Way down deep in the middle of the jungle…

Yesterday you saw all of the Volunteer Managers set off on their first day trekking in Costa Rica, putting all of their training into practice. Day 2, and Whiskey 1 to 5 channelled Willie Nelson (on the road again!) awake at 4.30am packing up camp in order to set off at 6am. 

6.30am: stunning Costa Rica

We had a few hours of walking through beautiful scenery with our destination: a bit of training with Simon and Pedro, learning water safety and how to cross a river safely.

Water safety: our classroom for the morning

A great save, res-q disking

An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman huddled across a river

The line astern method, a bit of PM congestion in the river

We arrived after a full morning of trekking, river crossings and a bit more trekking to our jungle camp, to learn campcraft, including how to dig a long drop, and enjoy the first night sleep for many in the infamous Raleigh basher.

Pedro attempting to levitate the basher with his mind

Dav, Shane and Antonio learning the finer points of a bamboo basher bed

Greg ready for a good nights sleep in his basher hammock

Yes, Simon is squatting and demonstrating exactly what you think he is - I'll say no more 

Lou, Katharine and Vanessa taking afternoon tea

Zoe, slightly potty

Emma, Marie, Chris and Sara enjoying a cuppa after getting their camp up

Helena prepping for a three course dinner, undoubtedly a jus was included in the main

Whiskey 2 definitely won the prize for best camp

Our final day was another early 4am wake up and a short walk to Fieldbase which turned into a rather more stressful experience than first expected with our mock Casevac training - a 2km trek from where our 'patients' (all of the medics had a lovely time being carried back to Fieldbase in a stretcher) all jokes aside it is a brilliant exercise, where everyone put everything they had learnt into practice.

Marisa being tended to by our well trained Project Managers

Completed mission - Casevac training over and a short walk to Fieldbase

Home, clean and ready for allocations! Find out where our project managers will be based for their first phase tomorrow.

Radios, Casevacs and Medical Training

We thought you would like to see what our fantastic staff team have been doing for their first full day of training. After a good nights rest in their new homes (sponge mattresses on the floor, hardcore PMs) the team were at Fieldbase for their induction. Radio training, Raleigh's Health & Safety, what to do in an emergency and how to employ a Casevac procedure were among the topics discussed.

However, before we show the Volunteer Managers (VMs) concentrating and being learned, we will start this blog as we start most of our days... with a Raleigh Energizer:

A game of Caballos

Training begun with how to set up and use Raleigh Comms - the radio. There was a lot of words like ionesphere, co-ax and waves flying around.

You can see here Pedro demonstrating how the T-junction for our di-poles works

Putting our theory into practice on a tree outside Fieldbase

We then had our Health & Safety briefing

A delicious lunch was followed by an afternoon of medical training by our Medic PMs James, Marisa, Sarah, Dav, Katharine, Zoe and Lena. Covering expedition and emergency medecine, the PMs are now trained and ready for every eventuality.

Marisa, Medic PM, helping our patient with his asthma

James, Medic PM, showing us how to use a sam-splint to deal with fractures and sprains

DrABC: Holly placing Katharine, Medic PM, in the recovery position

Our evening session was a discussion and briefing on Jungle Camp. Thursday, Friday and Saturday is spent training and trekking in and around the hills of Turrialba. Lukily we had a very informative session on how to pack your rucksack from the CEM Simon.  

Simon's essential trekking kit

All of the PMs are trekking for a few days but we will all be back and will update you on Sunday about our new jungle skills and our photographer Liz will be providing some brilliant trekking photos.

Pura Vida!

Jungle camp, muddy boots and energy bombs

Just to report that all of the Alpha groups made it back from jungle camp - safe and sound, if a little dirty around the edges. 

Callum setting off in the sunshine

The sun was shining when they left, and I'd love to tell you it stayed that way throughout, but the truth is that it did rain.  And it rained Costa Rican style.  Most groups managed to get some kind of shelter up before the downpour which meant that spirits stayed high, buoyed by pasta or rice and energy bombs.

Bright and early this morning the venturers headed back to Fieldbase, but on the way ran through the procedure for a medical emergency.  This involves some Oscar winning performances of injury or illness, the creation of a stretcher and then carrying the "victim" back to Fieldbase. Everyone dealt with the emergency really well, another set of skills acquired and understood.

