Of course, the kilt had to be donned for this occasion and it didn't take long for everybody to know the truth about what us Scotsmen wear under our kilts. It was a wild atmosphere. It was the first time, and last, the whole expedition was having a party together. What more, the beer was free.
After some sketches from all the project groups, what went on for a while, there was some serious drinking done. Needless to say it was chucking it down and we were outdoors in a huge marquee. The band was crap but everybody danced anyway. The usual "Raleigh Party" games were played and of course nobody got naked!
Today's attraction was a trip to Belize Zoo. I went back to FB to get a few things sorted.
This was the last day of the expedition. The day and night seemed to drag out. The vs flying straight back were being picked up at 1am so for a lot of people there was no point going to bed. All the beer had been drunk the day before but most of the vs Rum was saved and an impromptu party was had waiting for the buses.
In the morning the last and final task of the expedition was to clear up Camp Oakley. It was quickly done and before we knew it we were on a bus to Belize City. Some vs got dropped off on the way but the bulk were given their final fairwell in the city centre, if you can call it that.
Then that was it. All the vs gone so the expedition was well and truly over. However, one thing remained, the staff party!
However, unfortunately, the night before I had received some bad news from home and wasn't really in party mode. But, the rest cheered me up and I felt better during the day. It was pretty cool zooming out to the cayes on a snazzy speedboat drinking beers. It turned out to be a brilliant day. As well as some excellent snorkelling, a mass game of beach volleyball was had which was a laugh. If you messed up, you got chucked into the sea. By the time we got to Oasis everybody was knacked! I was armed with one of my "rock" tapes which was a welcome change to the usual reggae that is played in Belize. After the BBQ, some more beers then dancing, most people were spaced out and it wasn't one of our latest nights.
San Pedro is basically a tourist resort and has all the normal touristy things like restaurants and nightclubs. It's also the prime spot for diving Belize's Outer Reef which most of us were planning to do.
As well as restaurants San Pedro also had a laundrette and a hairdresser so first priority for me was to get my ultra smelly clothes washed and a haircut. Even after using the FB washing machine one's clothes still needed washed! The FB washing machine had given up the ghost a long time ago. As for my hair!
It was good to get all cleaned up and have a proper bed for a change!
One of the main dives in Belize is the "Blue Hole", a 42m straight down job. There were stalligmites and the such at the bottom. Everybody was game to do it. So was I but I needed a practice dive first. It was some 15 months since my last.
The practice dive ended up being a bit more adventurous than I would have liked. It was 30m and following some underwater canyons. Great scenery but pretty scary! We also went through a small tunnel. Anyway, it got my confidence back and I was all set for the Blue Hole on Saturday.
The Blue Hole tomorrow so it was a fairly quiet night.
There were 8 of us from Raleigh and we were all physched up. What more we had all stayed sober the night before. So, when the Divemaster told us it was off due to rough seas, we were gobsmacked. We were all leaving San Pedro after the dive and some of us were going on to do Victoria Peak so this was our best chance. Very disappointing.
Walked back to the hotel and crashed out. Spent the rest of the day mulling around until we all got the boat to Caye Caulker. There was a music festival there. The following day I was heading back to FB to start Victoria Peak.
A wild party was had at Caye Caulker!
Got to FB at noon and there was panic. We were supposed to have been at Victoria Peak by 9am. Oops! It was a quick kit change from snorkel mask and sandals back to mossie nets and boots. Piled in the landrover and we were off.
Got to the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Reserve where Vic Peak was and it was really beautifull. This was the first time I had seen this part of Belize and was the sort of terrain I had expected, i.e., not totally flat! The mountains, although not high, were steep and covered in jungle. Quite impressive.
I was still feeling a bit rough and I was really disappointed when we were told we couldn't start walking until tomorrow. Crashed out for the rest of the day. Slept like a log at night.
Our guide arrived and put us in the picture - 23km away and very much up and down. We set off straight away at a storming pace. There were eight of us, three ex-vs, a dive staff member, two FB staff and Jeff, the Logistics Manager who was full-time with Raleigh. Hence the reason we got to use Raleigh's landrover and rations. You also have to apply two weeks in advance to attempt Vic Peak so that was all done through Raleigh as well.
The first 10kms went well. Then it got slow. John, one of the vs, was feeling dizzy. Helen, FB Staff, was finding it hard as well. I took most of John's kit in my rucksack and we carried on, at a snail's pace. We started doing 2km/hr then 1km/hr. Our target was 19km. There we would set up a base camp and do the peak the following day.
We made it to about 18.5km before we called it a day and set up camp. John was wasted and Helen was exhuasted. We were still close enough to reach the peak the next day.
The guide started indicating that we might not make it. I was worried. I really wanted to make the summit. Catherine, the other FB Staff dropped out. She had quietly tired herself out the day before and did not want to go farther. We left her at a safe spot at a stream and headed on. Progress was still slow. It was clear that at this pace we were not going to make it. We got to the foot of a gully at about 700m and Helen decided to stop along with one of the vs. Down to five now!
It was still looking dodgy so I told the guide to go fast so that we would make it. He took off up the gully. We followed on. The climb quickly turned into a scramble which then started becoming quite exposed. I was loving it. A few of the others weren't and were talking of packing it in. Eventually after a few very exposed bits, one did. Down to four.
The rest of us carried on up to the summit. The final accent was fantastic, the views amazing, and I had a notch in my stomach when we reached the top. We could only spend a short time up there but it was worth it. It was quite a small mountain, 1117m, and the scrambling wasn't that difficult, but the whole trip and getting there made it one of the toughest mountains I've ever climbed.
The descent was tricky but it was all home now. It was 1pm and looking like we would be walking in the dark. Not again! So, it was head down and back to camp.
We got back quicker and in the light. There were a lot of tired people around and some disappointed that they were so close to the summit. However, after getting into dry clothes and some hot food, everybody was in high spirits.
For me, the end of the beginning.
I'll soon be updating this web page with more of my travels. Watch this space.