Mangrove Madness

Maybe one day you were wandering along the path and suddenly heard raucous singing in an unintelligible foreign language, or maybe you were walking and suddenly you had to dodge a bunch of male Scouts dressed as witches prancing around. If that has happened to you, then chances are you were in Mangrove.

As all of its inhabitants know or are coming to realise, Mangrove is one of the craziest places you will ever encounter. As someone once said “The sub camps are supposed to serve as a microcosm for the entire Jamboree” and this is especially true in Mangrove. With over 40 troops speaking more than a dozen languages, Mangrove is truly an international place.

When you enter the sub camp, you will see the sub camp HQ on your left and the showers on the right, followed immediately by the stage and impromptu football pitch. After this you enter the heart of the camp, whose eccentricities include a gigantic replica of the Eiffel tower, erected by a French troop, a small tower-castle created by a group of Hungarian Scouts and numerous other ambitious and ostentatious shows of pioneering skills.

While you are there you should definitely swing by either of the Dutch sites to take a picture of their gigantic wooden ducks or the Swiss, to see their two metre long wooden feet. Also noteworthy are the Japanese with their highly decorated fish-shaped wind socks.

The last thing you should do before you leave is to visit the troops from Puerto Rico and from Dorset. The Puerto Rican troop is actually made up of Scouts from Puerto Rico, The Netherlands, Germany, and the U.K. and is known for constantly yelling at all hours of the day or spontaneously breaking out into song. The troop from Dorset is one of the most spirited troops in the entire sub camp, constantly running around or doing something extremely original, just for the sake of being able to do it. For example, one day one of the troop’s members even painted himself entirely red just because he could.

So in conclusion, if you don’t have anything to do and you’re bored, or just looking to have a good time after your activities have finished, head on over to Mangrove Subcamp in the Tropical Region and you won’t be disappointed.