collecting countries

[+Harry Dolphin]

My brother added Nepal to his list.

[+Goldenwattle]

I added Austria and Slovakia.

[+Vooruit!]

Added Greece (Rhodes) and Turkey (one day boat trip to Marmaris, which was truly awful - both the boat and the city).

 

Planned for July: Spain and Andorra.

[+terratin]

So this afternoon I ended up in KUT. In case you wonder, yes, I flew to Kutaisi in Georgia and have added a new country to my geomap.

[+colleda]

Today I found my first BC, Canada.

[+Goldenwattle]

I added Netherlands, and in Germany: Bayern, Hessen & Nordrhein-Westfalan.

[+terratin]

Trip to Georgia is done. At least with regards to caches as there aren't any others I could do nearby. Got 15 finds, 1 DNF, 1 note on an event of mine because nobody showed up and I didn't want to log it, and I was nearly arrested for trying to find a cache at a location under observation by police for apparently being a drug smuggler location. Oops. But had a fantastic time in Georgia, and I will certainly come back <3

[+MNTA]

2 hours ago, terratin said:

 I was nearly arrested for trying to find a cache at a location under observation by police for apparently being a drug smuggler location. Oops. 

 

Wow what a story you'll remember that one forever, Glad you had a nice trip

[+terratin]

10 hours ago, MNTA said:

 

Wow what a story you'll remember that one forever, Glad you had a nice trip

Thanks 😅 it was an interesting experience. I didn’t believe the first three non-uniform police guys, then there were six, and finally nine. Eventually they realized I’m just a stupid tourist. And were kind of disappointed 🤣🤣🤣

[+terratin]

Oh-o. I just realized I could fly to Malaga for very little money and then take the bus to Gibraltar for a night on short notice. Hmm...

[+Viajero Perdido]

If you take the trains in Malaga, beware that the train station has platforms numbered 1 thru 8-ish, but also platforms numbered 1 and 2 downstairs, the local trains.  Figuring that out involved a bit of running.  We'd booked something from platform 1, but there was nothing in sight.

 

That was ages ago.  They might've improved the numbering since.

 

Gibraltar is eccentricly cool.

[+RogerW1nz]

I am from New Zealand, which is probably the remotest country in the world travel-wise. It is at least 3 hours flight time to any other country. Anyway, I started caching in 2016, and it was 2 years before I ventured overseas. Picked up two countries on that trip, planned to go away again in 2020, until COVID.

Finally last November, I flew to Europe (got 5 countries, including Spain by visiting the Canary Islands) and flew home via Newark and San Fran so got a couple of U.S. states.

I love to travel, and I have grown to love Geocaching. They complement each other.

[+terratin]

5 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

If you take the trains in Malaga, beware that the train station has platforms numbered 1 thru 8-ish, but also platforms numbered 1 and 2 downstairs, the local trains.  Figuring that out involved a bit of running.  We'd booked something from platform 1, but there was nothing in sight.

 

That was ages ago.  They might've improved the numbering since.

 

Gibraltar is eccentricly cool.

 

Cool, thanks a lot! I'll likely arriving by train from the airport. And leaving the same way again. Lets see how this goes (and how good/bad my Spanish still is).

Hotel in Gibraltar is a fact, and I should have enough time to climb the rock and find most caches. And the coolest thing is: None of this is going off my vacation days as I'm currently off sick due to surgery (not in the US, fully paid sick leave is a thing here)

[+terratin]

I might have another trip idea. But I've not quite cut the tie yet because a) very, very hot and b) another trip I've been looking at might drop further in price (which it likely won't).

[+Goldenwattle]

I added Isle of Man today.

[+terratin]

10 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

I added Isle of Man today.

Nice! For me it's one of those countries that are difficult to get to.

[+Goldenwattle]

12 hours ago, terratin said:

Nice! For me it's one of those countries that are difficult to get to.

I flew from Edinburgh to the Isle of Man. My plane was several hours late taking off, as they played with a propeller and dug around inside. Comforting that😦. The Isle of Man airport had to stay open beyond their closing time for our plane to land. Another plane from somewhere else also landed late like us, having had problems too.

