Cruising Costa Rica

After completing the handover of myself (Carina) and Bravo 3 in the glamourous location of a car park, Nick and I commenced our road trip to visit X-Rays’ 1, 3 and 4 in Costa Rica.

Day 1 – Tracking down the trekkers
After taking in the beautiful scenery during our ascent into the hills, we arrived at La Esperanza to be welcome by the slightly whiffy (sorry trekkers!) but very happy X-Ray 1s! Sporting an array of ‘interesting’ outfits to keep warm, the group were adjusting to feeling a little chilly for a change as a result of being at an altitude of 2500m.

Bundling themselves into extra clothes and sleeping bags, the group warmed themselves up with a delicious dinner of pasta with lots of fresh veg and sausage, followed by one of Vanessa’s, now famous, banana cakes. Lottie also prepared energy bomb for the group, so all in all, it was a good food day for X-Ray 1!

Day 2 – Masterchefs a.k.a X-Ray 3
After an early rise with the trekkers we travelled to Carara National Park to visit X-Ray 3. Due to an overflowing river, X-Ray 3 has relocated from their jungle camp into a ranger building. With running water and bunk beds, the group have made themselves at home and managed to use the kitchen facilities to create some impressive food out of Raleigh rations, such as Emma’s Banoffee Pie! Having enjoyed a meal with the group we then played numerous games of Mafia as well as being entertained by Jed as only he knows how.

The following morning we walked into the jungle where the group is hard at work clearing flood and storm debris from walking trails.

Raining in the rain forest

Day 3 – X-Ray 4 challenge for the Masterchef crown!
Having travelled the short distance from Carara to Playa Hermosa to visit X-Ray 4 on the turtle project, we were greeted by a very chilled and happy group. Loving the beach environment, the group have been busy building up the storm walls following the bad weather at Hermosa over recent weeks. The storm walls protect the baby turtles from being drowned in the hatchery and so the group are enthused about working as hard as possible to prevent further damage. At night, they have been undertaking two beach walks to search for turtles and nests to enable them to relocate the eggs for protection.

X-Ray 4, sunset at Playa Hermosa

Again, impressing us with their cooking skills and challenging the efforts of X-Ray 3, Carlton and Sophie treated us to a delicious dinner of homemade veggie burgers and chips. The cooking in phase 3 is particularly impressive and Nick and I were delighted to get stuck in! Hopping back in Bravo 3 the following morning, we headed off early in order to deliver X-Ray 1’s last food drop.

Day 4 – Home delivery!
One food drop that trekkers love is the last one as they don’t have to carry it! With this in mind, we delivered X-Ray 1’s last food drop to Playa Palo Seco which is the end point of the Coast to Coast trek. Ready and waiting for their arrival today, we hope the trekkers enjoy the food and the messages of support tucked inside the food sacks!

Following the food drop, Nick and I headed back to fieldbase where we are preparing for the return of X-Ray’s 1–5 on Monday.

Roaming 'round Nica

On Monday 20th August, fieldbase trio Björn, Jen and Carina set off on a road trip in the trusty Raleigh landy ‘Bravo 3’. Our goal was to visit all of the groups working and trekking in Nicaragua to deliver food, messages and support.

Day 1 – Challenge 1: Navigating the Nicaraguan border
After presenting copious amounts of paperwork, showing our passports four times, and having the vehicle searched, we breathed a collective sigh of relief when we rolled across the Nicaraguan border a mere two hours later! Reaching our destination of San Juan del Sur, we rested for the night before continuing on to La Tunosa to meet the trekkers, X-Ray 2.

Carina, Björn and Jen, San Juan del Sur

Day 2 – Happy trekkers!
Arriving in La Tunosa, we were greeted by the happy – and I should say, very clean - faces of X-Ray 2 who had reached their destination and had time to wash before our arrival.

Teydi, HCV from Nicaragua

Before settling in for the night there was a quick dash into the city of Esteli so that Zichari could replace his broken walking boots – it turns out that duct tape is a useless substitute for a boot sole! Having distributed the mail and blog messages to the delighted recipients, we ate a meal of macaroni cheese with fresh veg. With water melon for dessert, a very well fed group fell into bed at the grand old time of 7.30pm.

These boots are made for walking...

