With just five days until our venturers arrive from all
corners of the United States of Eurasia, it’s time to check in with the final
Alpha groups who have become very familiar with the Trans-Nica bus service as they
return from community sites in Nicaragua. Luckily they were given redemption
from more public transport-induced-torture with a lift from San Jose (Costa
Rica) in the gleaming new Bravos (they’re absolute beauties).
Alpha 6
A6’s Fran Hodge and DoJo Donovan visited their community of
El Portillo, Achuapa located in the north west of Nicaragua. In phase one the
group will be living with local families whilst undertaking an eco-latrine
project, which in the long run, will create compost suitable for fertilising
their crops. During their visit, Fran and DoJo visited the Co-operative Juan
Francisco Paz Silva, which works with local farmers in the farming of sesame
seed and cattle, whilst providing members with health, veterinary and financial
services. A jamming session with Don
Brigedo and various culinary treats including a delicious crab soup, were
samples of what will be a fantastic project.
Alpha 7
Fiona Arakelian, Matthew Jewers and Amanda Payne-Danson of
A7 visited their community of La Naranjita, Miraflor, where they will be
undertaking an emergency housing project. A spate of bad weather at the tail
end of 2011 inflicted major damage on homes in the area and Raleigh will be
assisting the community in constructing new buildings from traditional adobe
bricks. This project is in conjunction with El Foro, an NGO responsible for the
co-management of the Miraflor Nature Reserve, with whom Raleigh have worked on
numerous projects in the area.
Alpha 8
Victoria Brennan, Danielle Percival and Clare Wright made
the long trip to San Jose, Nicaragua where A8 will be building a community
centre. After 4 days on various buses, the common consensus was that Danni
would be an unnatural selection as a companion on future public transport
trips, as she showed minimal resistance to fatigue and slept her way to
Managua. Possibly the most surreal moment of the trip came on the ‘chicken bus’
to San Jose, as the bus driver stuck on the 80s/90s classics, with Europe’s
Final Countdown being well received by locals and A8 alike. This is not Raleigh’s
first project in San Jose as several years ago they built a school in the
village and expedition 12B will be contributing in a similar vein, working with
El Foro to construct an adult education centre/pre-school in the village.
And not
forgetting......Alpha 2! (Wouldn’t want a small scale uprising on my hands)
A2’s Daniel Walsh and Lucinda Ryan enjoyed a sampler of
Costa Rica’s Corcovado Trek as a warm up for phase one. Just like A1, they too
tackled dense jungle but were thankfully in capable hands, Raleigh vet and MK
Ultra’s, Oscar Saborio, elder brother of 12B’s very own Daniel, pulling on the
boots for a hike in the hills. After a dip in some ‘aguas calientes’ (hot
springs) they bedded down in a local bullring before driving with Raleigh
stalwarts Dave and Tim to the Laguna Vueltas for another spot of swimming. Who
says trekking can’t be fun. From here they teamed up with local guide, Elvin,
to take on the Cerro Pelon, before descending to Venecia for the bus back to
base.
Readers, I belong to you. Whilst I’m in the perhaps
unenviable position of editing my own work, at times a guiding light can be a
steadying influence, so enclose your undisclosed desires in the comments
section below. Such cross-pollination between your ideas and mine could be
quite the overture.
