collecting countries

14k · August 7, 2018

1 hour ago, funkymunkyzone said:

What's my travel secret? Okay, I work in the aviation industry, and that helps, but honestly it doesn't help much and in fact for my last trip, I only saved a few hundred $ using industry discounts, and all but 2 of the flights were commercial fares.

I always wondered what you did that let you travel so much. I'm a programmer and systems architect for one of the largest and well respected agriculture libraries in the world. Agriculture and food security is a world wide issue. and there are many organizations with an international focus (e.g. the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations) that I have worked with as well as other Agricultural focused universities throughout the world. Many of them are in need of the technical expertise I have, especially in developing countries which is why I've managed to travel to Africa 7 times. In the past week I've been reviewing and helping polish a project proposals to develop a system which may be used by an organization that focuses on Agricultural research in Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique and the organization is located in Botswana. The project partners is with an organization we've worked with for over 15 years that is located in South Africa.

3.5k · August 9, 2018

On 7/21/2018 at 5:33 AM, Goldenwattle said:

LOL, the person I was quoting, "It's too difficult." , actually lived less than 50kms from the Canadian border. She said this to me, when I had travelled from Australia to the USA and crossed backwards and forwards over the border several times. If she had said she didn't want to go to Canada, okay, but to tell me it was too difficult

Maybe she has had a DUI?

On 8/5/2018 at 12:37 PM, Da Wards said:

The rest of our lives will be taking turns picking locations to live at in three or six month increments.

You are living my dream! Congrats and enjoy!

1.7k · August 11, 2018

On 8/7/2018 at 10:11 PM, on4bam said:

Carpe Diem. Live like every day is your last

There's no reason to try and be the richest person in the graveyard

Absolutely. My soft goal is to get to 2 countries per year of existence on this planet. I'm currently 6 years behind, but catching up

August 17, 2018

Why is Israel not given a stamp? Ok, politically, I can understand, but the location is given as Israel on the geomap, so.... I try to find a cache in every state, even if driving through and then also cache internationally when I travel. Fun!

August 17, 2018

Do you mean a souvenir? There are lots of countries that do not have them yet. After the first release GS has doled them out fitfully, mostly based on the number of geocaches in the country rather than any political consideration.

14k · August 17, 2018

10 hours ago, Michaelcycle said:

Do you mean a souvenir? There are lots of countries that do not have them yet. After the first release GS has doled them out fitfully, mostly based on the number of geocaches in the country rather than any political consideration.

The good news is that Isreal has more geocaches than several countries that already have a souvenir available so if GS releases more country/region souvenirs near the end of the year (as they've done several previous years) it is one of the most likely candidates for receiving a new souvenir and, since region based souvenirs are retroactively awarded, anyone that has previously found a cache in Isreal will get the souvenir.

As frequently as this question comes up, perhaps GS should include an explanation about "missing" country/state souvenirs on the web site.

5.6k · August 18, 2018

On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 3:11 AM, on4bam said:

Carpe Diem. Live like every day is your last

One day you will be right... :huh:

4.6k · August 19, 2018

8 hours ago, The Jester said:

One day you will be right...

Yes, and if you've done it right, it won't matter.

5.8k · August 20, 2018

On 8/17/2018 at 1:19 PM, NYPaddleCacher said:

As frequently as this question comes up, perhaps GS should include an explanation about "missing" country/state souvenirs on the web site.

I heard this weekend that the intent is to eventually have one per country. Don't know if that was on the record, so I'll cite "a source close to Groundspeak."

5.8k · September 25, 2018

On track for #40 in November: tickets and hotel booked for Nice, which is just down the coast from lovely Monaco.

That would leave us with only San Marino for countries in western Europe, but getting there might be a hassle from here - no direct flights from Frankfurt to Bimini. More likely that we'll visit Balkan or Baltic states first, as well as Northern Africa and any of the self-governing territories like Faroe Islands or Isle of Man, and save San Marino before we leave.

