X-Ray 6: Racoon Ramblings

X-Ray 6: Greggae, Jeannina, Roger, Charlie, Rakeem, Katinka, Merle, John, Fran, Catherine, Tom, Amy, Rosina, Don, Colin and Vic

A morning with x-ray 6 begins with a chorus of howler monkeys, and cries of ‘the raccoons have struck again!’ from the weeping breakfast makers. What at first appeared to be a harmless fluffy friend has become the staking terror of the night. So far this light fingered mammal, or ‘the beast’, at it has come to be known, has stolen 2kgs of sugar, a bag of salt, a vat of powdered milk, biscuits, tang, noodles, ibuprofen, underwear and mascara.

X-Ray 6 enjoying an R&R day on the playa

Venturers lie, clenched, in their beds at night, too scared to go to the loo clutching ther possessions as the nocturnal raider weaves between the basher beds, loosening the knots and cutting holes in our mosquitoe nets. In the day it lies in it’s nest in a sugar induced stupor, with fabulous eyelashes of course.

On our path building expeditions through Cabo Blanco’s lush jungle we have encountered a few less pesky animals; armadillos, anteaters, a large snake, scorpions, and a third named Nigel a beautiful blue bird (who steals our crackers) have all been spotted on the ½ km wheelbarrow run. We have morning yoga sessions to energise us, saluting the sun as it rises over the Pacific, and eat starfruit from the tree to keep us going throughout the day.We make between 22 and 36m’s each day, 272m down, and 3 days to go. All is well.

One of the rocks that X-Ray 6 and Artist Holly painted to line the path

X-Ray 6 Art

Artist Holly went to visit X-Ray 6: They have been working on the Alberth Ingalls path and had in mind to paint and decorate the rocks lining the new trail, leaving their own personal Raleigh legacy.

What with the nature of the project, we aim in our art programme to be as unobtrusive to the environment as possible and select materials from our immediate surroundings. We experimented with printing using found objects and created some beautiful designs and compositions by painting leaves and transferring them onto card; we even incorporated this method onto the rocks, which gave a really striking effect.

Smiley PM Colin

Fran printing with leaves

Blog written by John X-Ray 6's project comms officer who conducted(!!) his blog with a lot of humour NB everyone is well and looking forward to returning at changeover - the clutching of possessions was John's poetic licence!

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.

Titbits from Tenorio

Blog X-ray 6

X-ray 6: mission to build stairs to the waterfall in Volcan Tenorio National Park

Mission update (1):
X-ray 6 has been working hard on the mission in hand. Each individual has played a vital role in the development of the path towards the baby blue waterfall of the park. No job is too tough!

Days 1-2 we prepared camp to make a jungle into a home: chopping bamboos from the forest, gathering wood, building our hammocks, the place looked great, even our kitchen area was great where our Michelin star chefs could do their cooking. Also as Roeland was injured due to the previous phase, he would become everyone’s mommy!

Days 3-6 the task in hand was to move materials to the place of construction, the only way of getting there was by foot on a trail that was muddy, slippery and wet. It isn’t called the rainforest for nothing! The team were up for the challenge, carrying heavy bags of sand on their shoulders, with a few members slipping, especially Ben C, whose balance isn’t great at the best of times! We created a Raleigh Chain all the way up the 1.5km path working from 8-3, 1hr for lunch; the team were putting in a shift.

And when they returned back to camp, Mummy (Roeland) would´ve cleaned, made improvements and have dinner ready. Inside that tough Dutch exterior, was a man who is kind, soft hearted and loveable (he does not like this being disclosed (I really don`t!!))

Days 6: With Roeland returning back to work, he had a point to prove carrying sacks like the soldier he is! Tim (the Scottish machine) was carrying plenty of sacks a day and always running too, even when others had become tired.

A low point had hit X-ray 6 as one day the productivity output was low, so a change was in order. Roeland with the idea altered the Raleigh chain and increased output by triple. The team were moving many sacks of sand per day and were ahead of schedule.

However a twist occurred in X-ray 6`s fortune: the weather! It became more and more wet, people’s hammocks were being turned into swimming pools, and it was raining most of the day. The trail had become too treacherous, so X-ray 6 had to suspend work. Morale was down and the team were wet and everyone had wet feet! The team had to abandon camp and moved into the Ranger Station, where they could get dry and recover.

