Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Venturers arrive at Fieldbase

Friday, 9 July 2010

Venturers arrive at Fieldbase

Just a quick update to all the friends and family back home that the Venturers have arrived at Fieldbase and after a lovely welcome breakfast are super busy with paperwork, swim assessments and all manner of exciting tasks to bring them up to speed on expedition life.

30 comments:

Angela9 July 2010 at 16:15
Emily Rigby:
We could see you on the photo enjoying your breakfast, good to see you safe and sound. Love you lots darling, missed you on the woodcraft walk this evening love from us all Mum, Dad and Martha
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Gary J. Kelly9 July 2010 at 16:38
sorry i cudnt b out there wif evry1 but i will hope to see every1 soon.......as soon as i can find a flight out lol
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Sherleeta9 July 2010 at 19:21
Hey Colita we see you happy to see your safe. make sure you spray down. lol keep the bugs off :)
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Anonymous10 July 2010 at 01:16
Hannah Bishop 10G. Just seen the first photo of your group and not a monkey in sight! Have fun & enjoy. Love you loads, Mum and Dad x
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Murray10 July 2010 at 03:29
Hi Vicky. Thanks for your text. Saw you in the photo on the blog. Have a great expedition. Love Mum, Dad & Matt
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Jo Round10 July 2010 at 05:24
To Beth Round 10G, I know you are in Costa Rica ok, I am trusting that you met up with everyone else and have enjoyed breakfast at base camp. Keep smiling and slapping on the sun screen! love you lots M xx
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Mom10 July 2010 at 08:35
Hi colita, not sure I'm doing this right but I tried to send you a message but it must of went somewhere else, you know me lol,glad to see you,miss your comics. Everyone's been asking how you made out, they have this site. Love and miss you, represnt Bermuda girl!!!!
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susie Kelpie10 July 2010 at 09:22
Issy
Just incase you are gone before monday
Happy happy Birthday
missing you loads have a wonderful time
love you M,D and A xxx
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Anonymous10 July 2010 at 09:32
Luke - think I saw you in the photo. Enjoy. love M x
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Alistair10 July 2010 at 09:42
To BETHANY 10G. (See, ill even keep up the joke here :P) Glad to hear that you made it there ok, now just watch out for those pesky rivers!! I'm looking forward to seeing your exploits on here, and will keep you informed in the future. Oh, and Sam says he hopes you made it there safely and whatnot. I know right....Haha.
Anyway, have a bunch of fun, and promise me to come back with an accent ok? Love you, Alistair!! Xx
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Anonymous10 July 2010 at 10:54
Alice and Lucy
YOU STARTED RALEIGHHH, FINALLY!!!
heard you were going on jungle camp soon. How is FB. Dont you absolutely love it, dont worry, you will soon enough. Hope you guys are having loads of fun already. Thinking of you guys,
love you xxx
Tanneee
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susie Kelpie10 July 2010 at 11:11
hey Issy
i tried to do this but you know what Im like on computers
happy birthday for monday
have an amazig time
love mum xxx
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sam spiro10 July 2010 at 13:14
Lisa Cranfield - Hi Leese. Hope you are having a great time and not working all of the time?! All good with me. Survived post-holiday blues as Jon took off to Germany for a week and left me very busy with Jamie and Amelie. Both are well. Returned to some sad news - my neighbour fell off a ladder and has broken his back in 3 places and probably wont get off the bed again. It so tragic. Im thinking of running the Bristol marathon for him - raise some money for a pressure bed or something. I lose my phone/car/laptop in 2 days as being returned to work so will send you my new details when ive organsied myself. Anyway love.. miss you heaps and thinking of you often xx sam
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MAMA10 July 2010 at 13:41
HOLA NURIA TE VEO GUAPA EN LAS FOTOS QUIERE DECIR QUE ESTAS BIEN. QUE TODO LI QUE TENEIS QUE HACER OS SALGA BIEN BESOS
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Anonymous10 July 2010 at 14:38
David Morton 10F

