Expedition 12B: A summary

10 weeks ago some 110 venturers from across the globe arrived at Turrialba Headquarters in eager anticipation of the experience of a lifetime. They departed yesterday, teary eyed and joyful after an unbelievable journey, the memories of which they will cherish forever. Quantifying the work done, from the stones lifted, kilometres trudged on trek to the tortilla eating record for a phase (107 in case you're wondering), would be no easy task, so I hope the following serves adequately as a summary of an unforgettable 3 months spent in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Located in the heart of some of the most remote communities in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the community projects offered a unique opportunity to volunteers to work alongside members of those communities to build basic facilities such as schools, community centres and water supply systems. The Venturers also learned to overcome communication, language and cultural barriers while living with families who only speak Spanish.
All the projects were formed with the aim to improve the quality of life and to provide valuable resources for very poor communities. The projects were structured in a way to ensure that Raleigh had optimum impact on the communities through improvement of the quality of life and providing valuable resources for current and future generations.

In San Jose, the community centre built over 2 phases will provide a focal point for the 29 families who call it home. Over in El Portillo, 29 eco-latrines gives sanitation to 35 families and in La Naranjita, 5 adobe brick houses were built from approximately 1800 bricks as a replacement for those damaged in the storms at the latter end of 2011. Finally, in Dorbata, the school built in phase 2 will provide not only an educational establishment for the 20 children in the community, but also a meeting point for the weekly Saturday get-together.

Working alongside SINAC, the Costa Rican National System of Conservation Areas, and based in Costa Rica’s National Parks, the environmental groups lived and worked alongside the park rangers, helping to maintain and improve the national parks. In addition to their conservation work, venturers were given talks on environmental awareness in Costa Rica by rangers. Around 27% of Costa Rica is protected territory and Raleigh’s environmental projects reflect the country’s commitment to support their unique environment and natural habitat.

The projects are genuinely important in helping to preserve natural resources and habitats and protect important species of plants and animals, as well as improving facilities in order to generate much-needed income from eco-tourism.

In Carara, venturers renovated 350m of trail with sand and stone, painted a macaw-mural at the main entrance and commenced work on a new path in a park used by some 30,000 visitors a year. In the south, La Amistad's Los Gigantes del Bosque (Giants of the Forest) 1.8km path received an overhaul, whilst in the north, Volcan Tenorio's path and staircase down to the surreal Laguna Azul received a similar treatment - and was visited by 700 visitors during the Easter Holy Week. Up on the slopes of Volcan Barva, 2.5km of pipeline and footpath were cleared, allowing access and water to the ranger's who protect this stunning ecosystem from poachers.

Each trek covered over 250 kilometres in 19 days. Venturers braved the elements, crossed rivers and camped in remote wilderness, jungle or community buildings, learning navigation, camping and survival skills along the way. The 4am starts, tough climbs and up to ten hours trekking a day with over 20kg on their backs tested the Venturers both physically and mentally. Whilst completing the trek, each member explores their own strength and determination, teamwork abilities and a level of fitness some never knew they had.

After having risen to the challenge, the trek groups were rewarded with incredible views, abundant wildlife and an enormous sense of achievement upon arrival at the beautiful beaches; truly giving each person the belief they can overcome any future challenge they may face.

From the ups and downs of the Turrisantos trek, the tropical climes of Corcovado and the volcanic vistas of the Miratombo, attempting to explain the phenomenal feat of trekking 19 days through scenes of beauty at every twist and turn is something that many fail to explain, such is the magnitude of the achievement.

Congratulations to all involved, may you be successful in whatever you pursue next.

Expedition 12B, out

xx

I Try To Say Goodbye And I Choke

Ah Macy Gray, how you sum up this moment so perfectly...

As the buses bounced their way along the dusty track out of CATIE, be it to the departure lounge of Juan Santamaria International or the picture book shores of the Caribbean at Puerto Viejo, everyone agreed on one thing, it had been a truly magical end to Expedition 12B.

The past few days have passed in a whirlwind and has yet again been action packed. While the feasts in the form of a welcome back BBQ and last night’s dinner do gave an opportunity to regain the calories (especially the trekkers), it was truly a privilege to witness a spectacular interactive singing performance by Don Brigido, President of La Cooperativa Juan Francisco Paz Silva, a truly inspirational character who had the whole group singing along to ‘Nicaragua, Nicaraguita’, ‘Soy Puro Pinolero’, ‘Hijos de Mais’ and an incredibly well received, and raucously echoed ‘Aqua’ song.