No need to worry! The Team was filled with people who would entertain and boost morale. With Maria and her wit, and her mothering of the group, Max with his dancing and singing creating songs! George and his comic personality always keeping everyone entertained. Mercedes, whose work ethic everyone can look up to and whose voice that one can listen to all day. Allegra´s wonderful smile and happy personality making everyone feel better.

Sonia´s great dancing, which she is teaching as well as her great game jungle speed is keeping us all entertained (although she always wins...). Gustavo and Pamela, the two Ticos always translating for us, we could not do this job without them as well as Gustavo’s cheery personality and Pamela’s great strength (she does kickboxing!) we now realise why we love Costa Rica! Tim’s humour and stories always make the team laugh. Simon’s many roles, that he likes to use and Ben M, who has a look that could kill, but poses no threat. Hannah, who seems quiet, but once out of the shell she is a great person.

Last but not least the Project Managers, Amanda and Roeland, without them X-ray 6 would be no more, excellent morale boosters and good at keeping the team in order.

With all the members playing a great role in the team, x-ray6 are all happy and enjoying their time.

Entertainment in the evenings have been excellent, with Ben C´s shaving of the bead as well as a Quiz that George, Sonia, Ale and Gustavo won, x-ray 6 are not bored.

X-ray 6 reporting out. Status: all well and healthy, having a great time. Will report back in a few days.

Pura Vida!

X-Ray projects, some background

Many of you undoubtedly read the previous post regarding X-Ray allocations and spied some new locations in amongst some familiar names. Well observed. Whilst some of the groups will be continuing the work undertaken by the awesome Alphas, a couple of new projects have cropped up which I will give you a background.

The Turrisantos and Corcovado treks, as you may have guessed, are the same as those that ran in Phase One, albeit with one new addition, the Miratombo trek, which will be tackled by X-Ray 3 during the phase. Starting up in the north of Nicaragua, near to Esteli. This route snakes its way through the Miraflor and Estanzuela wildlife reserve, and for the second half of its duration, the mighty Volcan Momotombo remains within sight; the trekkers celebrate the trip’s climax in the crater lake of Asososca.

Environmental efforts continue at Carara and La Amistad National Parks, with X-Ray 4 and 5 respectively, however the new kid on the block is Volcan Tenorio, visited by X-Ray 6. Located in the north of Costa Rica in Guanacaste province, it is notorious for the ultramarine Rio Celeste, which attains its colour due to mineral deposits and the emanation of sulphur from the volcano. Whilst in the park, X-Ray 6 will be repairing access trails alongside constructing a stair case down to a waterfall on the Celeste. This is one of several projects Raleigh will have undertaken on Volcan Tenorio; previous Raleigh groups assisted with the constructions of a bridge and Latin America’s first disabled access pathway in a rainforest.

X-Rays 7 and 8 will carry on the community projects undertaken in La Naranjita and San Jose up in Miraflor, Nicaragua, whereas X-Ray 9, in a new project, have swung south to Dorbata, in the Chirripo Indigenous Territory which is located on the Caribbean slope in the Matama area. Populated by the Cabecar indigenous people, one of the largest groups in Costa Rica, X-Ray 9 will be constructing a school in the area, which due to its remoteness, is generally only accessible by foot. The majority of the population are subsistence farmers, with one notable import to the community being football boots!

We will of course, bring you news and views from the projects as they break. If you haven’t already, whet your appetite by checking out the fantastic photo review of phase one (see the link on the left hand toolbar), composed by Ale. I can assure you it only gets better the more you watch it.

X-Ray Exodus

In the mere blink of an eye our Alpha groups have returned, eaten us out of house and home, regrouped, and flown the nest in the form of X-Ray groups. Phase Two is underway. Just two days ago, all was calm at Fieldbase. In a jam packed schedule we’ve welcomed and initiated our Explorers at ‘jungle’ camp, taken the Expedition 12B photo, seen our groups relay the story of phase one in their skits, reformed and ‘broken the ice’ with our new X-Ray groups, and last night celebrated the end of changeover with a super-heroes and villains fancy dress party. They’ll be off for 19 days on a variety of projects, some of which involve continuing work undertaken by the Alpha groups in phase one, some of which are new for expedition. The groups are as follows:

