Page 89 - Wish Stream Year of 2019

the way to the airport, São Roque proved to be a very popular spot for Surfing and Surf Kayaking; the atmosphere was palpable. It was raining and cold all day, but that did not stop the group from having a good day surfing. Officer Cadets were able to put all the skills they had learnt over the course of the past few days to good effect. Eve- ryone caught multiple waves of varying difficulty.
Sadly, as with all good things, our time in Portu- gal had to come to an end. We packed our kit away, had dinner and boarded our plane back to the cold British winter. Over the course of the week, our group was able to further develop our physical robustness and rigour, practice individual initiatives and leadership, and test our resilience and confidence under the varying conditions that the ocean threw at us. The train- ing value gained from our time on the ocean will continue to help us as we develop through the Senior Term of Sandhurst, as well as in our wider careers in future.
Exercise TREPADOR CADER
It’s 0500hrs and the adrenaline is already beginning to kick in. In 5 hours, myself and six other Officer Cadets will be in Costa Del
Sol climbing some of the most beautiful rock faces in Europe. Bags are packed, equipment has been checked over twice and all OCdts are present – phew, we’re on our way. The group is fortunate enough to all know each other well as we’re in the same platoon, meaning there are no new beginnings, just familiar faces. Fast forward 5 hours, past the mundane baggage check ins, car rental, queuing for flights and waiting for lug- gage and we’re breathing in warm Spanish air.
OCdt Champion and OCdt Kent
It’s a contrast to the English winter we’ve been accustomed to, but entirely welcomed.
We check in at our accommodation and imme- diately head for the closest wall to the hostel. Food and drink can wait, we’re here to climb and that takes precedent. We estimate that we have roughly 4 hours of climbing time, which is enough to tackle some beginner climbs. Ali and I are the instructors for this expedition after gain- ing our Rock-Climbing Supervisor qualification at the end of Junior Term, allowing us to freely plan the programme to develop our climbers.
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