Back to Conte Burika

It´s amost one and I have escaped to town to use the internet and phones one last time,and get a square meal in before my three weeks of rice and beans (and tuna if I´m lucky).

The venturers are all slightly ambivalent about the project, all they can think about is the here and now, and the idea of packing their bags, or getting up at 3am to get the bus, is slightly beyond them. They are in all a great group, but no extroverts or natural leaders which makes things a little harder. I also have two Host Country Participants who are fab, one from El Salvador, the other from another indiginous tribe called the Biribiri, who lives on the Carribean coast of Costa Rica. One speaks ok english, the other can´t speak a word but as a result my Spanish is improving daily and I love it! They are both absolute legends in the jungle, handy with a machete and very quick to scale a three meter tree to string up the coax of the radio. But it´s more of a problem getting them to integrate with the Brits and New Zealander that I have, so hopefully we´ll get some group bonding done over the next few days.

So, it´s back to Punto Banco tomorrow and up before dawn for the 18km trek back along the beach, avoiding the rising tides and the cliffs that cut you off. We are supposed to be meeting some guides and 6 horses, but as this failed to happen last time (manyana manyana), I´m not convinced they will be there on the 15th and our group will have to do the walk with our packs, and enough equipment to load a truck - we´re carrying spades, saws, machetes, claw hammers, wellies, helmets, and on and so forth. So, nunche caballo, nunche projetto as far as I´m concerned.

I´m out of range then until March 4th, so Happy Birthday Charlie for the 27th and anyone else who´se brithday it is, Kate, all the best for your massive world trip, Phil, all the best for the Marathon des Sables, Catherine and Peter, I hope the house goes through, Sabina and Sarah, good luck with your births and Charles and Minette, have a fab time in Nepal.

I will be in touch with an update of the project and news of my next project allocation (I´m really hoping to be at Conte Burika for at least 2 phases, and then perhaps a trek - 250km, help).

So, next update, Turrialba, early March

Adios