Expedition 12B has been a truly unforgettable experience, one that will live long in the memory of all those involved. There’s been good times and bad, laughter and tears, moments of despair which are ultimately overcome by incredible achievements and everyone from venturers, to VMs to Fieldbase staff can be truly proud of their endeavours Here at Turri HQ it’s the calm after the storm as 12B’s achievements over the past 10 weeks begin to sink in, I’ll post them in a blog as soon as they’re compiled.

In the meantime, on behalf of all of us at Turrialba Fieldbase, I’d like to thank you all for your messages of support for your loved ones. They are incredibly well received and provide real morale boosts be it at the end of a rain soaked day on trek, mattocking pathways in the jungle, or mixing cement for a community centre. So thanks. You guys rock.

Check back soon for Ale’s fitting finale of phase three’s photos!

La Naran-three-ta

With 5 Nicaraguan families settled into their new homes and a school room freshly painted, Zulu 7 are returning to Costa Rica triumphant.

It’s been a tear-jerking end to fantastic phase and with our host families left behind in La Naranjita, we return with a humbled outlook and renewed sense of the agricultural, non-materialistic way of life so dominant in this area with Sav’s video blog and a multitude of journals at our disposal, the memories had by all on this phase are precious and unforgettable.

Perhaps most importantly the opening ceremony of the houses was a moment that summed up the entire phase. The honest gratitude expressed by the community for our work was extremely touching. Having worked for 3 whole phases with them, special recognition was rightfully geared towards PM Fiona, who is eveidently an honorary member of the La Naranjita establishment, assisted by her near perfect Spanish.

Fiona’s connections aided us immensely in our adventures outside the community which became apparent when we found ourselves bound for Esteli on the once-daily chicken bus. A couple of hours later, having been thoroughly battered around by the dusty, bumpy roads we arrived. A trip to a museum and a quick look around the shops allowed for an enjoyable day. Massive shame about the torrential downpour...

A quick bot-fly update; Lulu is pleased as punch with the results from her scalp – so much so that she’s successfully used her own traumatic experience to remove not one, but three of the pests from Mark’s sun-kissed pins! She may not be able to use a hammock, or walk down a hill with any sort of gradient without falling, but when it comes to medicine she knows her stuff!

In other news we’ve been lucky enough to celebrate 2 Raleigh birthdays. Both Diana and Sam reached the ripe age of 19 which gave La Naranjita the chance to show us how to party and really celebrate in style. With matching pineapple cakes, an enormous bonfire and local DJ Terry on the decks (cd player), Zulu 7 have enjoyed 2 fantastic evenings with the entire community. We even got a talented performance on the guitar from Tim – he kept that quiet!

Stay safe, we’ll see you soon xx

Carara: The latest Rumble from the Jungle

Here we are once again, one week later, and yes we have good news to report. Firstly we are still 13 and brave intrepid venturers, but secondly and more importantly we have finished the path. That’s right, 400m of jungle pathway have been leaf raked, mattocked, lined with the finest rocks, laid with the softest sand, and re-raked again for that silky finish that every visitor expects when they visit the jungle. In Vicki’s words – ‘We smashed it’. It made it an extra super special experience to have Oscar our fave Ranger working alongside us at the finishline. After the necessary snapshots had been taken with our path we spent the afternoon basking in our own glory at our own zoo which had some new additions. These included the following: a swarm of wasps which due to Josie’s phobia meant she had dinner around the corner, a new trail of ants, and a most importantly a new lizard pursued by Hanko and James – Michael, aka Crocodile Dundee, just picked it up.

The heat as ever is hot, really quite hot, which meant that when the rain came it was a communal shower as we frolicked in our swimmers, oblivious to the fact people on the main road 20m away could see all. As the sun rose on Thursday morning, Thea our day leader began forming plans for something new, so in true Raleigh style we started on a new path. We have also attained a new universal nickname from our very own Nicaraguan duo Michael and Uriel who now affectionately refer to both male and female members as – baby. “You can do it baby”.

