Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Saturday, 20 August 2011

It's off to work we go...

Our X-ray groups 2, 5 and 6 have all arrived safely at their Nicaraguan destinations - hoorah! X-ray 2 (the group that I’ll be joining soon!) started trekking yesterday afternoon and already on day 2 are going strong – you can do it X-ray 2! (Not that I’m biased or anything). X-ray 5 have settled in well with their new host families in the community of Yeluca and today they continue work on the rest of the community centre that was started by our previous Raleigh group, Romeo 5. X-ray 6 has are also settled over in Quebrada Honda and the team is already working to finish off the gravity-fed water project, before moving onto project number two.

As for our Costa Rica based groups - X-ray 1 spent last night at the ranger’s station and today are trek-trekkety-trekking out of the jungle to Rio Dante, where they will spend the night camping at Ernesto’s house; an old, disused house with incredible views, plenty of water and most importantly clean sanitary facilities! X-ray 3 are settled and feeling quite at home at top of Volcan Turrialba. They are already cracking on with work on the trails. X-ray 4 will be staying at the rangers station for their time at La Cangreja and last night they enjoyed dinner overlooking the beautiful view, sitting on the stairs just outside the ranger’s station - stunning.

La Cangreja

Our road trip teams are off on for their own phase three adventure tomorrow morning so we’ll be collecting news and gossip for you guys then, and updating as often as possible... In the meantime, pura vida everyone!

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

Friday, 19 August 2011

The X-rays get moving...

It's only been a day since our X-ray teams left us here at fieldbase and already we can't wait to hear what they're up to. This is the latest so far...

X-ray 1 didn’t waste any time and began trekking yesterday afternoon. Today they are heading to Barbilla where they will meet their guide for the next couple of days.
Our Nicaragua teams, X-ray 2, 5 and 6, spent last night at Jinotepe school and today will be splitting up and going their separate ways to begin their phase three ventures.
X-ray 3 are settling in well at the top of Volcan Turrialba and soaking up the magnificent views before the hard work begins.
X-ray 4 are already getting stuck in, busy building bridges and painting the nursery.

So this is just a taster of things to come, but we're happy to say that all groups are safe, well and by the sounds of things feeling tip-top and full of gusto for the phase ahead - just what we like to hear!

It's that time again - the big 'R' (road trip...), when our fieldbase team leave the comfort of Raleigh fb and head on out for some life on the road, visiting our groups. The two Bravo vehicles will be off early doors on Sunday so if you have any messages that you want to get to our venturers soon, best get them in by Saturday night.
More updates soon. Pura vida.

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

Thursday, 18 August 2011

Round three...

This morning we waved an excited goodbye to our new X-ray groups as they headed out for the final phase, and a few tears were shed as we said ‘adios’ to the 7 weekers, whose Raleigh adventure has come to an end all too quickly. True to the nature and moral principles of Raleigh however, we didn’t let them go without a bit of a jolly to see them off. Last night was Vegas night at fieldbase and the Raleigh staff were dressed head to toe in their finest get up in order to make the evening as authentic as possible; the girls in sparkly, floor-length numbers, the guys in dodgy shirts and bowler hats and we even had our very own Elvis. Unfortunately budget wouldn’t allow for our show-girl outfits, feathers etc (oh darn it, never mind), but the atmosphere was there all the same. The night started off with a slideshow of phase two moments captured by our venturers and super photographer, Kat, followed by an awards ceremony for the 7 weekers ‘best guy and girl’. Prizes went to Pinki and Rich whose efforts, motivation, high spirits and well rounded natures did not go unnoticed. Well done guys, you’ve helped to make this expedition a wonderful experience both for you and for those around you. We hope you enjoyed every moment of it, just as much as we have - pura vida!

After this Vegas officially lit up - the casino opened and bets were being placed left right and centre! (with matchsticks can I just add, no real money was used in the making of this event) A fun night for all. Check out some pictures below of our groups departing... and some random ones from fieldbase, just for fun.

Best Female Explorer - Pinki!

