Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Echo photos: From Nicaragua with love

Friday, 20 August 2010

Echo photos: From Nicaragua with love

Photographer James has just returned from an epic road trip across Nicaragua where he visited our Maribios trekkers and Echos 5 and 6 who were working hard on their community projects in Miraflor. Here are some of the highlights:

8 comments:

Su and Dave Langmead21 August 2010 at 09:17
Nikki Fullwood - Echo 6.

Hi Nikki,
I see your painting skills learnt at Springs Farm are coming in useful- good practice for the stables when you get home! Sorry we wont be here on Monday to speak to you on your birthday, but do try my mobile or phone Tuesday evening. Hope you have a lovely day and we'll celebrate when you get home. Carrie and Tilly are well; missing you loads. Lots of love and a very happy birthday for Monday. Mum & Dave xxx
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Anonymous21 August 2010 at 11:52
Will Echo 1
Hi, just seen the pictures and you look great. All well here, Charlie's off to Manchester in September! Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Adrian send much love and also admired your photos.
Will write a final letter in the next few days. Hope the final expedition is as much fun as the last two, Much love and big hugs, M+D
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Anonymous23 August 2010 at 15:50
Stellz Kobellz Echo 6

You loook skinny!! when yiayia sees you, be prepared to get stuffed!!!
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Anonymous26 August 2010 at 09:34
Catriona Till 10F Echo 1

Hi Trins!

Your Mom said she heard from you and youd received my first message! So useful she's on facebook or Id have no way of stalking you and finding out what youre up to! Must be nearly finished now, right? I bet it's been such a blast!

Currently in Italy with the fam and have just baked my first batch of cookies (choc chip) since the chalet days. Found it considerably more relaxing given I wasn't juggling the baking with breakfast, cleaning and tea laying- and all with a stinking hangover when you just want to go for a ski! Seems miles away now doesn' it? Well I guess it kind of is (literally) and I do miss it loads! Getting the skiing bug a lot lately which is highly inappropriate given the time of year.

Would be lovely if I could catch you for a decent catch up before you head up to uni but I know you start earlier than the rest of us. I've planned my trip to Shrewsbury so I can make your bbq. Need help cooking!? Is it greedy to say Id love to have you all to myself for at least a coffee or something?

Miss your chale girl bum!! (Mine's made a sneaky come back since I've been back in England). Speak soon I hope and enjoy the rest of your trip! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Han
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Anonymous29 August 2010 at 05:16
David Morton Echo 4
Heyy David,hope you get this message lol not sure if im on the right page. Anyway hope everythings good with you and your having a great time, not long until your home now. Missing you loads & love you very much. Love Mum,Dad & Girls xxxxx
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Ma Jacob29 August 2010 at 15:34
Hi Hellie! Lovely pictures of the mural being painted! You all look as if you really enjoyed that bit. Must be very satisfying to see the building complete. Well done! love Mam XXXXXXX
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Anonymous3 September 2010 at 12:53
Catriona Till- Romeo 3

Hey Trins, been checking out the blog and photos and looks like you are having such a fun time while I'm stuck here in really not so sunny England. Anyhow a few things I noticed whilst browsing the photos and loved
1) your fantastic tan lines, they are special (they may just be dirt but either way you have done well there!)
2)The fact that you have massive plasters on your feet, obviously some hardcore blisters under there and tbh im not that jealous of them (although im sure they were 100% worth it)
and finally 3) SOCKS WITH SANDALS!!!!! absolute classic.

Missing you tons, cannot wait until you are home which is really not too far now! In fact less than a couple of weeks!!! How exciting.

Been up visiting Edinburgh, but definitely was not the same without you. We shall make a trip there at some point.

Anyway enjoy the rest of your time, I'm sure you will.

Lots of love Iz xxxxxxxxx
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Debbie Davison5 September 2010 at 15:44
Bethany Davison Romeo 4: Hey how are you? Hope things are OK as I am sure they are over there. We got Kims birthday card this weekend (September 4th!) and the lovely newsy letter you enclosed with it. It just left me wanting to know more! It sounds so fun and so different to life here, I cant believe the life over there. You seem to be having some time for yourselves to do the "touristy" things so that's all good. I hope you received our letters which I posted a couple of weeks ago. You will be home soon. You were right, it is now passing so quickly. take care and I love you. Mum
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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?”