Once back at Fieldbase there was work to be done cleaning off tents and equipment, so everything will be ship shape and ready to go when the expedition starts on Friday. 

Lunch and showers were a welcome sight - and the local launderette is doing a roaring trade thanks to Raleigh venturers.

If you go down to the woods today...

... you’d meet 12L’s volunteer managers having their trek and jungle camp training.

We all got our bags packed and thought that they seemed heavy but manageable; sleeping bag, mossie net, spare shoes, spare pants – all the essentials.  Then we were divided into teams and given the rest of the kit to divide out; tents, trangias, four washing-up bowls, shovel, machete, bleach, fuel, refried beans etc – suddenly a whole lot heavier and a whole lot less manageable.

Having allocated roles and read the map we headed off, heavy laden and an hour late.  The first meeting place (which we did all find – hooray for navigation training) was a very rickety, disused railway bridge.  
Cue Risk Assessment training.

The question “Would you cross this bridge?” divided the group fair and square down the middle with some screaming “hell yes!” and just as many “you have got to be kidding me!” I guess that’s why Raleigh has a process for sorting this kind of thing out. Having established that risk of death was beyond negligible we turned tail and started walking again.

Camping out that night we all got a bit closer to our fellow team mates and got as much sleep as we could for our 4.30 wake up call.  The next rendezvous was a river crossing.

Water safety is a biggie.  Again it was an opportunity to get close, with the recommended way of getting across the water being in a huddle.

Then on to jungle camp, and the introduction to basha beds or basha hammocks.  For the uninitiated I will explain what these are but if you stay with this blog for a few months I’m sure that you will become very well acquainted with the term.  Basically you have a stretcher like piece of canvas supported by bamboo poles at each end which is then held between two bamboo tripods (basha bed) or roped to two trees (basha hammock).  Then for the home comforts, something to help you stay dry and something to keep you bite free.

Apparently a basha hammock is the most comfortable thing ever if you get it right and the very least comfortable if you get it wrong.  No pressure there then.  With two hours to have their first attempt, and the night, tiredness and hunger closing in not everyone was convinced that they were going to be rewarded with a good night’s sleep – and to be fair some of them were right.  Being suspended in a lop-sided fashion above a nest of ants doesn’t make for a very restful night. But some people slept like babies so I guess it’s something that we can aspire to.

Whisky 3 - Clare, Karen, Dave, Sarah and Phil

Team Whisky 3 – Dangling Dave (don’t ask, you had to be there), Clare, Karen, Sarah (Flynny), Phil and Pauline (out of shot) have asked me to make special mention of the fact that their campsite was twice as far as anyone else’s – so if they look particularly downtrodden in the pictures then that is their excuse and they are sticking to it.

Delta Training Slideshow

The night right before the Delta Venturers were deployed into the field we reminded them of all they had been doing ...

Marching to the Jungle Beat

You’ll be pleased to know dear readers, that after 2 days trampling the terrain around Turrialba, the VMs have returned safe and sound to fieldbase. Hip Hip Hooray etc.

Rewind to Wednesday morning. Four groups were allocated and designated a Mountain Leader, who kindly gave a refresher of that timeless recreational activity – map reading. Following a few hours getting to grips with the finer points of (compass) needle-work, the Whiskey Groups were on their way. One factor which became apparent after only a few minutes trekking was the heat – Central America is a far cry from the Cairngorms, and a water bottle, sunhat, sun-cream combo was essential under the afternoon sun. 

After a ‘refreshing’ nights sleep camping on various football fields in the Tucurrique region it was a 3.30am rise in order to make the next scheduled meet point – for river crossing training! Two techniques can be adopted for this. First of all, there is the huddle – a 3-4 man effort which shuffles sideways like a corral rotating on the ebb/a planet of the apes’ style ritual. The second approach is the Gandalf conga – the lead person wielding a staff in the face of the flow (for balance) as the fellow team mates hold on in a column behind as they side-step across in unison. Both beautifully effective, dryness however cannot be guaranteed.