The biggest date on everybody’s calendars to date is James’ birthday, not just because it was our first full day off, but because it also meant THE BEACH. The day went as follows: Big Raleigh until 7.00AM, breakfast of porridge and raisins, some say the only way to start your day, followed swiftly by a visit to the crocodiles and a trek to THE BEACh by Josie and Erika who effectively jogged the whole way. There was sand and sun and PMs A-Bomb and Vicki soon had their factor 50 on, books/crosswords out and at last rested their weary bones. Little did we know that back at HQ, PM Amanda and Clare were preparing the zoo with balloons, bunting and banners for the forthcoming festivities. Back at the beach, Azelle sniffed out burgers and rounded the group for a warm up feast, and after some final Baywatch style sea entries we returned to camp. That evening was truly fantastic, a feast of jelly, paella, tomato and avocado salad, followed by a birthday cake and the main event – Chubby Baby – (thanks Michael and Uriel) – fitting as many marshmallows in your mouth and saying those golden words. A keenly contested final between Hanko and Josie ensued, the latter’s dictation of chubby baby whilst juggling 8 marshmallows giving her the crown. What a Birthday!

Work on Path Dos continues in much the same fashion, with Oscar always around to help, none of us can truly find the right words to thank him for everything he’s done for us, including a night time guided tour of one of the trails; it will truly be a real shame to leave him and the jungle on Wednesday. So from Zulu 4 as ever, we will continue smashing it until Monday, when we enjoy more beach time at Playa Hermosa for well earned rest.

Pura Vida!

Blink and you'd have missed it

So another Raleigh phase has gone by quicker than a meteor flashing over the Cheviots; here’s a run through of the endeavours of those fine Raleigh guys and gals’

Our trek groups have routed their respective routes. X Ray 1 delved through the heart of Costa Rica, almost coast to coast. Beginning in Barbilla National Park they have breached the continental divide and are celebrating their success at Punta Judas. Whilst Turrisantos may sound like a beach resort, apparently its completely the opposite. And you need to like peanuts. and tang. and getting slightly lost. but mainly peanits.

X Ray 2 conquered the Corcovado, tackling the eponymous national park and La Amistad in the hot and humid southwest of Costa Rica. They finished with three days striding the sands at Playas Madrigal, Carate and Piro.

X Ray 3, up in Nicaragua, mastered the Miratombo trek, with their final days in the Maribios Volcano chain, enjoying stunning views of Volcan Momotombo and Lake Managua. They visited many communities along the way, were treated to food by smiling hosts, slept on volcanoes, traversed deserts and rivers, all celebrating in style at Lake Asoscosas.

X Ray 4 have completed their work on the ‘Quebrada Bonita’ trail in Carara National Park, enjoying a day trip to Playa Hermosa, and celebrating several birthdays throughout the phase. The traditional celebratory energy bomb cake was pimped with addition of oreos. Must have been some huge sugar crashes down in Carara after that...

X Ray 5 in La Amistad have also been productive on the ‘Gigantes del Bosque’ trail (Giants of the Forest’. They have enjoyed various outings to the swimming pool in Altimira, a local farmers market, and to the Valley of Silence Ranger station where Raleigh undertook a project a few years ago.

X Ray 6, after 18 days of pouring rain, finally had a day of sun! They have been working at Volcan Tenorio, undertaking an overhaul of the path to the waterfall on the aquamarine Rio Celeste.

X Ray 7 have continued the work of Alpha 7 on the adobe brick houses in La Naranjita, mixing mud and ‘old man’s beard’ to create a ‘cement’ between the bricks, alongside trips to Esteli and visits to X Ray 8...

...who have completed the community centre in San Jose! This was celebrated with a fiesta yesterday afternoon, featuring all the classics - pass the parcel and some rather competitive musical chairs. They too undertook trips to Esteli, visiting the cigar factory and there was a barely a dry eye when they said good bye on Tuesday morning.

Finally, X Ray 9 in Dorbata. In their one phase, they whipped up a school building faster than a Groundforce montage and have enjoyed the good life in the beautiful surrounds of Chirripo Indigenous Territory. The school is already in use and the group enjoyed a game of football with the locals, the torrential downpour during the fixture making the Brits feel truly at home.

They’ll all be back at HQ tomorrow for all the fun and games of changeover so stayed tuned for the latest goings on at Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

X Ray 7 La Naranjita

As we’re swiftly approaching our last few days at La Naranjita – admiring our (nearly) finished house – which we energetically constructed with a ‘little’ help from Alpha 7 on phase one. I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by. We’re also incredibly impressed by the resident cockerel –that rather amusingly is government protected (it was a gift) and has terrorised victims relentlessly; including Fiona who received a vicious peck to the ankle.