Trek ready!

New team - Victor Meldrew 1

Goodbye hugs for all

Bien viaje 7 weekers!

X-ray 6

X-ray 2

X-ray 5

X-ray 4

X-ray 1

Some cows in a field...

Hello's in the rain

Back soon with news from our X-rays as they head, trekking feet first, into phase three. Pura vida.
*Blog written by Dawn Tennant and photo's by Kat Mammone, unless otherwise stated.

How to send your loved ones a message

It's easy. Scroll down to the bottom of the most recent entry and click the comments link. A box will then appear where you can write your comment - please don't forget to tell us who the message is for including the full name and project group of the recipient. You can select name/URL from the dropdown menu to tell us who it's from (you can leave the URL blank if you wish). Finally, click on 'Post Comment' and you're done.

As you can imagine there are 180 volunteers so hundreds of messages for loved ones, no comments go live immediately and have to be moderated for appropriateness, so please do bare with us.

All comments that are pertinent to the post will be publshed and all personal messages will be delivered (even if they don't appear published). Messages mean a lot to all the volunteers; thank you for your continued support.

Raleigh Lingo

Copy that?

Sometimes our Raleigh technical terms can be a tad confusing so we've put together a glossary for you blog followers. This will appear as a quick-reference section on the right-hand column so you can translate our Tico-terms into something a bit more palatable. And for those keen to brush up their Central American Spanish, we've included some handy translations. Here's a few to get you started...

Alpha, X-Ray and Zulu groups
(Grupos Alfa, X-Ray y Zulu)
The official name for project groups during the phases of CR&N 13A. Alpha will be out on project from 3rd to 23rd February, X-Ray from 24th February to 15th March and Zulu from 17th March to 5th April. Project groups are allocated during induction

Basha
Jungle ‘bed’: consists of a tarpaulin for shelter, a hammock and mosquito net. A basha is hung up between two trees and supported by rope, bamboo and canvas straps

Bodega
A Spanish word meaning store or warehouse

Bravo
A term of endearment for our hard-working Land Rovers. The four vehicles are officially, and imaginatively named Bravo One, Two, Three and Four

C.A.T.I.E.
The agricultural and development research institute on whose campus Fieldbase is situated. Find out more at http://www.catie.ac.cr/

Changeover (Cambio de Fase)
Two day period where all staff and Venturers return from their project sites for some respite before they are all reallocated and sent off to do it all over again...

Chicas, Chicos
Spanish term meaning girls (chicas) or guys (chicos) or both (chicos aswell). As in “Vamonos chicos!” or “Let’s go guys!”

Craic
A way to gauge how people are feeling, usually measured from 0 to 90. If your ‘craic’ is high, you’re pretty happy. If you announce a low craic, people will probably fix you up with an energy bomb and a nice big hug

CR&N 13A
Costa Rica and Nicaragua expeditions 13A

Day Leader (DL) (Líder del día)
Every day on project, one of the Team is designated DL – they are in charge of the day, including organising the day’s briefing, keeping group morale up, dealing with any problems, sticking to schedule and de-briefing at the end of the day. The DL role rotates round the whole group so everyone takes a turn

Energizer (Actividad Levanta Muertos)
An activity to gather the group together and raise energy levels. Can be used at the beginning of the day, or whenever a quick pick-me-up is required

Energy bombs (Explosión de azucar)
A trekking treat – mix together oats, raisins, condensed milk and chocolate powder and roll into little balls of gooey goodness to power you through the day

Fieldbase (FB) (Campo Base)
Refers to the Raleigh ‘office residence’ which is where the Fieldbase staff eat, sleep and work, whilst organising the expedition, manning the radios round the clock, supporting the projects, planning transport and logistics, keeping tabs on the finances and much, much more

Field Base Volunteer Managers (Equipo Logístico Voluntario del Campo Base)
Volunteer support staff for the expedition. The team looks after the ‘behind the scenes’ of the expedition and ensures everything runs smoothly. This consists of three permanent staff members - the Country Director, Country Project Manager and Country Expedition Manager - plus a team of volunteer staff including the, Medic, Photographer, Administrator, Finance Officer, three Logistics (logs) team members and the Communications Officer

Gallo Pinto
A traditional Costa Rican dish of rice and beans (yum!)

