On the first day of Christmas Zulu 3 gave to me...

Hello there everyone I'd like to start this blog post off as we start every morning: 21 days 'til Christmas!

And just under two weeks until we will all be either continuing our travels or heading home. The last 9 days here at Carara have flown by. We started our work here by joining forces with some local volunteers to move rocks from one section of the park to another. The week that followed was a blur of rakes, gravel bags and wheelbarrows. Although we all felt a bit like worker ants marching along the same stretch of path over and over again, we managed to finish gravelling at least 100m of path.

Lots of gravel...

Along the way we were met with many nods of both approval for the good work we'd done so far and disapproval from some very keen birdwatchers whom we probably disturbed with our squeaky wheelbarrows. For the most part though the people we've come across have thanked us for the work we're doing or have stopped to chat for a while. We even hosted a tea party with a couple who happened upon our lovely Casa Verde.

Speaking of accommodation we've got a pretty sweet setup over here. Proper beds make for an excellent night's sleep and flushing toilets are a welcome change after our trek and community phases. Showers allow us to stay fresh and clean after a hard day's work and a fully functional kitchen has made for some exciting new food creations. Pork and beans have never tasted so good. We even have a girls vs. boys energy bomb competition which the girls won for originality and healthiness but the boys ultimately took the prize for their enthusiasm during presentation.

Full store cupboard - pork and beans top left

Besides keeping ourselves full after a long day's work we spend the evenings relaxing in hammocks or playing games. Obviously ninja has continued to be a source of great entertainment. The other day we played a round with some visiting university students who have been keeping us company. No doubt due to the amount of practise we've had team Raleigh emerged triumphant as our PM Vic defeated the visitors in a 1 to 1 showdown. Uno and chess have quickly become the other go-to games of choice.

Although our current jungle surroundings don't remind most of us of our typical winters back home, we've come fully prepared to celebrate the holiday season. A Christmas tree and Santa hats we've brought with us will be put to good use at Playa Hermosa once we move there on December 6th and most definitely won't look out of place.

by Sophie, Project Comms Officer