collecting countries

[+terratin]

Added Jersey to my list today, and have henceworth found caches in 69 countries now Sark will follow in two days most likely.

[+Goldenwattle]

On 5/25/2024 at 6:15 PM, Arnàutil said:

I'm at 53 countries right now, next month planning to grab my 54 & 55 during holidays (Singapore and Malaysia) and in July most likely Indonesia for work trip (56th).

I have a way to go to match your geocache finds in 53 countries. Now at 33 countries for geocaching finds (I added Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Falkland Islands and Antarctica this year.) I hope to add Indonesia and Malaysia also this year. I'm taking a cruise from Sydney to Singapore (which I already have finds in), and the cruise stops at a couple of places in Indonesia. Not sure I will be able to find a cache there, but I will try. I plan a day trip to Malaysia while in Singapore.

[+Vooruit!]

Hong Kong, China, Taiwan & Macau coming up. It's SUCH a first world problem, but... really nervous about the long flight. If there's a secret formula for getting some sleep during a flight, I'd like to hear it. 

 

Anyway, a nice GPX is all the tour guide I'll need, as usual. 

[+Viajero Perdido]

17 hours ago, Vooruit! said:

If there's a secret formula for getting some sleep during a flight

 

You mean, besides splurging on a bed in the dorm room up front?  

 

I usually pop a melatonin 10mg before my destination bedtime to get a head start against jetlag, but you could instead do that on departure to encourage sleep during the flight.

 

I've always gotten an aisle seat in the middle section.  If some unlucky soul is in the middle seat beside you, they're likely spoused with the aisle person on their other side, who will be the one getting up as needed.  But try sleeping in an aisle seat with people grabbing your headrest or draping their sari across your face as they walk by...

 

On some planes, the last few rows have one less seat because the fuselage tapers.  I've grabbed an aisle seat there because of a wee bit more seat width or elbow room.  But you're last off the plane.

 

Going west from North America to, say, Hong Kong, I rarely get jetlag.  It hits going the other direction, I find.  It's easier to stay up late than go to sleep early.

 

Edited June 6, 2024 by Viajero Perdido

[+baer2006]

18 hours ago, Vooruit! said:

Hong Kong, China, Taiwan & Macau coming up. It's SUCH a first world problem, but... really nervous about the long flight. If there's a secret formula for getting some sleep during a flight, I'd like to hear it. 

Interesting to read that. I had the same mixed feelings before my flight to New Zealand earlier this year (I'm not a regular long-distance traveler at all). Time difference to CET was 12 hours, and I had serious concerns that the first days of the vacation in NZ would be ruined because of severe jet-lag.

 

It turned out to be no issue at all. We arrived in the middle of the night, while our "internal clocks" were on CET around noon. But after the very long air travel (24 hrs in total, 22 on the planes) with hardly any sleep, we nevertheless just "dropped dead" into the hotel beds at 1 am. The next day was intentionally planned as a "time zone acclimatization" day - sleeping in until the late morning, and only very relaxed activities during the day. This worked like a charm, and on the first few days in NZ, the only jet-lag symptoms I experienced were some short periods of fatigue during times, where they normally don't occur. But a small power-snack and enough water always brought my batteries back up to 100%. So the bottom line is: Don't worry, and look forward to your trip !

[+terratin]

11 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

 

You mean, besides splurging on a bed in the dorm room up front?  

 

I usually pop a melatonin 10mg before my destination bedtime to get a head start against jetlag, but you could instead do that on departure to encourage sleep during the flight.

 

I've always gotten an aisle seat in the middle section.  If some unlucky soul is in the middle seat beside you, they're likely spoused with the aisle person on their other side, who will be the one getting up as needed.  But try sleeping in an aisle seat with people grabbing your headrest or draping their sari across your face as they walk by...

 

On some planes, the last few rows have one less seat because the fuselage tapers.  I've grabbed an aisle seat there because of a wee bit more seat width or elbow room.  But you're last off the plane.

 

Going west from North America to, say, Hong Kong, I rarely get jetlag.  It hits going the other direction, I find.  It's easier to stay up late than go to sleep early.

 

I'm useless with sleeping on a plane. Melatonin doesn't do anything there. I prefer to sit on the window seat as I can lean against the wall, but still. Laying inclined just hurts my back and bum after a while, and if I'd not use a neck pillow I'd wake up with my ear on my shoulder if I do find some sleep. So yeah, I do try to avoid long intercontinental flights because it takes 4-5 days to get over jetlag.

[+terratin]

Added Sark to my country list today. Had about 5hrs quality caching and sightseeing time on the island and found some 12 caches and cycled and walked around 18km. Now I'm back on Jersey and will have 1.5 more days here. Have collected 10 of 12 municipalities by now and found all ECs along my cycle routes.

