Introducing the new X-Ray groups

So everyone is on their way for Phase 2!

Even though early mornings are becoming quite routine now, 3.30am is still quite brutal especially after the Halloween party the night before.  No complaints from the new X-Ray groups though.  Everyone made their packed lunches, ate breakfast, stuffed their rucksacks and loaded the buses ready for a prompt(ish) departure.

So the X-Ray groups are as follows:

X-Ray 1 - Miratombo Trek (Nicaragua)
David M, Vic L, Charlie
Marco, Gustavo, Louis, Luke, Jonas, Matt Whiteside, Carlyn, Anika, Anna, Tiggy, Victoria M

X-Ray 2 - Environmental (starting with Playa Hermosa)
Claudia F, Jim, Nicole
Diego, Ben A, Jack, Harley, Ben H-D, Ben P, Jacklyn, Mela, Suwen, Puck, Aisheth, Hester

X-Ray 3 - Environmental (starting with Carara)
Pauline, Martina, Sarah F/Natalie
Matt Wilkinson, Jose, Omar, Claudia A, Floor, Dave R, Vera, Lilian, Shannon, Nick, Alex

X-Ray 4 - Los Loros water gravity project (Nicaragua)
Florian, Claire S, David A
Pedro, Hidde, Callum, Ziggy, Archie, Henry, Yorleny, Laura, Frankie, Lydia, Patrice, Andrea

X-Ray 5 - Miraflor house building project (Nicaragua)
Sarah C, Jae, Katie
Jonathan, Angel, Rory, Paul, Ben B, Max, Arlenne, Bodyl, Vinnie, Eveline, Sophie

If you could mark your blog messages with these X-ray groups it will help us get each one straight to your loved ones.  (Even though messages aren't being published on the blog at the moment we still print them all out and get them out to venturers just as soon as we can - so keep up the words of encouragement, they mean a lot.)

And speaking of the Halloween party here's a picture of Barney to put you off your breakfast...

Pretty in pink?

Drumroll....for our phase 2 Delta groups

Wondering where our Delta venturers are and what they're up to? Then wonder no more! Without further ado, here are our phase 2 project groups:

Delta Romeo 1, Turrimacho Trek, Costa Rica
This trek has an incredible start climbing between two active volcanoes – Irazu and Turrialba to over 3000 metres. On a good day from the top you can see the Caribbean Sea. From the top you pass by the Guayabo National Monument – the ruins of an ancient settlement in the jungle before passing close to fieldbase and then on to the Tapanti National Park. After climbing up to nearly 3,000 metres the group will then follow the ridges of the Fila de Bustamante towards Cerro Dragon, before heading down to the Pacific ocean at Playa Palo Seco.

Delta Romeo 1 are: Bernardo Rodriguez (PM), Sheila Loughman (PM), Hannah MacKenzie, Hollie Camilleri- Denis, Hugh MacDonald, Jay Lancaster, Kelly Yaxiry Reyes Cruz, Lauren Mortimer, Lucy Hill, Mauricio Otarola Mora, Olivia S Christie, Rosanna Lorrison, Rose Ashbourn, Stephan Moehrke.

Delta Romeo 2, Momotombo Trek, Nicaragua
In the far north of Nicaragua, close to the border with Honduras, this Raleigh group will walk along a mountain ridge through the pine forests above Esteli. From here you will head along a ridge that passes by the Estanzuela waterfall and protected area going through remote communities. This route has never been attempted before on a Raleigh expedition. The trek heads towards the Momotombo Volcano from which the trek takes its name before climbing up Volcan El Hoyo with fabulous views over Lake Managua. The trek finishes at the crater lake of Asososca – a beautiful crystal clear lake that was once a volcanic crater.

Delta Romeo 2 are: Ivan Phillips (PM), Andy Noble (PM), Abigail Tyer, Alan Gwilt, Benny Gamsu, Charlie Stephen, Faruk Patel, Fatima Tercero Morales, Freddy Soames, Gyneska Velazquez Ramírez, Julian Krantz, Sam Tate, Sarah Lamming.


Delta Romeo 3, Piedras Blancas environmental, Costa Rica
Piedras Blancas is a relatively new national park in the south of Costa Rica where important primary forests on the north coast of Golfo Dulce act as vital biological corridors between Corcovado National Park and the mountains. The El Bonito ranger station is currently only accessible by driving up the river but this means that during the rainy season access is very dangerous for the rangers. Volunteers will continue to rehabilitate an old road that runs through the rainforest that used to connect to some old farms that were once in the park.  This area is important for the development of tourism, to prevent poaching and also for scientists who are studying the biodiversity that the park has to offer. The volunteers will build a jungle camp in the forest and learn about conservation in this beautiful national park

Delta Romeo 3 are: Lorna Fossick (PM), Mark Sandringham (PM), Alex Kretowicz, Briony Wood, Elizabeth Hedges, Emilie Kielstra, Gilles Bouman, Ignacio David Camacho Piedra, Jade Pearson, Jasmine Henry,Jessica Bridge-Dunk, Mary McCann, Scott Baxter.

