What an epic 1st day we have had ! We waved the teams off from 8am this morning, with minor adjustments to kit being left, packed, repacked and shouts of “where’s my neckie !”

Then the obligatory photo shoots… with the frame of course…

Just as we sat down for a quick coffee break before the final two teams departed, 1 lone poorly explorer returned to us … 2 of us nipped back to our wee house to make toast and bring healing supplies….

Once all teams had been released, we headed home, with poorly explorer in tow… a wee sleep was required… Not for us Leaders though!! We had chores… not least 22 scout shirts to be washed… All chores under control, time for a wee break, James & Debs headed to the gym, with Jackie & Eddie holding the fort…

Temperature was rising, sitting at around 35C for most of the day 🌞

As we prepared to set off, phone call came in we had another poorly explorer, so James and Eddie jump to the rescue, this time it hay fever attack, piriton and saline wash and they set off on their merry way again.

We then delivered the poorly explorer 1 back to his group, wished them well and waved them off AGAIN!! We then escaped off to Braşov for lunch and a little leader down time only to get another call about another poorly explorer. We threw our lunch down our throats and headed off to see them to see what the issue was….this time it was a little too much heat. Cold compress administered and more water we sent them off in two taxis to their accommodation.

Next on our to do list was a visit to the other group in Braşov and check up on sick explorer no 1 and glad to say his sleep had helped him – so all was well. We then drove to see sick explorer no 2 and 3 at the hostel only to be greeted by some disgruntled explorers that their original room was changed but after James had a ‘word’ on the phone with the owner they got a better room. The accommodation was quite far from the centre so James took them to pick up dinner and supplies, however on the drive back he hit the kerb and made a ‘small’ hole in the tyre which was changed with the help of a friendly Romanian, something akin to an F1 pit stop, but on a WV Golf….

Day over? Not even close, we left Braşov to go to Bran to catch up with the other 3 groups and to see Aaron on his 21st birthday. Glad to say no issues to deal with here. So we all headed off for a birthday dinner. Leaving Bran we came back to the house – a nice 15 hour day today. Holiday? Holiday? I don’t think so lol!

We are not even going to try and compete with Blog O’clock, we are not that witty and we have faces for radio not Facebook 😂

23.34 and the washing machine is still going, day in the life of the leadership team! Exhausted.com

After meeting the troops for breakfast, we jumped in a taxi and headed into Braşov to pick up our car and the camping stoves & gas. After a couple of circuits of the centre of town and a return to the camping store, we headed back to Râşnov.

After a 3.5 hour flight and a 2 hour transfer we have arrived safely in Rasnov.

Had a lovely dinner at the Max International Hotel, thanks to the 4 drivers for the smooth transfer and Ana for all her help and support during the weeks and months before arriving in Rasnov also to her mum for the help on arrival.

Final preparations tomorrow before the young people head off on their Explorer Belt.

Best of luck to everyone.

One more sleep until our adventure begins Romania 2019, the last 14 months have flown by and now we are ready to go. Leadership team are looking forward to welcoming everyone in the morning. #16 days #explorerbelt #scouting #fun # teambuilding

Transylvania is a historical region which is located in central Romania. Bound on the east and south by its natural borders, the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended westward to the Apuseni Mountains. The term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also parts of the historical regions of Crișana and Maramureș, and occasionally the Romanian part of Banat. The region of Transylvania is known for the scenery of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history. It also contains major cities such as Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Sibiu, Târgu Mureș, and Bistrița. The Western world commonly associates Transylvania with vampires, because of the influence of Bram Stoker‘s novel Dracula and its many film adaptations.

Had a look at the weather for the start of the Explorer Belt and it looks like it is going to be nice and sunny for the majority of the time with nice warm temperatures so remember your sun cream!!!!

Not long to go!!!

I am not sure how we got here but it is now 7 days until we leave for Romania!! All the months of planning and training are complete and we are now on the final countdown until the flight on Sunday 30th June. The paperwork has been signed off by Scottish Headquarters and the Ambassador is ready to host the reception on the final night – so we are good to go!!!