpha 2)
Vandaag een kaart van je allerliefste vriendin Laar uit Melbourne.Vroeg zich af of je haar berichtje via de radio ook nog hebt gekregen.Zij ligt overigens lekker op het strand,en heeft een tour over Great Ocean Road achter de rug.
Raleigh ,thanks for the fhoto's on the blog,Great !!
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Anonymous14 March 2009 at 12:08
Hi to Holly and all at Alpha 4

We loved seeing the pics especially Holly with the Pringles! How she must be dreaming about such treats IN THE RAIN ! Oh dear...hope the weather brightens up . I am going to send this Anon as my comments don't seem to be posted. Maybe they see my name and ban me. We are on our last night of WWW and just watching Ireland v Scotland - a close match at the moment. love and kisses M
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Anonymous15 March 2009 at 15:29
Hoiya!!! We're checking the e-mails every 5 minutes! Great to see your photo. Blogs are gr8! LMAO. Love from ML, DL and Toodles xxx
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Anonymous18 March 2009 at 13:50
Hi to Trekkers on Alpha 3; Coast to Coast sounds amazing and you have Tom D with you! Saw pics of the celidh and wondered whether it brought back memories of Moncrieff. All the best for those miles you are going to cover.Best of luck with the walking boots/athletes footrot and just think how you will enjoy seeing the Pacific Ocean at the end of the trek. Missing you, Holly loads of love Mum xxxx
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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?”