Alpha 3: Life in the wild is fun, fun, fun!

Alpha 3 looks back on their environmental project in La Cangreja National Park:

We had a varied schedule in La Cangreja: there was no typical day other than work in the morning and aim to be back for lunch before the rain started in the afternoon!

The initial work to spruce up the existing 'Raleigh Trail' gave some instant sense of contribution to the park and it made the sendero (trail) look fantastic - the early success was a good motivator. Back at camp, several of the team were working on the dining shelter and kitchen, which despite being covered in tarps spent the first night leaking like a sieve - that made the the pasta rather watery and was a bit of a downer... however as the rangers had joined us for a "house warming" they took pity on us and provided a massive piece of black plastic to give a bit of waterproofing.

In the following days we started work on the new 'Water Trail'. We started at the ranger station and gradually worked our way along the tiny path which was our guide. The work was tough in the heat and humidity - generally over 30 degrees and 90% every day. At times the rain was very welcome. The rangers gave us lots of help and guidance along with encouraging comments, generally along the lines of the girls working harder than the boys.

About halfway through the phase we took a well-earned day off. We walk through the park to two separate waterfalls which gave a much needed opportunity to both bathe and wash some clothes! The weather made things slightly sweaty and personal hygiene was always high on people's minds (and noses). We walked around 7km to another ranger station at a place called Maritatas and then on a bit further to a local 'soda' which served a wonderful casado (rice, salad, beans and meat) accompanied with a Coke or Powerade - it was delicious and a great break from both the camp and the ubiquitous 'Raleigh rations' of Pork & Beans.

We carried on working over the next week and motored through the trail building, finally finishing the 2km path with a day to spare. The next day, half the group walked the trail and then on to an abandoned farmhouse which, once the park authority grants funding, will be transformed into a science station - possibly with the help of a future Raleigh group.

It was fantastic to be able to enjoy the results of our sweat (fortunately not much blood or tears were required) and to know that we were helping to develop the park into a real attraction for school groups, tourist and other visitors.

At the end of the phase we took the opportunity to visit Playa Hermosa and assist the rangers with their overnight turtle patrols. Most of the group saw a turtle and even foundan egg! The rangers were great fun, told us a lot about turtle protection efforts and made the final chapter of our phase a wonderful crowning to our time together.

We were lucky enough to see loads of wildlife amongst the incredibly varied flora in the forest - snakes (which we didn't hang around to identify), macaws, toucans and even a paca which was released into the wild by the rangers. Life in the wild is fun, fun, fun!