Photographs:

1. Will we get there today?

2. I got a good view of the propeller from my seat.

 

[+terratin]

Yeah, I’d first need to get to the uk, likely stay a night and then fly on. 
 

Anyway, Gibraltar is a fact after a relaxing bus ride from Malaga (and Andalucia found as well). Now on to collecting the ecs on the rock, and later a swim in the hotelpool. Just two weeks after shoulder surgery. Next week I’m off to somewhere hotter as I saw a fab last minute offer to Egypt I could not resist😬😅

[+Viajero Perdido]

2 hours ago, terratin said:

Egypt

 

I started following a comic strip called Globetrotter.  The current story line is about going to Egypt by mistake.  Oopsie!

[+terratin]

2 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

 

I started following a comic strip called Globetrotter.  The current story line is about going to Egypt by mistake.  Oopsie!

 

I feel seen

[+Goldenwattle]

6 hours ago, terratin said:

Yeah, I’d first need to get to the uk, likely stay a night and then fly on. 

There are boats from the UK to the Isle of Man too. If I had been on the west coast I would have rather have taken a boat than flown.

[+terratin]

1 hour ago, Goldenwattle said:

There are boats from the UK to the Isle of Man too. If I had been on the west coast I would have rather have taken a boat than flown.

I know. I can only fly to London though from my current place. And taking a train to... I think Liverpool also takes a lot of time and isn't cheap. For me, IoM is at the moment as difficult as the Channel Islands and the few other remaining microstates because my home airport is s***. Gibraltar was the last easy microstate for me

[+terratin]

Well, just two days after returning from Malaga and Gibraltar I logged my first cache in Egypt. Have to say that the climate is more pleasant than in Andalucia, basically hotter but less humid. Once I'm back home I'll certainly NOT travel for a while because the own bed is just the most comfy one.

[+terratin]

Back from Egypt. If I manage to log all ECs I visited I will have found 7 caches in total. Have to say that Egypt was probably the most difficult country I ever traveled to. I could not walk 10 steps without someone offering their services, or wants to take a photo of me for a tip. And then there's the customs officer at the airport who tried to rid me of my sim card and remaining Egyptian money on the way out. Phew. Now I really need a vacation. But I wanted to visit Luxor for so long, and now I spent two days there (still so much left to see). Despite all, I will be back

[+JoLTeam]

On 6/26/2023 at 10:16 PM, Goldenwattle said:

I added Isle of Man today.

 

We'll be there on the 25th, adding country #42. We're taking the ferry from Heysham.

Edited July 12, 2023 by JoLTeam

[+Goldenwattle]

Added Ireland. I had been there before a couple of times, but pre geocaching.

[+Smitherington]

I’m on my way home from Costa Rica. I had been there before so I did not add a country, but I found a geocache near Cartago (GC9VNTK) so I now have at least one cache in each of the 7 provinces. 

[+terratin]

I'm currently considering (very tentatively) a trip to Zurich by bus. I currently have the time, I know I won't be able to get Switzerland on my map any cheaper (accommodation is just so expensive) and I'm so annoyed sitting home. Just not sure I should be sitting in a bus for so long. Well, maybe...

[+Goldenwattle]

An unexpected Taiwan added.

I was flying to Hong Kong, but after three failed attempts at landing (the plane started to shake and I was expecting a REALLY rough landing), the plane was diverted to Taipei. Typhoon. The passengers were taken to hotels in Taipei and told not to leave. Our passports were taken from us. I saw ground staff photographing my British Airlines plane as it taxied in. I don't BA lands here usually, so a novelty to see it arrive.

Fortunately, just outside my hotel front entry was a cache. Whether on hotel land or not I don't know, but it looked like hotel land. So I figured I was still at the hotel and walked the very short distance to log the cache. No one stopped me. I would have liked to have found some more caches, but they were too far from the "must stay in the hotel" instruction.

