First few days with Raleigh (July 2008)

We went to the airport and met up with other Raleigh people and were bussed out to a nearby English school for the night to wait for all the delayed flights. Many people had been diverted to Nicaragua, Panama and Liberia because of the bad weather in San Jose! There was a flight full of about 15 Bermudan’s who were pretty loud but quite friendly. One had brought pictures of home which looked stunning! We then went out to our Fieldbase in Turrialba that we would return to at changeovers. We stayed in “Hotels”, ironic as they are actually army tents to fit 8, with wooden crates on the bottom to sleep on, in a very muddy field. You end up with mud halfway up your leg which is a real faff to get cleaned up before you can get in your sleeping bag! We spent the next few days there completing admin such as medical check ups, swimming tests, being trained how to use the radio, river-crossings and how to respond to a Casevac (Casualty Evacuation) situation. We got talks on foot care, hydration, prevention of D+V (Diarrhoea and Vomiting), snake bites etc. We spent a night in the Jungle for “Jungle Camp”. We learnt how to put up bashers (self supported hammocks), hammocks and tents; and how to cook with trangia stoves. There were millions of spiders around which freaked me out a bit! On the way back from Jungle camp one of the PMs (Project Manager – person who is over 24 who is responsible for looking after our health and safety etc) pretended to fall and hurt her ankle, so we had to practice what we would do in a Casevac situation. We had to set up the radio and radio Fieldbase, get wood to make the hammock into a stretcher, look after the ‘patient’ and then carry her back to Fieldbase! It was good fun! We were allocated where we would be and with whom for our first phase. For the following 3 weeks I would be with 13 others in “Alpha 5” up in Monte Frio 2 (near Achuapa) in Nicaragua, digging trenches and preparing water sources to provide our village with tap water. On our last night we had a party with a huge foam machine attached to the ceiling which was really good fun. The following morning we set off really early for the start of a 2.5 day bus journey.