More Alpha group updates

My goodness, all our Alpha groups have been busy bees over the past few days, every time we get a radio call, we’re amazed at how much they’re managing to cram into their days. Here is a round up of how everyone is doing and what they’ve been up to…

Alpha one have been speeding along and were feeling very proud of themselves yesterday afternoon after having reached the Rio Platanillal half a day ahead of schedule. Today they are headed to Veultas, which is at the top of a ridge with gorgeous views and will hopefully be staying at a lovely little campsite there that even has a swimming pool where they can relax after all their hard work.

Alpha two have had a couple of hard days and are a little damp from all the rain, yesterday in particular was a difficult day as they climbed over 1000m in one day. Lesser groups may be tired and grumpy after all of this, but not Alpha 2! They have been filling their evenings with games of Poker (probably betting crema biscuits and granola bars) and held a slumber party. Tonight they will reach La Esperanza, where Anna and I will meet them for their second food drop. The good news is that they are nearly at the top of the mountain range where they will cross from the Caribbean side of Costa Rica to the Pacific side, which will hopefully be much drier and will bring some well-deserved sunshine!

Alpha four held a tropical elegance party last night, which included a three-course dinner and party games – sounds like a lot of fun and I can’t wait to see some photos of that – we’ll try to pick some up on our road trip in about a week’s time! There’s been some excellent wildlife spotting in the La Cangreja jungle including a sloth, a snake and an armadillo. They have also been making brilliant progress on the path, as well as continuing to improve their camp, the latest addition is a library!

Alpha five are also going great guns with their work on clearing the path and will be starting on making some steps today. They have also been making improvements to their camp, the latest addition here is a swing - I sense the rivalry between Alphas four and five building a little, the boys in the two groups have even been leaving messages for each other via the radio – nothing wrong with a little healthy competition and I think by the end of this phase we are going to have two of the best camps ever seen on Raleigh!

Alpha seven have been having glorious weather up in Achuapa. They have moved to the nearby community of Los Playones 2 where they are working on a gravity feed water system and have already completed one set of trenches. They had a very well deserved day off yesterday, and are back to the hard work today. No reports yet of who won the baseball match, we’ll ask them on the radio when they call in this afternoon and let you know, although like Anna, my money’s on the opposition!

Alpha eight have now finished the third wall of the community centre and are moving ever closer to completing the building. In their spare time they’ve been taking the time to visit all the houses in the village and exploring the surrounding area, as well as helping out at the school.

And finally Alpha nine have nearly finished the floor of the dining hall and are planning on finishing that later on today. They had a game of football yesterday evening and Laura and Ross from the Fieldbase team arrived safely after their long trek in along the beach. There was some entertainment put on for them last night and I’m sure the group are keeping them busy today helping to finish the floor, and that Laura is also busy snapping away – we should have some amazing photos for you when they get back in several days time.

So all in all, a week into phase two (yes, a week in already, where does the time go?!) and everyone is doing really well, and by all accounts having an amazing time!