Our rainforest experience

Difficult to know where to begin. As I said at the outset, the accommodation was basic but pretty much what we expected. We were in a dorm with 6 bunks - although luckily one was unoccupied and in recognition of my elderly state I was allowed one of the bottom bunks. The mattresses were a little on the thin side but we were generally in bed early and up most days by 5.00 am or earlier. The food was plain but ok - the amount of salsa, ketchup or soy sauce used at a meal was a good indication of how well - or not - the camp duty team had done.

The biggest challenge was probably the communal living part - being in close and continuous proximity with 25 - 26 others! While the volunteer group mixed very well and there were no clashes of personalities, it was very different from the last 8 months or so in Ireland when it was just two of us in a fairly remote location. I think that 10 years or more at boarding school taught me a lot about living with others and Linda had similar experiences when she was in the Merchant Navy. Unfortunately many of our group seemed completely oblivious of the other people living in close proximity - particularly for those who may have been sleeping or relaxing!

The group consisted of 4 Americans, 3 Europeans, 3 Colonials, one Costa Rican and 15 Brits. There were only 5 over 30, with the majority being under 25 and three under 20. It meant that conversation was littered with words such as "awesome', 'cool', 'chilled', 'lush' etc, and was all at a volume that was better suited to a parade ground than the living room.

Amongst the characters, we had - in addition to the Essex lady of a certain age referred to previously - a young scandahooligan affectionately referred to as 'boy' - a bit like Cheetah in the Tarzan films; a couple of people seriously commited to conservation; one seriously committed to loud conversation; a young 'good ole boy' from Georgia; a couple of perennial students; a couple who were in their gap years before, during or after their university degree; and a number who seemed to be hiding from the real world having left behind their careers in journalism, construction, engineering etc and looking for something more meaningful. There were some who had clearly worked hard to save the money for the trip and some who were relying on the generosity of others - usually parents.

Despite all these differences, we bonded well as a group - partially as a result of the limited management ability of the Field Coordinator who single-handedly managed to lose the goodwill and support of the volunteer group by the end of week 2. She compounded this by failing to address the problem until the end of week 4.

Most of the difficulties were due to teething problems at the new base and to the management failings which is a pity as I think it showed the organisation in a bad light. I am not sure that I would ever consider this type of trip again - and if I did, I know I would be doing it on my own as Linda has made it clear that she wouldn't be joining me! However, it was an experience that we both enjoyed - even if we are not keen to repeat it anytime soon.