After rising at 4.30am we waved the trekkers off at 6am and set off for our next destination.

Day 3 – The Charlies - Raleigh's ICS programme groups
We visited Charlie 2 in the community of La Quinta, Miraflor, where the group is putting the finishing touches to a water gravity system to bring fresh water to the community. As well as completing the gravity system, the group are working with the local community to ensure that the system is maintained in the long term.

In the afternoon we had to make an emergency trip into Esteli to replace a child’s football after it had met a tragic end under the wheel of Bravo 3! Luckily, a new ball was obtained and a smile was returned to the faces of the local children. Having spent the night with a local family, it was another early rise before continuing our journey to El Portillo.

Day 4 – X-Ray 5 and their water project: latrines!
Awaiting us at El Portillo, Achuapa, was the very lively X-Men 5s who are working in the community to build eco latrines. We caught up with the PMs Becky, Leanne and Istvan and learned that the group have also been engaging in other work such as planting trees and helping out in the homes of their host families.

PMs Becky and Istvan

Having settled into the community well, the group are in high spirits and are very much enjoying life in El Portillo, spending time teaching at the local school, playing Mafia, and taking classes in Capoeira with Sofia.

Super loos!

Day 5 & 6  – Charlie 1
Continuing onto San Nicholas, Achuapa, we arrived armed with a large amount of paint to enable Charlie 1 to decorate the community centre that they are currently building. The group are working hard and are determined to complete the large building on schedule. Having designed a beautiful mural for the outside, we are sure that it will look fantastic come the opening ceremony.

Community centre, San Nicholas

Day 7 – Feeding the trekkers!
We headed to Cerra Negro Ranger Station to leave three large sacks of food in preparation for the trekkers’ arrival a few days later. The sacks contained delights such as macaroni cheese, pasta, tinned veg, biscuits and refried beans to ensure that the trekkers have the energy needed to keep going!

Cerra Negro is a volcano in the Cordillera de los Maribios mountain range in Nicaragua. It is the youngest volcano in Central America and as such is yet to grow vegetation, leading to its striking appearance and name meaning ‘Black Hill’. X-Ray 2 will scale the volcano as part of their trek and will no doubt return with some amazing photography to show for their efforts!

Cerra Negro

Day 8 – Home, Sweet, Home
After spending one last night in Nicaragua, we headed to Cartago to rendezvous with the Logs Manager, Nick, so that I (Carina) could continue on with the Costa Rican road trip. Björn and Jen returned to fieldbase to be welcomed home with a delicious meal of Lentil Dahl and homemade bread.

X Ray 5 Rock Achuapa...continued...

So, our time was upon us. Eighteen X Men, and a load of Charlies (1 and 2) undertook one last, nervous practice before our big debuts!

Up first was Thomas (actually on Friday night) playing guitar and singing the Libertines, and next on the Friday was Trae freestyling on the guitar with Fu from ICS on the flute...

Thomas´s solo

Adam and Trae (X-Ray 5) with Ant and Fu from ICS

Then, on Saturday night, the whole of the X Men (as X Ray 5 are now better known) sang "Where is the Love" by Black Eyed Peas with the words changed to a song about reforestation, in English and Spanish. A few new talents for rapping were discovered!

Following that, Trae, Chris and Leanne performed "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet, and then Adam swapped in to beatbox with Trae and some of the Charlies in a wonderful fusion of rock and hip hop, with a bit of body popping thrown in.

Leanne, Chris and Trae

Charlie 2 and the Agua song

The mighty X Rays are a bit of a talented bunch if we do say so ourselves! And amidst all the fun we´ve learned masses about our community here in Achuapa and hopefully helped them to think about how to become more sustainable in order to benefit generations to come.

X Men and Charlies say ta ta for now...

We waved off the Charlies this morning and are just about to trek up to our community in El Portillo to be welcomed by our families. Can´t wait - wonder if they'll recognise us from the stage....

In the jungle, the mighty jungle...

Buenas dias!! Having spent 5 days out on the bumpy road, taking in some of the stunning sights of Costa Rica, Juliet Bravo 3 are now back at fieldbase and ready to fill you in on the goings on of Xray 4! Arriving mid morning at La Cangreja to a muddy, yet extremely chirpy Xray 4, we successfully interrupted their hard work for a cheeky cup of tea and a catch up about what they’ve all been up to for the past 10 days. Without further ado, let’s hear from Xray 4’s blogger Justin……..

