53rd St Barnabas Scout Group
Roverway Netherlands 2018.
Roverway 2018 Nertherlands.
On the 23rd July 15 Members from the 53rd took part in the Roverway Explorer Camp that was held in the Netherlands together with four thousand
other explorers from Europe. Pictured Left is the 53rd Participants at the main campsite in Zeewolde. Our Explorers enjoyed five days on Paths
across Holland and 5 days at the main campsite in Zeewolde. They also had a chance to explorer the cities of Hague and Amsterdam. On the
paths the 53rd was split into three groups:
Lim 1 Path 039 Patrol Leader was Nafsika, and patrol members Stephanie V, Anastasia and Eleni.
Lim 2 Patrol Leader Antreas and patrol members Bridget, Melissa, Mac and Michalis K.
Lim 3 Path 020 Patrol Leader Skip with patrol members Elin, Ioanna, Kimon, Vassiliki and Max.
Lim 3 Path 020 Sunday - Monday 22-23/07/18
We met at the district building at 23:00 on Sunday 22/7. We got into the bus and headed to the airport. The plane was late so
instead of flying at 04:10, we flew at 05:00. Finally, we arrived in Amsterdam at around ten o’clock Cyprus time.Then, we reached
the campsite by bus. First thing we had to do there was to register and go to the beach which is where we slept at night. At 17:00
we had dinner and at 19:30 the opening ceremony begun. We jumped into the spirit of Roverway with listening to inspiring
speeches from the organisations and rovers from different countries, music from the riverbank and the raising of the flags of all
the contingents that were taking part in Roverway 2018. No matter of how exhausted we were, we couldn’t hesitate to dance to
the beat. Sadly, the Rover party had to come to an end. Everyone got back to their tents at 01:00 excited for the upcoming
adventure.  By Ioanna

Tuesday 24/07/18: By 6 o’clock in the morning we were packing our stuff and taking down our tents. We had to be at the bus
station with our path to travel to our paths campsite by 8:00. After not a very long ride we arrived at the campsite which was a
scout hut. The path leaders gave us cool drinks as a warm welcome to their scout hut and then they told us that we are free to
check the place for a few minutes. It was a fine building with enough space to play games and it was creatively decorated by their
scouts. As no one knew each other we decided to play a game to introduce ourselves. In addition, the Italian ventures were
playing guitar and singing so we joined them. It is obvious that music brings people together especially at camps.The first day of
our path ended by a campfire where surprisingly we did not sing any songs however we played another game that included
cards that wrote adjectives that described ourselves.  It was a day full of games and new friends that left me with excitement and
curiosity for the next day. By Ioanna

Wednesday 25/07/18: Today we all woke up bright and early and got ready for our breakfast. After our breakfast we played a fun
game of Strategy where we got split up into two teams. Each one of us had a different card with different points and according to
them when someone from the first team caught someone from the second team or vice-versa they both showed their cards and
depending on what player position you were depends if you kill or die. When we finished the game we had our lunch which was
sandwiches with ham and cheese. Afterwards we got split up into 4 teams and one by one each team went to a windmill and the
rest stayed behind and played traditional Dutch games such as sack walking and pants hanging. At the end of the day we had a
campfire where we all sang songs and at around midnight we all went to bed exhausted. By Vassiliki

Thursday 26/07/18: Waking up from a good nights sleep we were all ready for the busy day ahead. While we had our breakfast
we also prepared our lunch and rushed of to the train station. At 10:00 we caught the train to Gouda and there we had 2 hours of
free time. During our free time we did some geocaching in the area and we found all 3 geocaches, 5 travel bugs and even a geo
coin. Then we once again got split up into 2 groups and we went to the cheese museum where we learned about the process  of
making cheese and we also went to the bakery where we got the chance to make some stroopwafel  ourselves. Afterwards we
all came together to have a tour at St Johns church and the walls consisted of absolutely stunning stain glass windows. Then we
caught the train back to our camp and had our dinner which was pizza. At the end of the day we played some games and went to
bed early for an early morning. By Vassiliki

Friday 27/07/18: We woke up at 8:00 to have breakfast. The first activity of the day was to go to a near by market and then a
shopping centre. We left the campsite at 9:00. From the campsite we walked around for 10 min to get to the shopping centre. On
arriving we were extremely happy due to there being air conditioning, so we were able to get away from the heat. The shopping
centre was quite small, however we made the most of our time there. We went to Teo’s cheese shop (the cheese specialist) we
bought a 3D puzzle of a windmill from a toy store. In addition, Kimon tried his first sip of Rivella of which he did not enjoy. At 11:30
we had left the shopping centre to come back to camp. On our arrival at camp, to our surprise a bouncy obstacle course had put
up. At 12:00 we had sandwiches for lunch. After lunch we had a pioneering project. We had to build a slide into the river. The
project was a success and great fun. After, we used a barge to get across the river to find a geocache. After the geocaching we
played on the bouncy obstacle course. After our fun in the sun, we ate and got ready to go to the lowest point in the Netherlands. It
was a 30 min walk through a small village surrounded by canals and goats. The lowest point of the Netherlands was 6.71m
bellow sea level. This was showed by a big ruler in the centre of a park. Then we journeyed back to camp and called it a day. By
Kimon

