All Participants Arrive Safe and Well

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Hi There,

Greetings from sunny Turrialba, it is a beautiful day (about 25 degrees) and the view over Vulcan Turrialba is something else today (jealous yet!!).

My name is Bella and I am the Communications Officer here in Costa Rica and I will be bringing these updates to you. Please encourage other family and friends to subscribe to this update as this will be the main form of communication from the expedition to you all.

First of all everyone has arrived safe and sound to field base in Turrialba this morning after a 1.5 hour picturesque drive from San Jose.

After arriving at the British School at about midnight last night, everyone settled in with some well needed refreshments and a couple of games before hitting the sack about 12.30am. This morning everyone woke up at 5.00am had a quick group photo and then boarded the bus to head to field base.

So now at field base we have a group of 140 people made up of 110 Participants and 30 staff all ready to make CRN07B the best expedition ever! We have people from all over the world, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK, Norway, Holland, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Upon arrival at field base, the participants received a thunderous welcome by all of the staff and then were treated to a full breakfast made up of traditional Costa Rican food (rice and beans) and some beautiful tropical fruits along with eggs and fresh cold meats.

All participants have been introduced to their first group for the next few days (9-10 Participants and 2 staff per group), and spent this morning listening to welcome briefings, taking a tour around field base, settling into their luxurious 5 star army tents (and for a lucky few groups trekking tents), and playing some games to get to know each other.

This afternoon the group went en mass to the local university pool in Turrialba to have a relaxing lunch, did some swimming, attended to all admin matters, and also played some football or rugby. Tonight everyone will get a sneak peak of what projects we will be doing this expedition before settling in for what will be a well earned sleep!

The next few days will be pretty exciting with all the participants attending jungle camp where they will be taught outdoor skills like reading maps, how to make a “basha” (which is a camp bed), how to use a “tranger” to cook food and most of all how to set up and use a radio!

The groups will depart for Phase I on the 14th of February so I will send another update around that time.

Until then,

Pura Vida de Costa Rica

PS: For parents and families of the Participants:- Everyone is safe and well! Participants will have the opportunity to contact home on either Saturday 10th or Sunday 11th of February in the afternoon Costa Rican time via email or telephone. (evening UK time). If possible please refrain from contacting the field base number except in a case of emergency.

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