14k · September 25, 2018

5 hours ago, hzoi said:

On track for #40 in November: tickets and hotel booked for Nice, which is just down the coast from lovely Monaco.

That would leave us with only San Marino for countries in western Europe, but getting there might be a hassle from here - no direct flights from Frankfurt to Bimini. More likely that we'll visit Balkan or Baltic states first, as well as Northern Africa and any of the self-governing territories like Faroe Islands or Isle of Man, and save San Marino before we leave.

Maybe I'm missing something. What do Frankfurt and Bimini have to do with San Marino. So far I'd the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, and Kenya this year. There's a possibility that I might be able to add Botswana in the beginning of November (I've got a trip planned for South Africa and might extend it a couple of days for a meeting in Gaborone).

4.6k · September 25, 2018

2 minutes ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

What do Frankfurt and Bimini have to do with San Marino.

Rimini (Italy) >> San Marino...

14k · September 25, 2018

47 minutes ago, on4bam said:

Rimini (Italy) >> San Marino...

Ah. I was wondering why hzoi wanted to fly to the Bahamas. Looks like there are direct flights from Frankfurt to Bologna and a ~3 hour train ride from Bologna to San Marino.

September 26, 2018

I love collecting countries too. And if I travel, I have a look on countries I haven´t been caching before. But decissions are not made only on this.

Luckily i live in Germany, the verry center of Eurpoe. And it is quite easy to collect coutries arround. Once at an Event some guys and I was talking about doing as much countries as possible in 24 hours. We started making a plan an came to the conclusion, that 14 countries in 24 hours could be possible

Who´s in?

5.8k · September 26, 2018

15 hours ago, on4bam said:

15 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

What do Frankfurt and Bimini have to do with San Marino.

Rimini (Italy) >> San Marino...

Flying from Frankfurt to Rimini. (Not Bimini. Derp.)

14k · September 26, 2018

5 hours ago, DerDiedler said:

I love collecting countries too. And if I travel, I have a look on countries I haven´t been caching before. But decissions are not made only on this.

Luckily i live in Germany, the verry center of Eurpoe. And it is quite easy to collect coutries arround. Once at an Event some guys and I was talking about doing as much countries as possible in 24 hours. We started making a plan an came to the conclusion, that 14 countries in 24 hours could be possible

Who´s in?

I think I've seen something here from a group that did close to that in 24 hours. I don't live in Europe but have finds in 15 European countries so I might be interested if it was in eastern Europe. When I travel long distances it's almost always going to involve a layover and I've chosen layover airports (and have booked an itinerary with an overnight layover) based on whether I've found a cache there previously. That's getting harder to do , but Lisbon and Oslo are still options. I have not yet been to Eastern Europe but I got an invitation to attend a workshop in Montenegro next year (I doubt that'll go).

1.7k · September 27, 2018

20 hours ago, DerDiedler said:

I love collecting countries too. And if I travel, I have a look on countries I haven´t been caching before. But decissions are not made only on this.

Luckily i live in Germany, the verry center of Eurpoe. And it is quite easy to collect coutries arround. Once at an Event some guys and I was talking about doing as much countries as possible in 24 hours. We started making a plan an came to the conclusion, that 14 countries in 24 hours could be possible

Who´s in?

I've considered having a go at this, it's the kind of stupid thing I would do. But all the countries involved would be ones I've already cached through. And I have other epic adventures on the cards first...

4.5k · September 27, 2018

14 in 24h?!? That is so Amazing Race.

Every so often I talk up the idea of doing the 8 countries from Panama City to Cancun, and - because things aren't that efficient down there - I keep wondering if 3 weeks might be rushing it.

Interestingly, it looks like last-minute one-way flights home from Cancun cost next to nothing. I'd never have guessed. So it leaves the door open to an open-ended trip. Find a paradise beach along the way? Stay a while.

September 30, 2018

On 25/9/2018 at 1:33 PM, hzoi said:

On track for #40 in November: tickets and hotel booked for Nice, which is just down the coast from lovely Monaco.