I couldn't complain about the hotel. Very nice. The best hotel this trip for me. The hotel photograph from about where the cache was, so not far from the hotel. 

[+terratin]

2 minutes ago, Goldenwattle said:

An unexpected Taiwan added.

I was flying to Hong Kong, but after three failed attempts at landing (the plane started to shake and I was expecting a REALLY rough landing), the plane was diverted to Taipei. Typhoon. The passengers were taken to hotels in Taipei and told not to leave. Our passports were taken from us. I saw ground staff photographing my British Airlines plane as it taxied in. I don't BA lands here usually, so a novelty to see it arrive.

Fortunately, just outside my hotel front entry was a cache. Whether on hotel land or not I don't know, but it looked like hotel land. So I figured I was still at the hotel and walked the very short distance to log the cache. No one stopped me. I would have liked to have found some more caches, but they were too far from the "must stay in the hotel" instruction.

I couldn't complain about the hotel. Very nice. The best hotel this trip for me. The hotel photograph from about where the cache was, so not far from the hotel. 

 

Cool! Congratulations on an unexpected new country!

[+Viajero Perdido]

3 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

An unexpected Taiwan added.

 

Cool!

 

Do you remember the name of the hotel?  Looks intriguing, and I've been meaning to get back to Taiwan...  (EDIT: got it: Yuanshan Great Hotel, as simple as searching "tall red hotel taipei".)

 

I imagine the "don't leave hotel" instruction was for ease of rounding up a planeload of hotel guests with an "okay let's go!" message.

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Viajero Perdido

[+Goldenwattle]

2 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

I imagine the "don't leave hotel" instruction was for ease of rounding up a planeload of hotel guests with an "okay let's go!" message.

We were transit passengers, and not 'officially' in the country, as we hadn't gone through immigration, etc. Though our passports were collected. Even those who lived in Taipei couldn't leave. They had to fly to Hong Kong and then fly back. Really silly and illogical that. We were bused to hotels and then bused back to the airport. My hotel was a long way. We must have travelled on the bus up to an hour. (I didn't time it.)

 

Yes, Grand Hotel. Inside the foyer.

[+Viajero Perdido]

Yeah, the airport's a distance from town.  But when I left Taipei back to Hong Kong (Taiwan was a little detour from a longer trip), I took the high speed rail, 11 quick minutes of extremely smooth whooooosh to a station vaguely close to the airport.  A bus closed the gap.  Not overly efficient, but fun, and now the metro has a direct line.  Pity you couldn't use it.

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Viajero Perdido

[+terratin]

So here's a trip to see whether it's possible to visit Switzerland on a budget. From northerly Germany, mind. I have time, thus why not. But return trip is 80 Euro (2x12hrs, but the bus is fairly empty and I have two seats for myself). Few nights in a 3-bed dorm. Probably the most expensive hostel I ever stayed at, but still ok at 60 Euro/night. I'm close to the Swiss border now thus I'll be dependent on slow bus wifi in a moment. Lets see how much everything is in the end (no, not going to eat the 'cheap' burger for 20sfr but something decent). Oh, and a new caching country. Theme: new country on a budget

[+terratin]

Switzerland on a budget.. ehm.. forget about it. I mean, a burger for 20 Euro without side is steep. A grilled sausage for a similar price: Yikes! I did manage to stay within (just about) 120 Euro for two full days food, transport, sightseeing, local sim card plus food for the long busride home the third. Here I bought food at a supermarket the evening before, just before closing time. Ok, I went over because I needed emergency socks and shoes. Was hit by a thunderstorm and torrential rains and sought shelter on a house wall. And then the gutter above burst and I found myself underneath a waterfall. But I needed new socks anyway (H&M is more expensive than here) and found simple Converse-like shoes on offer that are even comfy. Also got 15 caches. So that leaves 12 caching country in Europe I've not been to.

Edited July 28, 2023 by terratin

[+JakeDot]

On 6/18/2023 at 10:03 AM, terratin said:

Oh-o. I just realized I could fly to Malaga for very little money and then take the bus to Gibraltar for a night on short notice. Hmm...

