Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: X-ray 4's final days in paradise

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

X-ray 4's final days in paradise

X-ray 4 received a warm welcome back to field base after a slight delay due to their bus getting stuck in a river on its way to collect them! They left Camornal having completed the steps to the viewing point, a new bridge and several new carved signs in addition to the hundreds of turtles eggs that they rescued. The team are now experts in the art of spotting turtle tracks, the barely visible dark lines that lead them (and unfortunately the poachers) to the turtles. They have worked around the clock on the turtle patrols as well as completing their daytime construction duties, and have still found time to enjoy take in beautiful sunsets on the beach. On Saturday, they headed of to the nearby beach town of Samara and enjoyed some nice food and some fun on the beach before camping out under the stars.Their time on the beach gave them some time to reflect upon the experiences of the past three weeks, on the hard work they have done, the friends they have made and of course the turtles that they have rescued. The were sad to leave their little bit of paradise but took away with them memories that they will treasure forever.

Felix and Tara hard at work

At the top of the 'steps to heaven'

The group with their sign on the steps

Relaxing on the beach

A final celebration!

8 comments:

Felicity25 November 2009 at 01:16
For Laura McDonald.Hello darling girl, so fabulous to see pictures of you and your group on the blog today. What an amazing experience for you all.Enjoy your final project, so wonderful to speak to you last night.
Huge hug from us all here in GX xoxoxoxoxo
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Anonymous25 November 2009 at 06:45
Wow Tara you look like you are having a fab time . See you soon Hun love Lucy x x x
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corrine25 November 2009 at 07:04
message for tara power, you look so happy in these pics tara i love you so much i like the pic of you working lol. so pleased you having good time but carnt wait to see you was nice to hear your voice on the phone love corrinexxxx
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power25 November 2009 at 08:00
to tara power, it is ok to use your bank card, the bank said you may only be able to use at cash machines!if you have a problem with your card then this is a number for you to contact them on 00441313397609,dont be mad with coz she was a bit worried about you by the way philip rand said hello and hopes you are havin a great time. love you lots mum xxxxx
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Sam25 November 2009 at 15:12
For emma, love you so much and i really miss you, im so proud of you and it was brilliant to hear from you over the last few says, not long now til you can come home for a hug, everyone keeps asking after you wondering how you are, so i just told them beautiful and lovely as ever, i really miss you, with the most love in the world, your sammy xxxxxxxxxxxx p.s youre wonderful
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Anonymous25 November 2009 at 18:06
For Claire Ludlow, I hope you're having a great time over there! I sort of wish I was doing something like that... You're totally missing out on Lady GaGa's new album by the way! You'll have to check that out when you get back! Anyway, enjoy the rest of your time there and don't let stuff get you down, because it's a once in a lifetime experience. Dan XoXo
P.S. This is the fall; this is the long way down,
And our lives look smaller now, and our lives look so small,
(Leave me here crying)
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Anonymous26 November 2009 at 17:21
cool gemma looks like you really enjoyed yourself on the project . it will soon be all over but at least you will be richer in life experance looking forward to see you nice tan by the way lots of love and stuff from us all
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lots in Samara Costa Rica1 March 2010 at 17:58
Of course that Costa Rica is a paradise and Samara is one of my favorite places.
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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?”