Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Zulu 2 reach the Pacific coast!

Saturday, 12 December 2009

Zulu 2 reach the Pacific coast!

There were smiles all around today as Zulu 2 finally reached their destination after 19 days of tough trekking. They have overcome all of the obstacles that the trek threw at them, including blisters, heavy packs and of course the Costa Rican rain. They have crossed an entire country, climbed mountains and walked through jungles and are now enjoying a couple of well-earned days rest on the beautiful Pacific coast before joining us and the rest of the Zulu groups at field base.

12 comments:

Bigmummashouse13 December 2009 at 06:08
Hi Benita (Zulu 2)

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

You have done it - I am very proud of you -
as I can see happy smiles all round.

Now you can relax and enjoy the time on the beach.
I am already so excited to see you on friday. If you get the opportunity give me a call when you are back at base.
Have fun the remaining few days
lots of love from
Mum and Dad
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Anonymous13 December 2009 at 06:09
Message to Vicky Walden, and Zulu 2.
Many congratulations on reaching your fantastic achievement. It must have been very hard work, but well done to all of you.
Enjoy the break. Vicky, really excited about seeing you very soon.
Lots of Love Mum, Dad and Abi. xxx
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to tara power13 December 2009 at 15:34
hi tara knew you would make it , you have walked all that way you wont ever need to use your car again lol . see you soon love mum dad and shannon
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Anna Burgess14 December 2009 at 00:06
for ian o'connor (zulu 1)
hiii,
i can't believe how soon you're getting home!! i hope the last part of your trek was/is super cool, there haven't really been any updates :( so i don't know exactly what you're doing right now. but whatever it is, the weather MUST be better than here (freezing rain... lovely...) and i bet you're swinging from jungle vines like an old pro by now.

i don't know if you'll get this before you can go on facebook on wednesday, but just in case you do i'll say that nqr was really really fun and i wore the sign :) and that i tried eggnog and i don't like it for which i am very sorry and... that... i have a lot of finals. and that i got scrubs season four!! so we need to have a four-season marathon over break. from now until thursday i'll just be doing massive amounts of work, but i hope you have a great end of your trip. and i love you and am super excited to see you! in five days!!
love anna
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billy14 December 2009 at 14:23
hi Toni hope your having a good time we all miss you , especially mum you are coming home friday near chrismas santas coming
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corrine14 December 2009 at 15:23
congratulations tara power, see you dnt have a second name like ours for no reason lol. so proud of you for doing this when you could av easierly given up but you didnt we love you so much and are so ready to av you home see you soon big hugs and kisses corrine, rick and lola-rosexxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Gabriel (gabo)14 December 2009 at 20:39
Gabriel...(Gabo)
Hola .....mi cielo ..que bueno que lo lograste, te felicito, por tu perseverancia y entusiasmo a este reto que termina..se que, no es el ultimo y eso me alegra, claro siempre y cuando tengas tus prioridades, como el estudio primero..se que en estos meses has aprendido a valorar aun mas la vida y a darte cuenta de lo que tu corazon es de grande al doblegarse ante las necesidades de los demas y esto te ayude a estar siempre listo para servir... bueno mi scout favorito..que la pases de maravilla en estos ultimos dias con tus nuevos amigos que espero que sigan siendo tus amigos y diles que las puertas de nuestra casa estan abiertas para cuando quieran visitarnos aunque es humilde pero, esta llena de mucha alegria y buena vibra....
Bueno...creo que este es mi ultimo comentario en la pagina,aprovecho para agradecer a todos aquellos que hacen posible que muchachos de varias nacionalidades se unan con un mismo proposito y se enriquezcan con el intercambio cultural y experiencias como estas....
Mi cielo recuerda que te estoy esperando con los brazos abietos para comerte a besos ... te amo ....att:tu mamita
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Dad15 December 2009 at 03:27
For Patrick Boot
Well done Patrick - you can rightly feel proud of yourself. Enjoy the Pacific ocean and the warm weather whilst you can - it's snowy and minus 6°C here. See you next week and hopefully talk to you over the weekend. DM&J
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Azz15 December 2009 at 07:10
heya taz, woop woop u did it gal, u luk so different in these pics its weird seein ya, u luk more red than brown now lol, countin the days hunny, well proud.c ya soon love azza xx
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Philippa15 December 2009 at 07:14
To Tara Power,

Hey Tara,
Well done hunny, As if you have walked all that way Very proud of you!!
See you very soon. Philippa xXx
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jess bland15 December 2009 at 07:16
TARA POWER!
WOOOOPPPP WOOOOPPPP WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP u made it taz!!!well done u little star i will see u on friday then we have big plans for u saturday :D love youuuu jess .. jayne says hello 2 she cnt work her comuputer to get on here lol she misses u xxxxx
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laura gregory AKA Gregorz15 December 2009 at 07:17
Hi Tara hunny,,

Well done for completing the treck, I hope you enjoyed it babe and your feeling fit and well.
Looking at the pics you look great, so nice to see your smile.
Really cant wait to see your smig again and have my partner in crime back by my side where you belong.
Only 3 more days to go and counting babe. Hope you have got your party frock ready LOL Ive got a gorge skirt from river island but you know me will probably change the outfit by the time the party comes.
Got so much to tell you..........lol
Anyways take care of yourself, kep smiling that beautiful smile and I will see you soon.
Lots of love Gregorypants xxxxxxxxxxx
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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?”