‘In the jungle, the mighty jungle of La Cangreja National Park, greetings from the intrepid Xray 4! In our short time here we have been very busy: to talk you through an average day, Xray 4 would wake, spring out of bed into an energy busting game of ninja, then hit the project site, where follows a day of levelling ground, shovelling mud, and working on the greenhouses where tropical trees are grown ready to be shipped worldwide.

The greenhouse the group have been working on

The evenings are spent well, with Claire and Catriona making lovely bracelets for the group, as well as a rousing game (or two!) of Mafia (it’s always jenny!). When it rains in La Cangreja, it doesn’t just rain – it pours! Justin takes the opportunity to dive straight in and use the rain as a shower – it really works!

Xray 4 have also learnt the art of foraging – Lloyd found us an orange tree whilst Isaak and Luke cooked up some plantain. The rangers were also nice enough to give us some fresh piña (pineapple!) The constructive spirit also caught Xray 4 when Maykol fashioned a makeshift shower from basha tarps and a hose pipe. Luke added a roof, remarking that we wouldn’t want to get wet in the shower… (?!)

Even the strongest need their days off, and we found ours when visiting the beautiful Rio Negro, where naturally formed jacuzzis helped the group relax after a hard days work. 

Finally, Xray 4 would like everyone to join us for the celebration of our very own Karen’s 20^th birthday! We celebrated with cake and games such as pass the parcel and musical chairs. Raleigh is not for the faint hearted!

The intrepid Xray 4’s next steps are to the amazing Playa Hermosa, where we will be going out on turtle patrols to rescue eggs and set free baby turtles into the sea. Wish us luck as we stride boldly onto the beach!’

Xray 4 taking some time out from work with a game of cards

Cerro Cangreja - the torrential rain looming in the distance!

Blog written by Justin Shenolikar. Photos by Cathy Titterton.

So that’s the low down on what Xray 4 have been up to for the last 10 days! All in all the group are on top form and looking forward to spending the second half of their phase on turtle patrol at the beautiful Playa Hermosa. Juliet Bravo 3 are now back at fieldbase eagerly awaiting more blogs to come through on the radio from all the project groups so we can get them up for all of you to read, so keep checking! Pura Vida!!

Blog written by Wellard. Photos by Cathy Titterton. 

volcanoes and trekking

Hi to all the parents, family and friends.  The road trips have been off visiting the projects and you will be delighted to hear they have returned with some blog entries written by your loved ones.  Juliette 3 (as Laura, Amy, Wellard and Cathy have decided to be named) met with X-ray 1 who were on good form and collected these words from Joanna Bartlett:

 It was hot, sunny, dry and approaching midday when we, x-ray 1 took our first step of the 250km Turimacho trek across Costa Rica.  From Cimarrones Arriba we glanced at the Caribbean coast a few kilometres in the distance and then headed towards the pacific.  Kelly reminded us frequently that we would be at the beach soon!  While this reward was on all our minds we also took in the waterfalls, stunning views, nature and people we saw on the way.

 The first few days we trekked alongside countryside paths.  Day 2 also brought with it the mystery of the missing salami, which meant a disappointing lunch for the next day, but also amusing jokes regarding the salamis whereabouts.

 We have tackled the muddy slopes in the jungle.  The climb was tough and in some places the mud was so persistent that it sucked our boots into it; claiming Darens boots on numerous occasions.

 Still spirits remained high and we sang and danced our way through the jungle, yelling ‘pompi’ (in Cantonese) when anybody slipped in the mud, which was quite often.

 Our 14 year old jungle guide Juan Louis was very patient with our trudging pace.  We parted with him on day 5.  This was our longest day of trekking yet, taking us 10 hours to reach our destination, San Joaquin.  This was also the day with the best hilltop views and we passed a pulperia (small shop) for the first time, good news for us and the shop keeper!

 Tomorrow, day 6 we have a 21km hike ahead of us, fortunately we have some energy bombs(an oats, chocolate and syrup mix) to start the day!

Written by Joanna Bartlett.  Photos by Cathy Titterton.

