Delta Skelter!

Delta Groups - our 5 weekers – will all be working on some really great projects in Costa Rica in Phase 1, and their heads have finally emerged from their laptops after writing up their PPV reports to give me the lowdown...

Delta 1 will start in Playa Hermosa and half way through the phase will swap with Delta 2 who will have been in Carara – two completely contrasting projects that give each group a superb experience of two different environments.

Carara, with its howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys and strangler trees, is set to be a real jungle experience for our volunteers. The project is to improve the tourist paths that have become waterlogged by installing drainage systems, and the Venturers and PMs will be setting up a jungle camp in the middle of the park among the orchids, iguanas and other general wildlife. ‘I’m a Celeb’ eat your heart out! The PMs met up with Oscar, one of the friendly rangers and planned out the project that will bring more tourism into the area.

In the jungle, the mighty jungle...

In stark contrast, Playa Hermosa is a stunning beach paradise with crystal blue waters – however don’t be fooled into taking a dip - it’s a dangerous beauty with some nasty riptides! There are 3 main aspects to this project which the guys planned out on their PPVs. The first is some nocturnal turtle action – walking up and up down the beach, looking for turtle tracks of females laying their eggs in a trance-like state. Eggs can be consumed by prey or stolen by poachers, so to make sure the little mites inside get a chance, the eggs are collected and transferred to a hatchery, building which is the second part of the project. The third is to reforest some of the local area. A very exciting project that Raleigh has been involved with for a few years.

The Chirripo lot, Delta 3 and 4, all travelled together to this remote area before splitting into two to the schools they’ll be working on in Duchari and Tamiju. The area is so remote that they could only be driven part of the way and dropped off at the foot of a clay road to begin a 5 hour trek to their project sites!

Delta 3 went to Duchari, where they will be building a brand new school. The school there at the moment is quite old and dilapidated, but will be turned into a canteen to tag onto the new one they’ll be building from local timber in 2 and a half weeks! The group met the teachers, checked out the materials they’ll be using, played hide and seek with some of the kids and stayed at the Health Centre. A lot of the children travel for miles (like our lot did) just to have their daily lessons, so giving them a brand new, exciting place to do this will be a brilliant and rewarding experience.

Delta 4 went to Tamiju, and were greeted by a large group of the local children and teachers they’ll be building a new school for. The current one is in a serious state of disrepair, so this much needed project will give their community a real boost – which was obvious from their faces when our PMs arrived! They met the maestro de oblas (the foreman) of the build and planned out the job, and ate cornbread with the locals, delicious apparently!

So, just a few days until the Venturers arrive and we can get back out to the places we’ve seen a little taster of – there’s going to be a lot of hard work but seeing the difference we’re making will be worth every single aching muscle!