Expedition 10G signs off

That's it, Expedition 10G is done and dusted. And what an expedition it has been!

Three amazing schools built in remote indigenous reserves, thousands of turtle eggs collected and safely nested in a new hatchery, four days of tough trekking and a phenomenal Adventure Challenge set in a beautiful island location... it's had it all.

After four days of trekking through mud, rain and breathtaking mountain views, our Zulu groups gathered on San Lucas Island for their final survival challenge.

Located off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, San Lucas is a truly special place. It also has a fascinating history. From 1873 to 1991, San Lucas was home to some of the worst criminals in Costa Rica. The island is now a wildlife refuge but the prison buildings still remain as a reminder of the island's dark past. It's quite spooky touring the old prison at night so sleeping in the old cells was a real experience for our Venturers.

Woken at dawn by King Banana and his tribe on the day of the challenge, the Zulus were faced with a series of tasks: building a raft from bamboo, string and a few inflatable tires; making a fire big enough to burn through a piece of string two metres from the ground; a low ropes course and a collection of problem solving tasks (which were all timed for the overall competition, won by Zulu 2), before finishing on an isolated beach with just a few basics to survive for the night.

Later in the afternoon, "the boatman" came to visit with fresh fish, which had to be gutted and cleaned, and supplies for damper bread, which they cooked on an open fire. It was turned out to be a very wet night but none of our Zulus even thought about coming back to the prison even though they only had a leaky tarp and a few sleeping bags for protection, which was impressive.

The rest of the time was spent catching up with friends from the Delta groups and relaxing on (and jumping off) the pier, which was absolutely brilliant - definitely one of the most glorious locations this correspondent has ever had the pleasure to while away an afternoon.

But all too soon it was time for everyone to say their goodbye and head to the airport for their flights home.

It really has been a special expedition. Everyone involved - from the PMs and Venturers to the Fieldbase staff and everyone working behind the scenes - has been magnificent.

10G brought together a great group of young people who really gelled together to form some formidable teams and achieve some awe-inspiring things. We really hope they've had an amazing time with Raleigh and can take a lot of what they've learnt back with them to their studies or careers or whatever they have planned for the next phase of their lives. We wish them all the best.

Last call for 10G blog messages

Sadly there are only a few days left for Expedition 10G. Tomorrow our Zulu groups will complete the final day of their trek before beginning their survival challenge!

Most of Team Zero (Fieldbase staff) will be heading out to the secret location to join them for the final days of the expedition so this is your last opportunity to post blog messages and have them delivered to your friends and family before they depart. All messages must be posted before midday on Thursday, 5 August (UK time).

Thanks for all your messages throughout the expedition so far - our Venturers and PMs have really looked forward to receiving them and appreciated all your love and support.

Delta 4 photo album

We've collected stacks of photos from the Delta 4 Venturers and PMs - here are some of the best:

Delta 4: Building the turtle hatchery

Johnny Rowles gives us an insight into Delta 4's turtle project in idyllic Playa Hermosa:

When we arrived at Playa Hermosa we found its literal translation – beautiful beach – was almost spot on. The jungle spilled onto the black sands, and there wasn't a sign of civilization in 360 degrees. The ranger’s shelter was set 20 metres back from the beach, behind it was a rickety bridge which led into the mangrove swamp. The rangers, Don Manuel and Fernando, had cleared an area the size of a tennis court above the tide line to replace the previous hatchery.  However, the reserve was in a bit of a mess. There was debris and driftwood strewn everywhere, and the sign that once welcomed volunteers and tourists lay under rotting palm leaves. It seemed as though there was a lot of work to be getting on with.

Our first drive was to build a sandbank wall, with a 6 foot trench behind it to protect the hatchery from the sea. The work was particularly tiring, especially during the storms later in the day. Renditions of "Singing in the Rain" often raised our spirits to power on through to dinner. It was also important to oxygenate the sand. We built two 3 foot deep trenches opposite each other and, like moles, burrowed our way to the centre. This and then leveling the sand field took the best part of a week. It wasn’t particularly moral boosting since it looked identical to when we had started.

We split the group, and while some were turning over the sand others were doing some reforestation on the edge of the refuge. Once this was completed, we planted sharpened bamboo and marked out the nests with string ready for the eggs. We then dug in a fence to protect the nesting grounds from crabs and raccoons. The sand is now ready for the turtles.

The Olive Ridley turtles crawl zig-zagging up the beach during the night, leaving a darker trail which makes their paths easy to identify in the moonlight. Every night we patrolled the beach, one of this endangered species’ few nesting grounds, and gathered eggs to put in the hatchery. The aim of this is to protect them from poachers, raccoons, and from being destroyed by other nesting turtles later in the season. In the hatchery, we can host up to 800 nests at a time, each with 100-120 eggs. Seeing this amazing creature and the care and effort it took in nesting, really hit home and gave us a great sense of satisfaction in what we were doing. 

Pura Vida!

Delta 3 photo album

We've collected stacks of photos from the Delta 3 Venturers and PMs - here are some of the best:

Delta 3: The joys and challenges of life in Alto Pacuar

Andy Martin gives us a day-by-day account of life on Delta 3's school project in Alto Pacuar:

As I sit here in the dark of our community centre home in Alto Paquar looking back on the past two weeks, so much has happened in such a short period of time, with highs and lows and lots of broken Spanish and Cabecar (leaving  many puzzled expressions). Many details won’t make it into this brief travelogue, but I’m sure that you will learn all the ins and outs when we return!

Tuesday, 20 July: Today we soldiered on and made significant progress on laying the foundation struts and floorboard, which significantly boosted morale within the group. We held English classes in the afternoon. The food highlight was Costa Rican pancakes, which taste of nothing on their own but are amazing with sugar. Some people have become obsessed.