Juliette 3, not lost!  Just checking the route....

a rare sighting of the Deputy programme manager Brie out on phase with X-ray 1

some venturers still manage to look glamorous, even on trek!

off they go for a day of trekking 21km!!!

Juliette 3 (Laura, Amy, Wellard and Cathy) then spent last night with x-ray 3 and can confirm the report below from Alfie of an evening of charades with a lively and fun group.

Alfie writes...........

We have been working on Volcan Turrialba (a volcano) and I can speak for the whole group when I say it has been the most enjoyable phase.  The working day is made easier by the rangers who are pretty damn funny.

I would say that the best part of the day is in the afternoon when we return to what must from the outside look like student digs.  This is the part of the day when we chill out and this period of time has been filled with conversations about what everyone is doing when they go home or are travelling on.  This makes it very obvious that it is the last phase.

Also at night we have our daily game of ‘Come dine with me’.  This is where there is stiff competition in what is made for dinner.  Some so far have seen:

Spicy noodles – Francis

Mac & cheese – Hugh

Curry – Kay

Better than normal pasta sauce – Cam

Cheesy mash – Alfie

Guacamole – Cam

Egg fried rice – Kay

But please don’t get the impression we are living luxuriously!

 On our day off we visited a town that had been evacuated due to acid rain and saw a house which had no roof as it had been totally eaten away by acid rain.  Although we are loving working at the volcano that day made us realise the destructive power it has.

In the evenings we have had a fair few games of charades and Mafia...... it has started to get a little competitive!

All in all we are enjoying every moment of this phase.  There always seems to be laughter from when we wake until we go to bed.  There are many different personalities in our group but this helps to bring us together and widen our conversations.  I feel as if x-ray 3 has become a type of family!

 PS.  Keep the blog messages coming, we really appreciate them.

Blog written by Alfie Carapiet.  Photos by Cathy Titterton.

Volcan Turrialba

The Rangers use quad bikes to get the heavy materials up the volcano.

Kiwi Cam building the paths.

The road trips are still out there collecting blog entries from the venturers in the other x-ray groups so check back over the next few days for more updates.

Blog written by Laura Salmon.  Photos by Cathy Titterton.

Romeo 6: A great sense of achievement and respect

Andrew Kirby looks back on Romeo 6's adventures in Rio Arriba:

We spent our final phase in one of the most beautiful places in the world with some amazing local families who welcomed us into their homes and their hearts. Our mission was to provide them with clean, reliable water directly to their homes. We were finishing Alpha 5's work started in Phase 1 of the expedition.

We arrived in Rio Arriba to a great welcome and were assigned families, we then started settling into new lives for the next couple of weeks. On the first day we were taken on  tour of the village, the work site and the water source before starting work building a tank to connect the source and the village.

After this we were building trenches down from the tank to the main houses in the village, fitting pipes and then covering them up. We worked until midday most days, with a few exceptions when we had good weather in the afternoon.

Most afternoons we met down at the river for a wash and swim after a hot day's work and then went to the main house to teach the children some English. They caught on quickly and did the lessons with enthusiasm and we played some games of Deal as well.

We managed to finish the project and brought clean water to 20 houses, a school and church through our hard work and determination. On our last day in the village we turned on the first lot of taps. We were all excited and happy that we were able to give this gift that we take for granted in the UK with tons of help from the locals who truly become our families in Nicaragua.

We sang songs for them on the last day in the village including Jingle Bells, Rattling Bog and If You're Happy and You Know It, even getting the kids involved. Then they sang some local songs for us.

We moved to another community called La Guarama for the last couple days where we started work on a water project which will be completed by another expedition. Again we welcomed into their homes with amazing hospitality and massive portions of amazing food.

On the last night of phase, the Coopertiva and the locals threw us a party including amazing food and a piñata which we all had a go smashing - some of us almost smashing the nearby house and the crowd at the same time. Some of locals from Rio Arriba came to say goodbyes as well and we took pictures with our families and the Coopertiva staff.

We left Nicaragua in love with the country and its people and a great sense of achievement and of respect.

