Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: News from Nicaragua

Thursday, 18 October 2012

News from Nicaragua - Alpha 2

Miratombo Trek, day 6

This trip is not for the faint-hearted but as a team we're strong! Being part of a team helps you overcome any difficulties. You can lean on your teammates and everybody helps each other along. The awesome feeling of the team massages, team hugs, getting tortillas from the (always friendly) locals, and just the vibe that's in the air takes every bit of discomfort away and allows you to feel accomplished and proud of everything you've achieved during the day.

Arlene resting tired feet

It's funny how easily a person can get used to feeling dirty and not having the comforts that we have at home. It all makes the experience even more special. Also being the day leader teaches you to handle a lot of responsibility and helps you grow as a person. That being said, it's not all fun of course, we work hard, we're all dirty, tired, hungry and have sore feet but still we push forward, smile and think happy thoughts and with every mountain we climb, we look around and see the view and that makes it all worth it.

Diego reaches the top

So we're just going to keep on moving until we get there!

Words by Project Comms officers - Puck and Ben P

Pictures by Arlene

6 comments:

Stella T18 October 2012 at 13:21
This comment has been removed by the author.
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Anne Perry18 October 2012 at 14:10
Laura Perry Alpha 3. Cold, wet and windy here - wish we were there on the Pacific Ocean watching turtles! Beat Mark at Axis and Allies! Am recording American Dad and Russell Howard for you. Just bought first Christmas pressie today!!!Love you loads, Mum, Dad and Mark xxx
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Alick Finlayson19 October 2012 at 05:28
Archie - 12L Alpha 2.
Hope trek is going well - look after your feet and everything else will be OK. Remember when the going gets tough the toughs get going.
Dad.
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Anonymous19 October 2012 at 11:57
Laura Perry Alpha 3. Training Day today so no school! Yippeeee!!! so says Mark. Dad forget his phone this week so hasn't known what to do with himself - no internet access so no news! Aargh! Look forward to seeing your photos.Keep swatting the ants! Love you, Mum xx
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Lucia Piedra Castillo19 October 2012 at 12:04
Hola, Espero todas las personas de este programa esten muy pero muy bien, mi mensaje es para Melania Piedra Castillo ella esta Nicaragua en este momento, esta en el grupo Alpha 5, quisiera que le digan que espero que se encuentre muy bien, que ponga mucho esfuerzo en lo que este haciendo, y que la quiero montones, un beso y abrazos para ella,muchas gracias por darle el mensaje,
Atte, Lucia Piedra Castillo, su hermana
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Rachel Haynes22 October 2012 at 09:54
Shannon Potter Alpha 2.
Linzi says try not to get any blisters because you always get blisters on your feet!!
Naomi has a Iron Man t-shirt she thinks you will be very jealous of and Downton Abbey has been very exciting!! She STILL doesn't stop going on about Tumblr and she says she has 150 followers now :) Oh and she met Arthur Darvill and Matt Lewis (Nevill Longbottem)
The German exchange took over your room but says you are very pretty and asked if you were a model!!!
Hope all is going well and you are having fun!
We are all missing you loads
The Potters+Haynes
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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?”