InfoPortugal/Cartas Militares/IGEOE - MapAdventure

[Gytha Ogg]

Olá

 

OK, well that's about the limit of my Portuguese without the aid of the very unreliable Bablefish sorry.

 

I would just like to ask if anyone in here uses MapAdventure which is basically the Cartas Militares maps of Portugal which you can load onto your GPS or PDA. In lieu of TOPO maps of Portugal it looks like a good option for 'Out in the Forest' trips.

 

Any information/tips about this softwear (or even an edited translation of what it is and the best GPS unit to run it with) gratefully accepted.

 

Although I am a UK resident at present I hope to be spending more time in Portugal soon and would like to do lots of exploring in the more out of the way parts of the country.

 

thanks, Gytha

[+manchanegra]

Hi,

 

welcome to this forum.

To manage the "Cartas Militares" i use ozyexplorer (http://www.oziexplorer.com/) .

They have a PC and a PDA version and allow you to use the maps to navigate to the cache. It´s very usefull if you´re planning long routes along the mountains or forests even if most caches we have in Portugal are just a few meters away from a normal road. Those that are not you will probably need to do some homework first.

Most of the military maps that i know that are used by geocachers, bikers and offroaders are out of date, specially in the big cities areas. In the interior of the country you should be ok.

You can also try to use google earth or google maps. If that part of the country is covered it would be a great help.

Another great help is to ask other geocachers for help. You may want to check this site also www.geocahing-pt.net . It´s in Portuguese but if you write in english someone will answer you.

 

Regards

Alberto aka manchanegra

[Gytha Ogg]

Obrigada Alberto,

 

most caches we have in Portugal are just a few meters away from a normal road

 

That could change when I get there I might just ride out in the forests and find some very out of the way places to put them

 

Most of the military maps that i know that are used by geocachers, bikers and offroaders are out of date, specially in the big cities areas

 

That's OK, I don't plan to go anywhere near any cities...a trip to Aldi in Caldas is about as urban as I intend to get, I think I can find somewhere to tie the horse up while I do the shopping

 

How do you get hold of the Cartas Militares in digital, downloadable format? I have a paper one of the area where my house is near Caldas (getting that was hard enough )

 

Another great help is to ask other geocachers for help. You may want to check this site also www.geocahing-pt.net

 

Thanks for the link

 

It´s in Portuguese but if you write in english someone will answer you.

 

You all make me feel so inadequate...the Portuguese are all so nice and helpfull and I am useless at the language.............I am trying though, and when I am living there more of the time I hope it will start to come more easily

 

kind regards, Gytha

Edited February 8, 2007 by Gytha Ogg

[+manchanegra]

Well, i said "Most caches", not all caches.

There are some in unusual places. You might want to check this one http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...6f-b4e01379eee0

It´s just a few meters away from the road, but it´s not that easy to get.

 

You may find some trees on the other side of the road from Aldi where you can "park" the horse .

 

You can buy the military maps here http://www.igeoe.pt/ or maybe you can find someone to borrow the maps from.

 

Anyway, we will be almost neighbours because i use to hangout in the Peniche/Baleal region very often. And, if you can go there by horse i will probably manage to go there with the 4x4 .

 

Regards

Alberto

[+MAntunes]

You all make me feel so inadequate...the Portuguese are all so nice and helpfull and I am useless at the language

 

Hi Gytha Ogg,

 

Don't worry about it. Whenever you need, you can post in english here or in our portuguese foruns. There's allways someone available to help.

 

Let me just add some more specific links to what manchanegra pointed;

 

In this post, there are some links to our geocaching reference sites but in one of them, GeoPorStats (with a version in english), you can find our great Cache's Map where you can pick the region you want and choose the caches that might interest you.

 

As said, most caches are placed near major cities but the best caches were created in the back country , within forests, on the top our mountains, needing several hours of walking by foot, or in caves, several tenths of meters underground, so you won't have any trouble finding some interesting caches to search for.

 

Welcome!

Edited February 8, 2007 by MAntunes

[Gytha Ogg]

Thank you both so much for the warm welcome and the interesting information. I have purchased a second hand Magellan Sportrk Colour GPS which I am slowly starting to understand a little. As a barely computer literate elderly female technophobe I find it very challenging, but great fun. It seems to be quite user friendly and fairly idiot proof

 

I am coming to Portugal in March for two weeks. I have to work in the Algarve for a couple of days but will be heading up to Caldas da Rainha to see my house and have a holiday. I will borrow one of my frinds horses and take my GPS for a ride in the forest for some practice!