Thankfully it was yet another sun drenched day and clothes dried quickly in preparation for the biggie – Jungle Camp. After some impressive demonstrations in basha bed and hammock construction, it was the groups turn to set up for their camp for the night and the VMs didn’t disappoint with some truly enterprising camp craft – Whiskey One’s DoJo (Joseph Donovan) taking the plaudits for best bathroom; his concealed, and tastefully decorated design, gaining admirers throughout the VM’s. Maybe he’s in the wrong profession....

 The unique experience of a night’s stay in the jungle was perhaps disturbed by the incessant rain on the covering tarps through the night, but it was yet another early start in time for tool training before the march back to base in time for lunch. If only it were so simple. In a spate of ‘accidents’, all medics were struck down with an array of ‘injuries’. I would like to reassure you all, it was just a drill, enabling the groups to practise their medical skills, with all groups making it back to base safely. 

Just as you thought it couldn’t get any better, it does. It’s Project Allocation time! Check back soon for info regarding first phase projects, and which VMs will be undertaking them.

Until then

Pura Vida!

Bienvenido II

Numbers swelled on Monday at fieldbase as fresh faced from a 6am San Jose – Turrialba bus ride, the Venturer Managers rolled into HQ – huzzah.

After a traditional breakfast of Gallo Pinto (rice and beans) cooked by the indispensable Sandra (who has been an ever present since the first Costa Rica/Nicaragua expedition) it was onto the tour, with Raleigh veterans Pedro and Claire showing the troops (VMs) around the barracks (house/office).

After a refreshing dip in the pool (swim test) it was back to base for Comms training, setting up radios and practising calling in SITREPs (Situation Reports) to fieldbase – before settling in early to recover from the ardours of trans-Atlantic travel.

The second day of VM training has continued in similar vein. The morning was spent understanding health and safety procedures resulting in some entertaining performances in the group role plays ( is Tim Salt the new Colin Firth?) before a comprehensive run through of medical procedures and theory by our Medics. Lucinda, Joseph, Caroline, Jessica, Clare, Katie and Jayshree take a bow. Finally Raleigh guru, Ross gave a run through of packing for trek; let’s just say hikers will be fairly ‘aromatic’ by the end of it!

The VMs arrive

Comms - a team effort

Radio - pretty nifty piece of kit

Comms Hub

Ninja

Interpretitive New Age Dance/Transport Safety

Interpretitive New Age Dance II

As you may have guessed our training on Wednesday continues with trekking, as groups tackle the Costa Rican countryside. Wild camping, river crossings, jungle training and Casevacs (Casualty Evacuation) will all be undertaken in the next couple of days. Until then...

The Venturers have landed!

For those of you back home we apoogise for the lack of blogging over the last couple of days, we've been having some internet trouble. But we're now back on track and just in time because...(que drum roll)... the venturers arrived at fieldbase today – hooray! Yesterday we greeted our Host Country Venturers as they sang and danced their way into fieldbase... literally! After some long and tiresome journeys from all over the globe the rest of the venturers have arrived safe and sound and Raleigh HQ (head quaters) is now well and truly buzzing!

They arrived yesterday and spent the night sleeping in la Escuela Britannia is San Jose. They awoke at 4.30am to leave at 6am to arrive at Fieldbase in Turrialba at 8am, to then finally relax with a warm welcome from all the Raleigh staff and tucked in to a delicious breakfast of Gallo Pinto! (traditional Costa Rican dish of rice, beans, eggs and plantain). Feeling a little perkier after a good feed, the venturers are now busy settling themselves in their new home and getting to know each other. You could say that there is a touch of excitement in the air.

Still yet to join us after a delayed flight is Luke Smalley, Carla Dunphy, Kelly Robinson and Yasmin Begum who will be flying in this evening to be greeting by the fieldbase team who will then bring them back to base early door tomorrow morning to join the rest of the Raleigh 11G&H team. For the family and friends of these guys back at home we will be keeping you updated as soon as arrive at fieldbase. 

The Host Country Venturers arrivng at fb!

Let the celebrations begin!

 

 

Day one... and the games begin!

More venturers arriving this morning!

 

First thing's first - introductions and breakfast!

 

 

 

 

Next up on the Venturers' schedule... training and jungle camp! We'll be back soon with more news and updates.

Pura Vida

*Blog written by Dawn Tennant and photo’s by Kat Mammone, unless otherwise stated.