With regards to Channel Islands, I'm sure I'll also visit Guernsey and Herm one day, even though there's no new country to bag here. Been to Alderney already.

 

 

 

 

[+Vooruit!]

Thanks all for the tips! I'm kind off reluctant on taking melatonin (or even temazepam which I have as a left-over from some recent sleep issues) and stuff. The idea of being even more sleepy whilst not having actually slept scares me off. One thing I will definitely do is take an aisle seat in the middle section, that makes so much sense!

 

Btw, amazing pics @terratin!

[+Viajero Perdido]

Melatonin is the body's own natural sleep hormone ... but the body produces less as we get older.

 

I'd never take a pharmaceutical (especially after the last few years!) when a natural body ingredient is available.  The latter had a much longer design cycle.  

[+Arnàutil]

On 6/5/2024 at 5:50 AM, Goldenwattle said:

I have a way to go to match your geocache finds in 53 countries. Now at 33 countries for geocaching finds (I added Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Falkland Islands and Antarctica this year.) I hope to add Indonesia and Malaysia also this year. I'm taking a cruise from Sydney to Singapore (which I already have finds in), and the cruise stops at a couple of places in Indonesia. Not sure I will be able to find a cache there, but I will try. I plan a day trip to Malaysia while in Singapore.

 

So I had to cancel our trip to malaysia and singapore for a good reason... my partner got pregnant! with hopefully our first child, so because of zika virus risk, we changed our flights to Seychelles. Much quieter trip but for sure will grab some caches there.

 

On the other side in one month I will travel to Indonesia for work so I will add for sure two new countries to my list 

[+terratin]

I'm currently in the process of booking a trip a year from now. Yes, you heard correctly. I've booked the only cheap accommodation for my preferred dates and am now waiting for the flight back to become available. Just a few more days I think. Lets see if I need to change the hotel after all 😅

[+terratin]

So it's sorted: Next year I'm going to Greenland. I've never booked a trip so far in advanced but for the past two years I always missed the few cheap flight tickets including a stopover.

[+MNTA]

6 hours ago, terratin said:

So it's sorted: Next year I'm going to Greenland. I've never booked a trip so far in advanced but for the past two years I always missed the few cheap flight tickets including a stopover.

Ok I'm now completely jealous, Always wanted to go since as a 10 year old flying between Europe and Seattle several times and looking out the window and seeing the vast glaciers and rocky coastline wondering what it was like down there.

 

Hope you have a fabulous experience! 

 

For me it is third on my North American bucket list.

 

1 - Drive the Dempster Highway to Innuvik and carry on to Tuktoyaktuk and swim in the arctic ocean,

2 - Visit a small outpost of France in North America St. Pierre. And explore the Canadian Maritimes.

3 - Visit Greenland

 

Some day,  maybe I should start trying to make it happen.

 

[+Smitherington]

I also have my eyes on French islands off Newfoundland, Saint Pierre & Miquelon

[+terratin]

Wow, I just realized that Newfoundland is one part of NA I know nothing about! I hope you get there one day, guys.

[+RCH65]

On 6/22/2024 at 5:35 PM, MNTA said:

1 - Drive the Dempster Highway to Innuvik and carry on to Tuktoyaktuk and swim in the arctic ocean,

2 - Visit a small outpost of France in North America St. Pierre. And explore the Canadian Maritimes.

3 - Visit Greenland

 

Some day,  maybe I should start trying to make it happen.

 

16 hours ago, Smitherington said:

I also have my eyes on French islands off Newfoundland, Saint Pierre & Miquelon

 

I don't want to make you too jealous... but if you want to combine all of this: We are going on a (12 day) cruise next week (by Norwegian Cruise Line) starting in Iceland -> Greenland -> Newfoundland (Canada) -> St. Pierre et Miquelon (France) -> Novia Scotia (Canada) -> New York City

The cruise is also available in the opposite direction.

[+MNTA]

3 minutes ago, RCH65 said:

 

 

I don't want to make you too jealous... but if you want to combine all of this: We are going on a (12 day) cruise next week (by Norwegian Cruise Line) starting in Iceland -> Greenland -> Newfoundland (Canada) -> St. Pierre et Miquelon (France) -> Novia Scotia (Canada) -> New York City

The cruise is also available in the opposite direction.

Thanks for the information I hope you have a wonderful trip. Please share your pictures.

[+RCH65]

BTW:
Sunset in Reykjavik (28/06): 23:57

Sunrise in Reykjavik (29/06): 03:03

 

Oh, that's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh
I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh
That's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh
I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh

🤩🖖

[+Harry Dolphin]

4 hours ago, RCH65 said:

 

 

I don't want to make you too jealous... but if you want to combine all of this: We are going on a (12 day) cruise next week (by Norwegian Cruise Line) starting in Iceland -> Greenland -> Newfoundland (Canada) -> St. Pierre et Miquelon (France) -> Novia Scotia (Canada) -> New York City

The cruise is also available in the opposite direction.