That would leave us with only San Marino for countries in western Europe, but getting there might be a hassle from here - no direct flights from Frankfurt to Bimini. More likely that we'll visit Balkan or Baltic states first, as well as Northern Africa and any of the self-governing territories like Faroe Islands or Isle of Man, and save San Marino before we leave.

you can fly to Pisa, Firenze, other cities nearby... San Marino is worth spending a day there, it's not like you just step in and out, it's relly Nice. ()

I just booked the flights to Rome. I'm 27 and I've never been there yet, it's time to put an end to that. And that means that if everything goes to the accorded plan, Vatican City will be my 38th country. :lol:

14k · October 1, 2018

On 9/30/2018 at 6:58 AM, Arnàutil said:

you can fly to Pisa, Firenze, other cities nearby... San Marino is worth spending a day there, it's not like you just step in and out, it's relly Nice. ()

I just booked the flights to Rome. I'm 27 and I've never been there yet, it's time to put an end to that. And that means that if everything goes to the accorded plan, Vatican City will be my 38th country.

Enjoy. Rome is pretty much my favorite city in the world.

1.7k · October 1, 2018

On 9/27/2018 at 3:49 PM, Viajero Perdido said:

14 in 24h?!? That is so Amazing Race.

Every so often I talk up the idea of doing the 8 countries from Panama City to Cancun, and - because things aren't that efficient down there - I keep wondering if 3 weeks might be rushing it.

Interestingly, it looks like last-minute one-way flights home from Cancun cost next to nothing. I'd never have guessed. So it leaves the door open to an open-ended trip. Find a paradise beach along the way? Stay a while.

I'm sure that could be done in about 2 weeks.

Just let me know when

14k · October 2, 2018

13 hours ago, funkymunkyzone said:

I'm sure that could be done in about 2 weeks.

Just let me know when

I flew from Panama CIty to Cancun (from Havana to PC to Cancun) and it *felt* like I spent two weeks in Cancun airport. I spent a week in Costa Rica and only hit a small part of the country.

1.7k · October 2, 2018

8 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

I flew from Panama CIty to Cancun (from Havana to PC to Cancun) and it *felt* like I spent two weeks in Cancun airport. I spent a week in Costa Rica and only hit a small part of the country.

I could tell you about spending time in Cancun airport wondering if you're going to be able to fly out.... hehe the joys of industry travel (standby) when there are disrupted flights (big storms across the US)...

1.7k · October 10, 2018

On 9/27/2018 at 3:49 PM, Viajero Perdido said:

Every so often I talk up the idea of doing the 8 countries from Panama City to Cancun, and - because things aren't that efficient down there - I keep wondering if 3 weeks might be rushing it.

Just out of interest, what would you suggest would be the best way to travel through these countries and cross the borders? Public transport all the way or rent/buy a car at one end and drop off/sell at the other end? So far for me, it's only been Europe (including several non-EU countries) and North America (US/CA border) where I've done the whole cross border thing with a rental/lease vehicle.

Open question to anyone with experience with this in South America, Africa and Asia too...

Edited October 10, 2018 by funkymunkyzone

4.5k · October 10, 2018

Central America would have to be by public transport. Long-distance buses (Tica Bus and a few others are pretty smooth and efficient when you just need to get to the next country), chicken buses are for those off-the-tourist-trail caching destinations that TripAdvisor knows nothing about, and you might even use shared taxis (1) where that's the local way of getting around. Oh, and I've even resorted to airplanes and boats, but that was for a specific cache.

