Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: X-ray 2 slay the dragon

Friday, 20 November 2009

X-ray 2 slay the dragon

X-ray 2 continue to do brilliantly and as we visited them to climb the Dragon with them, we found them in high spirits. Following their rather wet nights camping a few nights back, the team were determined to have a dry and comfy nights sleep, and so pushed themselves and walked an amazing 31km in one day in order to get to a community centre where they were able to enjoy showers and a tent free night. Their good luck continued as they then found a cafe where they enjoyed a variety of delicious breakfasts, encluding fried chicken for Charlotte and they also had their first sunny day in ten days. Spirits were further lifted when fieldbase arrived with a present of Alex's home-baked banoffee pie, which was well recived and quickly consumed! The following morning it was up at 2.45 in order to climb the Dragon, one of the highest points of the trek and where on a good day, you can see the pacific, the groups ultimate goal. Unfortunately, the clouds stopped the group from getting their first glimpse of their destination, but they were happy to be walking without their heavy packs for a change, and to know that they had reached a big milestone in their trek. Their goal is in reach now, and as they are descending towards the ocean, their hardest trekking days are behind them, and they will soon be celebrating their acheivements on a beautiful pacific beach!

Maing their way up the dragon

The view from the top

A very muddy April!

Alex celebrates reaching the top with his NZ flag...

...which is then stolen by Craig and Hardeep!

6 comments:

Anonymous20 November 2009 at 13:20
CRAIG X-RAY2

Hi Craig, hope your leg is better, keep going. Looks like hard work though. We all miss you but are keeping up with your progress on the web site.
Love from Aunty Anne Uncle Dave and the girls
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Vay20 November 2009 at 22:56
Dear Hardeep,
Wow I saw the latest pictures they have put up and the scenery looks amazing, unbelieveable! Theres also a close up of ur hairy face, nice and freshie!lol
I finished my exams baby! Think they went ok, will find out in 2 weeks. Going home tomorrow for the weekend to plan this monsterous christmas dinner with my Mum lol.
Only a few days left and you will be at the finish line! Good luck to you and all the team, so proud of you! I miss you and love you loadz Vayx
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Anonymous21 November 2009 at 04:39
Ha Tanne,
We zijn er bijna......maar nog niet helemaal!!

The ocean komt eraan!!En dan......heerlijk genieten van zon en zee(hoop ik voor jullie allemaal). Wie weet kunnen we over een paar dagen weer skypen en zie/hoor ik je live. Jullie zien er uit alsof jullie dagen geen douche meer hebben gehad maar je zult inderdaad een punt bereiken waarop dat niet meer telt.
Lieve schat hou je taai en ik schrijf weer snel.
Dikke kus van mama( onder de vorige post comment was ik vergeten mijn naam te zetten!)
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Vaughan Chatfield22 November 2009 at 12:45
Message for Craig X-Ray 2
Hi mate hope your knee is holding out, your looking good. Bet this is the hardest thing you have ever taken on?
All well at home everyone ok and all send their best wishes.
We drew 1 -1 with Burnley Sat and Spurs had a flukey result today, they beat Wigan 9 - 1 (yes nine)
Ok mate we will catch up with you via email and blog, bye,
Love Mom, Dad, Scott, Lorna and Stan xx
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Anonymous23 November 2009 at 13:39
To Tanne

Lieve Tanne,

Eindelijk na het doorzoeken van deze site(3 kwartier ben ik er al mee bezig...)en een beetje hulp van Gurt, gaat het me dan eindelijk lukken om een berichtje te plaatsen!!
Ik hoop dat alles goed met je gaat, ik volg de verhalen bij mama op de voet!! Het klinkt zo gaaf en de foto's zien er goed uit! De tijd vliegt hier en je komt zelfs al weer bijna naar huis!
Kenia was echt geweldig!!! Maar het was ook erg confronterend. Je gaat je beseffen wat je hebt en je afvragen waar je nu eigenlijk mee bezig bent. Ik denk dat jij dat nu ook wel hebt, ik hoorde van mama dat je nu echt leeft zonder iets, zelfs water en sanitair. Dat maakt je denk ik ook heel bewust van de luxe hier. Patrick en ik hebben iig de smaak nu wel echt te pakken en zouden zo naar Afrika verhuizen. Het lijkt me super om net als jij nu mensen te kunnen helpen!! Ik ben zo benieuwd naar al je ervaringen en verhalen/avonturen!!!

Nu ik de site eindelijk snap zal ik vaker posten. Alles hier gaat eigenlijk gewoon rustig door..scriptie, werk etc. Ik ben afgelopen weekend naar Londen geweest, dat was ook super! Met Mink en we hebben echt heel veel plezier gehad. Ik was er nog nooit geweest, maar was meteen dol op de stad! Ook het Engelse landschap is echt mooi, maar daar weet jij natuurlijk alles van na je verblijf in Brighton.
Ondanks dat de tijd snel gaat mis ik je wel erg! Mis het soms gewoon even kletsen aan de telefoon en je zien! Ik ben stiekem ook wel een beetje blij dat je zo snel al weer terugbent:)
Lekker een kerst weer met zijn allen!! En dan volgend jaar kom ik je lekker opzoeken in argentinie, heb er nu al zin in!!

Nou schat ik brei er een eind aan..
Tot snel!!!

Dikke kus Eva
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Anonymous24 November 2009 at 02:23
lieve Tanne,

Het is nu dinsdag 24 nov, 09.06u en ik denk dat je nog lekker slaapt....
Volgens mijn berekeningen loop je vandaag de laatste kilometers. Weet dat ik in gedachten met je meeloop! Wat zal het een onbeschrijfelijk gevoel zijn als je je rugzak kunt afgooien en.....de zee zo dichtbij is dat je hem kunt aanraken.

Ik ga vandaag weer trouw naar Maud en weet nog niet wat de dag ons zal brengen, behalve koffie en kletsen.

Hier zijn we druk bezig met het uitzoeken van Job's scooter. Hij is ook begonnen met het leren van de theorie en moet de 2e, op zijn verjaardag op!! We shall see!!

Lieve schat, tot gauw en dikke kus van mama
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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?”