It's raining....... Hallelujah!!!!!

I know back in England, Ireland and Europe, the sound of rain has been a little too constant of late, here in India however, that very sound has not been heard since January.  So you can imagine our surprise and delight to wake to the patter of rain on the roof this morning!

The rain has not been restricted to Fieldbase, all six of our groups have had their first taste of what it is like to be here during monsoon and I am quietly confident all 6 groups are pretty pleased that rain is unlikely to be an everyday occurence.

A quick swoop around the groups -

Charlie 2 has settled in nicely to life in Kudimery where they are busily preparing their 4 allocated houses for some major makeovers.  This super keen group have already formed their own jogging club and have planned a number of 'educational' days out.  These crazy kids are also having some pretty interesting conversations.  Wells and where in fact the water comes from being the highlight so far.  Kripa's birthday was celebrated in style and included party games with the local kids - as well as a silent disco - except not everyone had earphones so they used speakers as well - a sort of silent sort of quiet disco shall we say.

The well which is a well not a bore hole because it has a structure or apron if you will

Now we all know that Charlie 4 are not too far from Fieldbase, some of us slightly underestimated just how far they are. In our minds they were 15 kms – in actual fact they are 25kms, a fact that Claire and I discovered this morning when we ran out to drop off their post.  It was a nice idea it just took a little longer then expected, but with the help of our driver (ok we cheated on the last 5 kms but don’t tell the group! ) we made it.

We are supposed to be doing C4 with our hands - it was a struggle for some of us

Charlie 4 with their adoring fans

Charlie 4 have a lovely base at the school, and have really made themselves at home. They were treated like rock stars when they arrived, literally mobbed by the kids and have now begun daily games with them. Although there are some pillars in place, there is a lot of work to be done on the classroom as the roof has been completely removed.  I can’t wait to see the finished product.

Over in Echo 4 they had the chance to put their bachas to the test – the rain test that is! All but two stood up to the task admirably. One fell down and one had no roof - the group were somewhat silent on whose exactly! They have begun de silting the dam in an effort to bring it back to full capacity – rather fitting than the rain has begun.  By all accounts they are delighted by their idyllic surroundings - gosh I wish I was there.

Sam is back for more rock action in Echo 4

Fetching water is a daily chore and 1 km walk to the well - I don't think Echo 4 members will ever take their taps for granted again

Echo 5 are well and truly living the dream – Geoff described it as like a scene from “The Beach”  Sadly no Leo! The group have made good progress on the Elephant Proof Trench which will surround the Anti Poaching Camp– should you ever be asked the dimensions of an Elephant Proof Trench in a pub quiz they are as follows – 3 metres across at the top, 2 metres deep and 1 metre wide at the bottom so that it resembles a wedge of cheese. Digging this by hand is no easy task, we will keep you posted on their progress.  Logs Manager Tom is just back after deploying with the group so we have a couple of cheeky photos for you, as well as a couple taken by Claire earlier in the expedition.

View from the work site - not too shabby!

The ginger menace looking even rosier than normal - sorry Kev we couldn't resist!

The trek in - it's hot out there!

But this makes it worth while

Tango 6 are today enjoying a day of survival skills where they will put their chicken preparing and shelter building skills to the test. The group yesterday climbed Misapulimala, the second highest peak in India outside the Himalayas. I spoke to Lauren last night on comms and she sounded brilliant!!!  Everyone is in top form and quite literally on top of the world - well higher then we are anyway.

No wonder they call Kerala "God's own country"

Tango 7 have completed a couple of long days and will take a rest either tomorrow or the next day. They are fast learning the reputation as the biggest losers in that they have so far managed to lose a tent and their route card. Their spirits remain high however and a fairly spectacular storm on their first night served to bring everybody closer together!

The perotha and chai stop - prepare yourselves you will hear a lot more about the joy of this daily snack!

So that is all folks for another day here in India - at Fieldbase Helen is busily cooking up another project while James is getting his head around logs and Claire continues to edit and take more brilliant photos. 

Trusting that you are all very well - check out the comments section for messages from some of the venturers!