Bravo Three sets forth

Ash, Laura, Ollie and Christine head off on the first X-ray road trip

The sun had barely cleared the horizon when the wheels of Bravo Three started turning - fully laden with kit for our southern loop of project sites. They'll be dropping in on the X-ray One trekkers this afternoon before heading to the deep south, parking the Landrover, emptying all that kit into rucksacks and making the five-hour hike into Conte Burika indigenous reserve - on foot. Sometimes the term 'roadtrip' needs to be used with a little imagination...

Toodle pip!

Back at Fieldbase the sun is shining for the first time in days - which puts the skeleton support team in a jolly good mood, even if we are slighty jealous of all those out on phase two. While the radio crackled and phones buzzed, we threw our doors and windows open... the twittering of birds percolated even the dimmest corners of the office, damp clothes finally began to dry and the musty smell of camping has started to fade - at last. So, while we let those welcome breezes work their magic, I'm going to remind you about our first batch of  X-ray projects - the mighty Raleigh rambles. We're running three treks this phase - Corcovado, Guanacaste and Coast-to-Coast. All three routes stretch over 250km, involve 17+ days of walking and each one finishes at the beach. They'll be plenty of new challenges for X'rays One, Two and Three: from the 03:30 alarm calls to sharing the load of communal kit, from camp craft to leadership and navigation - these adventure projects all aim to stretch our plucky teams to the max. But that's where the similaries end - in terms of ground covered, the three treks visit completely different regions, climates, fauna and floras, so each group will have a completely unique experience. For many venturers, this is the hardest phase - but also the most rewarding. Check out our X-ray route resumes in the next three posts for the full low-down.

Until tomorrow, this is Blogger - listening out.