Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Bravo Three returns to fieldbase with news from X-rays Four and Five

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Bravo Three returns to fieldbase with news from X-rays Four and Five

Fieldbase duo Ash and Annie had a quick sprint around three projects earlier this week. First stop was the beach at Camaronal where two extra team members, Phil and Dani, joined X-ray Five. It was reported that the group had been doing sterling work on path building, turtle patrols but were slightly daunted by a request from the Ranger to dig a new trench for their water system before their departure on Friday.

X-ray Five head to their trench digging site

Bravo Three's next stop was X-ray Four in La Cangreja National Park...

X-ray Four have enjoyed almost three weeks living in their jungle camp, building a path for tourists, planting trees and finally painting one of the park's bridges.

The PMs Emma and Phil treated fieldbase and the group to a delicious dinner of homemade tortillas topped with a special spicey soya mince mix followed by Bananas à la Aida (cooked with condensed milk).

Next time: We catch up with X-ray Eight in Cana Florida

9 comments:

Chris Davey18 March 2010 at 03:16
Clare Davey Xray 4.
Hi Clare. Ive just read a blog update about your hard work planting trees and building paths. i carnt believe your 3 weeks is nearly up, this phase seems to have flown. It all looks fab. I hope ur ready for ur long trek. In a way its quite nice that its at the end. We are all fine. I sent u another letter with all the news yest. Last nt we had Georges options evening. He will do Geog, PE, food tec and spanish. He is quite excited. Dr V was asking for u so I told her what u r up 2. No Mr G Im afraid!. Thanks for ur gr8 letter it was v moving.
take care my darling and keep safe. See u in 1 month!!!Love u loads Mum xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Jean & Bernard Johns18 March 2010 at 04:00
To Hannah Johns X-Ray 4
Great to see your "Jungle Restaurant" but wonder what you made of bananas in condensed milk! Grandpa says he ate spoonfuls of condensed milk from the tin when no-one was looking. I think that was when he was young!Spoke to Mum, Dad and Becky last night. All busy but definately missing you. So are we.Angela and Jack are going to spend Easter with them at Pinelodge but we will be at Ickford.Imagine you will be back at Fieldbase by the time this reaches you. Enjoy the relative luxury and the comeraderie.love from Grma & Grpa XXXX
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Margaret and Gabi Nakkas18 March 2010 at 07:48
Message for Natalie Nakkas X-Ray 6
Hey my darling!On the home stretch now!We hope it has been the most incredible journey with lots of of fond memories to savour...I guess this will be the defining experience of your gap year in terms of personal growth and learning life lessons.Do take lots of photos (and keep a journal !)..looking forward to hearing all about the adventure! I presume you will all be heading back to base camp soon..so I'll sign off now!! Hope you are really enjoying the experience! Miss you,miss you.. can't wait to see you...Lots of love..Mum and Dad Xxxxxxxxxxxx
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Pappy18 March 2010 at 08:12
To James Wilderspin X-Ray 4

Hola James.at last we have a sighting of x-ray 4
I sent you a message yesterday before the latest report was here. Some interesting accounts and also photos of the gang at the delicious meal that was served up to you prepared by Emma and Phil homemade tortillas with spicy soya mince.and a pudding too..yummy!.I noticed youve not lost any weight.. Your partner at the card game has you trumped with the ace of hearts.lol

Shortly you will be back at base having enjoyed yet another fantastic experience.Glad to see your hair is growing too...wishing you a continuing happy time.Love G Jean & Pappy
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Anonymous18 March 2010 at 08:23
X RAY-5 Para Daniela Flores Carpio; hola dany, espero te sientas mejor de tu rodilla, ya te vi en una fotografia junto con tu compañero Phil. por aca todos bien gracias a Dios, ya fue el te de Ericka estuvo muy bonito, ahi guarde un video para cuando regreses y una fotos, cuidate mucho, un beso y un abrazote a distancia. tu mama
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Katharine Johns18 March 2010 at 12:48
To Hannah Johns X-Ray 4
Great to see the photos today, we've been wondering what the next news would be. We all want to know if you ate the bananas in condensed milk?!! Hope to hear from you when you get back to fieldbase. Lots of love and hugs, Mum, Dad and Becky x
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Nigel Havens19 March 2010 at 02:20
Veronie Havens X Rayed 4 more than anyone else in Raleigh!
Hi Veronie, I think I can just recognise your knee in the photo,unlike you to be hiding when the camera is out! Hope you are having a great time " I am Veronie get me back into the jungle!" Pass on thanks to Emma and again to Jo for looking after you again in your time of need, their reassuring presence gave us great confidence. Make sure you take loads of photos,we do not just want to see a boxed DVD set of your various scopes!
Hope you are now back to full fitness. Take care and look forward to hearing from you at the end of this project. Great to hear you have made so many friends in C.R. All our love Mumx and Dadx
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Gill O'Hagan19 March 2010 at 14:56
To Kate O'Hagan X-Ray 5
Hi just seen camp pictures and hope you are packed ready for heading back to H.Q. Enjoy those last bits of paradise and turtle heaven. All that fund raising and hours spent earning money! We are so pleased it was worth it. Have a gr8 final trek. Go K8 you can do it! Love Mum n Dad.xxxx
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Christina Campbell-Delgado20 March 2010 at 06:05
Ally Bhatita Xray4

AW my little ginger baby, can't wait to hear from you again this weekend. still find it so funny cause we're gonna have the same hair when you get back as i had already booked last week to get it done ha!!!
wont be as tan as you tho. jealous!!!
you seam to still be having an amazing time your second expedition looks and sound absolutly amazing!!
anyhoo i'll speak to you laters.
te amo me hermoso.
x
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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?”