Hola from Venezuela!

Our group has so far hit it off from the moment we met at 5am at Heathrow airport. We quickly bonded over lost luggage, lack of Spanish and “plane-sized sharks” (actually the plane’s shadow on the water – well done Phoebe!). We even managed to get the terrifyingly outnumbered boys to talk to us after taking photos of them sleeping, and blackmailing them by threatening to kidnap their clothes unless they answered 10 questions.

The minute we reached Caracas our adventure was fully underway.  Eventually battling through the maze of Venezuelans and escaping from the clutches of never-ending escalators. This coupled with 24 hours traveling and exhaustion ended with hysteria, dominos and weird tasting pear juice whilst sleeping on the airport floor – better than it sounds I promise. We eventually arrived safely and exhausted to  Jakera Lodge, where we were all looking forward to a goodnights sleep in a bed, only to be told we had hammocks. Bummer! In actual fact hammocks are comfier than they sound once you’ve found the right position!

Jamie was in fact so exhausted that he wandered into a room with eight of us girls, although he assures us that this is of course
only for the fans. However, karma prevails, and he is now having to cope with extremely girly conversations, and coming from an all boys  school this has been a large adjustment. He is now an expert in waxing, hair dye and make up. In the other room, our sleep is  regularly disrupted by the hysterical dog, which is having a mental  pregnancy but no actual puppies and so enjoys barking at 3am. There  are also phantom roosters which Haynes assures us he can hear but all  we can hear is him cursing in the middle of the night and refusing to go to church. Strange boy..

We spent out first weekend at the beach, getting sun burnt and showing off our amazing volleyball skills – not. Of course we all know how difficult it is to play with sand between our toes. The boys prepare for their sunning session with the “sun cream circle” – a very feminine event (note: don’t let Ollie sun cream your back, he doesn’t believe in rubbing it in). On Sunday we celebrated Jamie’s birthday in a decorated Jakera Lodge, after a day of art attack, and making Jamie stand outside in the sun to make sure it was all a ‘surprise’. The evening was spent playing the vegetable game, which included convincing impressions of mushrooms, sweet corn and asparagus. (Photos to come!)

We are starting to get fit for Roraima, which means getting up at 6am (this is optional, with Will and Lex opting for the lie-in), and hiking up a near vertical trail with loose rocks. Monday and Tuesday was spent having Kayak lessons, with mixed success. Our project leader Joe was convinced that Amy and Gill had extremely poor technique due to the zigzag route they took to La Picina, turns out the boys had the same problem with the same kayak. Just for the record, Joe managed to capsize as well. Both of these activities were led by Harrison from the Aricona tribe, loosely translated to ‘exterminators’, although he is one of
the friendliest exterminators we have ever met. He also has the most amazing herbal essences hair flick, which all the girls, especially Jude, are desperate to emulate.

Over the past few days we have been assigned roles and started the new project, marine and beach conservation in the Mochima National Park. We are all excited about the difference it will make, and we will give you regular updates when we have done a bit more. We have also started Spanish lessons, much to the amusement of the local shop keepers. We have just about mastered buying bread and saying the alphabet – fingers crossed we improve! Phoebe even questioned what no was in Spanish, yet another blonde comment to add to the girls list. We also explained to Jude that you know when the sun has gone down because funnily enough its dark? Goooooood.

All of the team are loving Venezuela and we could’t be happier with the group. Most of the six weekers are thinking of extending to ten, sorry about that parents. Watch this space and we’ll keep you up to date.

Ciao for now, adios amigos!