Cars are really impractical in Central America. You can't rent one between countries, and it's even less possible to get a one-way rental. If you bring your own car, countries want a pile of paperwork and money up front, as a sort of ransom to keep you from selling your car inside their country. Way too much hassle. (2) (3)

~~~

1. In the Dominican Republic, I discovered you can fit four adult hips across the back of a Nissan Tsuru, standard taxi sedan. When I slammed my door shut, I wondered if the other would pop open.

2. Road Fever by Tim Cahill is my favorite book ever, to judge from the number of times I've read it. Tells the tale of an epic drive the length of the Americas. It was all about border bureaucracy, teenagers with guns, and other driving hassles. Being Cahill, it was also hilarious. (USA and Canada only got a few pages; too easy.)

3. Off the Grid by Randy Denmon is another good book. For extra hassle/challenge, try finding electricity to keep a Tesla charged, all the way to Panama City.

Edited October 10, 2018 by Viajero Perdido
Spling and grammar

7.3k · October 10, 2018

The closest I've done in that area is to take a bus from Belize to Cancun. That worked out well.

14k · October 10, 2018

17 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

2. Road Fever by Tim Cahill is my favorite book ever, to judge from the number of times I've read it. Tells the tale of an epic drive the length of the Americas. It was all about border bureaucracy, teenagers with guns, and other driving hassles. Being Cahill, it was also hilarious. (USA and Canada only got a few pages; too easy.)

I'll have to look for that one. I've read another one from a woman that traveled from Mexico to Panama using various forms of public transportation but can't remember the name or author off the top of my head.

ETA: The book I was thinking of is called "Backpacked: A Reluctant Trip Across Central America" by Catherine Ryan Howard. It was quite entertaining and proves a good glimpse of many of the central american countries.

For Africa, Dark Star by Paul Theroux is a good read. It chronicles his travels from Cairo to Cape Town using various forms of ground transportation.

I enjoy these travel diary types of books. I'll have to check out Tim Cahill.

Edited October 10, 2018 by NYPaddleCacher

2.7k · October 10, 2018

Last week we added Qatar to our list and this week we added Israel. Tomorrow we head for Jordan and after that it'll be Turkey but we already have a souvenir for that country.

1.4k · October 11, 2018

Just back from my big trip. 8 new countries, bringing me up to 38. 21 with souvenirs, 17 without.

1.4k · October 11, 2018

Colleda, sorry we couldn't meet in Jordan

2.7k · October 11, 2018

4 hours ago, Gill & Tony said:

Colleda, sorry we couldn't meet in Jordan

No worries. After you're rested you're welcome to come up north and have a go at my Fernleigh Track series et al. I have guest accommodation. Will be back 3/11.

2.7k · October 15, 2018

Have added Jordan. That'll be it for a while. Possibly New Guinea in December then Egypt in February 2019. Total now 24.

1.7k · October 16, 2018

Quick trip to Fiji coming up next month, taking advantage of a cheap Air NZ deal that came up a couple of months ago. That will bring up country number 77

4.5k · October 16, 2018

2 minutes ago, funkymunkyzone said:

Quick trip to Fiji coming up next month, taking advantage of a cheap Air NZ deal that came up a couple of months ago. That will bring up country number 77

There are not many caches in Fiji. Fortunately there's now one in Suva. A few more if you can travel around the island.

1.7k · October 16, 2018

Just now, Goldenwattle said:

There are not many caches in Fiji. Fortunately there's now one in Suva. A few more if you can travel around the island.

I'll be flying into Nadi. Might drive as far as Suva, but probably just explore the Nadi area and south coast.

14k · October 16, 2018

18 hours ago, funkymunkyzone said:

I'll be flying into Nadi. Might drive as far as Suva, but probably just explore the Nadi area and south coast.

When I thought I might be able to attend a conference a few years ago in Australia I was looking at Air NZ which had a layover in Nadi. Alas, the trip didn't pan out.

I booked flights to Johannesburg, South Africa yesterday for some training I'm doing for an organization there. I leave in 10 days.

1.7k · October 17, 2018

5 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

When I thought I might be able to attend a conference a few years ago in Australia I was looking at Air NZ which had a layover in Nadi. Alas, the trip didn't pan out.

I booked flights to Johannesburg, South Africa yesterday for some training I'm doing for an organization there. I leave in 10 days.

