Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Alpha 6 photo album

Wednesday, 4 August 2010

Alpha 6 photo album

We've collected stacks of photos from the Alpha 6 Venturers and PMs - here are some of the best:

12 comments:

Unknown4 August 2010 at 11:34
Emily Rigby (Delta 2/Zulu 4) Last chance to get a message to you, hope the trek is as great an experience as the Jokbata project looked. Really looking forward to you being able to tell us all about it in person. Dad
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Jess4 August 2010 at 13:06
Owen Nicholson. Group 10G Zulu 3

Hey Peach,
You're home soon. Woooo! Have a great last few days. I hope the secret location involves a beach and a cocktail but somehow I doubt it!
Look after yourself and I promise I'll have brownies and other real food ready for you when you get home. Not a grain of rice in sight.
Call me when you get to Dallas if you can!
Travel safe
Jess xxx
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Unknown4 August 2010 at 16:26
Ariana Salas- Alpha 6

Hola Ari!!!! Que bueno ya verla en más foticos!!! Están muy vacilonas, hablando por radio y todo, que aventurera!!! bueno cuídese y disfrute mucho!!! Un abrazo,
Ana
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Arianna9 August 2010 at 09:58
Hola arianna espero estes muy bien animo para el resto de la expedicion saludos

Maria Gorethy
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Anonymous9 August 2010 at 23:40
Ariana Salas Alpha 6

Hola vecina!!!!! Ya me hace falta!!!! Me alegro que le esté llendo bien y de verdad que aproveche esa experiencia porque es única en la vida! Un abrazo!!!

Nati
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K Bhattacharjee11 August 2010 at 05:47
To Darshana Bhattacharjee,

Hi, Hope your experience is as pleasant as the previous assignment with improvement in certain quarters. Waiting eagerly to speak to you in two weeks. Had fantastic tall ships race. Take care. Love
Dad, mum and Leo
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Anonymous12 August 2010 at 11:36
Didddiiiiiii, i really hope you get this !!! I dont think we could get any prouder of you, we are bursting....You look amazing and wow, just wow...cant wait to have you home for the biggest squeeze of your life and the dinner to die for xxxxx Everyone here is missing you so much and just want you to keep swimming our fabulous Nemo mwahhhhhhhh x Kay , Alan and the girls xxxx
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Unknown17 August 2010 at 10:13
Hola Ari!!!
Espero que le esté yendo super bien!!! Ya en menos de un mes regresa! Que dicha porque nos hace mucha falta! Por aquí todo en orden, ya Carlos fue y vino del viaje y seguro este fin hacemos algo todos.
Bueno que le aprovechen estas últimas semanas! que disfrute y siga aprendiendo montones! Un abrazo,
Ana
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Anonymous18 August 2010 at 02:47
Hey Heli,

How your really enjoying the last few days of the Phase. Just got back from mine and I'm missing the community already! Fingers crossed you get what your hping for in the last phase. Can't wait to hear all about is! Missing you loads speak soon, Love you Graeme
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Anonymous25 August 2010 at 13:20
Ryan

hope all is well I know you phoned Ben and he gave me the update. Glad you are better now sounds like overall great fun good experience
Love

Dad
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Anonymous31 August 2010 at 16:41
Hola Ari,

Espero que la este pasando genial, vieras como nos ha hecho falta, estos días he estado haciendo encuestas y me acuerdo de usted un montón jajaja desgraciadamente no es lo mismo y se disfruta mucho menos pero que se le va ha hacer!

Que disfrute montones estos últimos días! y cuando venga salimos a celebrar y a ponernos al día

Chao Chica se despide su pana

Luis Ca
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Susan Matthews15 October 2010 at 12:41
Louise Olverson (Alpha 5)
Hi Lou
Hope things are all going well, it certainly looks like fun from all the pictures.
Col is over in the States at the mo. He has visited St Louis and they have been really friendly, the lab is excellent, hard work but not OTT. He's off to Boston on Sunday.
I'm flying solo with the kids. Finn is getting closer and closer to walking. Isla really getting into pulling funny faces at Col through Skype.
Wedding plans going well, have my second dress fitting tomorrow, will keep you posted.
Look after yourself out there, and have a blast.
Love
Susan
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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?”