X-Ray 1 – Turrisantos Trek

Clare Wright
Daniel Saborio
Francesca Hodge
Elliot Gordon
Callum E Hunter
Danielle Dowding
Diana Hindle Fisher
Jack Bannenberg
Jose Pablo Castilo Halabi
Lauren Davidson
Phoebe Mackenzie Smith
Savan Shah
Sophie I Jenkins
Lisa Steinmetz
Sam Horbye

X-Ray 2 – Corcovado Trek

Afsana Tahirova
Joseph Donovan
Harry Verma
Dougal Mackenzie Smith
Erika Lobo Sánchez
Louisa Treadwell
Mary Dashfield
Max de Kroon
Valeria Vasquez Cruz
Jonathan Sacarello
Alexi Meghir
Joshua Biggs O'May
Fosca Meyjes

X-Ray 3 – Miratombo Trek (*New*)

Caroline Bolt
Jonathan Baguley
Kelly Mcpherson
Oliver Thomas
Wing Tung Wong
Deyanira Monterrey Centeno
Jarol Jassiel Tercero Morales
Jessica Emerson
Mark Wardle
Rosemary Henry
Samuel Marsden
Sian Lewis
Thea Mikkelsen
Ting Phoa
George Batt

X-Ray 4 – Carara National Park

Alexander E Dennis
Katie Philpott
Lucinda Ryan
Charlotte Rombaut
Ileana Boyes
James Barlow
Julian Heckmatt
Liam J Ward
Mark J Fearon
Nicole R Waller
Sjoerd B Baardman
Tess P de Jongh
Véronique Driebeek
Daniel Meza
Markus Hjorth

X-Ray 5 – La Amistad National Park

Danielle Percival
Matthew Jewers
Gareth Price-Baghurst
Alfredo Salas Garro
Valeria Celeste Polimeni Solís
Anthony Gallagher
Julie Balfour
Kevin Ho
Neneh Mae Whiting
Phillip Houghton
Rachelle Bent
Louis Manders
George Moody
Amelia Christie-Miller

X-Ray 6 – Volcan Tenorio (*New*)

Amanda Payne-Danson
Roeland Terpstra
Mohammed Benyamin Chowdhury
Maria G Gerono
Mercedes White
Benedict J Maclean
Allegra Dowley
Edward M Lilley
George K Cosgrove
Gustavo Badilla Araya
Hannah Voisin
Pamela Quesada Gutierrez
Simon Webb
Sonia Deiters
Timothy J Welander

X-Ray 7 – La Naranjita, Miraflor

Alex Beaumont
Fiona Arakelian
Amanda H Petersson
Amy Craddock
Claire F Edgley
Eika S Webb
Istvan Josue Sepulveda Hernandez
Jack T Griffin
Joni Antonio Moreno Gonzáles
Marvin Uriel Perez Villarreyna
Thomas S Edney
Louis J Worrall
Harvey Burgess
Emma Tivey

X-Ray 8 – San Jose, Miraflor

Jemma Grundon
Jessica Soane
Victoria Brennan
Andrew C Sweerts
James J Wildgoose
Anna Blackwell
Azelle Egbe
Charles A Pilkington
Georgina H Webster
Hanko Gerritsen
Holly K Courtier
Jezreel Lezama
Michael Modesto Romero Herrera
Roisin M Carson
Fleur Jansen

X-Ray 9 – Dorbata, Chirripo Indigenous Reserve (*New*)

Adrianna Rodriguez
Daniel Walsh
Jayshree Jadav
Robert F Sutton-Mattocks
Alexandre Bello
Frederik van Landegem
Brayan Lobo Fallas
Ciara Atkinson
Dara M Sternberg
Josephine Killen
Matthew F Moore
Ravenna A Westerhout
Sophie G van Woerkom
Yzza R Slaoui


From hereon in, if you wish to send a message, please put the NAME OF RECIPIENT and their X-RAY GROUP. Makes admin a little easier. Thanks!

X-Ray 6 : What a team!!

The Bravo 4 road trip of Alex and Reggie (I say Bravo 4 but we no longer have a car after Julian cruelly abandoned us in El Cebollal!) has just finished two awesome days with X-Ray 6. They are making great progress with the youth centre, foundations almost completed, and they are determined to get the work finished. in between all the hard work, there have been games of football (successful) and baseball (some work still needed) with the locals.
They are gertting on famously and appear to be integrating very well with the community. The pace of work will obvisouly drop now that the Bravo 4 dream team has left but I'm sure they will continue to try their best!
Enough from us, here, without further ado, is a blog update from X-Ray 6 comms officer Huzy.