Air NZ is certainly the best choice. Perhaps when we have NZ Mega 2020...

October 19, 2018

I've just seen this story on bbc.co.uk https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/must_see/45903825/baby-joins-the-all-50-states-club - in case the link doesn't work in the US (BBC have a strange set-up on their website), this is about a 6-month-old baby who's visited all 50 states! Future geocacher???

5.8k · October 22, 2018

On 10/19/2018 at 2:40 PM, Oxford Stone said:

I've just seen this story on bbc.co.uk https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/must_see/45903825/baby-joins-the-all-50-states-club - in case the link doesn't work in the US (BBC have a strange set-up on their website), this is about a 6-month-old baby who's visited all 50 states! Future geocacher???

Infants make poor caching companions. All they do is sit there; you have to do all the work.

Just look at this lazy lump. She didn't even wake up to find this one.

I've found they start getting more useful around five or so.

:laughing:

14k · October 22, 2018

On 10/19/2018 at 8:40 AM, Oxford Stone said:

I've just seen this story on bbc.co.uk https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/must_see/45903825/baby-joins-the-all-50-states-club - in case the link doesn't work in the US (BBC have a strange set-up on their website), this is about a 6-month-old baby who's visited all 50 states! Future geocacher???

I think I was three months old when my parents drove across the country from NJ to CA. I vaguely remember playing on the side of the road in Arizona when they had a flat tire but that was it and we probably traveled through a few states I haven't visited since.

4.5k · October 22, 2018

21 minutes ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

I think I was three months old when my parents drove across the country from NJ to CA. I vaguely remember playing on the side of the road in Arizona when they had a flat tire

Ah, a precocious one. :lol:

I wasn't playing in traffic (and on the railroad tracks) until I was roughly three years old. Kids back then, we had adventures.

14k · October 23, 2018

17 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

Ah, a precocious one.

I wasn't playing in traffic (and on the railroad tracks) until I was roughly three years old.

Oops. I meant to write 3 years....not 3 months.

Quote

Kids back then, we had adventures.

Many geocachers still do.

November 2, 2018

I know it doesn’t have its own souvenir, but is Vatican City, considered a separate country from Italy, geocaching-wise?

1.3k · November 2, 2018

50 minutes ago, geoBirder said:

I know it doesn’t have its own souvenir, but is Vatican City, considered a separate country from Italy, geocaching-wise?

Yes - my wife has only found two caches without me, and one was in VC. Grrrr. ;-)

November 2, 2018

9 minutes ago, IceColdUK said:

Yes - my wife has only found two caches without me, and one was in VC. Grrrr. ;-)

HAHA! Thanks IceColdUK!

1.7k · November 2, 2018

6 hours ago, geoBirder said:

HAHA! Thanks IceColdUK!

San Marino also, and worth a visit.

November 2, 2018

10 minutes ago, funkymunkyzone said:

San Marino also, and worth a visit.

Thanks funkymunkyzone. Will check it out!

2.1k · November 11, 2018

Been a bit busy lately, and flight connections from Scotland were rubbish. Anyway... I just moved again and now have two good international airports at my doorstep again. Not sure yet where to go to but I'd love to visit more of Eastern Europe and maybe catch one or the other microstate.

14k · November 12, 2018

20 hours ago, terratin said:

Been a bit busy lately, and flight connections from Scotland were rubbish. Anyway... I just moved again and now have two good international airports at my doorstep again. Not sure yet where to go to but I'd love to visit more of Eastern Europe and maybe catch one or the other microstate.

Where'd you move to this time? I had 4 international trips this year but only picked up three new countries (Kenya, UK, and Luxembourg). Although it won't make a difference in the amount of international travel I do we recently bought a second home that's 2.5 hours away from Newark airport which will make it a bit easier for traveling abroad. I don't have anything specific planned but there's a project proposal under consideration with an organization in Botswana that could result in a trip or two to Botswana and possibly one or two of the target countries for the project (Rwanda, Mozambique, Uganda...).

5.8k · November 12, 2018

Cached country #40 this weekend with three finds in Monaco. Lovely little place, even if it is all stacked up on top of itself in places.

Also enjoyed hearing every bell in Nice peal at 11:00 on 11/11. That was really something.

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