Photos of White Water Rafting

I have uploaded the photos from the Sarapiqui rafting CD on the photo album page. I have slightly reduced the resolution so as to save myself hours of uploading (I do have other things to do!). The resolution is still pretty high, but should you feel it is still insufficient for your A3 sized enlargement, let me know and I'll email you the full resolution for particular photos.

Mr D

Lots of photos....

There are lots of photos now in the group albums. Click on the link to the right and peruse away! Don't forget to add your comments as well.....

Post Costa Rica Meal

hi.
This is Freya just to ask if people think the post Costa Rica meal should be on the first Friday back or the first Saturday back in the new term (Friday 7th or Saturday 8th) and that everyone wants it to be in Ragamamas.
Freyax

Buena Vista Beach

We've just finished a fantastic week at Buena Vista, working on the turtle project. It was probably the hardest week of the expedition and yet all are agreed that it was the most rewarding. All are safe and well, albeit exhausted (the stay included shift work throughout the night releasing and finding turtles).

High river levels meant that we were unable to leave the beach for the duration, so this is the first possible report, which I am leaving during a brief stop on our return to SJ. I am sure much more will be added on this part of the trip as everyone certainly has lots to say, so I will nbot spoil their thunder... watch this space.

See you back in the UK,
Mr D.....

Grace on Cano Negro (part the first)

We arrived at Cano Negro, the "natural lodge" on wendesday the 1st of august, just in time for a chill-out afternoon by the pool. Our hotel was surrounded by greenery and consisted of lots of blocks of rooms, plus the restuarant/bar and of course the pool. One of the results of Titch´s birthday was a HEMAN ball (wooo) which we used to pass the afternoon in the pool...

After a presenation on Cano Negro in the evening and the activites to come (´don´t provoke forest fires´ was one of our rules), we enjoyed a buffet dinner over our usual random chatter. After a few rounds of cards we retired to our air-conditioned, doubbled-bedded rooms (yes we really are roughing it out here).

The next day after breakfast we headed out for a nature boat ride, where we cruised along the river watching wildlife that included caimans (likme a crocodile but a bit smaller and more costa-rican), birds such as tropical cormorants, amazon kingfishers, white crested egrets and ninga-ningas. We also saw basilisk tree lizards, black vultures, iguanas, howler monkeys and a rare sloth. We also had a svery smelly sighting of a floating dead cow. ewwww.

After lunch at the hotel we went into the village for some community work. We helped plant a hedge around the church and then worked on some furniture restoration for the confirmation group. When we arrived back at the hotle that afternoon group 3 had arrived in cano negro (eurgh) for our 3-day crossover. We plunged into the pool to wash off the rust (which looked like a bad fake-tan job by the time we´d had a rust fight) and thats about all i have time to write because now we´re off to buena vista rushrushrush...

to be continued......................

Cano Negro

A very brief post on Cano Negro, the latest leg of our tour of CR. No internet there or in the next place, just a brief stop here on the way.

Cano Negro was certainly beautiful. Its basically a world-recognised wetland site with lots of wildlife, including caymans and lots of birds. While there, we planted hedges and painted an amazing mural (thanks to Tobi´s artistic skills) in the local church for their Sunday school. A highlight was the dance performed for us at the local primary school.

On to the harder work stages now as we head to Zaropal and then on to Buena Vista. SOrry no more photos, but no time to upload.

The next installment should follow in Buena Vista in just over a week´s time.

All are safe and well and enjoying the warmth and great food!

Photos of Drake Bay

We have added a few photos of Drake Bay. Click on the photo album link (top right) to see these. More will follow when Internet access allows....

kristina and grace on chirripo

bussed it all the way to our mountain hotel where we had a rather chilly but refreshing afternoon dip in the mountain view pool. an evening meal and an early night prepared us for the 4.30 am start. in our bleary eyed state we were driven in the back of a pick up truck to the start of the trail. here we met our three guides who were frustratingly raring to go. we all moved off together chating away before eventually dividing into smaller groups and then 1km later we all met again collapsed into a heap of sweaty bodies at the first check point.this was the point that we discovered we couldn´t even see Chirripo itself from here - how strange! after this stop for water and to remove some very unnecessary layers, we headed of again. each kilometer seemed to get further apart and the path got steeper but the incredible views more than made up for it. at 7km we got to our lunch stop to enjoy the delights of plastic ham and cheese sandwiches and the luxury facilities also known as a tin shack with a whole in the ground! soon after we started again, the rain came and washed us all clean ish. at 11km we were relieved to hear that it was all downhill or flat until the last kilometer, the guide lied! but it did get better and the last kilometer wasn´t such a hard climb afetr all. finally at of the hill we saw the wonderfull sight of the lodge with beds and running water but still no sight of chirripo. wearily we all piled into our rooms and rested our very tired feet. the altitude seemed to have more effect on some than others and a few had to go straight to bed. for the rest of us it was after two hefty meals and lots of card games later that we collapsed into our sleeping bags on the comfy bunk beds.