Wednesday, 21 July: After an early start with chickens pecking the floorboards, we had a good hearty breakfast of rice, beans, pancakes and salty egg stuff. Our maestro de obras Don Marvin started construction of the external walls, which requires great skill, accuracy and measurement. Today was the hottest day ever! We never realised that heat can be so disabling. Our most exciting food item was Costa Rican porridge, which is actually a drink and a solid.

Thursday, 22 July: Today was even hotter than yesterday! It was well over 30 degrees and really took it out of us. The walls were gradually getting built up and we hit a milestone when Don Marvin decided where the windows and doors were going. We sawed and nailed and put up some beams. A dedicated team led by Luke also started the 2 metre longdrop. The schoolkids came to the site mid-afternoon and sang us some music with their guitars, a pleasant surprise on a hot sunny afternoon.

Friday, 23 July: Today we got most of the panelling completed on the walls despite the scorching heat. This was great progress! We were all feeling good and washed in the river before the stormy rain arrived. The food highlight was guava juice made from thew fruit that grows around Alto Pacuar.

Saturday, 24 July: Today was a productive work day, as we flexed our muscles carrying wood through rough rainforest terrain from the Pacuare River during the morning. This was a two hour round trip and was one of the more challenging moments of the trip. In the afternoon we made progress finishing the interior walls. This evening was special as it was Ronald's 18th birthday, so we had chocolate, rice pudding and a campfire outside. I organised guitars and our Tica PM, Adri, serenaded Ronald in the traditional Costa Rican way while he opened his birthday cards. It was a good night.

Sunday, 25 July: Today was a good but tiring day off from the building site. We are starting to know the people of Alto Pacuar quite well. We got up nice and earlyto play football against the locals. The walk to the football pitch turned out to be far longer than expected - it took 90 minutes over tought terrain. We followed the Pacuare River upstream through the most amazing scenery. The riveris very large and fast flowing and the area on either side floods during rain storms. We passed plantain plantations and indigenous settlements. We were told this was a kickaround but we sensed the locals were taking it a little more seriously when they got on their football boots. The long grass and soggy walking boots left us 5-1 down by half time and by the second half we were all so tired no one cared about the score. We were more excited about the shop where we got pop and ice lollies. Some of us then climbed an insanely steep hill for the great views.

Monday, 26 July: Today was a surreal day for many reasons. First we had coco pops, not rice and beans, for breakfast. Then Don Marvin announced he was leaving for another job which was quite a blow as we needed to get the roof finished. The afternoon was better as the local kids put on a concert for us and sung five songs in Cabecar. Then we performed some English songs for them! I sang "Take It Easy" by The Eagles, followed by a group effort of "Wonderwall". This was amazing and really lifted our spirits.

Tuesday, 27 July: Today we got a new maestro, Don Victor, who is amazingly quick and dedicated. However there wasn't much for us to do because building the roof is complex and dangerous work. We set to building tables and benches instead. After washing in the river, we had a campfire and lots of marshmallows to finish off our fun day.

Wednesday, 28 July: Which leads us on to today, our next to last day in Alto Pacuar. Everyone is really happy as most of the roof has gone up and most of the school is painted. We'll hopefully finish tomorrow and then celebrate with the locals.

Much of the above is extracted from my journal, soon to be available at all major bookshops as a novel of epic proportions. We all hope to see you soon and hope you are proud of what we achieved.

Ed: Delta 3 did indeed get their school completed on schedule. Here's the proof:

Delta 2: A real sense of achievement in Jokbata

Delta 2's Glyn Worthington writes from Jokbata's newly completed primary school:

We said goodbyes to Fieldbase early in the morning and headed off on our bus to the Chirripo Indigenous reserve. The drive was amazing, driving up winding mountains and down steep slops with spectacular views. The reserve is very remote and there are only a few roads entering the Talamanca mountain range.

Our bus couldn't go any further due to the terrain so we trekked on foot with horses carrying our building equipment. We walked up steep muddy paths that were often very tiring and the weather sometimes turned sour!

After about three hours we arrived at the Jokbata primary school. The old school was made out of wood and in terrible condition. It was also pretty clear that it was far too small for the current number of pupils. We were sleeping in a house about twenty minutes walk away so we set up base camp and rested – we knew we had a tough few weeks ahead of us!

The next day we got up and set about demolishing the school, which was actually very fun – it’s not everyday you get to destroy a school! We were working with a few local builders who spoke Spanish but we had people in our group who could translate so communication wasn’t too bad – let's just say my Spanish was a little rusty!

Unfortunately not all the building materials had been delivered (it's pretty difficult to organise things in such a remote place), so the group decided to carry wood down from the mountain – which was hard but rewarding work.

The building phase consisted of levelling the ground, digging holes for the foundations, laying the foundations, laying the floor, building the frame, nailing the walls up, painting and raising the roof. There was a lot of manual labour and sawing in between this but everyone pulled their weight and handled it very well.

The locals are very different to us. The majority are poor farmers and have little or no education. We spent a few nights playing with the kids who were nothing but smiles and helped boast morale – it is after all the children who we are trying to give a better chance to.

A local woman who was our cook. We had a wide range of local food – mainly rice, pasta, chick peas, lentils and plantains. We also had some delicious salsa sauce and some very strong local coffee. Communication was hard at times as nearly all the locals only speak Cabecar, although a few did speak Spanish.

Overall the project was a huge success. We got the majority of the school built although due to delays outside our control (mainly wood supplies) some bits were not fully completed. I have made some friends for life and was blessed to have fun and interesting leaders. I think everyone in my group will come away feeling a good sense of achievement and I even found the inspiration to give up smoking out here!

Delta 2 photo album

We've collected stacks of photos from the Delta 2 Venturers and PMs - here are some of the best: