March 1, 2017 / Ellis

Death in Venice — Geocache of the Week

Multi-Cache: GC7BA4; by daoloth

Difficulty:: 3
Terrain:

Location:: Italy; N 45° 26.069′ E 012° 20.332′

A realist, in Venice, would become a romantic by mere faithfulness to what he saw before him. -Arthur Symons

What you see on this Multi-Cache journey in Venice will surely turn you into a romantic. For anyone visiting Venice (Venezia) you will want a tour guide to navigate you through the tight twists and turns of this unique city with a transport system of interconnected canals.

Death in Venice will take you on a 7-part Multi-Cache tour of the city, weaving you through back streets and historical sites, transporting you to a time over a thousand years ago. This is a death themed Multi-Cache that will take you to spots plagued by stories of death and misfortune. How intriguing!

Hidden in 2002, this older Multi-Cache took almost a whole day for the cache owner to create. Some geocachers have taken several days days to complete the entire adventure. Make sure to take note when certain locations are accessible.

Part 1: The Bells, the Bells — A good spot to view the entire trip ahead of you and gather your first set of clues.

Part 2: A reminder of nastiness amidst beauty — A beautiful and often missed campo with a spooky memorial.

Part 3: Hunchback — This ugly statue was a welcome sight in Venice’s colourful past. Miscreants would be flogged across a nearby bridge and run a gauntlet of angry citizens. They would be spared if they could make it to this figure.

Part 4: Dragon-Slayer — A tough campo to find, but if you can spot a dangerous looking bell tower you are nearly there! There is a mosaic of a famous dragon slayer nearby.

Part 5: Wages of Sin — There is a wall here with 3 intriguing statues.The story goes that these were merchants who tried to cheat an old lady and were consequently turned to stone.

Part 6: A sorry tale — This is a real gothic horror story. The tale is that a mad turk ripped out his mother’s heart and ran to this spot with the dripping organ in one hand and the knife in the other. The heart spoke to him (did I mention that he was mad?) and in his fright he tripped up the steps, fell into the canal and drowned. Apparently the area is still haunted by his restless spirit.

Part 7: Don’t Look Now — The final resting place for the cache, wink wink.

This one was awesome! Loved the places it took us and the stories we discovered at the waypoints. Favourite!

Siemke95x

Found this beautiful cache over the course of two days while exploring Venice. Thanks for showing us sights beyond the well trodden path, especially San Michele! TFTC!

Velarion

Skybluesbazza and I were spending a few days in Venice. Yesterday we explored the back streets, picking up the clues for this Multi – thanks for a very well set up Multi, that took us to places that we would have otherwise missed, and gave us some information about the different points. Today we got an all day boat ticket and visited Murano. This was just a short stop off on the way back to the main island! We soon found our way to the final coordinates and we were very relieved to find the cache!

Guiding Nutter

We have been staying in Venice for three days, so there was enough time to visit all the interesting places you showed to us. It is so amazing – and enjoyable for us – that there are less tourists as soon as you leave the main streets. Thank you so much for hiding this cache. It was a great pleasure to walk through Venice and to visit the various stages. Of course, it is one of our favorite caches.

axogang

February 22, 2017 / Andrew Baldwin

BARTOLOME (GALAPAGOS) — Geocache of the Week

EarthCache: GC1KGT8; by boiler

Difficulty:: 1
Terrain:: 2.5

Location:: Galapagos; S 00° 17.046 W 090° 33.048

The Galapagos Islands are well-known for their expansive population of species. About 80% of the land birds, 97% of the reptiles and land mammals, and more than 30% of the plants are endemic, which means “belonging exclusively or confined to a particular place”.

Seldom in nature can you be approached by a wild animal. Bartolome (Galapagos) GC1KGT8 can bring us up close and personal to nature. The island is also a geologist’s playground—so it makes perfect sense that a truly wonderful EarthCache is here.

The little island, Bartolome, is only 1.2 square kilometers (297 acres). Rocky pillars of basalt called “tuff cones” jut out from the surface of the island. These pillars are remnants of hardened fallout of a volcanic eruption. One of the great rewards of GC1KGT8 is the stunning postcard view of the prominent Pinnacle Rock, the largest tuff cone on the island.

On the path to the beach, just offshore, you will find a large volcanic crater that is encapsulating.

If you brought your snorkeler you are in for a treat! According to the cache page the northern beach is open for swimming and the beaches of Bartolome Island are filled with fluorescent fish, playful sea lions, and even whale sharks!

The trail continues to lead you across a sandy isthmus to another beach at the southern end of the island. Swimming here is not welcome, and not as friendly. White tip sharks have been known to enter the waters and the cache owner Boiler warns of hostile ghost crabs in that area.

The trail ends with a rock path and a long wooden stairway (~360 steps) brings you through the lunar landscape with almost no visibility up to summit hill and the viewpoint of Pinnacle Rock.

If you are EarthCaching on Bartolome Island here are some notable vocabulary terms to take with you as per the cache page:

1.) Lava tubes: Formed by flowing rivers of lava whose outer layer cools and solidifies quicker than the core (creating a skin). The liquid lava continues to flow through the middle, hollowing out an area creating a tube like structure.

