Ruth Carr

Ten things Raleigh taught me

1. People always appreciate chocolate cake

2. Beans stop tasting so good once you've had them for 9 meals in a row (breakfast, lunch and dinner)

3. Spatterpoop is the dutch for...well you can probably guess

4. Night skies and shooting stars are worth getting out of bed for

5. Baby turtles are insanely cute

6  It is impossible to stay awake in a hammock

7. It is possible to survive without beer

8. Making a fool of yourself in front of others is mainly a healthy thing to do

9. You can't be possessive about toothpaste

10. Teenagers are awesome

The whole gang

 

Let's play cards

When was the last time that you played a card game?  I haven't played very much at all since my school days. I'm not sure if everyone had their card playing zenith in their youth or whether it just reflects the poor selection of TV channels during the seventies. One thing about travelling and being in communities without a TV is that you start relying on card games for entertainment again.

A particular favourite here at Raleigh Fieldbase is Monopoly Deal.  Obviously based on the board game it also requires you to build property portfolios and sting your companions for rent.  Of course it gets fiercely competitive, even Raleigh "global citizens" have a ruthless, capitalist streak it seems.  But it's all in good spirit and can be strangely addictive. 

Traditional card games also abound, with the particular challenge of bringing nationalities together.  This results in a half hour discussion before you start establishing the rules, working out which cards will be the wild or trump cards, whether aces are high or low or whatever.  There seems to be as many versions of each game as there are households and it's a job for the UN to bring consensus (and then remember the agreed rules again for next time).

But its way better than the TV for bringing people together and encouraging conversation. I say bring back the card game - Monopoly Deal anyone?  But I warn you, I'm getting pretty damn good...

 

It's my birthday - £2m please!

 

Nicaragua - who knew?

I told most people that I was coming here to Costa Rica - but I hadn't realised how much of this trip would be spent in Nicaragua.  Before I came all I knew was that Nicaragua was maybe a bit poorer and bit less touristy than Costa Rica.  And now for both of those reasons I love it all the more.  It has more character, more authenticity and more charm than I expected. I've driven from beaches to mountains, met people in towns, cities and rural communities and been charmed by them all.