Zulu Four - Live from La Cangreja!

On Monday, Bravo Three headed deep into Costa Rica's green interior to find out exactly what's been happening at Camp La Cangreja. Fresh from a day trip to the waterfall, our reporter Beth Watts filled us in on the story so far:

Beth guides us round Zulu Four's environmental project basecamp

Zulu Four have arrived in La Cangreja in the depths of the jungle. We’ve all settled into our new home and have made the final finishing touches to camp. Everyone ‘pimped’ up their basher beds with extra features such as bedside tables, shelving units, ash trays, washing lines and candle holders.

Emma greets the Bravo Three team at the entrance to Zulu Three's jungle camp

Washing lines and basher bed shelving...

PM Alice shows off her cozy camp home

The kitchen and dining area was arranged by the girls whereas the boys’ priority was constructing a jungle gym. Dan and Diego are now frequently found pumping iron in there, whereas Alice’s yoga sessions in the newly-built yoga room prove more popular with the rest of the team.

In the fully-fitted camp kitchen...

...Laura turns her hand to a spot of porridge

7am - fueling up for a day working on the trail

Early risers can have a quick workout in the jungle gym

Beth teaches the boys a bit about balance

Before heading off to the worksite, PMs Sophie and Alice radio Fieldbase to give their plans for the day

The work has been going well: quick progress has been made along the 2km jungle path we were tasked with constructing by the rangers here. We start each morning at 7.30am and work until midday. It’s hard graft in the hot sun and humid forest but fun all the same – especially when the jungle is alive with so much amazing wildlife.

Emma heads off to work

Diego clears vegetation from the trail

The girls hard at work widening the path

Our afternoons are then our own – often started with a refreshing swim in the amazing river near our camp to wash away the morning’s sweat and mud.

We might grab an hour in the hammock after lunch to write our journals, learn some Spanish with Sophie in our daily classes or work on a camp project like the Phase Three skit, a video or some expedition art work.

In the evenings the night sky becomes alive with fireflies and, once the camp candles are lit, dinner is served under the stars.

The next morning, some of the Zulu crew volunteered to show us round their jungle camp:

It certainly looks like Zulu Four have plenty to keep them busy. We left the group early on Tuesday morning, already hard at work on the path. That day they chizelled out a 200 metre section that contoured round a steep hill high in the national park, from the ranger station lookout to a small creek.

The jungle trails at LaCangreja: Before... and after!

Today Zulu Four were planning to fashion some steps down to the creek to make the downhill path safe, before starting on the uphill section on the opposite bank. Pausing for a breather, pick-axe in hand, the views from this mirador path are jaw-droppingly good: to the left, a blanket of rainforest stretches out beneath the Zulu squad; to the right, the verdant slopes of Cerro La Cangreja (Crab Mountain) rise out of the early morning mist, silhouetted by the sunrise. Howler monkeys, toucans and paraquets provide a soundtrack to their labours and cool breezes tickle the jungle canopy at this refreshing altitude - as workplaces go, it's not half bad.

Zulu Four!

Up next: we catch up on Bravo One's progress in Nicaragua with round ups from our newbie environmental project Zulu Eight, plus Zulu's Seven and Ten