Arapya - The Island's Challenge Traditional Cache

Are you ready for a real adventure?

   WARNING: This is an EXTREME geocache!!! Only experienced geocachers shoud attempt this! Evil cache!

   The cache is hidden on Bulgarka Island (also called Bird's Island) at Arapya beach resort, Between Tsarevo and Lozenets.

   There are several ways to get to the Island. You can swim to it, but only really experienced swimmers should attempt this, so I do not recommend it. You can go there by a boat of course. You can hire a waterwheel from the beach and use it to go to the island. The approach I am recommending is to walk along the shore line very close to the rocks as far as you can reach. There will be some places you will have to walk in water and there will be some place you will have to swim trough. This route is definitely worth it - I enjoyed it very much when hiding the cache. A bit of warning though - you will need some sort of shoes, otherwise you will cut your feet on the rocks. Gloves are also a good idea. Be VERY careful all the way to the island and on the island itself. You will be walking on the edge of cliffs and in the water - caution is advised.

   The island is small but very beautiful. It is inhabitable, but there is a small fisherman's cabin on it, but usually there is no one there, so don't be alarmed. On the island and near the cache's place there are nesting colonies of birds. It is very important to enjoy the birds FROM A DISTANCE and NOT TO DISTURB them. Be very, very quiet and stealth, as well as careful, when approaching the cache's place, so you wouldn't scare off the birds.

   The cache is EVIL! An experienced geocacher should be able to understand what he is looking for and find the cache. It may take a while, so be patient.

   I hope you will enjoy this adventure as much as I did!

   Additional information

   Arapya is a camping in the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast between the resorts of Tsarevo and Lozenets. Situated in a picturesque bay surrounded by pine and deciduous forests. As at the time of socialism, and today the campsite is mainly visited by Polish, Czech and Bulgarian tourists during the summer. Founded in the mid 60s of the twentieth century, the campsite attracts many tourists who still come each year. Favorite spot for surfers because of the presence of appropriate wind. The campsite has a separate paid parking (see the supplementary waypoint).
   The Bird Island is a small island in the gulf of camping "Arapya" an area of ​​7.5 acres. Its altitude is about 5 m. The island landing and nesting gulls, cormorants and other birds, hence its name.

   Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)

The European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) is a large gull (up to 26 inches or 66 cm long), and is the most abundant and best known of all gulls along the shores of western Europe. It breeds across Northern Europe, Western Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltic states. Some European Herring Gulls, especially those resident in colder areas, migrate further south in winter, but many are permanent residents, e.g. in the British Isles, Iceland, or on the North Sea shores. European Herring Gulls are also abundant around inland garbage dumps, and some have even adapted to life in inland cities.

European Herring Gull flocks have a loose pecking order, based on size, aggressiveness and physical strength. Adult males are usually dominant over females and juveniles in feeding and boundary disputes, whilst adult females are typically dominant when selecting nest sites.[6] Communication between these birds is complex and highly-developed — employing both calls and body language. Two identical vocalizations can have very different (sometimes opposite) meanings, for example — depending on the positioning of the head, body, wings and tail relative to each other and the ground in the calling gull. Unlike many flocking birds, European Herring Gulls do not engage in social grooming and keep physical contact between individuals to a minimum. Outside of the male/female and parent/chick relationship, each gull attempts to maintain a respectful 'safe distance' from others of its kind. Any breach of this results in fighting, though severe injuries are seldom inflicted.

These are omnivores and opportunists like most Larus gulls, and will scavenge from garbage dumps, landfill sites, and sewage outflows, with refuse comprising up to half of the bird's diet. It also steals the eggs and young of other birds (including those of other gulls), as well as seeking suitable small prey in fields, on the coast or in urban areas, or robbing plovers or lapwings of their catches. European Herring Gulls may also dive from the surface of the water or engage in plunge diving in the pursuit of aquatic prey, though they are typically unable to reach depths of greater than 1–2 metres due to their natural buoyancy. During courtship, the hen will approach the cock on his own territory with a hunched, submissive posture whilst making begging calls (similar to those emitted by young gulls). If the cock chooses not to attack her and drive her away, he will respond by assuming an upright posture and making a mewing call. This is followed by a period of synchronised head-tossing movements, after which the cock will then regurgitate some food for his prospective mate. If this is accepted, copulation will follow. A nesting site will then be chosen by both birds.[6] European Herring Gulls are almost exclusively sexually monogamous and may pair up for life, provided that the couple are successful in hatching their eggs.
 

Pygmy Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmeus)

The Pygmy Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It breeds in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mostly within in its breeding range. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe.

The Pygmy Cormorant breeds colonially in wetlands with still or slowly flowing fresh water in coastal deltas and well-vegetated freshwater lakes. It builds a nest of grass and twigs in a low tree or reedbed, into which it lays its 3-6 eggs. Both parents incubate for 27–30 days, and nestlings become independent after 70 days.
It is a medium-sized green-glossed black bird, 45–55 cm long and with a 75–90 cm wingspan. It has a long tail and short thick bill. Adults have small white feather tufts on the head neck and underparts in the breeding season. Non-breeding birds have a white throat. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller and browner.

This species is distinguished from the Great Cormorant and the Common Shag by its much smaller size, lighter build, and long tail.
It feeds mainly on fish, often hunting in groups, and perches in trees between fishing expeditions.

Threats include the drainage and serious degradation of wetlands and their associated woodland, water pollution, disturbance, and the illegal hunting and drowning of many Pygmy Cormorants in fishing nets.
The breeding range, once much more extensive, continues to contract, and the breeding population of the species in Europe is estimated at only 6,400 to 7,300 pairs. The biggest colony is in the Danube Delta, numbering 4,000 pairs, but this seems certain to plunge due to a massive canalisation scheme, which despite the protected status of the delta, commenced in May 2004.
The Pygmy Cormorant is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.