The work has been hard, but we’ve taken it in our stride and there’s never been a dull moment, especially with mud around. It has done wonders for our skin, and some would say it’s like being on an extended spa weekend, minus the relaxation element, with a hardcore workout substituted in. Unsurprisingly, the boys have been trying to outdo each other by carrying the most bricks – current record holder is Johnny, who managed 3 on his shoulders.

We’ve all taken to life in La Naranjita and really settled down with our families, although this took longer for J our village ‘Goldilocks’, as he was determined to find a bed that was just right. A few of us have even woken at the crack of dawn to milk the cows; Istvan and Emma collecting an impressive 5ml of milk between them, which is more impressive thatn A-Bomb’s feeble attempts – and Eika who got lost and never showed! Luckily we had an expert in our midst, so we were all able to enjoy a fresh glass of hot milk with sugar and cinnamon – delicious!

On Saturday afternoon we had a visit to a picturesque waterfall around 30 minutes from the village, enjoyable despite the shockingly cold temperature of the water. Harvey aka Harvinator, stole the crown for best swim-wear. His pizza hut delivery boy chic, sourced from Ropa Americana, for the equivalent of £2. The trip was for many, the first real shower, and in Amanda’s case, her only shower – as hers has 3 sides and a clear view to the rest of the village.
On Sunday we had the opportunity to visit Uriel’s home town Sontule – 2 hours walk away (actually 4), but it was well worth it, even if it did mean having to run 7km mainly uphill to return in time for Raleigh Radio!

I speak on everyone’s behalf when I say that we will truly miss our families and reminisce fondly of our time in La Naranjita. We can’t wait to get home, dig up our own back gardens with our newly acquired expertise, and build our own adobe brick houses. Now where to find some old man’s beard...

News from Nicaragua: San Jose, X Ray 8

The war has officially begun between the boys and girls of X Ray 8. After a lovely day at work under Michael’s leadership, Charlie, Andrew, James and Hanko ruined it by soaking Felur, Holly and Georgina, before rolling them in the sand pit! (Official terminology here I believe is: ‘donuting’) Sleep with one eye open boys... On Monday we had a double excitement – half the group headed with Vicki to Esteli on the bus tour a cigar factory, the industry employing around 70% of residents of the town, whilst X Ray 7 paid us all a visit after work, we had a lovely reunion at the water hall. On Tuesday, the second half of the group made the same trip and we were given free cigars; the boys taking the whole experience incredibly seriously!

Jemma also arrived with us on Tuesday and we are now getting started on the painting. The school is already a brilliant blue/green blend, while the murals have been planned out and waiting to be filled in! The community centre is going very smoothly (our rendered walls are like marble). Georgina and Azelle’s ‘Dad’, Don Gustavo, proved a ..help.. with the painting, splashing paint around like nobody’s business! James subsequently spent two hours resurrecting the door.. Cindy then showed up Azelle by out-shovelling. And she’s TINY! Charlie got his tongue in a twist discussing turnips with Fleur, or was it tulips? “You have loads of turnips in Holland right, they’re all over your postcards!”

The Bravo’s (Ale, Holly and Dangerous Dave) arrived on Thursday night – lovely to see them all and receive our messages! We’ve got the drawing board out for our skit – the boy’s are gunning for an auction idea but we’ll see... Charlie does a mean Paddy McGuiness impression so maybe a ‘Take Me Out’ parody is needed. Let the bangers see the mash!

We’re all excited for our fiesta on Monday when we open the community centre! A classic Nicaraguan celebration!

X Ray 8 out!

Dorbata, Chirripo Indigenous Reserve X Ray 9

Quietly and unassumingly, hidden down in the Chirripo Indigenous Territory, X Ray 9 have constructed their school building with the energy and vigour of an army of thousands. Indeed, such is their progress that on Saturday morning they celebrated the opening ceremony with the local community.

Apparently the group don't have time for words, preferring to let their actions do the talking, so treat yourself to a mug of the hot stuff, settle in your favourite chair and enjoy X 9's photos from Dorbata.

It is also worth pointing out that an envelope of electronic proportions, featuring a smorgasbord of photos from our Nicaraguan groups landed in our inbox this morning so check back through the blog to see some digital depictions of the X Ray Groups in action.