Delta Romeo 1- Turrimacho Trek by Olivia Christie
After 227km, a total ascent of 7200m (that’s only 1640m short of Everest!), sun, rain, fog and a couple of misread maps, on the 23rd March 2011, the 14 intrepid explorers of Delta Romeo 1 arrived at Punta Judas beach on the Pacific coast to be greeted by crashing waves framing a glorious scarlet sunset. The whole group took relish in the fact we were throwing our bags to the ground and squeezing our swollen feet out of out trusty and well-worn boots for the very last time.
Splashing around in the sea it felt as if the last 18 days had flown by, and the aches and pains slowly started to fade as we realised that despite the stress and challenge involved, we’d all accomplished something incredible that will surely trump any other gap year story back home, how many people can truly say they’ve walked from coast to coast of one of the most beautiful countries in the world? Not many!
Delta Romeo 2- Momotombo Trek by Charlie Stephen
With a combined total of 42 blisters, an array of ant bites and bruised bones, Delta 2 arrived at the rim of Lake Asososca volcano crater and peered down on our final destination feeling elated. From steep climbs and rocky descents to meandering around mountain ridges and through rural communities the 225km of terrain we’ve covered has been incredibly varied. Even carrying our heavy rucksacks along endless flat, dusty roads provided us with a mental and physical challenge, especially in the often unbearable midday heat.
Despite containing a few creative cooks in Delta 2, the group did struggle with the monotony of refried beans and peanuts...however we were saved by the constant kindness and generosity of the local Nicaraguan locals – they accommodated us in their villages, offered home-cooked food and even joined in with our morning fitness routines (or Freddy’s famous yoga sessions).
We kept ourselves entertained with energy bomb eating competitions, our dodgy tan lines and dressing up in bin bags as well as Faruk’s Prime ministerial speeches and Benny’s enthusiastic chanting. All in all a great trek!
Delta Romeo 3- Piedras Blancas by Scott Baxter
We finished! And boy did we dig a lot. We built 2592m of path in total (accurately paced out) and it really feels like an achievement. We built bridges, crossed rivers, erected barriers and all mastered the machete. We swam in crystal clear waterfalls, tracked pumas (and still never had a sighting!), had an outrageous fancy dress party and celebrated Dutch birthdays in style. So what have we learned from our arduous task I hear you asking?
Lorna – “The pickaxe is mightier than the spade.”
Jade – “Ants, flies and all other insects are ‘wee’ bastards.”
Briony – “Women are better at pickaxing than men.” [This author disagrees]
Nacho – “The walk to lunch always overshadows the walk to work.” [An old Costa Rican proverb]
Boris – “A walk filled with song and enjoyment feels like half the walk of silence.”
Alex – “If no one is around to build a path, does it build itself?”
Mary – “A beautiful, isolated jungle has a lot to offer.”
Gilles – “Cannae be bothered bugs and buoyant basha beds, but can be bothered by a good day’s pickaxing and an awesome team.”
Emilie – “A long walk to work through a beautiful jungle can be a wonderful experience.”
Liz – “There is never silence in the jungle.”
Jess – “The jungle is hot, rainy and sweaty...but I still managed to get a suntan!”
Jasmine – “Women can have guns too!”
Scott – “No matter where you are and what you’re doing, if you have good company then everything will be fine.”
Beautiful.
Delta Romeo 4- Playa Camaronal by Mags Chileav
Well, it’s been eventful. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve dug and we’ve sieved. The end result is a beautiful homage to Delta Romeo 4’s hard work – a construction unrivalled in its splendiferous beauty and awe that stands tall and proud on Playa Camaronal. In spite of the obstacles thrown at us, be it our Costa Rican ‘architect’s’ indecisiveness or the Japanese tsunami, we succeeded in finishing the hatchery that will serve as a ‘maternity ward’ for future generations of turtles. During the course of our night shifts, we have braved poachers and the scattered driftwood to save 970 eggs, being lucky enough to observe their hatching on two occasions. Though its guardians have left, Turtle City can sleep safe tonight – this is Delta Romeo 4 and for now it’s good evening and good night. When they find themselves once more in need of heroes, we shall return.
Delta Romeo 5- El Rodeo by Maria Bedford
Delta Romeo 5 has departed from the village of El Rodeo in Miraflor, Nicaragua, leaving the village with a lot less mud and nearly five more houses than were there when we arrived. Managing to finish the houses gave us an enormous sense of satisfaction and a lot more people in El Rodeo have houses. We will always remember our families, the coffee, pan dulce and the sun setting over the mountainous Nicaraguan landscape. Vive El Rodeo and Delta Romeo 5!
Delta Romeo 6- Tayni, Alto Coen by Claudia Mendzil
Buenas dias everyone, I hope that you are ready for the final part of the Delta six show. We thought that as it is our last programme we would shake things up a little bit. So today there is going to be an unusual twist. So far we have been looking at how athletic and construction savvy our participants are, but now we are going to see what they get up to when they have free time. Welcome to Tayni Brother!
It’s 10:00 a.m. in the Tayni brother village and Dawn, Maryam and Will are teaching English in the local primary school. Tom, Chris, Andres, Claudia and Saskia are at the swimming hole. The rest of the group are in the communal hut, where there is a heated debate going on. The soap has gone missing and the group has spent the past five minutes trying to figure out who the last person to use the soap was. It is now 14:00 p.m. in the village and the group are all together in the communal area after just having had their lunch of rice and beans. The soap has not reappeared, so in the meantime they have decided that they are going to have a game of football with the locals. After an intense forty minutes, delta six has lost again with the final score being 6-4 to the locals.
However during the match Andres found out some shocking news. One of the locals saw a pig eating the soap, so somewhere in the village there is a pig with a very bubbly mouth. It is now 20:00 p.m. in the Tayni brother village and the group is relaxing around the camp fire. This is the time where they all chill out, have chats, sing songs and play games together, the perfect end to the day.
As interesting as it is observing delta six during their free time, we should probably take one last look at the construction site, to celebrate the end of the show. Where there was nothing but shrubs and dirt, there now stands part of a secondary school. Delta six after carrying wood, digging holes, sawing and hammering wood, have created the foundations and the framework for the walls and roof to the secondary school. They are all incredibly proud of their work and there was quite a few emotions flying around when the last nail was hammered in. We would just like to wish the group who have now taken over from us good luck; we can’t wait to see the project completed.
As a nice way to end the show before delta six returns to field base, we have a quick instalment of the O.C. Yes that’s the Ocean Caribbean! Even though this show is just 30 minutes long, only allowing the group time to quickly run into the water and do some world class body surfing, it was certainly, a brilliant way to celebrate the end of a magnificent project.
That's all from Delta Romeo's they have now deployed as Delta Yankee's updates coming soon!!
