Geocaching HQ Lackeys attend dozens of Mega and Giga-Events around the world, shaking hands, sharing stories of adventure, and of course, geocaching! WatermanHQ is a Community Special Programs Manager at Geocaching HQ. She recently traveled to Spain to attend the GEOCASTELLON 2024 Mega-Event (GCAENEV). Here’s her trip summary.

I was happy to leave behind the rain of Seattle and travel to sunny Torreblanca, Spain, to attend GEOCASTELLON 2024. Event host, Manuel (manupor3), prepared me for a weekend of fun on the beach and geocaching galore.

I arrived early Friday evening at a picturesque beach setting and a dance party with Signal the Frog! I had the chance to meet many enthusiastic cachers and discuss our plans and goals for the weekend.

Saturday was a busy day that started with completing an Adventure along the beach. The highlight of the day, however, was the GPS Maze. Collaborating with the town of Torreblanca, event organizers transformed the local “Espai Natura” (Nature Space) into a labyrinth spanning three floors. Each floor included panels detailing geocaching history, vocabulary, and popular caches throughout Spain. Also, each Adventure Location in the Maze required solving a gadget cache! Among them, one of my favorites was a cleverly designed wooden box with a padlock. To crack the code, I needed a flashlight to shine down on a series of nails whose shadows displayed the required three-digit number. The creativity of these gadget caches was impressive.

Saturday ended with a beachside evening Event, where attendees were treated to the Catalonian specialty, Cremaet. I learned that drinking Cremaet, a combination of rum, spices, and coffee, is the traditional Catalonian way to end a geocaching Event, and I wholeheartedly embraced this delicious custom!

Sunday morning dawned with a mission to find caches throughout Torreblanca. One of my favorites was Virtual Reward 3.0 TIC TAC TIC TAC. At the posted coordinates, I was led down a trail to a wooden lookout tower. The views of the lagoon from the tower in the early morning were breathtaking. This Virtual earned one of my few Favorite points for bringing me to a place I would not have discovered without geocaching.

Many thanks to Manuel Burló and the dedicated volunteers for organizing and hosting an unforgettable GEOCASTELLON. This Event captured the spirit of adventure and camaraderie that defines geocaching and is one I will not soon forget.

Now, if I could only take the weather home with me 😎