Delta Romeo 4, Camaronal enviromental, Costa Rica 

Camaraonl is a stunning protected area famous for its nesting turtles that lay eggs on the beach all through the year. In 2008 they reported over 5,000 turtle nests during the period of June to November on this 3km long beach found in the Nicoya Peninsula. Raleigh volunteers will patrol the beach every night, build a hatchery, and rebuild a mirador (look out point). Living on this stunning beach and interacting with these rare creatures will be a once in a lifetime experience.

Delta Romeo 4 are: Jess Henderson (PM), Jo Jo Huddie (PM), Aisling Bury, Christiana Florman, David Eames, Jessy Boon Cowler, Karla Elena Arroyo Chaves, Kazakao Laird, Mags Chilaev, Nicola Milner, Nicole Boardman, Richard Mandell, Sem Veeger, Yendry Castro Loría.

Delta Romeo 5, El Rodeo, Miraflor, Nicaragua
The Miraflor reserve is 206sqkm of beautiful mountainous terrain with various different ecosystems such as tropical savannah, dry tropical forest and mountain cloud forest. Within the reserve there are a number of communities living through subsistence farming and gaining income from coffee growing, cattle farming and some small tourism initiatives. However the people have few resources and lack access to basic services such as health and education. The area was also badly affected by hurricanes last year. On this project, participants will continue to either rebuild or build six new homes in the small community of El Rodeo.

Delta Romeo 5 are: Lara Frankel (PM), Ben Davies (PM), Alexander Shaw, Alexandra Lingwood, Annelotte Jens, Harriet Marsh, Justino Enrique Lira, Larry Castillo, Maria Bedford, Rebecca Eno, Simon Keirle, Vanessa Paulina.

Delta Romeo 6, Tayni community, Alto Coen, Costa Rica
Situated at the centre of a Cabecar indigenous reserve in the Matama region of Costa Rica, a Raleigh group will be helping the local people build a secondary school in the remote community of Alto Coen. This project is extremely important for the reserve as it will equip future generations with the skills they need for the challenges of globalisation and change in the 21st century. The Raleigh volunteers will be learning about the culture of these indigenous people while working alongside them.

Delta Romeo 6 are: Sarah Malcomson (PM), Tom Hiscutt (PM), Karla Ugalade (PM), Andrés Chavarría Navarro, Chris Reynolds, Claudia Mendzil, David Ford, Dawn Tennant, Esmie Warne, Lucy Pearson, Maryam Almaghrabi, Saskia Donat, Victorine Pot, William Jackson.

Announcing our phase 2 Alpha Romeo groups....

Finally! A few minutes to let you know where our ace Alphas are for their next projects! I think the fieldbase team are in agreement when I say we've never been as tired in our lives. We waved goodbye to the Alphas at 7am yesterday then had two hours to get everything prepared for the Deltas so we could do 'changeover' all over again. We've never run two groups concurrently in the same expedition before (double the number of venturers) so it really is a mammoth effort from all our volunteer managers to pull this off. But the 18 hour days are worth it because of the wicked buzz of having so many amazing venturers back with us in fieldbase, sharing their stories, their energy, and their excitement.

Alpha Romeo 1 - Corcovado trek, Costa Rica 

Starting in the stunning montane La Amistad National Park, the largest national park in Costa Rica and a UNESCO World Heritage site, the trek gets the chance to walk through beautiful mountain scenery and towering cloud forest. After passing by waterfalls and hot springs the group will cross the Coto Brus valley to the Fila Costena – a chain of mountains that run parallel to the sea. Once they are out of the mountains the group will finish the trek by crossing the famous Corcovado National Park that straddles the Osa Peninsula, walking through the best preserved tropical rainforest in Central America. The group will have a chance to see monkeys and Tapirs before the walk along the beaches of the Pacific Ocean for three days at the end.