Icebreaker (Rompe Hielos)
A getting-to-know-you game

Longdrop (Letrina)
The camp loo. Literally a deep hole in the ground, it is one of the first tasks to complete when setting up jungle camp for obvious reasons! Short drops are similar, normally used for overnight stops when a shallower trench will suffice

Longs (Pantalones)
From 6pm onwards, we all don long trousers and sleeves to discourage the bugs that aren’t deterred by DEET

Maxis
Short for Maxi Pali, the stock-everything shop about a kilometer from Fieldbase where you can buy all those things you forgot/ran out of/lost

Nicas
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Nicaragua

Ninja
A popular game/energizer used by venturers and Project managers alike. Everyone stands in a circle and tries to hit the team members either side of them on the hand via a single ninja movements. Sound effects welcome

POPS
Legendary milkshake and ice-cream parlour chain found all over Costa Rica – perfect for a sweet splurge

Pork and beans (Frijoles con cerdo)
Another staple foodstuff for trekkers: tinned beans with a slightly sausage twang, served cold for lunch. Usually accompanied by dry cracker dust, sprinkled liberally on to the top. If you’re in a hurry, this can be consumed without cutlery straight from the can

Project Managers (PMs) (Guías)
Project staff for the expedition. Each of the groups has at least two PMs who work with the Venturers to develop skills, lead projects and challenge themselves

PURA VIDA!
A very special Costa Rican phrase that means hello, goodbye, I’m great, it’s good, pure life, basically any positive, feel-good thing can be Pura vida!

Radio check (Chequeo de Radio)
As well as a daily SITREP, all Alpha projects are required to complete a second radio call-in each day to check in, receive messages and report any developments

Review (Revisión)
A round-up that assesses how everyone feels, what went well and what needs work. This is sometimes an ‘activity’, sometimes a chat around the campfire, or sometimes just a bit of time to reflect. It’s an important part of everyone’s personal development so we make sure it happens every day

Roadtrip (Paseo Volando Rueda)
The logistics team and some of the Field Base team drive the Bravos on a loop round to each of the accessible project sites once per phase. They deliver kit, supplies, site visitors, messages from the blog and of course the all important post

Ropa Americana
Purveyors of the finest second hand American threads. Perfect for fancy dress/obtaining that long coveted college sports jersey

SITREP (Reporte de la Situación)
Literally Situation Report. A special radio message sent from the satellite project sites back to fieldbase once a day. It follows a certain format and includes all sort of handy information like where they are, what they’ve been up to, what they need and what they’re planning to do next

Tang
A fruity powder that is used to make squash. Jolly useful for taking away the chlorine taste of purified water

Ticos
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Costa Rica

Trangia (Mini Cocina)
A portable cooking stove. Used primarily for trekking, a trangia’s compact design makes it perfect for easy transportation. Literal translation in spanish - mini kitchen. Makes sense

Turrialba
The location of Fieldbase

Venturers (Aventureros)
Participants in the Raleigh expedition. Aged 17 to 24, they come in three varieties: Host Country Venturers (from Costa Rica and Nicaragua), Partnership Venturers (positive young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK who participate in Raleigh expeditions as part of a longer term development programme) and UK and International Fundraising Participants (who work hard to raise money to contribute towards the charities work and expenses in order to take part in the expedition)

Wash up (Revisión Final)
The last few days of expedition, spent debriefing, returning equipment, performing skits, and most importantly enjoying the farewell party (tears alert)

Zero (Cero)
A radio term that identifies the radio controller at Fieldbase. Fieldbase monitors the radios 24-7, listening out on three frequencies for calls from our satellite project sites. When the radio alarm sounds, we might answer something like this: “Hello unknown call sign, hello unknown call sign, this is Zero, this is zero, do you copy, OVER?”