Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: At the beach with Delta 4

Thursday, 29 July 2010

At the beach with Delta 4

Our travelling roadshow - which arrives at every project site armed with post, blog messages and a small shop stocked with treats for the Venturers - next touched down at the idyllic Playa Hermosa (which literally means beautiful beach) on Costa Rica's southern Pacific Coast where Delta 4 have been playing with the turtles.

Delta Force have built a wonderful turtle hatchery next to the beach and conduct nightly beach patrols to gather freshly laid eggs to inhabit it. We joined them on the night we spent in Playa Hermosa and were lucky enough to see two Olive Ridley turtles make their slow journey up the beach to dig a nest and bury their eggs in the sand - a truly amazing sight.

During the nesting season (July-December) each female turtle can make this journey anywhere from three to eight times and lays an average of 100 eggs in each nest. By gathering these eggs and renesting them in the hatchery our team helps to protect them from natural predators such as raccoons, birds and flooding high tides, as well as poachers (turtle eggs can fetch a good price in local bars where they are sold as an aphrodisiac).

Delta 4 have also cleaned up the stretch of beach they patrol, planted trees and done some work on the ranger station where they are based. Not to mention the beach volleyball tournament which is very competitive.

They got the hatchery finished just in time for an official visit from the local mayor who turned up with a TV crew and other media to celebrate some upgrades to the ranger station including solar powered lighting - an event which included a delicious catered lunch for the whole team.

All in all, Delta 4 are having a great time at the beach (despite the attention of some rather vicious bugs) as these photos will attest:

6 comments:

Jo Round30 July 2010 at 01:08
Bethany Round Delta 4

Bethy! I just got your letter, thank you. Bit of a different one from the first one I received from Borneo - very happy and chatty :-)

News this end. I had a nice birthday. The kitchen will be totally in by the end of the day complete with cooker and everything. Had a week living on toast. George is coming for the weekend and we will be trying to put everything back in place and painting.

We are going to the farm for a croquet thing tomorrow (Saturday) sounds like all the usual suspects will be there so I will tell them about your letter.

Finally got photos up. Looks amazing. I did wonder if you had chosen this project. Got you out of a five hour hike... All of Lansdowne have been asking after you.

This is a bit long but all else is about the same. I will drop you another line over the weekend I expect. Love you lots and missing you too. M xxxx
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Gerry Round30 July 2010 at 04:24
Bethany Round Delta 4.
Just seen the latest pictures on the blog and showed them to Nana. Looks like your having a great time on the beach with all those turtles and crabs. I bet you enjoyed the beach volleyball. George finally went to the Yeatman re his bruised toe. Nothing they could do for him and they don't xray toes either!
Keep smiling, love from us all.
Dxx
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The Richard30 July 2010 at 09:09
Message for Lizzie and Max (Delta 4),
Just found out that you are both on the same expedition, at the same time, at the same place. Bizarre. Bumped into Max's mum on the District Line earlier and this weird freaky coincidence emerged. Hope you're both well and loving it. Richard (Chapman). xx
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Anonymous30 July 2010 at 12:16
Hi Em (Emily Townsend Delta 4)
Just seen your pics , looks like your having a brill time, hope you didnt cheat to much playing beach vollyball!!! And no you cant bring a turtle home, however cute they are...Dad is still recovering from the lambs.! All is well here, raining, polo was v fab and Royal Welsh was good. Looking forward to seeing you in just over a week, have a good week on expedition, love Mam, Dad , Tom and animals x x x
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Sara Shingleton1 August 2010 at 08:51
Sara Shingleton for Bethany Round Delta 4

Hi Bethy so pleased to have seen the photos at last, you look to fit and well.
We had the party yesterday and were lucky that it was fine and warm.
Gill and Richard have sold the farm house to a young couple with an 11 month old baby and a dog, so sadly no more croquet !
Missing you lots as always.
Love Granny
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Unknown2 August 2010 at 10:11
Bethany Round Delta 4
Ok I really haven't sorted this out yet, I think the internet has swallowed my first message and this is my second attempt at sending my second draft of the first message again.
I have just got back from Canada had a great time and the weather was excellent, if you are lucky you may get the same, although it will probably not be hot enough for you! It took me a while to find this page but Ali helped so got here in the end. Hope you are having a great time, I am glad they have managed to catch a few pictures of you!
Sam XxxxX
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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?”