Alpha Romeo 1

 Andrés Cambronero Rodríguez,  Andy Brown, Phil Wood (PM), Mo Ahmed (medic PM), Daniel Saborío Romano, Michael Buie, Emma Stiling, Alice Wadsworth, Anne Havenga, Christine M'Baye (PM), Madi Owen, Duaa Al-uzairy, Camilla O'Connell, Alette Jansen, Anita Boyd,

unavailable for picture: Christian Hibberd

Alpha Romeo 2 - Guanacaste Trek, Costa Rica

The setting for this trek covers a huge variety of different ecosystems from cloud forest above 3000 metres down to one of the last remaining stands of primary dry tropical forest left in the Americas. The group will start close to the Arenal volcano and see its lava run down the sides at night before circumnavigating Volcan Tenorio via the Caribbean slopes visiting Turquoise waterfalls and moist rainforest. After passing by Volcan Miravalles the group will head to Rincon de la Vieja national park to climb one of the volcanoes and to witness steaming mud pots, geysers, and hot sulphur springs. After several days of walking through the forest they'll arrive at the foot of Cerro Cacao in Guanacaste National park where they'll steady themselves for a climb up the volcano. The trek will finish at Playa Junquillal to relax by the beautiful calm waters of the Pacific Ocean. 

Alpha Romeo 2

Jakhya Rahman, Roberto Ulloa (PM), Sylvie Myers, Sophie Abdy, Mel Richards (PM), Jose Mario Mondragon, Yuri Nishikawa, Hannah Leach, Mari Jones, Alexia de l'Espee, Byran Bryan, Harm van der Wal, Charles Chichester, Stijn Teves, Cat Ewins. 

Alpha Romeo 3 - Braulio Carillo National Park, Costa Rica

This will be the first time that Raleigh has worked in Braulio Carillo National park - a stunning area of primary rainforest situated in the heart of the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica. It abounds with animals, birds, insects and plants. The reserve acts as a biological corridor between many neighbouring protected areas. The plans for this reserve including building trails in the forest that will be used by tourists and school groups to learn more about this impressive area and the wildlife it contains. 

 Alpha Romeo 3

Sabrina Napthine (PM), Ian Haggerty, Rosie Webb, Wellard (PM), Max Chalong, Ian ter Haar, Tim Niehe, Sarah Ward, Helena Parker, Katharine Drake, Fabienne Ouwehand, Amy Wilson (PM), Lucia Salazar Sanchez, Carol Maria Herrera, Kesiah Moss, Louise Simpson.

Alpha Romeo 4 - La Cangreja environmental project, Costa Rica

La Cangreja is Costa Rica’s newest National Park which owes its name to the striking 1,305 metre peak Cerro Cangreja. The park has a mixture of Tropical Humid forest and Pre-Montane forest with a number of species of plant found nowhere else in the world which makes the area important for research purposes and for conservation. The park is also blessed with amazing waterfalls only to be found through exploring the forest. At present the government is developing the facilities in the park so this group will continue the trail building work started in phase 1, enabling better access.

 Alpha Romeo 4

Jonny McCathy (PM), Ed Smart, Robbie Coates, Tom Fear, Ellie Spicer, Laura Zaccagnini (PM), Harry Fellows, Antonio Jimenez Alvardo (PM), Caroline Murray, Teri Daly, Amy Ratcliff, Claudia de Wolfe, Emily van de Bunt, Eliana Maria León Vargas, Dunia González Calero, unavailable for picture: Daan v Apeldoorn.

Alpha Romeo 5 - San Marquena, (Achuapa), Nicaragua

Close to the town of Achuapa, in one of the poorest most remote areas of Nicaragua, Raleigh is working on a gravity-feed water project to bring clean and safe drinking water to families in the community of San Marquena. The group will continue to work with the locals to dam small streams, build tanks to collect the water from where it can run through pipes to all the local houses.

 Alpha Romeo 5

Adam Chalkley, Ben Stamp, Rolando Talavera Perez, Freya Lemon, Richard Cronheim, Gemma Hall, Hannah Tonneman, Sid Hegde, Chris Blessley (PM), Jennifer McGowan, Megan Illingworth, Lesbia Vásquez, Jo Blackwood, Asia Heczko (PM), unavailable for picture: Angie Bevan.

Alpha Romeo 6 - La Colmena (Miraflor), Nicaragua

The Miraflor reserve is 206sqkm of beautiful mountainous terrain with various different ecosystems such as tropical savannah, dry tropical forest and mountain cloud forest. On this project the participants will continue to build a community centre in the community of La Colmena which will be used for community meetings, cooperative meetings, adult education, pre-school education and recreational activities. 