Happy 18th Birthday David, enjoy and remember not everyone gets to spend their 18th birthday in Costa Rica...take care ang :-)
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Kathryn10 July 2010 at 15:09
Henrizzzzzzzleeeeeeeeeeee (Henry),
Have a fabulous birthday tomorrow little brother! Do something brilliant like licking a rock to celebrate.. and take a photo of this momentous occasion.
Love you squillions
Kat
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Anonymous10 July 2010 at 15:21
Hi Em (Emily Townsend 10G)
Glad to see you have arrived safely. Hope your having lots of fun already, lots of love and hugs, Mam, Dad, Tom & animals x x x
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Anonymous10 July 2010 at 15:40
Haay martine (10G),
Nog even een berichtje omdat ik bij de vorige de code van je verblijf vergat. moet nog wel wennen aan dit schrijven. maar goed, ik wens je nogmaals hele leuke tijd toe en veel uithoudingsvermogen. Dag lieverd, kus, kus, mamma
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Anonymous10 July 2010 at 15:50
HI SON, AM NOT ABLE TO SEE YOUR PHOTO CLEAR THANK God YU ARRIVED SAFE WITH YOUR GROUP OR TEAM , SO PROUD OF YOU , MISS YU ALOT AND YOUR LITTLE BROTHER SCOTT IS STILL CRYING UPTILL NOW ( I WANT TO GO TO TONY )HA HAAA , WE MISS U ALOT HAVE A GREAT TIME IN JESUS NAME. AMEN BYE YUR MUM MARY
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Elaine10 July 2010 at 16:03
Seona 10G - You made it!! Have a great time. Love Mum, Dad & Kirstin
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Catherine Hanley11 July 2010 at 03:07
Hi Jen!

Great to hear your voice yesterday! Hope you are ok. Golfito looks like it will be an amazing experience. Mark is making funny faces at the thought of you digging a trench - he thinks it's a touch severe punishment for a first time offender!!! We all miss you and will be watching from afar! Take care my darling girl!

Love from Mum, Mark and Aimee
xxxxxxxx
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Anonymous11 July 2010 at 03:33
To Catriona Till 10F
Hi Trins
Hope you are having fun whatever you are doing. Have an awesome time. Thinking of you
lots of love Mum, Dad & Amz xxx
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Anonymous11 July 2010 at 08:09
To Andrew Martin 10G
Hi Andrew
Glad to see you arrived safely, spotted you in the photos. See your off to a project site soon. Have a great time, take care and look after yourself.
Love Mum, Dad & Gemma
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mum12 July 2010 at 10:15
Hi Henry watch out for the creepy crawlies ....can,t imagine how you sleep in those beds. Good luck with the trek,looking forward to seeing the photos. Dad and I are still rocking around on the Harley it,s in for a service soon. Miss you my son take care. Hugs the mumx
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Isabel Johanson12 July 2010 at 15:41
Catriona Till 10F
Hey Trins, you said write a nice message which will be hard for me but ill try! Hope you are having an amazing time in the jungle, looks like lots of fun! Hope you're not getting bitten by too many lovely creepy bugs of which im sure there are lots and lots (how nice for you... yes!!) Pretty much the same at home, although it is now raining..standard! Have fuuuun!! I'll keep checking your progress so you better get in some photos!!!! Love Iz xxxx
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Anonymous15 July 2010 at 10:01
Hi Tim (Carden),

Hope you have settled in to life in the great outdoors and have found everything in your rucksack lol! Sam still in USA - he will be back on Monday - You have been away for a week already - the food bill has dropped considerably and we still have loads of toilet roll left lol!! Say hello to the turtles from Mum and I Lots of love xxx
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Unknown15 July 2010 at 10:08
Hi Tim (Carden),

Hope you have settled in to life in the great outdoors and have found everything in your rucksack lol! Sam still in USA - he will be back on Monday - You have been away for a week already - the food bill has dropped considerably and we still have loads of toilet roll left lol!! Say hello to the turtles from Mum and I Lots of love xxx
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Juliet Radford Hayes16 July 2010 at 07:13
Hi Tina
I've spotted you on the breakfast photo! Hope you're having a fab time - well done with your swimming assessment! Missing you loads. Lola's missing you - Ive only seen her twice! Its Friday 16th and Gary's coming here for the weekend - if its nice weather we're having a bbq with Andy and Julie and Debbie tomo. Thinking of you all the time and wondering how it's all going for you. Take care and I love you loads. Mum xxxxxxxxxx
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Anonymous16 July 2010 at 10:15
Martine,

Ik schrijf een brief naar je e-mail en post die ook. Ik ben jaloers op je als k alle mooie foto's zie en berichten lees op de blogs. heel veel liefs en plezier. Pappa
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Ma Jacob17 July 2010 at 10:19
To Helen Jacob
Hi Hel! How's things? Hope you're managing to keep the mossies at bay! All well here. Cath and Harv exchanged on house and have to move out in about 11 days - prob. come up here till Aug 6 when they move to Dunnington. Aunty Mon writing a book called "5 go to Benicasim" including all the disasters that have happened: Pad had his bag and all contents pinched at BCN airport - has had to go to consulate for temp passport. The taxi they booked went to Reus airport and they were at BCN! So they didn't arrive till 5 am. Clearly missing your expert organisation! Take care and enjoy it! lots of love Mam XXX
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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?”