Saturday 28/07/18: Waking you was fun and exciting, well for Kimon it was because of the joys of waking up by Max with a pillow
to the face. We at breakfast. After breakfast we had free time until lunch. After lunch we played a game called “stand up if…” This
game is where the narrator asks a question and if the question applies to you, you stand up. After the game we started preparing
for dinner. Tonight was the last dinner we were going to have on the path, so the path leaders thought all the countries could
prepare a dish. So we did tzantziki and pita bread with halloumi. The Spanish made tortia with potato and onions and chorico
sausage. The scouts from th UK made pigs in blankets. The Portuguese grilled some meat on the braai. There was music,
drinks and food. A perfect way to end our journey in Nieuwerkerk. By Kimon.
Lim1 Path 039.
After leaving the Hague, we took a 3 hour bus ride down to Limburg where we came to our 3 Path Leaders’, David, Emile and Lieke’
s, very own scout hut. The first day was quite a chilled day as it was a half day, so we just set up the are with our tents, played
games to get to know one another with the other contingents that were on the path with us, and finished off with a game of capture
the flag in a beautiful forest that was near by. The next day we woke up, fairly early and began our 2 day hike! We walked for what
seemed like an endless amount of hours until we reached a stable where we would camp for the night. Unfortunately or fortunately
the weather then took a sudden turn, and it began pouring with rain, so it was quite an interesting night  sleeping outside. Day 3 we
set back for our campsite, and took a stop at the Netherlands American Cemetery, where they had such stunning quotes
commemorating all 8,231 soldiers. This was then followed by a visit to the Limburg caves, which was quite a treat, as it was 32
degrees and we were hot and bothered from hiking so long, so when we went down into the caves, the temperature dropped to 10
degrees, so it was a bit of free air conditioning for us. This day then ended with us, catching several public buses squeezing in 50
people, then showering because we absolutely stank! And watching classic movies such a pulp fiction at our outdoor cinema. For
the next day, we got to Canoe along the River Maas, and even crossed the border to Belgium, which was quite unusual, this day
then continued to be unusual with a spontaneous campfire disco, where we played music through the speaker, got out all our
sweets, like Cyprus delights, and danced all night. Our final full day, was spent at the city center of Maastricht, where we got to
explore the city, see the St.John Cathedral and do a bit of shopping before we ended our path we laser tag and a campfire. It was a
fun path, we mad a lot of memories and discovered more of the South than most can imagine! By Eleni.
Lim 2 To be updated.
Main Camp Zeewolde. 29/07 - 2/08
On the morning of the 29th , we woke up bright and early to back up our tents and clean the scout hut that had been our home for the past five days during the
path. We were all a bit sad that that chapter of the Roverway had come to an end, but still excited and intrigued of the journey we still had ahead of us at the
main camp at Zeewolde. With one bus journey, we arrived at the main camp and we were directed to the area our path group was camping. We set up our
tents and headed of to explore the area during our free time before the opening ceremony.  The opening ceremony was the perfect introduction to the rest of
the camp. We celebrated everyone being back together with new experiences and friends with music, dancing and of course, the Roverband.

During the four days we had at main camp there was an endless amount of activities to do during our free time. To start of there was a Polish, German, Swiss
and Italian food house which offered traditional food from those countries and it was just really nice to take some time out from the busy Roverway life and go
there and relax. There was also the rainbow café and the music wall with a piano for anyone to play and cushions for the same purpose. The KISC tent which
had activities like the KISC challenge were you do find scouts who fit different descriptions like sharing your birth month. Something that shows how special
these types of scout trips are is the fact that one of the pinkies at the KISC tent was Nathan which is a scout the 53rd has met both as a participant in the Japan
jamboree and as a pinkie in Switzerland and now again in Roverway. There was also an escape room, which was very impressive but very challenging with 7
different rooms. During the day when the heat wave was unbearable we could go to the lake and swim. The nightlife at the camp was so fun with a silent
disco, party at the German house and karaoke at the rainbow café. The karaoke was lively with so many people gathered, singing songs like bohemian
rhapsody and dancing queen.

From the 30th to the 31st we did the activity fields. These were different areas that offered different types of activities. One had activities like playing games with
other scouts and crafting were some of us made woggles. Another activity field offered sea activities like kayaking and sailing in the lake. We also got the
chance to cycle to Zeewolde through the woods, which was really fun, but instead of going to the activity field we decided to explore the city which allowed us to
see even more of the Netherlands.

On our last night it was time to start saying goodbye to our new friends and the Roverway life. We signed each others neckers, T-shirts and picture frames
which the path leaders gave to us, leaving us with lovely souvenirs to remember each other with. And then it was of to the concert with everyone to celebrate
our time at Roverway and it all coming to an end. It was very bitter sweet but amazing with the same DJ from the first night of Roverway.

On the 2nd we woke up early to once again pack up our tents and gear but this time we had to say goodbye to our path group, which at that point, we had
become a family in a sense. Reluctantly we headed of to the closing ceremony were the Roverway came to an end. After we went to the buses, which started
every ones journey home to our daily lives but with shared memories and experiences. Luckily for us we still had a bit of an adventure left to go in the
Netherlands over the next two days exploring the Hague and Amsterdam. By Elin
     
On the way back to Cyprus we also visited
Belgrade in Serbia.