Alpha Romeo 6
Emma Fellows (medic PM), Chloe Webster, Holly Edwards, Sander ten Haven, Vicky Easton (PM), Charlie Hockless, Jimmy Donger, Alex Backhouse, James Lee, Sabina Bridge, Anabella Karelia Alonso Torrez, Martha Gray, Hazel Foley, Josseling Zeledón Bravo, Clemmie Anderson.

Echo 6: A new community centre officially open

Gary Kelly reports on Echo 6's successful phase in La Naranja de Tayacan:

Wow. What a phase. The experience was brilliant for the whole group and it was great for us to finish the new community centre in La Naranja de Tayacan. We arrived two days after leaving Fieldbase, after numerous bus journeys. When we got there we were allocated to our families, who were so welcoming to us all. Then the following day we started work on finishing what was started by Alpha 6 who visited the community during Phase 1.

Our work consisted of collecting rocks, stones and dirt to lay within the foundations so that we could cement the floor. We completed these tasks and finished the community centre fairly quickly. When we had our days off, we travelled to Yali, a small town about an hour bus ride away from La Naranja. The same day, we travelled to Esteli and stayed in the offices of El Foro Miraflor, an organisation that is dedicated to conserving the area and the communities located in the Miraflor Nature Reserve.

One of the best days we had was the second we spent in Esteli. We had a very nice breakfast and then went on a tour of a local cigar factory. There, we managed to see how hand rolled cigars are made and we were shown different areas of the factory, which included a room full to the brim with cigars! Some of the group were even given some free cigars by the factory manager!

During the last days of the phase, we traveled back into Esteli to collect decorations for the community centre opening party. The day of the party was very exciting because we knew that the group had finished the centre and now we were going to open it. The whole community was in attendance and the village priest came along and gave the building a blessing. The party went very smoothly and everyone had such a good time.

Unfortunately, our time in Nicaragua had to come to an end, but the experiences that the group encountered, we will probably never forget.

Echo 6 photo album

Echo 5: No challenge too great in El Coyolito

Christopher Taylor takes us to El Coyolito in the beautiful Miraflor Nature Reserve:

This Venturer had thought that the challenges would end with the trek in Phase 1 but I was undoubtedly wrong!

Our project was to build a community centre, approximately 7m x 8m and our building site presented us with a mammoth task. We had to dig down nearly two metres and then some, before we could begin to level out the area; we shifted stones weighing forty kilograms; we moved tons of earth to several different locations but perhaps our crowning victory over nature was the felling of a large tree. Destructive, satisfying and enjoyable, it was a massive moral boost after what had been a grinding time of picking and spading. On our last day I looked on the cleared site with the foundations starting to be laid and despite being just a little disappointed with not being able to lay a breeze block, I realized we had accomplished one hell of a feat.

Working and living with the local community was no easy ride, but an unforgettable experience that was thoroughly enjoyable: Amenities – forget it. Utilities – think again. Steak and chips – in your dreams. The long drop latrine became normality, it's the flushing loo that baffles this Venturer now! Who needs a washing machine and a tumble dryer when soap and a concrete washboard do the job just as easily? And steak and chips could only be acquired with immense powers of imagination transforming the usual rice and beans. But on the other hand, it was a happy, simple and really pleasurable way of living. My family, Madie and Jose Maria were amazing. From the food they cooked, and the freedom of living with them to conversation and tolerance in teaching us to make tortillas. They, at some point, must have thought we were crazy as my roommate and I created a new meal: tortillas with sugar. They were delicious!

Outside of community work and life we managed, with the help of an ex-Venturer, to see a coffee plantation and a baseball game. The coffee plantation was really interesting as I don’t think anyone had a clue where coffee really comes from, or how it is processed. The baseball was different. No one understood the rules but joined in the yipping and whooping whenever something exciting happened. Our last treat was a waterfall, barely thirty minutes walk away. Cool and refreshing, I don’t think there is a better feeling than having tens of litres a second crashing down on your head and shoulders from fifty feet up.

No phase I think is without its challenges, but together as a group and with the help of the families and community, Phase 2 went by quickly, smoothly and entertainingly. 

Echo 5 photo album

Echo 4 photo album

Echo 4: Going nocturnal on Echo Beach

Tina Ambrose writes from Playa Hermosa:

When we first arrived at Playa Hermosa we were thrown straight into it with two beach patrols on the first night. Unfortunately we didn't see any turtles on the first patrol but since then we've rarely had a night without a sighting. We collect anything up to 15 nests each night, each nest containing 70-120 eggs. Once collected we recreate their original nest in the beachside hatchery where they are incubated for 45 days. Once hatched they are released into the ocean and hopefully they will return in 30 years time when they're ready to breed.