I did that last year, although it was a week's trip and I also visited Melilla and Ceuta on the African mainland, and later Sevilla.

[+JakeDot]

On 7/28/2023 at 10:56 AM, terratin said:

So that leaves 12 caching country in Europe I've not been to.

I could have added Montenegro and Bosnia in January, was in the adjacent areas of Croatia, but finding (FTF) my girlfriend there and taking her home to Austria was more important 😂

[+colleda]

Last week I was really tempted to add Bermuda. A cruise tour special. Return flights to New York from Australia. Two nights in New York then an eight day cruise to Bahamas (Nassau) via Miami (extended stay of up to eight days available in NY). All for AUD2999 or USD2000. All that way for the same price as a New Zealand cruise and I've been there many times already. I can tolerate long haul flights, I like cruising and I've never been to NY. Only problem is, I have no one to go with. Single supplement is a deal killer.

[+terratin]

10 hours ago, colleda said:

Last week I was really tempted to add Bermuda. A cruise tour special. Return flights to New York from Australia. Two nights in New York then an eight day cruise to Bahamas (Nassau) via Miami (extended stay of up to eight days available in NY). All for AUD2999 or USD2000. All that way for the same price as a New Zealand cruise and I've been there many times already. I can tolerate long haul flights, I like cruising and I've never been to NY. Only problem is, I have no one to go with. Single supplement is a deal killer.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I've never looked at cruises, but see some interesting last-minute package deals every now and then. Run the calculation, and the trip suddenly doubles in price. Flight can't get more expensive, regardless of one or two people traveling. So this must all be due to the hotel. Ho hum...

[+colleda]

14 hours ago, terratin said:

Yeah, I know what you mean. I've never looked at cruises, but see some interesting last-minute package deals every now and then. Run the calculation, and the trip suddenly doubles in price. Flight can't get more expensive, regardless of one or two people traveling. So this must all be due to the hotel. Ho hum...

Ship cabin will also be double.

I was caught out on a previous cruise Genoa/Miami. I had paid the single supplement but ended up in a single cabin into which a double bed had been squeezed.

[+Goldenwattle]

1 hour ago, colleda said:

Ship cabin will also be double.

I was caught out on a previous cruise Genoa/Miami. I had paid the single supplement but ended up in a single cabin into which a double bed had been squeezed.

I was fortunate for my last cruise that I didn't have to pay single supplement. I booked fairly late. I got a proper room.

[+Gill & Tony]

17 hours ago, terratin said:

Yeah, I know what you mean. I've never looked at cruises, but see some interesting last-minute package deals every now and then. Run the calculation, and the trip suddenly doubles in price. Flight can't get more expensive, regardless of one or two people traveling. So this must all be due to the hotel. Ho hum...

Cheap last minute cruises can sometimes be a wee bit more than you expect.

 

We are (or were) regular cruisers with Princess.  We were offered a really cheap price for a relocation cruise - Rome to Fort Lauderdale in Dec 2016  Fine, we booked it.  Then, we had to fly to Rome.  Never having been to Rome, we booked a small hotel for 4 Nights and had a day trip to Florence and Pisa, plus the Vatican.  Now we are in Ft. Lauderdale a few nights before Christmas and we had planned to spend Christmas with friends in Navarre (near Pensacola).  So, hire car to Navarre and, after Christmas we continued to New Orleans.   We had never been to Las Vegas, so we flew there and stayed for 4 nights over New Year.  Hotel room costs were interesting 30th Dec $80, 31 Dec $350, 1 Jan $350, 2 Dec $80.   Now we hired another car and drove to San Francisco via part of Route 66 and eventually flew back home form Los Angeles.   Given that the main reason for taking the cruise was to go back to Bermuda (we lived there 30-odd years previously), a cheap cruise turned into an epic Round-the-World odyssey.

[+Vooruit!]

Planned a trip to Iaşi (RO) with a border crossing to Moldova. Anyone who visited Chișinău (the capital) can confirm/debunk whether that would be worth the ride (2.5 hours)?

