Romeos, Charlies and a sad farewell

Here to keep you occupied and in the loop are a few mini updates from the Romeo groups...

Last night Romeo one arrived at destination Rio Pejibayo and managed to strike gold with some luxury accommodation. The owner of a beautiful wooden house with incredible views over some of Costa Rica's magnificent landscape generously offered the group a home for the night. They graciously accepted. Unfortunately for the team the swimming pool had just been emptied that morning…it’s a hard life. Romeo two enjoyed a nice relaxing lunch with ranger Don Luz yesterday, and spent the night at the ranger’s station in El Jilguero. Today they will be making their first steps into the jungle! Romeo three over in Los Pailas are working those muscles hard by busily moving bags of gravel and rocks over to their new trail. On Monday they climbed to the peak of Las Pailas. Unfortunately for the group as they reached the top they were met by the rain, yet this didn’t dampen any spirits (excuse the punn). Happy to say that everyone is on great form and the team are enjoying the hard work and unpredictable weather. Romeo four are busy building their park trails and enjoying life in the jungle. At the end of the week they will move out of La Cangreja to breathe in some of that salty sea air as they begin part two of the phase at Playa Hermosa, volunteering at the turtle conservation. All is well with Romeo five. They are working hard on their community centre, soaking up the culture and settling well into their host families. Romeo six are making great progress with their own community centre. They are currently working on building up the walls and flattening out the area. They are looking to make a start on the roof in the next few days. Romeo seven finished the roof to the water system yesterday. They are now spending their time digging more trenches and taking in the Nicaraguan culture. Romeo six and seven will be joining forces this weekend and heading over the International Music Festival in Achuapa for some cultural music. The groups have big plans to put their own musical talents into good practice by forming a band and performing a little something of their own - chart toppers watch this space!

Our Charlies are also cracking on well with their projects...

Yesterday Charlie One left Alto Parma and headed to Piedra Vieja where they spent the night in a local school. Plans for today include a trip up to Caite where they will climb Barres and head back down to stay at Galan for the evening. Charlie two are working hard on their kindergarten. They have finished plastering up the walls and roof and today will be making a keen start on the floor. Charlie three are putting the work in on their biogas unit. They have already dug out the pits and are now laying down the brickwork for the pig pens. Everyone is well and enjoying project life!

Charlie three!

A little of the latest from sunny fieldbase... Bravo one (Wellard, Kat, Cathy and Emily) are currently making their merry way around many of the Romeo groups at the moment. They are currently driving through Nicaragua and checking out the projects there. The Bravo four road trip team (Sabrina, Phil, Abi and myself) will be heading out tomorrow to visit some groups of our own; saying hello to all the guys, bringing them the delights of 'the shop', such as the over subscribed Zinc Oxide tape and baby wipes, and of course collecting the latest news and gossip for you back home.

From elation to sadness to relief and even a little confusion, emotions are flying high here at fieldbase as our 11H volunteer managers come to the end of their Raleigh road and we prepare to say goodbye. Volunteer managers Andy, Megan, Wendy, Sarah, Siew, Nick and Hayley are leaving us after five incredible and invaluable weeks on expedition. Tonight we will be celebrating will a gourmet meal and some good old Raleigh-oke to sing them farewell! What better way to end. Guys, it’s been a pleasure - pura vida! 

*Blog by Dawn Tennant, photo by Pedro Rodriguez