After spending nearly 10 hours on a bumpy bus ride and gaining about 1500 metres in height, we finally reached our home for the next 16 days - El Cebollal, Miraflor. our host families greeted uswith ample hugs and kisses and they were definitely generous with their hospitality and food. As we arrived during election period, all work was put on hold for the first two days. so we used the time to visit the nearby waterfall. Some people used it as a photo opportunity, some as a chance to shower Whatever it was, the trail that led to the waterfall was breathtaking to say the least.
We member of X-Ray 6 may speak in different languages but when confronted with such beauty the universal lanaguage is speechlessness. We have yet to watch a sunset but it's definitely on our list of things to do.
Work has already started for us now and we're really excited to complete the Youth Centre asap. The team is working really well together with everyone mucking in and learning new buiding skills as we go along.
Watch this space for more updates and enjoy the photos.

The carless Bravo 4 are now heading to see X-Ray 5 in San Nicholas in Achuapa so we'll be back online at the weekend with a blog update from them.
Until then, Pura vida and de acachimba!

Back from the Jungle and Still Breathing!

After returning from 3 days of hot and humid exploring deep in the jungle that is La Cangreja, your guest Blogger (Jed) can now update you on all our beloved groups' progress.

A bit of background on La Cangreja, where X-Ray 3 are ensconced.   La Cangreja translates as 'The Crab' - as the hills are said to resemble a huge crab.  I couldn't quite see it myself, but it's a good a name as any!  La Cangreja is a national park of preserved pristine jungle.  In my 2 nights there I saw beautiful scarlet macaws, giant (and I mean giant) butterflies, bigger than life beetles and the ever-present never-ending hordes of ants.

During this nature-fest I was working hard to set up the water supply project, so I spent my time designing the system that the group will install.  It will enable a further project to allow disabled access to the park and assist with the ongoing ecological research.  The water supply system is over 850m long and the group will have to dig (by hand!) a 1m trench for this distance over remarkably steep terrain.  X-Ray 3 will certainly have their work cut out over the next few weeks, but the results of their hard graft should last for the next 50 years.

The group themselves have now got their jungle camp set up with basher beds, hammocks, long drop, cooking station and even a communal games area.  The camp is on the banks of the Rio Negra, which is great for a dip after a hard day's work!  I'm sure they will have a unforgettable jungle experience.  There's a few pics below (thanks to Anni and Lisa) showing the group in action.

As for the other groups here's today's round-up:

X-Ray 1 - Turrisantos Trek
The field base team have met up with them and they are currently descending Volcan Turrialba as I write this.  Hopefully they will have hit the summit and had a chance to smell the sulphur!  Tomorrow they head off to Guayabo National Monument, which is the remains from a previous civilisation thought to be over 3,000 years old.

X-Ray 2 - Guanacaste Trek
The trek group are making good progress and will reach Lake Arenal tonight, where they can take in the stunning views of the lake and volcano, and also go for a deserved and refreshing swim.

X-Ray 4 - Playa Hermosa
They are having what I'm told is a 'lovely time at the beach'!  They've also managed to collect a huge number of eggs and have already released countless tiny turtles into the Pacific Ocean.

X-Ray 5 - Achuapa
Now fully settled in to the village, the work kicks off today.  They will be continuing the work from last phase on the youth centre.  They should also be setting up some time with the community to play games of football and baseball with them.

X-Ray 6 - Miraflor
They arrived safely in their community last night and today will be starting work on the water supply project for the village.  They'll also get to explore their new home a bit more and get to know the families they are staying with.

Updates from Bravo one

Buena’s dias amigos! Bravo one has been out on the road for a good few days now and already we've been able to catch up with our groups here in Nicaragua. First point of call was with X-ray 6 over in Achuapa. We met up with the group at lunch time after an hours trek into the village and were greeted with the friendly faces of Connor and Corrie, and then sat down to a delicious meal prepared by our host family, Dona Camilla. A good start to our visit. We then caught up with the group who were busy digging, shoveling and pikaxing their day away at the work site. The group are currently working a new gravity-fed water project in the community of Los Llanitos, just a half an hour walk from where our previous Raleigh groups stayed, over in Quebrada Honda. The guys have only been working for a few days but they have already made some real progress. With a goal to finish the project in this single phase and to finish off the final touches to the water project in Quebrada Honda, the team have a lot of work on their hands and they aren't wasting any time. Let's hear what the group have been up to in their time so far with blog report written by Elliot...