Edited August 30, 2023 by Vooruit!

[+eigengott]

After a long time (Slovenia in 2021) I managed to add another country to my stats: Monaco. Quite a strange city, but I don't regret the vistit. Easy to reach by train if you make holidays somewhere along the Riviera.

 

That leaves Vatican City as microstate in Western Europe for me. Ok, also Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey I guess, as the count as separate countries here at geocaching.com.

[+terratin]

On 8/29/2023 at 5:42 PM, eigengott said:

After a long time (Slovenia in 2021) I managed to add another country to my stats: Monaco. Quite a strange city, but I don't regret the vistit. Easy to reach by train if you make holidays somewhere along the Riviera.

 

That leaves Vatican City as microstate in Western Europe for me. Ok, also Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey I guess, as the count as separate countries here at geocaching.com.

 

Nice one! You've got San Marino, Andorra and Gibraltar already?  Monaco is still missing for me but I just can't get easily towards Nice or anywhere around there.

 

Today I added Slovenia on a whim by walking over the border from Croatia over a small mountain path. The old border barrier was still there. I'll do at least another day trip to Slovenia, thus according to my own odd rules this is fine as I normally never cross a border to just bag another country. Just undecided on what to do: I could spend a night in Ljubljana or drive to Trieste for a day. At the moment Italy is triggering me more though.

[+eigengott]

On 9/2/2023 at 8:26 PM, terratin said:

 

You've got San Marino, Andorra and Gibraltar already?

 

Now that you say it: no, haven't been in Gibraltar yet. But that's quite a trip by train, 32+ hours from Cologne via Paris and Barcelona. Due to the CO2 emissions, flying is no longer an option for me.

 

Congrats to finding a cache in Slovenia!

[+Vooruit!]

Added Moldova. I ended up riding to Chișinău anyway, which was sort of a double-edged sword. The traffic is absolutely crazy out there, had to shorten my cache wishlist bigtime, as I was so sick of the slow pace. On the positive side, I managed to get an FTF!

 

My stay in Iaşi was average, the traffic is just as bad out there. All these cities could be so much nicer if there were some nice bicycle infrastructure out there. Car-centered cities are awful!

[+baer2006]

On 4/17/2023 at 5:09 PM, baer2006 said:

... in September, I'm going on a family vacation to the island of Kos, Greece. I'm planning a day trip to Bodrum, Turkey (only 30 minutes by boat) to get Turkey as my 20th "caching country" (not a lot, I know, compared to the globetrotters ...). Or not, if the various traveler reports on the web describing not-so-pleasant experiences for that trip (very long waiting times in the passport control queues) make my wife and me cancel the idea .

We made the day trip to Bodrum, and so I not only got an additional country, but also an additional GC continent  (I have been in Asia before, but not as a geocacher). The "chaos" at the passport controls wasn't that bad, but the 4 controls in total (exit GR, enter TR, exit TR, enter GR) still meant a total waiting time of around 90 minutes - you really learn to appreciate the open borders in the EU .

 

Anyway, I noticed one interesting tidbit on geocaching.com: I run the site in English, and all country names describing the cache location are therefore in English ("Germany", "Greece", etc.) - with one exception: It's "Türkiye" and not "Turkey". No big deal of course, but does anyone know why Turkey is "special" in that regard?

[+RCH65]

12 minutes ago, baer2006 said:

Anyway, I noticed one interesting tidbit on geocaching.com: I run the site in English, and all country names describing the cache location are therefore in English ("Germany", "Greece", etc.) - with one exception: It's "Türkiye" and not "Turkey". No big deal of course, but does anyone know why Turkey is "special" in that regard?

 

The official english name of "Turkey" changed to "Türkiye" about a year ago (not only in Geocaching)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61671913
 

[+baer2006]

9 minutes ago, RCH65 said:

 

The official english name of "Turkey" changed to "Türkiye" about a year ago (not only in Geocaching)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61671913

Thanks a lot! In hindsight, I could (and should) have googled this myself .