Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: The venturers have landed

Tuesday, 11 October 2011

The venturers have landed

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 weeks of preparation and building excitement, Costa Rica & Nicaragua Expedition 11L is go!!!!!!

With the Host Country Venturers arriving at fieldbase on Monday, the rest of the venturers made their appearance on Tuesday having spent Monday night in San Jose. Their accommodation for the night was a school gymnasium allowing the opportunity to fight off jet lag with a few games of volleyball and basketball!

An early bus from the capital brought the new arrivals to fieldbase in time for a delicious, traditional Costa Rican breakfast of Gallo Pinto prepared by our wonderful cooks Sandra and Miraya.

Appetites satisfied it was headlong into a busy day of speeches, training and admin! Ross and Julian started with some inspiring welcoming speeches, before everyone got a tour of fieldbase and their high-class accommodation for the next few days. There were also swim tests and the all important radio training.

Coming up for the venturers later today a slideshow of the projects ahead of the groups announcement for phase 1 in the morning…watch out for an update tomorrow.

It has to be said there are somewhat bemused faces around, with a lot to take in and many new faces and names to remember but there is wonderful atmosphere of anticipation mixed with a touch of nervousness. There is no doubt that this is going to be an amazing expedition for all concerned.

I leave with some pics of the venturers’ arrival and first day in Costa Rica.

Pura vida!

Julian & Ross...inspiring!!

Listening to the welcome speeches

The luxury accommodation!

15 comments:

Anonymous11 October 2011 at 20:44
Tyla
Spotted you in the pic and seeing all the faces know you will have a really good time. Love you mom and dad
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Sarah Jacob11 October 2011 at 23:59
Emma J 11L
Hi Em, Looks fantastic, have a wonderful time. We all miss you but know it will be an amazing experience. Love you x
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Anonymous12 October 2011 at 02:08
Message for Delun Jones. Hi Delun, here we go - my first ever blog! hope u all arrived safely and not too jet-lagged. looks like its going to be a tough few weeks ahead but lots of fun too! rained here constantly since u left-at least costa rican rain will be warmer. have a good time, loads of love, iechyd da and pura vida! from mam, stu, rocky and all xxx
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Saffron Woodcock12 October 2011 at 05:24
To Clare Louise Jones,Costa Rica 11L expedition you

Dear beautiul Auntie Clare,
Thankyou very much for my card and present.The learning globe is great fun, i can see exactly where in the world you are! I have had a busy time at playschool this week,i have made a hickory dickory clock and a autumn leaves collage.I have been a good girl for mummy and daddy so far,but there is still time for mischief yet!
I am off to see the guinea pigs on friday,then mummy and i are going to get the halloween decorations out so we can make the house all spooky in time for the 31st!
Miss you lots and lots and jelly tots,your favourite bean Saffy x x x
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Debbie Moran (Mum)12 October 2011 at 07:30
To Clare Jones 11L,

Hi Clare, this is my second attempt at posting a message as I can't see my original one on the comments so I'm not sure if you got it! I'm glad you arrived safely and I've been keeping tabs on the blogs and saw a picture of you. It looks really exciting and I know you will have an awesome time and make lots of new friends. I'm well proud of you and love you loads, thinking of you all the time love Mum xx
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Anonymous12 October 2011 at 09:42
Message for Millie Pierce
missing you Millie Lovely picture
I'm here with Milly & Aud and they send their love.
It's getting cold here but you look alrigh!
Big Hug & Kiss Mumxx
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Anonymous12 October 2011 at 10:01
Hi Friso,

Zitten in de keuken met een kopje thee. het regent hier. Maar wat zijn we blij om jou op de foto's te zien!!! Gaaf!!!!

xx mama en judith
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Anonymous12 October 2011 at 10:23
lieve fries, 11L Friso tigchelaar

Het ziet er fantastisch uit! heerlijk om jou op de foto te zien. Ik ben nu bij Judith voor een kopje thee en zij heeft voor mij een gmail account aangemaakt. Ria en ik dachten al een mail gestuurd te hebben, maar dat is mislukt. Enjoy , only once in your lifetime! heel veeeeel dikke knuffels. je mams
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Ian (Clare's Bro)12 October 2011 at 16:41
To Clare Jones 11L,

Hiya

How’s it going? How’s the ‘longdrop’? What’s your ‘Craic’?

Looks fun there; I can see you frolicking around in the photos so guess you’re settling in OK. It’s 23:30 as I write this so I’m struggling to think of things to write – I will post more interesting comments in due course.

Maisie says meow.

Oh, is that a spider on your shoulder?
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Anonymous13 October 2011 at 03:48
Hi Tyla

Hope you are having a great time.
Hope the cockroaches are behaving.
June & Jen in accounts
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Sam Holland13 October 2011 at 08:54
Hi
Message for James Holland

Seems strange not having you at the end of the phone. Glad you arrived safely, love the picture. Can't wait to hear all about your adventures.

See you in a couple of months, love mum, Lee, Thomas and Charlotte x
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Brigitte de Vos13 October 2011 at 09:04
To Marette de Vos, 11L Alpha 6
Ha lieverd! Hoop dat je rugzak snel arriveert. Wat een ellende voor je. Zag leuke foto's van je op het blog. Lachend ! Knap van je . Gebruik je creativiteit, pop.Dat heb je genoeg !! Hou vol.Zodra je tas er is, zal dit avontuur een zonniger tintje voor je krijgen. Dikke zoen, mam
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Anonymous13 October 2011 at 12:40
Hi Tyla Koen
Glad to hear you arrived safely. What a great experience for you!! Will be following you and your adventure.

Hugs

Rachel (niamh's mum) xxxx
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Familie Heijmans13 October 2011 at 14:45
He lieve hil,

fijn om te horen (en zien!) dat je goed bent aangekomen!:) We hopen dat het goed met je gaat en zijn erg nieuwsgierig hoe je het daar is!

Veel liefs van ons allen
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Anonymous13 October 2011 at 20:33
Para Ana Gabriela Herrera Corrales Alpha 5
Hola mi nena, espero en Dios que te esté yendo muy bien, cuídate mucho y disfruta de ésta experiencia. Aquí ha estado lloviendo mucho. Te extrañamos mucho. A tío Bernal le fue muy bien, Te amamos muchísimo. Mami.
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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?”