Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Touch down!

Tuesday, 2 February 2010

Touch down!

Hello home, hello home. This is fieldbase, this is fieldbase. Do you copy? Over.

Copy that? Good!

Home, we are in receipt of new arrivals here in Turrialba. All safe and well after a long flight, a well-deserved rest in the British School in San Jose and a rather special sunrise bus journey through the dramatic highlands of central Costa Rica. All person present and correct bar three - Neil Mcgregor and Emma Selms are slighty delayed, along with later arrival James Forde - all are expected to touch down today. Vehicle Bravo Three is currently waiting at the airport to collect them.

This is Fieldbase, listening out.

Touchdown at San Jose International

Looking remarkably fresh after a long journey

First night in Costa Rica - the British School gymnasium

Black vulture, taken on the bus journey back to Fieldbase

16 comments:

Helen Walsh2 February 2010 at 12:21
So glad to hear everyone there safely. Message to Phoebe Walsh - it's really quiet here without you.. Take care hun and love you loads. Oh, and don't forget to take your vitamins. Mummee x x
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Alan McGregor2 February 2010 at 16:48
Hi Neil ( McGregor )! We were glad to hear that you finally arrived in CR safe and sound after a lengthy journey. Have a fabulous time.

Love from Mum, Dad and Linz xx
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Robin Nuttall2 February 2010 at 17:06
I'm looking for my Helen and for once she's not on the front row. Still, it's good to read that everyone is there safely.

Dad.
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Christina Campbell-Delgado2 February 2010 at 17:08
HEY ALLY!
i'm such an idiot thought i was posting on the page but it was to your email!!! pah!!!
hope you had a safe journey over and that your feeling alot better!
also that your ipod didnt keep everyone up in the gymnasium!!
te amo mi chico divino y te deso lo mejor en tu tiempo alla!!!
Christina
x
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Anonymous3 February 2010 at 03:46
Morning darling Freddie! xxx
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Freddie Bendit's dad3 February 2010 at 06:20
Hi Freddie (L-O!). Google Earth has just calculated that (in Turrialba) you are 343,439,071 inches from home. That's a long way if you're a caterpillar. Loads of love, daddy xxx
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Anonymous3 February 2010 at 07:31
Hey Dingo (Dave Owen),

Good to see photos of you getting stuck in - not that it was ever questionable!
You're not missing anything much back here apart from sh!te weather and the start of the 6 nations at the weekend. We're on our count down outta here now so feeling very envious.
Keep your chin up and go look after some baby turtles!

Kripa x
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pip3 February 2010 at 07:45
Great to see you arrived, Olly - xxx
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Nigel Havens3 February 2010 at 08:05
Hi All,
Great to hear you all 10B arrived OK. I hope Veronie was not too excitable, when we left her at Heathrow she didn't need a plane to fly!
Have agreat time all. Live it, learn it and love it....
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Carolina K3 February 2010 at 10:23
Adriana
Deje un comentario en el otro blog....que tu madre.....Espero todo este bien, Charlie te esta extrañando buscandote por todos lados. Bye, Love Mum
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D3 February 2010 at 11:10
Hey Hannie
Great to see you safely arrived !
Wet & cold here - and your weather forecast on the BBC site doesn't bear looking at !
Not at all envious !
M&D&Es
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Anonymous4 February 2010 at 02:27
Hi B, great to hear from you and glad to hear you got there safely. Managed to figure out who you were in the group photo. Grandma getting better each day and hopefully out of hospital early next week.

Lots of love Mum.
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Ashleigh Lloyd4 February 2010 at 03:51
Phoebe Walsh Alpha Group 5..

GOOD MORNING FROM BUCKINGHAMSHIRE!!!!!

hope you are doing ok and loving the hot weather... gym just isnt the same without you.... well i dont think it will be... we havent actually gone yet...

love you x
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Anonymous4 February 2010 at 06:15
Hi Hannah J. Lovely picture. Good to see you and new friends. Enjoy. G & G
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Anonymous4 February 2010 at 13:28
Hi Beth, its Stevo!
I hope I am writting on the right blog-thing! I'm glad to hear you arrieved safe and sound :) Iv looked at the pics on here and I think I spotted you..could be someone else with amazingly curly blonde locks though! Hope you're having a great time and getting to know all your new friends (who wont be as cool as us lot..hehe im joshing)! I miss you Bow! Always remeber..7 means floor. Love you x
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Anonymous6 February 2010 at 12:21
from Mummy Dearest to Darling Daughter!

Hi There, hope you are enjoying the first trip with your group. Not too many of the little flying fiends trying to bite you!
Me Dad and Mav are thinking of you
love you lots Vanessa
xxxxx
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Hi,

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Pura Vida!

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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?”