Geocaching is delightful because of the people who play it — adventure-seekers, makers, parents, astronauts and (sometimes) celebrities. Read their stories.
“Ocean, n. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man — who has no gills.”
― Ambrose Bierce, The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary
Any serious geocacher has a treasured list of geocaches they wish to find before they “kick the bucket”, so to speak. We feature an intermittent series dedicated to bucket list geocaches, and today’s theme is beaches.
Time to grab your swimsuit, some flip-flops, and go geocaching! Don’t forget your pen and some sunscreen. 😉
The Republic of Turkey is transcontinental—spread across Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is surrounded by three seas: The Mediterranean, Black Sea, and the Aegean Sea. The unique geographic location and varied landscape give Turkey a diverse cultural richness that is evident in every region of the country. You’d be hard pressed to find a more passionate, fun, and cosmopolitan group of geocachers anywhere in the world.
And here’s the big news: Turkey is the newest Geocaching country souvenir to be released this year! Souvenirs are virtual pieces of art that are displayed on your Geocaching profile page when you find a geocache in certain locations.
To celebrate, we are also highlighting five must-see geocaches from this marvelous land. Come with us, won’t you?
First stop: Istanbul. A gorgeous city that straddles two continents, ranks as the world’s 5th-largest city proper, and is the largest European city.
This Mystery Cache acts as a tour guide for the Sultanahmet district—a must see for any visitor. Framed as a mystery, this geocache leads you through the center of the Old City of Istanbul and many of the city’s points of interest (POI). You’ll need at least two days to solve this Mystery, but you’ll experience Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia/Ayasofia Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, and Basilica Cistern so it is definitely worth it.
This Virtual Cache is found at the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge, which crosses the Bosphorus strait and connects Europe with Asia. You’ll need to visit by automobile (on top) or boat (underneath). No pedestrians and certainly no stopping on the bridge allowed!
GC42RCW – TAG you are it !! – OMActivities
Enjoy the 24-hour hustle and bustle of Istiklal Street, bursting with shops, cafes, bars, and nightlife. No cars are allowed in this area, and the streets are full of locals and tourists alike looking for some fun. Find this beloved Traditional cache full of great Trackables and SWAG, then write a heartfelt log from a lovely street cafe over wine or coffee.
Next stop: Bodrum. Previously a simple fishing village, Bodrum has become a tourist mecca with idyllic beaches, boutique hotels, and a shining marina over the last few decades.
GC1HN97 – Gokart15 [Bodrum Castle]
![GC1HN97 - Gokart15 [Bodrum Castle]](https://www.geocaching.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Gokart15.jpg)
Final stop: Antalya. Antalya is full of beaches, mosques, churches, Turkish baths, and museums.
This EarthCache is a series of several waterfalls created from two large karstic sources that merge, go underground, and then resurface to form the falls. This geocache is best experienced from a boat for a truly spectacular view. But if you decide to take a boat, make sure you’re alright with the possibility of getting soaked.
Inspired yet? Turkey has so much to offer in terms of scenery, culture, and geocaching.
We’ll unveil one new souvenir every week until all FIVE are officially released and awarded by mid December. Souvenirs that are currently available can be found here. A list of of currently available Geocaching souvenirs and even the ones you’ve already earned can be found on Geocaching.com. And, if you’ve already found a geocache in Turkey, we will retroactively add this souvenir to your profile after all five country souvenirs are announced.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or right here on our Blog to find out which countries are next.
Do you live in Turkey, have you ever been, or will you travel there in the future? Tell us your experience in the comments below!
Does travel to extreme locations, facing the unknown, and surviving harsh winter wilderness sound like you? Join the hunt to discover lost treasures from The Revenant.
This winter, in association with Geocaching HQ, Twentieth Century Fox Filmed Entertainment has hidden a series of twenty limited edition movie props — as Trackables! Launching in select cities across the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Australia, the movie props will travel from location to location as geocachers log their finds and place them in a new geocache to continue the artifact’s journey. Share your find via social media by posting a photo using #TheRevenant. Check out more details on the Fox Movies page (scroll to the middle).
About the movie: Inspired by true events, The Revenant is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption. The Revenant is directed and co-written by renowned filmmaker, Academy Award winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman, Babel).
There are even several geocaches out there (predating this movie) about Hugh Glass, including “Legendary Hunters – Hugh Glass” in Pennsylvania and “Old West #9 Hugh Glass” in Utah.
The full Trackable list:
We can’t wait to see the adventures unfold as these Trackables travel to incredible places and continue to be discovered! Do you see your favorite movie prop trackable in this trailer?
[vsw id=”LoebZZ8K5N0″ source=”youtube” width=”560″ height=”315″ autoplay=”no”]
Any serious geocacher probably has a list of geocaches they wish to find before they “kick the bucket”, so to speak. We’ll be doing an intermittent series dedicated to bucket list geocaches, and the first theme is, “Amazing Views.” We hope this blog post takes your breath away!
1. GC1FPN1 – München-Venedig / Munich-Venice / Monaco-Venezia
Multi-Cache in Bayern, Germany
D2/T4
What has 28 legs, spans 3 countries, and covers 560 kilometers (65,000 feet) of altitude? Why, this amazing Multi-Cache of course! Make sure to set aside at least 2-4 days to complete this life-changing journey from Munich, Germany to Venice, Italy.
2. GC282A – Petra
Traditional in Jordan
D2.5/T3.5
Channel your inner Indiana Jones and visit Jordan’s first geocache in the ancient city of Petra. Petra was named one of the New7Wonders of the World in 2007, and was chosen by Smithsonian Magazine as one of the 28 Places to See Before You Die. That means it’s officially on someone else’s bucket list, too.
3. GCVTH7 – Chimney Top Cache
Traditional in West Virginia, USA
D4/T4.5
The North Fork Mountain Trail offers a plethora of breathtaking views. According to the cache page, “If this trail is the best for scenery in the state (I think it is), then Chimney Top would be the golden crown upon this king of trails.” Gorgeous.
4. GC3QR3J – Arctic Circle Trail (K –> S)
Multi-Cache in Greenland
D5/T5
Only found 11 times due to the remote location and D5/T5 rating, this unique Multi-Cache is worth the effort. There are several adorable huts along the way to seek shelter, but make sure to pack in your own food and beverages since there are no stores along the route.
Time to grab those hiking boots out of storage and get packin’! Special thanks to acadicus, eigengott, and Keystone for their wonderful contributions to this list.
Are there any amazing views you’ve visited while geocaching that you would add to this list? What about other “Bucket List” themes or geocaches you’d like to see featured? Tell us in the comments below!
Written by Annie Love, a Geocaching HQ Employee
This article was originally published in the Portuguese “GeoMagazine.”
I had heard August is the worst time of year to travel to Japan. So what did I do? I scheduled my two week holiday in Japan at the end of August. Naturally, the only reason I’d do something so silly is because of geocaching. I also wanted to climb Mt. Fuji and the window for doing so safely falls right around this time.
After cashing in airline miles for a free ticket to Tokyo, I started planning my big adventure. I knew I’d need help from locals over there, so I reached out to every contact I knew in Japan. After some months of planning, I decided to join a group of local geocachers at GC5VHCG — A CITO event that would take place on Mt. Fuji. Every year a group of Japanese geocachers makes the trek with the goal of giving back by cleaning up trash on the mountain.
While you can climb to the top and back in a day trip, the group wanted to catch the sunrise on top of the mountain, so it would be an overnight adventure for us. We left Tokyo by 8am and were at the trailhead at 11am. There were 11 of us total. Even though only three of us spoke English and I only knew four words of Japanese, we had little trouble understanding each other along the way.
We started off on the trail and were welcomed by the greeting of “Konichiwa” from every climber we passed along the way. Since the climbing season is very short on Mt. Fuji, there were plenty of climbers heading up and down the mountain. The clouds were low and a mist was falling, so we weren’t treated to great views in the first few hours of our trek.
The Fuji climb is broken up into stations, which provide naturally good rest points every 45 minutes. We started at the 5th station (2400 meters) on the Fujinomiya Trail and had booked a hut at station 9.5 for spending the night. The goal was to reach this station around 5pm, have dinner and head to bed early. We’d get up before dawn and finish the last half hour of the hike to the summit to see the sunrise on top.
I’ve done a lot of hiking over my lifetime and I must say, it’s very rare to run into places that will sell you snacks, water, or even beer mid-hike! Each station on Mt. Fuji did just that, along with providing other climbing gear, souvenirs, or just a warm, dry place to rest. For 200 yen (€1.50), you could even use a vault toilet.
Most of the climb feels like you’re walking on a Martian landscape. Everywhere you look, there’s beautiful red and black volcanic rocks and soil. We took the shortest, steepest route up the mountain. Some consider this the easiest route as I learned other routes tend to be filled with so much loose rock or scree that every step you take, you slide down the hill.
At around the 8th station, the higher clouds lifted and revealed a spectacular view of the side of Mt. Fuji and a never-ending sea of clouds. These are the types of views that make it all worth it.
We reached station 9.5 (elevation 3250 meters) on schedule around 5pm. From here, we could see the Torii (traditional Japanese gate) at the top. I could almost reach out and touch it, we were so close! After getting settled into our hut and having a nice warm meal with beer, we settled in for the night.
In the middle of the night, I woke up to sounds of the wind and rain outside our hut. I worried that this storm wasn’t going to go away by the time we were to make our summit attempt.
My worries became reality when the heavy gusting winds and rain were still there at 5am. The workers at the hut warned us that conditions were only worse on top and that it would not be safe for us to summit. My heart sank. We had worked so hard and were so close. With all the planning and effort that went into making the trip and climb possible, getting turned around by bad weather was very hard to take. But safety must come first.
Sometimes on an adventure you don’t win the “prize” you originally set out for, and that’s okay. The journey you take, the friends you’ve made, and the memories you keep make it all worth it. Now I just need to figure out when I can go back and try for the summit again. I told my new geocaching friends that I would be back someday. After all, the geocaches on the summit are still up there waiting for me!
