Alpha Two - The Guanacaste Trek

Project Managers Ruth, Simon and Ale talk us through the road ahead

The Guanacaste trek is a magical, magma-filled hike that showcases some of Western Costa Rica’s most incredible landscapes via three stupendous volcanoes and several national parks. The team kicked off yesterday at the hot end of iconic Volcan Arenal, a suppurating behemoth of a volcano whose fiery summit spews forth a steady flow of lava that lights up the night sky 365 days a year. During the first week, Alpha Two will skirt Lago Arenal tackling some remote and rugged ridges before dropping down to the lake side. After a night in Tierras Morenas, its back into the wilds – this time hiking up the Atlantic slope of Volcan Tenorio, through a unique and rarely visited jungle, to take a dip in the Blue waterfall and nearby hot springs.

By week two, the group will be gearing up to tackle the steamy summit of Volcan Rincon de la Vieja (1895m) plus checking out the fumaroles, bubbling mud pots and ashy grey mud of the national park that shares the volcano's name. On week three the action continues in Parque National Guanacaste as the group summit Cerro Cacao (1659m) before finally emerging on the edge of Parque National Santa Rosa – one of the last areas of virgin dry tropical forest in the world. Here, 253 species of birds, 10,000 of insects (including 3200 butterfly species), 100 of amphibians and reptiles and 115 mammal species make a home - peccary, bats, white-tailed deer, white-nosed coati, howler and capuchin monkeys.

But the best is saved until last: The Guanacaste Trek finishes at the incredible coastline of Junquillal Wildlife Reserve where Alpha Two get some downtime at the beach to sooth aching limbs in the Pacific Ocean.

And they'll need to cool off because this trek is going to get hot. Damn hot! Trek Leaders Ale and Simon are both Raleigh veterans and can't wait to test their mettle in these challenging conditions. The salsa-stepping She-Wolf will be cracking the whip on the ascents, while Simon will keep spirits high with his fast wit and boundless enthusiasm. On top of the trekking Alpha Two will be tuning up their camp craft skills, taking a turn as ‘Day Leader’ and learning about the volcanic landscapes along the way, as well as conservation in the dry northwest of the country. Santa Rosa alone protects ten different habitats, which include the two different swamps - mangrove and mesquite-nacascol - as well as forests –oak, evergreen, deciduous hillside and littoral woodland- and also a savannah area. Check out the incredible scenery taken when Ruth (now accompanying Alpha Seven to Los Tololos in Nicaragua), Simon and Ale did a route reccee:

Tomorrow: We head across the continent on the mahuuuuuuuuusive Coast-to-Coast trek