09J have left the building!

Alison our PRO Officer deployed yesterday to go trekking with Tango 7 for a few days so I‘m very excited as the other half of the Comms team to get to be guest blogger for the day!

After a long day and night spent counting, packing and repacking we finally waved off the Venturers at the crack of dawn yesterday. 

James and Shamnad (Tango 6)

Charlie 1 leaving for Multimoola

Echo 4 and 5 both made it safely to Bandipur National Park and trekked in with their kit to their separate camps.  Echo 5 had the added excitement of seeing elephants on their way to their project site.  They have now set up all their bamboo bashers and have made it through their first night safely despite hearing some unidentified jungle noises.  Echo 4 however woke up to the realisation that they had left their porridge supplies at fieldbase.  That is of course unless the bears in the forest didn’t find it in the night!

Elsewhere, Charlie 1, who also saw elephants on their journey, reached Multilmoola to be greeted by the villagers who presented them with traditional jasmine garlands.  Although shy at first the local children are now loving having new friends to play with.
 

Tango 6 and 7, who had the longest journeys down to Kerala, reached Thrissu and Udumalpetti respectively where they spent their last night for some time under a roof.  Both groups reached the start of their adventure challenges earlier today.  Tango 6 start in Nerimangalam with the challenge of building rafts that will carry them down the Periyar River, while Tango 7 will start at Silent Valley, bracing themselves for the second highest summit outside of the Himalayas.

Here at fieldbase we are somewhat lost without the rest of our family.  It’s eerily quiet but we’re looking forward to speaking to the groups every day and finding out their news and progress.  We’ll be passing on your messages to them as we receive them, and posting messages onto the blog from the groups.  I can’t stress how much the messages and words of encouragement from home mean to everyone here so do please keep them coming.

Alison and I between us are lucky enough to be getting the opportunity to spend some time with all of the groups during this first phase to get photographs for the blog and the expedition magazine.  We will post some of the shots at the first opportunity so that you can see the stunning environments and truly amazing places the groups are living and working in.  We’re aware that not everyone has been in a photo on the blog yet but we’ll do our best to capture everyone as the expedition progresses so do please keep checking back.

Tomorrow I am going out to see Charlie 1 in Multilmoola to join in the local celebrations for Diwali, the festival of light, and then will be continuing on to see the Echo 4 and 5 in the forest and hopefully spend my first night in a basher!  Alison will also be returning from trekking in Kerala so we will have lots to report on and show you next time.   

Ali (aka Moycey)