Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Blogger sets forth...

Friday, 2 April 2010

Blogger sets forth...

Right chaps, it's time for me to head out into the wilderness and find out what those fine folk from Zulu One are up to. I'm heading south in Bravo Three this morning along with our Country Programme Manager Ross or Colonel Cupcakes as he's known to his friends...

Blogger and Ross set forth in Bravo Three

Bravo Three be joining the trekkers as they tackle Corcovado National Park and - for the next eight days - I'll be capturing the fauna, flora and my fellow trekkers on camera as we delve into the most biodiverse park on the planet. And I'll be back on the 9th of April for our end-of-expedition 'Wash Up' when I'll bring you all the action from Fieldbase, plus the final round ups from our Zulu warriors.

I'm handing over the Raleigh reins to Ashley, our dashing driver who's also a dab-hand at penning blogs. When he's not out transporting kit and caboodle to our project sites or resupplying hungry trekkers, Ash is normally found tinkering under the bonnets of our Bravo fleet. He's also quite partial to a plate of Gallo Pinto (rice and beans - typical breakfast fodder in these parts) and can tell you all the best roadside cafes in Costa Rica. This week, however, he'll be back at Fieldbase keeping you abreast of the latest expedition news. We've also got some amazing photo essays courtesy of Ollie and Ali, our hot shot photographers, and news from the Bravo One team who arrive back from their epic northern roadtrip tomorrow.

Until Wash Up, this is Blogger, listening out.

6 comments:

Pappy3 April 2010 at 02:47
To James Wilderspin Zulu warrior 9
saludos James, este será mi último blog mensaje que usted ya que por ahora su gran aventura será casi sobre mi español no es probablemente muy bien, pero iy pondrá a prueba su mayor experiencia aprenderlo.
Hope you comprendez? You will soon be back at base camp if not there already, and will have had a great experience and met many peoples.
Today I shall pick up your Mum and Catherine from station for tomorrows party(Sunday 4th)
Hope that your 2 weeks holiday with your father will be enjoyable too, it will be quite a change from past 2 months.
Have a safe journey home and we look forward to seeing you later this month or May.
All our love as always G Jean and Pappy xx
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Marianne3 April 2010 at 04:01
Lieve Marijne (ZULU 7)

De update over Los Tololos op het blog was leuk, altijd heel erg fijn om een fotootje van jou er bij te zien, je ziet er goed uit!!
3 april vandaag.... (ik mis je) We doen het als je thuis bent gewoon nog even dunnetjes over!! Vanavond komen Mik en Lia en Jaap en Annemarie met kinderen, morgen op 1e Paasdag een brunch met Ellen Jos Julia Koen Chris Dieuwke Roos, misschien Philip, en oma Riet. Gezellig. Oma helpt me met de voorbereidingen.
Paasfeest in Nicaragua zal ook bijzonder zijn, ben benieuwd naar je verhalen. Hoe gaat het met jullie project, krijgen jullie het af? Of moet er een volgende Raleigh ploeg mee door gaan?
Sorry Marijne, geen pakketje onderweg, maar heb je inmiddels wel mijn brief gekregen?
Heel veel succes met de laatste loodjes, heel veel plezier! Veel liefs van
M! XXXX
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karin3 April 2010 at 08:43
Lieve Mark (ZULU 2)
De laatste loodjes zitten eraan te komen. Op de laatste foto op de blog is te zien dat je het enorm naar je zin hebt. Heb je een leuke groep? Vraag anderen om jou foto's te sturen omdat je jouw camera kwijt bent.We missen je enorm maar zijn heel blij dat jij zo'n geweldige tijd hebt. Veel liefs en dikke knuffel van ons. pappa, mamma, Romée en Marieke
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Katharine Johns3 April 2010 at 11:01
To Hannah Johns Zulu 3
Hope the second week has been as good as the first with lucky weather and good places to stay. Angela and Jack are with us now and we've just been to Claremont Gardens to do an Easter egg trail with Jack. We'll be thinking of you and toasting you on Easter sunday. Enjoy the last week and can't wait to hear all about it. Hope your parcel arrived, or the second one to Joey, as haven't heard yet? Hope you don't have too many blisters, lots of love and hugs, Mum, Dad, Becky, Jack and Angela. x
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Anonymous3 April 2010 at 11:01
Roisin McMillan Zulu 4
Dear Roisin, We wish you a very HAPPY EASTER and hope you have a lovely day and then a fun run down towards your return to fieldbase and then HOME.
Catriona is coming home this evening after work, Margaret and Suzie are coming for Eastermeat(!) and we are going to Portobello beach for a bonfire at sunrise for the easter service. Better than sunrise on Arthur's seat. I met James from Old St Paul's, he was asking for you fondly. We had lunch with G+G today and they were interested in how you were. Anits A+F +all are at Argue-and-muckin for a holiday, I can't imagine anything worse, except that it has also been snowing! Keava sent us an email form Istanbul and is having a lovely time, although a bit put out that people are staring at her, could it be the pink hair? Take care, no more tarantulas or snakes.
All our love Mai and Da
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Becky4 April 2010 at 08:52
Luke Sussams - Zulu 1.

HAPPY EASTER lovely boy.
LOTS of love xxxxxxxxxx
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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?”