On many of our patrols, which can last most of the night, we are lucky to be joined by Ricardo, a local ecology expert who has volunteered at the Playa Hermosa ranger station for four years. He is very passionate about his work with the turtles and has taught us a lot about the coastal wildlife we've encountered.

He told us that most of the work they currently do wouldn't be possible without volunteers like us (Raleigh groups make up about 60% of the volunteers at Playa Hermosa). The presence of the volunteers and rangers on the beach also deters poachers. During our stay a poacher was caught by the police and will now serve three years in jail.

There is quite a lot to look out for on Playa Hermosa - not just turtles! We have seen scarlet macaws, white ibis, hundreds of lizards, thousands of hermit crabs and the odd crocodile. One of the rangers also informed us that behind the ranger station is a big nest of crocodile eggs. So we hoped we didn't come across one on patrol or even worse on the way to the long drop!

When we find a nest, information on the number of eggs and the time is recorded. In order to make this data more accurate we have measured out 100 metre sectors and marked each one with posts, which will later be numbered.

Following up Delta 4's hard work building the hatchery in Phase 1, we improved the sand bag wall and dug a trench around the hatchery. The sand bags provide a barrier against the sea and the trench allows rain water to run off easily. The group enjoyed this task but were surprised how heavy the sand bags were.

When we arrived the team were horrified at all the plastic washed up on the beach. We set to work clearing it, filling many, many bin liners over the four mornings it took. Looking down to see a plastic free area was such a sense of achievement. On reflection we all felt ashamed that people can allow all this litter to pollute the ocean and we all pledged to recycle more and spread the word.

Echo 4 also worked hard to create Echo Fortress! The best beach camp there has ever been. We boast a glam long drop, 12 sturdy basher beds, two hammocks and most importantly the radio bench. Along with some landscape gardening anyone in Chelsea would be jealous of.

But it hasn't been all hard work though. We've enjoyed beach olympics, volleyball, capoeira and a whole lot more.

During our time at Playa Hermosa, Echo 4 have found 161 nests and collected 15,678 eggs. Ricardo hopes that around 55,000 baby turtles will be hatched and released in the area this year.

Echo 3: An unforgettable phase in the jungle

Rosalyn Brown fills us in on Echo 3's time in La Cangreja National Park:

"Echo Three spent Phase 2 in the park.Working ‘til midday, chilling out ‘til dark".

The opening lines of our skit song (sung sweetly to the tune of Atomic Kitten’s Whole Again) do a pretty good job of summing up our time in the beautiful La Cangreja National Park. After waking up in our basher beds to beautiful sunrises, we spent our mornings helping the lovely rangers Don Bolivar, Guido and co around the park – our jobs were varied, ranging from painting corrugated iron roofs, planting trees and widening the tourist trails, to washing and then carrying pipes to install along the Water Trail (‘Sendero Agua’), improving the water supply to the ranger station.

Spending time with the rangers was great fun and although though there were sometimes communication difficulties, we all learned lots of environmental-specific Spanish vocab (‘Reticula’ = root; ‘Rama’ = tree and ‘Resbaladizo’ = slippery - generally a reference to the very muddy paths we spent our mornings slipping and sliding along).

The rest of our days consisted of ‘chilling out’ - we had Spanish and English lessons aplenty, our entire Echo 3 group became pros at eight card blackjack and ‘Deal’ (a highly addictive Spanish card game based on Monopoly), we furnished our camp with home improvements (including Azam’s coffee table, Sarah’s spice rack and a magnificent albeit slightly lopsided deckchair built by Robbie!) and produced a wide range of culinary delights – as well as our super Tico cooking duo ‘Joni and Toni’, Amy and Tori whipped up a pretty fantastic papaya cake!

One afternoon, our lovely PMs Matt and Gitti organized an epic scavenger hunt which had us all racing red-faced around the entire park taking photographs of abandoned long drops and various people hugging trees! 

Another particularly memorable day was our ‘four hour round-trip’ up to the summit of nearby Cerro Cangreja  which evolved into an 11 hour trek through the pouring rain. Needless to say we returned to jungle camp soaked through, exhausted and proceeded to eat our body weight in noodles and rice pudding!

I am sure that we will all look back on our time at La Cangreja with extremely fond memories. It is certainly not very often that you can list among your weekly activities ‘I climbed a waterfall and splashed around in some natural jacuzzis’ or ‘I saw five scarlet macaws, a snake and two toucans’! For me at least, it was an unforgettable three weeks living in a beautiful jungle with such an enthusiastic, diverse and genuinely lovely group of people that I am proud to have been part of a team with. Go Echo Three!

Echo 3 photo album

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