Romeo 6 photo album

We've collected stacks of photos from the Romeo 6 Venturers and PMs - here are some of the best:

Romeo 5: Meet the wonderful community of El Coyolito

Chris Morris takes us on a tour of El Coyolito in beautiful Miraflor:

It's the third and final phase of Expedition 10F and Romeo 5 have been tasked with the momentous challenge of building a community centre in the village of El Coyolito – a developing community located in the heart of the Miraflor Nature Reserve.

Echo 5's hard work clearing and leveling out a building site in the second phase has enabled Romeo 5 to jump straight into construction under the expert guidance of project manager, Don Mario.  The project has been welcomed throughout the community as a means to facilitate different types of meetings and gatherings that allow interests and concerns to be heard.

Up until now, El Coyolito hasn’t had a place dedicated to holding meetings and social gatherings. If a meeting needed to be held, the only practical place is the local school, but this becomes problematic as it takes eight days for the Ministry of Education to provide authorisation.  According to El Coyolito's president, Don Leopolodo, “The community centre will allow meetings and gatherings to be coordinated quicker and more effectively in conjunction with the needs to the village”.  With this in mind Romeo 5 have been hard at work mixing cement, laying bricks and immersing themselves in the local culture.

As well as building the community centre, Romeo 5 has been spending time with the community by taking part in local activities and living with different families: 

The Gonzalez and Altamirano family

Shibs and I have been living with the Gonzalez and Altamirano family and have been getting stuck into cooking, fishing and learning Spanish.  Karen has been their family host and has kept them well fed on rice and beans while carrying out her normal housewife duties. Her husband is a young farmer and has been showing us how he cultivates corn, beans and tomatoes. Also keeping us busy has been Karen’s four year old daughter who has been keen to learn English and test our Spanish.

The Uriel and Rugama family

Rose and Robbie have enjoyed experiencing close quarter living whilst staying with the Uriel and Rugama family. Elvin has been their host and has welcomed them into his family with open arms.  He is the church spokesman and a farmer who grows tomatoes, peppers, corn and beans on two different farms.  His wife is a housewife and they have four children who have been keen to show Rose and Robbie their guitar skills. 

The Iglesias and Medina family

Cecilia and Andres have had a long walk each day from the build site to their house, but the pay-off has been getting to live with Don Leopoldo – the president of El Coyolito – and his family. Cecilia and Andres have learned how to milk the president’s cows and have enjoyed listening to the family’s collection of classic UK 90s hits.  As the president, Don Leopoldo represents the community in front of the government (charity and voluntary), donating organisations and state institutions.  However, this role is voluntary and to earn a living he also has a farm where he rears cattle and grows tomatoes, onions, potatoes and corn.  His wife is a housewife and he also has three sons who live away from home most of the time.

The Rugama and Inglesias family

Helen, Jeca and Ana have been very popular while living with the Rugama and Inglesias family, as they have been staying just opposite the building site and have access to a unique western style toilet and shower!  As well as these luxuries, the girls have enjoyed having Tonya as their host, who serves mouth-watering food and is always keen to invite the girls into her kitchen for a chat. Tonya is a housewife and has two daughters, who both study in the local school.  Her husband works for a construction company in the US so she is often very busy, but always makes time to rustle up a tasty snack for the girls and even for the whole Romeo 5 team at times.

The Iglesias and Rodrigez family

PMs Gitti and Zoe have been living close by to Helen, Zeca and Ana with the Iglesias and Rodriguez family and have been warmly welcomed with the kindness of their host, Dora.  It's not surprising Dora’s hospitality has been first class, as she is well experienced in housing eco-tourists who visit El Coyolito.  She is also a housewife and has one son and one daughter who both study at school.  Just like Tonya’s husband from the Rugama and Iglesias family, Dora’s works for a construction company in the US, so she too is a very busy housewife.  However, it is clear from the PMs feedback on her vegetable soup and fruit yoghurt that she is very accomplished at what she does.

With a lot of hard work and team effort we made great progress throughout the phase:

Day 1-3: The project kicks off in Esteli with a briefing from El Foro – an organization that manages projects throughout the Miraflor Nature Reserve – on safety and a few ground rules while living and working in El Coyolito. Then it's a short bus journey to the village to meet families and to scout out the building site Romeo 5 will be working on over the next 15 days.  With introductions to families over, the Venturers and PMs are left to settle into their new homes and to tackle language barriers that arise. Work starts the following morning with Romeo 5 straight away getting stuck into cement mixing, brick laying and leveling out the floor of the community centre.  The next day sees real progress made with more of the same work and there is even time for a tortilla making lesson before work starts at eight sharp in the morning.

