Cricket tea and Project planning

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Well after the rain of jungle camp we had the most fantastic barbeque back at fieldbase followed by an idyllic sunny day playing cricket against a side from Limon. Limon is on the Caribbean coast of costa rica and is a fascinating place by all accounts. The locals there are descendants of slaves from Africa who escaped the banana plantations in jamaica or who came to find work building bridges and roads in central america. The work was pretty horrific so they headed instead to the coast and have kept themselves to themselves for the last couple of hundred years. They speak a mix of caribbean english and spanish and play a mean game of cricket. We won at the last, beating their 65 runs with only one over left to play (of 30 overs). I had attended trials the day before (it is all taken TERRIBLY seriously) but failed to be picked... have to say my cricket skills were a bit rusty having not played since I was 16... my bowling was mostly alright but I was useless at batting... very poor hand to eye coordination! I couldn't even remember how to score... that was always my fallback position at school as a great excuse to sunbathe for 6 hours on a sunday!

The day ended with a fantastic feast of cake... what a sugar rush! We played in the idyllic setting of CATIE campus, surrounded by majestic trees, a beautiful lily-filled lake and the CATIE main pavilion as the backdrop. This is where our nearest bank, travel agency and post is. During several of the biological trips and laying out of agricultural experiments in the surrounding area CATIE have unearthed lots of interesting artefacts which they display in the building, including a large raised bowl, about 1/2 metre long with a feline head and paws surrounding the bowl which effectively sits in the stomach area... I don't suppose they have the funds or the focus to understand further the significance of these objects but maybe I will find someone who can explain further.

I have found out I am going to Piedras Blancas so will be building accommodation blocks, a long drop loo, reshoring an existing wall of the ranger station and building bridges on trails... apparently loads of monkeys and wildlife in the park, river and lakes to wash in, beach two hours walk away and the rangers are up for football! I am absolutely terrified of having to use my spanish and meet all the local honchos and arrange bamboo supplies for our jungle bashas (beds), supermarket fresh food drops and chatting to the rangers but am hoping all with be ok. Have 8 hour bus road tomorrow with fellow Project Manager Stewart and then we get to first ranger station and hike into second... hopefully will get there before nightfall!

Map of where I will be.... I am just by fat lake to right of big inlet... follow Panama: Costa Rica border north then look left below red line which is the Interamericana highway.

http://mapmachine.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/viewandcustomize.html?task=getMap&themeId=100&topten=100,110,102&place=Piedras%20Blancas&iplace=Piedras%20Blancas%2C%20Costa%20Rica&sext=-84.30833,9.758333,-84.15833,9.908333&splace=Piedras%20Blancas%2C%20Costa%20Rica&iext=-84.30833,9.758333,-84.15833,9.908333&ext=-84.30833,9.758333,-84.15833,9.908333

Bex

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Photos

En route to El Bonito
We will be hiking in up this river

Golfito
Evening dockside, 23rd February 2006