A new day had barely dawned when we rolled out of bed at 2.30am. With muscles aching from the previous day, and eyes still shut, we put our head torches on, and began stumbling up the mountain yet again! 6kms to go until the summit, and we STILL couldn´t see chirripo! 4 exhasting KMs later we could finally glimpse the summit of chirripo.... yeeyyyyyy!!!!! or not. this brought tears to the eyes of many group members. oh. my. gosh. what a sight. well after another K we were at the bottom of the summit, panting and wheezing, but excited that we were soooo nearly there. The final ascent was a total scramble, but it was more fun that the rest of the walk, because we could use our hands. bit of a break for the old legs, which were frequently giving out by now. and day was breaking! we saw most of the sunrise at the very top, where we now collapsed in shivering heaps. photos were taken of our british flag (tristans shorts attached to a pole... without tristan attached), and a tired but very proud group shot was taken. we wrote a boasting message to the other groups in the log book at the top (because of course we got there first. haha if you´re reading). and then feeling slightly shocked that the moment we had all been waiting for had arrived, we began descending, or rather sliding down the rocks. we made it back to the lodge in time for breakfast, and afeter an hour of rest we were packed up and (sort of) ready to go again. the descent happened in a blur of bad jokes, sore feet and chocolate. we were so nearly at the bottom of the trail, when sophia nearly took a wrong turn. here the guide with this group swore under her breath. tristan. he had run ahead to the faster group, and we were all failry convinced he had taken a wrong turn. our guide legged it down the path shouting for tristan, just as the thunder claps began. great timing! anyway we all got down safely eventually, although today we are hobbling everywhere and grabbing anything that will support our weight.

chirripo nearly killed us, but....
go group one, we made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE AH-SUMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
love to everyone, kristina and grace xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cano Island - Advice for the other groups.....

A few tips from those of us who`ve already arrived:

For the journey here, be prepared to get wet. Sandals and shorts are good for the boat (you alight in shallow water). And a waterproof. We hit a really heavy storm on the way and got absolutely drenched.

You don't really need towels as you dry very quickly when diving and the rooms (v. nice!) all have them. Clothing does not dry quickly so several tops (1 long-sleeved) are useful and don't forget a torch.

The underwater cameras are not allowed on the training dives, but you can take them should you add some extra diving on. 9 of us did this today hvaing qualified yesterday. We had already seen dolphins earlier in the week (and a recent law has made swimming with them illegal). Instead of looking for more, we went to the island to complete two more dives, along the way spotting a humpback, which was incredible. Under the ocean surface we got snap happy and fired off 7 cameras worth of fill in quick order!

Rash vests are nice, but not essential as we have full body wetsuits.

Mosquito nets are not needed at all. There is very little in the way of insect problems as there are so many bats and birds and the rooms are well protected. Be prepared for crabs though!

The food is fantastic and the water is bottled mineral water, as is the ice, so that makes life much easier.

They really do look after you here - last night we even had salsa lessons after a fantastic tea, tonight it is a fresh fish bbq - and the instructors are great.

For anybody nervous about the diving where there are sharks(which I can't pretend I wasn't), you start off close to the bay, where there is very little in the way of marine life. When you get to the island and see sharks, they are wonderfully placid, and when you get close (2-3m), they simply glide away. We are all converts and realise how exciting it is to dive with them (they are all white-tip reef sharks) and there is truly nothing to be worried about! In fact, the real adrenalin pumping action is to be found on the 20km high-speed boat ride to the island. I guarantee your heart rates will be raised!

Think that's it for advice - you will, I am sure, have a great time here. Worth the journey to Costa Rica for this stay alone!

So Far

Well im going to keep it short and sweet. i love Costa Rica it has sun, sand and wildlife. Had some very good times here already including completing our PADI course and seeing some great wildlife including: monkeys, sharks, eels, lobsters, humback whales the list goes on.
Basically Costa Rica is really amazing.

From Tristan with some help from Tobi!!!!!

Arrival at Cano Beach - diving is awesome

Having left the hotel in San Jose at 7am, we travelled for 5 hours to meet the boat. The journey was beautiful across the mountain ranges in central Costa Rica. The eye-spy entertainment was epic, and we were all entertained by Grace's question abotu what years were in the 20th century!

Not knowing what to expect we found ourselves aboard a speed boat gliding through mangrove swamp - straight into the eye of the heaviest downpour many of us have ever encountered. Along the way we saw a Cayman basking on the bank.

When we reached the estuary, we were somewhat perturbed when the driver had to reverse to get away from the big waves! Once these had been dodged - ! - we travelled for another few minutes along the coast at high speed. Arriving at our hotel we found ourselves 'slumming it' in beautiful beach-side accommodation, overlooking the bay. The excitement was exacerbated by the site of a non-venomous rat snake ascending the trees by the balcony.

We arose early the next morning and the U6th in our group, accompanied by Mr D. kitted out for our first dive. We were soon out in the bay underwater testing our our skills beyond the pool. It was a fantastic experience, thoguh visibility was low for these training drives. We are all much looking forward to the Cano Isalnd dives, where we hear there are many white reef sharks and beautiful fish. For now we better head back to the hotel - Kristina has a 'pressing ' issue to deal with....

So, until the next installment, this is Krstina, Jack, Alex, Grace and Mr D reporting on location in Costa Rica. It's asta la vista from us....

Dive manuals

Hey guys,
We only need a couple of manuals. I'm gonna take mine (but I'm not gonna carry it the whole time). Does anyone else wanna volunteer to bring theirs.
Jack Mac

Group Kit

How about discussing who's bringing kit that would be useful for the group? We don't all need to be bringing laundry soap, driving manuals etc.. What are you bringing?
Mr D

Group 1 - Currently in Exams

This is where Group 1's Diary will appear..........