Aldea de los Despiertos

Aldea de los Despiertos ("Village of the Awake") was an area on Volcán Irazú, Costa Rica. Big Boss traveled to this area during the Peace Walker Incident in 1974 to rescue Sandinista child soldier Chico.

History[]

Aldea de los Despiertos was originally a peaceful village of which the occupants were fans of coffee (hence the name). However, the village was eventually captured by the the CIA group Peace Sentinel and, completely against the villagers' will, was transformed into a prison facility. They installed new doors for the huts that were being used as makeshift prison cells, which were given eyeslots as well as a blue color. Some open pipes were also used for makeshift bonfires at night.

Peace Walker Incident[]

Main article: Peace Walker Incident

After Chico was captured by Chrysalis, he was placed within the prison facility-turned village. He eventually gave into the torture by Peace Sentinel's hands, and would likely have been killed had Militaires Sans Frontières commander Naked Snake not rescued him first. After a skirmish with a T-72 Ural main battle tank ruined any chance of Snake entering the tunnel via El Cadalso, Snake returned to the village to take down a barricade that led to an alternate route to the Irazu base. An MSF unit also had to evade reinforcement soldiers before escaping the clearing. The MSF also recruited some Peace Sentinel soldiers as well as stole enemy supplies.

At some point later, the MSF managed to drive out the Peace Sentinel unit occupying the village, and briefly used it for target practice for urban combat training and throwing weapons.^[1]

Snake later returned when KGB agent Vladimir Zadornov escaped from MSF's Mother Base and hid in one of the prison cells. Snake also returned here after Zadornov escaped again in order to get to Mt. Irazu, with Peace Sentinel troops increasing security due to Zadornov's presence.^[2] Zadornov had managed to escape largely because the guard assigned to his cell ended up distracted by Paz Ortega Andrade, Cécile Cosima Caminades, and Amanda Valenciano Libre making meals at the Mess Hall and doing a demonstration, which Kazuhira Miller informed Big Boss with a tinge of jealousy, with Big Boss remarking that the guard "need[ed] a guard."^[3] Unbeknownst to them at the time, Zadornov's escape and the cooking show had been engineered by Paz, who was a Cipher agent, so she could modify Metal Gear ZEKE as part of Cipher's plan to ensure Big Boss returned to them. After finding him inside of one of the makeshift cells, Big Boss retrieved Zadornov, with Zadornov expressing irritation that he slipped up.^[4] MSF later returned to this area again as the starting point after Zadornov escaped for the fifth time. When briefed on Zadornov's fifth escape attempt, Big Boss's suspicions about someone in their ranks deliberately releasing Zadornov were increased and attempted to ask his deputy commander, Miller, if he is sure someone isn't doing so, causing Miller to explain he doesn't have the time to assemble a mole hunt, while being somewhat disturbed by Zadornov's escape attempts.^[5]

Behind the scenes[]

Aldea de los Despiertos is a location that appears in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. It is referred to as "Aldea Los Despiertos" in the Mission Selector and Map screens.

Walkthrough[]

Main Ops[]

Rescue Chico[]

"Miller: Snake, the nukes appear to have left the coastal marshes and reached the mountains around Irazú. But without a guide, it's gonna be tough tracking those things in the mountains. So we need you to infiltrate one of their bases, a prison facility.
Snake: I hope nothing's happened to Amanda's brother...
Miller: I hear ya. There may be other Sandinistas held there, too. To bring them back safely to MSF, use the Fulton Recovery System. As I'm sure you know from experience, it's completely harmless. After all, you won't have time to sit there and convince every single one of 'em to join.
Amanda: One other thing, Snake.
Snake: Amanda...
Amanda: Those CIA bastards confiscated some of the houses in the village. Chico's got to be inside one of them.
Snake: Houses, huh...? How do I tell which ones?
Amanda: When they took over the houses, they installed new front doors for security purposes. The new doors are blue. With peepholes, so you can see what's inside.
Snake: Blue doors. Got it.
You're getting close to the end of the transport route. Good luck, Snake."

―Mission select briefing for "Finding Chico."

Upon arrival at Aldea de los Despiertos, the player has to locate the door that contains Chico. There are five doors total. One of them is empty, another has a guy sleeping as well as chuckling to himself, another has a guy crying for his mother, and one has a guy who is either going to the bathroom or taking a shower. The correct door is indicated when Snake, upon checking, says "Chico? Is that you?" Upon choosing the correct door, it then switches to a cutscene where Snake interacts with Chico. If the player gets any of the doors wrong, interactive bonus points will end up docked for each mistake made.

Pursue the Jungle Train[]

"Miller: Snake, according to Chico, the nuclear materials will be loaded from a train and on to a truck at a rail terminal near the eastern foot of Irazú. If we can't cut 'em off at that terminal, we'll be in a world of hurt. Hurry, Snake!"

―Mission select briefing for "Pursue the Jungle Train"

Destroy the Barricade[]

"Miller: Snake, I've got just the explosive to bust through that barricade - C4. We've finished developing C4 charges. Take some with you."

―Mission select briefing for "Destroy the Barricade"

Zadornov Search 4[]

"Miller: Snake, Zadornov's disappeared again. Get out there and retrieve him!"

―Mission select briefing for "Zadornov Search Mission 4"

Similar to the Rescue Chico mission, the player has to locate the correct door. Just like the Chico mission, the dummy doors have the same results. The correct door is indicated when Big Boss, upon finding the actual hiding cell, says "...Gotcha!" It then cuts to a cutscene where Snake kicks the door open, and finds Zadornov. Zadornov then curses and states that Big Boss found him in shock.

Zadornov Search 5[]

"Miller: Snake, Zadornov's escaped custody again. You have to track him down!"

―Mission select briefing for "Zadornov Search Mission 5"

Extra Ops[]

[007] Marksmanship Challenge[]

"Miller: Commencing training mission. Missions like this are key to building up your basic skills. Be careful out there."

―Mission select briefing for "[007] Marksmanship Challenge"