Alpha 1 start their Coast to Coast adventure

On a recent visit to see Alpha 1 and re-supply the group with food, Luke and Billy gave us their thoughts on the walk so far...

The first trek day was a shock for us, as we didn't realise how hard each day would be. We started on an empty beach where we laid out all of our maps and saw what was ahead of us. Two local children approached our group and when asked, said they thought the map of the width of Costa Rica was a map of the world. 

Seeing the scale of the task ahead

We set off for the first time and spent hours walking along a railway track, occasionally moving out of the way for people who had made makeshift trains out of platforms, bicycles and motorbikes, and used them as a family transport system. Eventually we reached a village where a very nice man let us use his garden to camp, which included a much appreciated tap. We had a very well deserved sleep.

Our first taste of uphill walking came in the afternoon on day 2, and we were very grateful to the family near our camp site who let us use their hose for a shower. The hills have been increasing ever since - day 4 was extremely hilly but team spirits were high, so we made it by 2 o'clock to a community centre. On arriving we realised there was no water supply but a nice local man took us down to a river in the jungle to fill our jerry cans, but the heat had dried it up. He kindly offered us water from the supply at his farm, where he permitted four of us to have a shower and let us fill up every container we owned to take back to our camp.

Coast to Coast trekkers head into the rainforest

It’s been an intense 4 days. There have already been down moments but our team is always growing stronger and everyone is determined to finish. We have all begun to realise the importance of water, which we take for granted in our home countries. We have also given up trying to look good in any way!

Early morning view over the stunning Barbilla National Park, where Alpha 1 will be trekking for the next few days

Alpha 1 ready to set off into the jungle on their 5^th day of trekking