Day 4-6: In two days, Romeo 5 have already made progress building up two walls of the community centre and laying a hardcore base of stones for the flooring.  Today another role was thrown into the mix. Romeo 5 must build a flat path around the outside of the community centre so that it is easily accessible.  Up until lunch work goes smoothly, but then progress is halted by heavy rain. Romeo 5 takes this opportunity to scout out the nearest ice cream shop and to discuss their speedy progress on the project so far. The following day is a day off and the group decides to hike to the top of a nearby viewpoint and go in search of a waterfall. The views from the top of the viewpoint stretch across the whole Miraflor Nature Reserve and the refreshing water of the waterfall gives the group a chance to cool off before heading back to the families for some chill out time. The next day turns out to be a long hard day grafting in the rain, but it's OK because Romeo 5 are hardcore.

Day 7-9: It's day 7 and it's an early morning start for most of Romeo 5, as they are invited to milk the Gonzalez and Altamirano´s family cow. It takes almost an hour to find the cow by foot, but the views across Miraflor, as the sun bursts through early morning cloud makes the search worthwhile. For many of the group it's their first time experiencing cow milking and there is even the opportunity to try some, although it does not suit everyone’s taste. After breakfast its straight to work setting up scaffolding, pick axing and more cement-mixing.  At the end of the day Don Mario is pleased with the group's work and gives everyone a morale boost by anouncing that 50% of the work on the community centre is complete. With this good news in mind Romeo 5 settle into a fast pace of working the following day and reward themselves by tucking into more ice cream. The next day Don Mario leaves the group to their own devices, as he has some work to do in another village. The group spends the day completing odd jobs around the site and decides on a design to paint on the community centre.

Day 10-12: Today Romeo 5 receives some more news on the progress of the project. There are five days of construction left, but it will take eight to complete. As a group, Romeo 5 decides to work on their rest day and get as much of the construction finished as they can.  It puts a bit of a downer on the day, but spirits are soon lifted when Fieldbase pays a visit with post and the Raleigh shop. With everyone full from chocolate and sweets it's time to burn some energy with a dance competition in front of the community. There are three events: Salsa, Bachata, and freestyle. After some experimental moves being laid down and much deliberation from the judges there can only be one winning pair – Rose and Chris with the legendary robot dance.  The next day's progress on the build site is once again good, with all four walls taking shape and preparations being made for the construction of the roof.  Romeo 5 says goodbye to Fieldbase the following day, but are too preoccupied for any sad goodbyes. The group gets straight back to work and in the afternoon they prepare a chicken and vegetable curry for the community. In the evening the villagers tuck in and give the group a chance to socialise and practice newly learned Spanish skills.  

Day 13-16: It’s the last four days of the project and Romeo 5 have become experts at mixing cement, laying bricks, pick axing and shoveling stones and understanding Don Mario's detailed instructions in Spanish. The group has worked hard so far and now it's the final push to get as much of the community centre built as possible. By the end of day 13, Romeo 5 has almost built all walls to the correct height needed to attach the roof and have leveled the floor ready to be cemented. The next day there is no time for slacking as scaffolding to support the walls are filled with cement, requiring – yep you've guessed it – a lot more cement mixing. In the afternoon Zoe and Andreas give the group a first aid lesson and put the groups knowledge to the test with a few mock emergency scenarios. It's good to know the group all pass with flying colors and successfully bring Zoe and Andreas back to life – just in time for coffee and some of Dora's home made cakes. After an early night, the penultimate day arrives and the group turn up to work to see that the paint has arrived for the front wall of the community centre.  This gives everyone an incentive to step the work up – yet again – and begin pasting the front wall with cement in preparation for it to be painted tomorrow. Unfortunately the group do not complete the community centre the following day, but everyone knows the group has worked hard and is pleased with the efforts put in. The community centre gets painted and then it's party time and goodbyes for Romeo 5.  Job well done!

Romeo 5 photo album

We've collected stacks of photos from the Romeo 5 Venturers and PMs - here are some of the best: