On Monday evening we had a very busy time packing and preparing all of our resources for camp. It was a little challenging to cut out 30 pom pom rings when you only have one pair of scissors and a penknife, but we persevered and did quite well. 253 Foreshaw Street was a hive of activity and we worked until very late. We were however aided by sweets bought in the UK and some up beat music. Packing our kit bags also took some time because we decided to pack one bag between two. Eventually we squeezed everything in that we thought we might use on camp and so we could go to bed.
In the morning we had a quick breakfast and double checked we had everything again. Our preparations were slightly interrupted by some birds that decided that they preferred being in the house as opposed to outside of the house. After a little bit of chasing (involving Miriam falling of a chair), and a lot of coaxing, the birds finally flew out of the window and we were able to leave.
We had 3 taxis to take us to Girlguiding HQ because of the small mountain of bags that we had to take with us. When we arrived we were greeted by 17 Guides eager and waiting (a very good sign), but no bus and no Chief Commissioner. We waited around for about half an hour and used our time wisely by taking more team photos. Then the bus arrived and we were able to start packing it. This was a challenge to say the least because the bus was very very small!!! Amelia however did an amazing job and was very creative in where she put the various bags, mats, cooking pots, food and bottles of water that we needed to take with us. And to top it all of, she only used up four seats in doing so :D
We arrived to the most beautiful camp site. We were in a part of the rainforest that had been cleared to make an eco camping area. There were palm trees with parrots roosting in them and the black water creek was absolutely stunning! After quickly unpacking the bus we started pitching tents. Unfortunately it decided to absolutely tip it down with rain half way through proceedings. It was the worst possible timing as the tents were half up and there were bags everywhere. We did a lot of relay running back and forth to the toilet block- the closest place of shelter- and we just had to wait for about 40 minutes until the rain stopped. We had to keep reminding ourselves that we were in the rainforest, hence the rain :D
After the rain we finished tent pitching and setting up the kitchen area. The girls did really well because the conditions were definitely not ideal and many of the tents had the wrong poles and very few pegs. By the time this was all done it was 5 o'clock and time for our very late packed lunches. This was welcome break for the team because we were all rather hot, wet and hungry. An orientation walk, getting to know you activities and several games of punch catch rounded off the afternoon. We had roti and curry for tea- a definite team favourite and it was lovely to sit and chat with the young leaders and Guides. However, the bugs were super annoying and it was a very dark experience because very few of the girls had bough torches and the Guyana leadership team had forgotten lamps. The UK GOLD team were put to good use by lighting up the meal table with the many torches that they had bought with them.
After tea we played a really fun game of sardines in the dark. The girls seemed to be having a lot of fun by the noise they were making. However this is not always useful when you are trying to hide from other people!
The girls were pretty good at bed time considering it was the first night and we were just glad of a lie down. Unfortunately our tents are not incredibly waterproof and we had a bit of a damp night.
Wednesday morning brought a beautiful sunrise which Bec and Miriam enjoyed greatly- they got up early to help out in the kitchen. breakfast was a Guyanese egg dish; rather like scrambled egg but with celery, onion and spices in it. We all really enjoyed it. It got hot very quickly but we had to help the girls with their duties because they did not really know what they were doing. Amelia, Bec and Miriam did bog squad and had a real laugh doing it with the Guides, singing and dancing around with mops. Next came splitting the pack up into two patrols and coming up with a camp charter. Whilst they were all busying themselves with this, we decided to erect a flag pole. This was slightly easier said than done because all of the trees were quite tall or very spiky, but Bec and Clare did a super job and we were able to have flag break. The girls did some lovely reflections on camp so far which really put us all in a good frame of mind for the rest of the day.
Next, one of the eco site guides took us on a nature walk around the site. We saw parrots and monkeys, iguanas and tarantulas. It was fantastic and the guide was so interesting! After this we played a quick game of Chinese football before starting another wide game which Clare has called "paper pen bank". Basically the girls had to work in small teams to get lots of pieces of paper with a mark in the team colour into the "bank" (a pot). Unfortunately the leaders with the pens, paper and bank kept switching what they had so the girls had to work super hard to get points. It was really fun and hilarious to watch the confusion when we switched what item we had :DNext was the very exciting bit- swimming in the black waters of the creek (natural and not polluted). The girls did lots of jumping and screaming and generally got themselves, and everyone not in the water, very wet. After swimming we did a cook off challenge which one of the young leaders, Saudia, organised. She did a really great job organising the girls and encouraging them to make yummy things on open fires. It was encouraging to see how much effort she put into the activity- a future great leader :)
Before tea the girls did talent show practice and we had to organise something for our own talent. We settled on a X factor style skit in which Clare did some juggling, Miriam pretended to be a banana and the whole team sang a song about pirates. Sounds random? It was, but very fun and entertaining. We even made costumes and had stage names. (Our mascot, Carrie-Ann, had a costume too!)
Thursday was our final full day on camp. There was much excitement because it was Clare's Birthday!!!!! We gave her presents and cards and made a big fuss of her. Unfortunately, Clare's birthday breakfast had to wait for three hours because the bakes we were having (rather like doughnuts, but not so sweet) took 5 hours to make. We snacked on cereal bars and did camp duties and flag break/ reflections while we were waiting. Very productive! However, breakfast was worth waiting for and we ate many many bakes. Some of us skipped the very strong smelling fish- a rather odd combination with the bakes- whilst others of us loved it!The morning activity was another of Clare's super duper awesome market challenge games. The girls spit into patrols and had to complete challenges on the themes of creative, camp craft, physical, nature and Guiding to earn string money. Deborah and Jess manned the market stall and judged each task that the girls completed whilst the rest of us made a team and did the challenges to give the girls some ideas. Many of them made us look very silly but we danced, acted and sang our way through the morning. One of our favourite challenges was making animals out of our bodies. The giraffe and zebra were truly inspired.
After lunch it rained again, but we were prepared with a wet weather activity of making pom poms. They all looked super and very bright when they were finished. Then it was time for more swimming. All of us went in and played a giant game of piggy in the middle. We left the water slightly early because we needed to prepare things for Clare's birthday celebrations. We all enjoyed the showering experience; they were open roofed and so you could see parrots and palm trees whilst showering. Rather like a Herbal Essences advert!Bec and Miriam put candles in the cake we had bought for Clare whilst Amelia, Jess and Deborah distracted her. It was then a really good surprise when we pounced and sang happy birthday really loudly :D After lots of tasty birthday treats it was pretty much time for tea- Guyanese fish and chips. This consisted of spicy fish with plantain chips, which were very salty but yummy.
Thursday's definite highlight was the camp fire. Our wood was very wet but Erin came to rescue with a huge bottle of kerosene. Do not try this method at home! We sang and sang until we were all hoarse and we got very hot by the fire. It wad too hot to toast marshmallow :( but we promised all of the girls that if they went to bed well we would do this in the morning.
This morning we were up early to strike camp. The rain clouds looked quite threatening so we did this quickly. After more fish and bakes for breakfast, we helped the girls finish off their plate bags. They look fantastic and they are really proud of them. We also had the promised marshmallows and we even managed to make smores. Camp duties and clearing up took up the rest of the morning but we played some games to break the boring bits up.The bus arrived slightly later than expected but we packed it quickly and left the beautiful camp site behind us. This made us all feel quite sad because it means our GOLD project is almost over :(
Once back in Georgetown, Deborah discovered a large butterfly on her back and there was much excitement over this. Deborah and Amelia then went off to pick up our Guyanese leader shirts (they look fab) and more water. They also bought us juice. The rest of the team took all of the kit back to Foreshaw Street and we regrouped by eating fresh bread made by Eileen and juice.
Now we are gradually sorting our lives out a bit and tonight we are going to have Roti Hut meal.
Wow, that was long! I hope you all enjoyed hearing about camp. We all had a great time!
Team Guyana
xxxxxx
Loving the photos, you seem to have a really good camp, although a little wet. J xx
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