Please note that Imi Morgan has moved from trek group X-ray 2 to community project in Los Llanitos, Achuapa X-ray 6. Please address any futher blog messages to her to X-ray 6. Gracias!

After a long two hour journey in the company of X-ray 5 and X-ray 2, we said goodbye to our friends at the Nicaraguan town of Estelí. We had three more hours on our own "party bus" in which we were able to connect our iPods to the speakers. We arrived in Achuapa and made the final leg of the journey on foot and were immediately treated to a downpour. The rain dampened only our clothes not our spirits and we arrived at Los Llanitos. Amongst the other livestock we were divided into our houses and introduced to our new surrogate families.
It has only been three days now and early shyness has been overcome and conversation, although basic, is coming along wonderfully. We have debated with the members of the village about how to go about starting our project and we have now begun to build a gravity-fed water system from a nearby stream that will provide running water for each household. This is a little more ambitious than our original plan but X-ray 6 are determined to help as much as we can here in Achuapa. We have settled in well and some of us attended church on Sunday of which we were greatly moved by the heartfelt welcome we received. We look forward to what we can learn from the community, as well as doing what we can to aid them.

Getting together for the evening

The beautiful views that surround Achuapa

Bravo one has also just returned from a visit to our Nicaraguan trekkers, X-ray 2 and it has to be said that despite some initial worries and a few nervous, first time trekkers, this group are really enjoying life out on the beaten track - going for gold and taking in every second of their adventure. After a somewhat tiresome first couple of days, spirits are soaring. The group are cheery, chirpy and getting fitter by the day. When we joined them yesterday afternoon they had been resting in their home for the night, a local school in the small town of La Tejera (just 20km from Estelí), after just having returned from a trip to the town's cheese factory; each carrying bags full of cheesy goodness and souvenirs! I suppose the cheese makes a nice change from Raleigh rations of noodles and tuna, so why not stock up?! Here are a few words from the group's designated blogger, Abi...

As X-ray 2 set off on the now familiar bus journey to Nicaragua, there was a slight air of trepidation: it was finally happening - we were the last ones to do the trek and we were so ready! Sort of...
Filled to the brim with advice (and horror stories) and armed with our one t-shirt for nineteen days (ew), we had a smooth journey and a chilled first days walk finishing at what can only be described as a terracotta mansion. Unfortunately we were not to be so lucky the next day; a promising start eventually turned into a twelve hour trek (no punn intended) and we collapsed, exhausted, at a farm house for the night. Everyone was in an excellent mood the next morning (only joking) and we bid farewell to Imi as she left for a community project in Achuapa. Our twelve hour day day actually paled in comparison to Sunday which ended at a military base a sweet thirteen and a half hours after we set off; more than a few tears were shed that day. the views from so high up were spectacular, but we only enjoyed them for about forty seconds before once again we collapsed onto our uninflated roll matts.
Monday began with amazing views as we walked through a "magical" pine forest (to quote the route card), and we enjoyed our break above the clouds. we were rewarded for our last two days toil by finishing at 11.30am and decided to take a three hour lunch break outside a fully stocked pulperia (coke has never tasted so good). We're thinking of following the Turrimacho trek groups example and looking at the relationship between altitude and pulperia girls' level of hotness. Watch this space.

Relaxing after a hard days trek

Organising the next couple of days snacks. Beautiful

The girls tuck into some dulce de leche...

Bravo one are now off to visit X-ray 5 over in Yeluca, Miraflor to see how they're getting on with their community centre, so we'll be able to update the blog soon with news from their end. As for me (Dawn) I'll be off trekking with X-ray 2 in a few days but the rest of the fieldbase team will be keeping you up to date with all the latest from the groups on my behalf. So for now, all the way from sunny Nicaragua, de acachimba!

(wish me luck!)

Blog written by Dawn Tennant, unless otherwise stated. Photo's by Dawn Tennant.