My big toe

So, I am back now and life at Raleigh as I have known it is over, with all the venturers gone and a freakish silence surrounding the camp. Other than a numb big toe (nerve damage from trek), a couple of bad colds and a fainting episode in nicaragua (must have been the overdose of coffee...) I have survived intact and in much better mental strength than before I left the UK.

Although I can't quite believe that my raison d'etre is over, with no-one to look after, find lost property for, have deep and meaningful conversations with or safely get from a to b, I am actually very very relaxed and happy and feel I have accomplished what I set out to do and more - I have contributed to a fantastic experience for over 100 people. Waving everybody off yesterday, having had 4 hours sleep after the foam party ended and the last log books were written in, was very sad, lots of hands reaching out from the mini bus trying to high five us one last time.

My last phase in Nicaragua was out of this world. A combination of a fantastic team and living with a community who really wanted us to be there led to a very happy experience. We spent many happy mornings milking cows directly into outstretched cups of delicious Nicaraguan coffee followed by tortilla making (photos to follow once I find my lead) and then onto the building site where we worked under the careful eye of the legendary Don Antonio - gold tooth capped cowboy hat wearing foreman-priest. Raleigh managed to build the 8 x5 building up to about 5 foot, after which Don Antonio erected some very precarious scaffolding and limited us to mixing cement and passing the breeze blocks. I have probably inhaled more cement dust than is strictly healthy, and also burnt a layer of skin off my hands in trying to make a piggy piniata with lime instead of flour (a piniata is a hollow toy filled with sweets that you hang from a tree, and then get blindfolded children to try to whack open with sticks).

Evenings were spent washing out of buckets in the wash area under the mango tree where hummingbirds would suck nectar from flowers, trying not to step on the pigs, chickens or dogs that would wander about looking for food. We found that card games were a fantastic way of communicating together, and were the moments I relished the most, along with the times I was allowed to have a third cup of coffee in a row.

The day that I was sick and fainted, I couldn't have been looked after better, with all my Nicaraguan family (10 people), coming into the grain storage hut that was our home, with concoctions of soothing teas they had made from bits of plant and twig from the garden. Their knowledge of the medicinal value of plants and herbs is second to none, maybe as their grandmother was a herbalist and managed to cure people from miles around using the tools that nature provides. Food was basic, but they are incredibly resourceful and I saw how you can make tacos, burritos, nachos and tortillas all from the same thing, it just depends how you cook it.

We were given a talk by the leader of El Foro, the co-operative group that manage the farming produce that the villagers of Las Lagunetas provide, in which they told us heart breaking accounts of their experiences in the Contra War, of family members kidnaped and tortured, of how all the little boys had to be dressed as girls to stop them from being taken by rebels and forced to fight, of how people would have barrels of petrol tied around their necks and set fire to in the streets, of how you could be kidnapped at any time to fight for either side, potentially having to kill your friends and neighbours. And all this time, with the flicker of candle light creating a calm orange hue against their faces, they smile as they speak, not just with their mouths, but in their eyes. Because in telling us their stories, and showing how they have survived, perhaps they dont want to scare us, and perhaps they are ridding themselves of their demons.

We didn't complete the community centre in Las Lagunetas, partly because Don Antonio was not convinced of our bricklaying skills, but mainly because we were there throughout Semana Santa and had to take 4 days off work (giving us a total of 12 days to build the community centre). But, this almost didn't matter, as the community wanted us there to share ourselves with them- how we work, what makes us tick, how often we laugh and mess about. It was testament to how well we integrated with the community, that every single person came to see us off when we left, and there was not one dry eye in sight. The venturers all totally overwhelmed by the impact they had had on people as well as the impact the people had had on them. Don Antonio gave a small speech at our farewell party (again, photos will go up), where he said he had learnt a great deal about us, and how he loved the fact that we relied so much on team work. Whilst in Nicaragua, one man can pave an entire road, he said he'll never forget the 13 of us lining up to pass buckets of cement and bricks to each other, all covered in dirt, laughing and joking, and getting the job done quickly.

SO, that is that, and I feel I have gained from Nicaragua in particular, exactly what I have missed for ten years about Zimbabwe. Except this time, I will keep in touch with the people I have met, and I will be back. Whilst Costa Rica is the tropical paradise filled with amazing birds and wildlife, Nicaragua may not be so beautiful, but it's mountains tell a thousand stories, and that is where the intrigue lies for me.

Only 4 days til Hugo gets here, and so route planning for our three weeks together has begun in earnest. I can't quite believe it is coming to such an abrupt end, and I am so excited about the rest of my life! I have managed to use this time to discover exactly what it is I want to do, and how I want to do it. And I am very grateful that Raleigh has allowed me to do that.

Definitely recommended for anyone else in a late twenties crisis!