2.) Spatter cones: These cones are either a deep red, gleaming black or intense green. The cones are formed when the pressure of gases below the magma in an active lava flow push upward. The gases escape carrying big pieces of lava into the air. The outside of the lava cools down and turns black, and when it hits the ground, the lava ball bursts open releasing the hot magma inside.

3.) Lava bombs: The outcome of a spatter cone. The outside surface of lava bombs are smooth, but the inside of the lava bomb bursts open with broken fragments, creating A’a lava. The broken lava is very runny. However, once the gases all escape, the lava will start to slow, creating pahoehoe lava.

Here’s what our fellow cachers had to say about their experience:

One of the most beautiful landscapes in the Galapagos so far! What an awesome trip Elm77 and I are having. The climb was a breeze for me and the view spectacular. Our guide knew a lot about the geology of the area so I learned a lot! Answers and picture will be sent as soon as I get home. Thanks for the lesson! –Pomwoof

Last year on my 40th birthday I made myself the present of a Galapagos dive trip. And by doing so a dream came true. As a group of 16 divers from Switzerland we were able to charter the “Galapagos Aggressor” for our trip.

On the second day of diving after two dives at Punta Carrion we set foot on Bartolomé Island for a land tour. Of course I had already hoped at home that I would get the opportunity to visit one of the few caches around the Galapagos Archipelago.

I enjoyed the hiking a lot, admired the view from the top and even had the chance to see sea lions, penguins, Darwin’s finches, a lizard and a blue-footed booby – part of the animals on land, part while riding the zodiac. –Haiopaia

Thank you boiler for cooking up this hot EarthCache. Is that name a coincidence? I think not. Check out the beautiful photography from geocachers who have visited Bartolome Island and in the gallery below!

People from all over Europe and the world

February 21, 2017 / Janelle /

“You have to be odd to be number one” — First of each geocache type

“You have to be odd to be number one”
— Dr. Seuss

The first to be something, now that’s something. Although a few of these geocaches are open for a spirited discussion, we’re fairly confident these are the “firsts” for each geocache type. Keep in mind that in the early days of geocaching, it was easier to change cache types after publication. Nevertheless, these geocaches should be fairly “pure”. Check out our list:

Continue reading →

February 15, 2017 / Janelle

K&K LOST Train — Geocache of the Week

Traditional: GC2J0H0; by K&K

Difficulty:: 2
Terrain:: 1.5

Location:: Egypt; N 27° 22.616 E 033° 39.778

El Gouna is a completely man-made tourist resort located in eastern Egypt on the Red Sea. There you will find golfing, horseback riding, scuba diving, windsurfing, kitesurfing, waterskiing, parasailing, and snorkeling. There are two main beaches, Zeytuna and Mangroovy, which attract tourists sun-seeking from around the world. El Gouna is known as the “Little Venice of Egypt” due to the canals that allow each house to have its own strip of “beach” even if you may be quite far inland.

Continue reading →

February 14, 2017 / Andrew Baldwin /

Guest blog from The Geocaching Junkie: Four reasons to make a muggle your valentine

We are featuring The Geocaching Junkie on our guest blog for Valentine’s Day.

Falling in love with a fellow geocacher might just be the epitome of finding the perfect partner for many cachers, and we have all heard stories of eyes meeting across a crowd at an event, and diamond rings hidden in ammo cans – the ultimate swag! Take German cachers reality666 and annimiles for example: they met at a geocaching event in 2012 and got engaged at Europe’s First geocache (GC43) in April 2016.

Unfortunately, since muggles (non geocachers—based on “muggle” from the Harry Potter series, which are non-magical people) outnumber geocachers by quite a margin, it’s unlikely that everyone can be lucky enough to be half of a geocaching pair. So what are the benefits of dating a muggle? I happen to be an expert on this subject, so here’s four reasons why having a muggle partner who supports your geocaching addiction has its own advantages!

1. They make excellent lookouts

Sure, they may not love poking their hands into places or generally getting their hands dirty, but their presence as lookout means that you can get stuck right in with your search without having to look over your shoulder every five seconds.

2. They’re good for security

As a singleton I rarely had any qualms about going geocaching alone, but FTF runs at night in the woods on my own? Not so much. A supportive muggle will understand why you want to go look for a lunch box in a tree hollow in the dark, and will accompany you for safety. It’s also good to have someone who knows where you’re going and will be concerned if you’re not home when you say you’ll be (it’s good common sense to have such a person aware of your movements, regardless of your relationship status.)

3. They can hold stuff for you

This could be the geocaching equivalent of holding your wife’s purse while she is shopping! I won’t even comment on how many times I’ve dropped the lid of a nano while caching alone (I’ve always found it, honest!). When my muggle is with me, he now holds out his hands to me out of habit and holds the container while I sign the log.

4. If all else fails, they will probably help you search for the cache

Even if it’s just so they can finally go home and have dinner, they are likely to help you search if you’re having trouble, and often will find it straight away—it’s amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can see, even in the same spot you’ve been searching for ten minutes!

While finding another geocacher to be your partner-in-crime might seem like the perfect scenario for a dedicated cacher, having a ‘snuggle muggle’ as your significant other is really not such a bad thing. Are you coupled up with a muggle or a geocacher, or are you still looking for the first to find your heart?