 

We had a nice trip to the Maritime Provinces.  Loved Newfoundland.  Also enjoyed Prince Edward Island.  Though very expensive toll bridge to get there.  St Pierre et Miquelon gives you a Souvenir for St Pierre et Miquelon, NOT for France. 

[+Smitherington]

A couple things:

I’m not given to jealousy but that cruise sounds wonderful. Never thought about getting to St Pierre Miquelon that way but I like the idea.

 

Secondly as I recall the bridge to Prince Edward Island it was free. That is until the return trip where it was forty some bucks.

 

But the island was lovely and very much worth the cost.

[+Goldenwattle]

Not collecting countries, but collecting shires/councils. I will be home today after driving around the neighbouring state of NSW here in Australia. I will have driven almost 3,500km and I ticked off eight shires or councils, as they are called here. The main reason for the trip. Walgett, Coonamble, Warren, Gilgandra, Narromine, Cobar, Parkes and Leeton councils and shires. Western part of the state. I had found others shires on previous trips. I still have a few more in the north east of the state to find, but most shires and councils for the state of NSW found now.

I found all the caches in Warren Shire...all three of them 😉.

 

Edited June 25, 2024 by Goldenwattle

[+Goldenwattle]

Today I logged four caches in Bali and ticked off Indonesia. One of them this spectacular Earthcache, showing once again that geocaching brings you to great places you might not discover otherwise. These were not the biggest 'splashes' I saw.

Bali Water Blow Earthcache - GC7CJHD

    

Edited August 2, 2024 by Goldenwattle

[+Goldenwattle]

Added Malaysia to the list. I am staying in Singapore, but crossed the border to Johor Bahru in Malaysia to cache. Queues to catch a bus across, through Singapore and Malaysian checkpoints, and found myself in a mall. Took awhile to escape that. Very busy, and building works for a metro extension is complicating it at present. Confusing area. Finally got myself out of the mall(s) and headed to the nearest cache. Thanks to a good hint a quick find once at GZ. Looked around. The busy streets are hard to cross, and appeared tricky to navigate. It had taken me long enough to get here, and I decided to head for coffee and then begin the journey out of Malaysia and back to Singapore. Only one cache, but I was happy with that, and pleased to leave congested and unappealing Johor Bahru.

Over the border, back in Singapore, I was caching again.

[+Vooruit!]

Added Gibraltar and Morocco, my 48th and 49th country respectively. Also got an FTF in Spain, which is my 10th 'FTF country'. 

 

Now, which country shall I bless with being my 50th? 

[+Viajero Perdido]

Congrats!

 

If you liked Hong Kong, I think you'd like South Korea too.  I keep returning to both places to walk the trails, find the caches, and eat the food.  (...which is why it took me forever to break 20, always returning to old favorite places instead of trying new ones.)

[+colleda]

1 hour ago, Viajero Perdido said:

Congrats!

 

If you liked Hong Kong, I think you'd like South Korea too.  I keep returning to both places to walk the trails, find the caches, and eat the food.  (...which is why it took me forever to break 20, always returning to old favorite places instead of trying new ones.)

I will be going to South Korea next month. Sorry if this may be slightly OT. I will be on an organised tour and intend to cache on the fly using my Motorola phone instead of my Garmin GPSr. I intend to buy a South Korea SIM (the Motorola is dual SIM) and would like an idea of how many data gigs I would need, approximately, per day.

Edited August 13, 2024 by colleda

[+Goldenwattle]

14 hours ago, colleda said:

I will be going to South Korea next month. Sorry if this may be slightly OT. I will be on an organised tour and intend to cache on the fly using my Motorola phone instead of my Garmin GPSr. I intend to buy a South Korea SIM (the Motorola is dual SIM) and would like an idea of how many data gigs I would need, approximately, per day.

Information re roaming: South Korea and some other general information from my experiences for other Australians travelling.

For my recent trip, visiting Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, I bought a 14 day 5GB add on to my annual Boost contract. Other brands will likely have deals too. (For interest, the Boost yearly contract costs A230, and I have never come close to using that up, even with using my hotspot when travelling in Australia.) The add on for international roaming costs A$40 for 5GB for 14 days. A$30 for 3GB for 7 days. That way I got to keep my Australian number. It doesn't cover every country, but it also covers South Korea. There are cheaper Sim card contracts available than that, but you don't get to keep your phone number. For instance, I once got a 30 day sim card bought when I arrived in Hong Kong for all of about A$6. I think that had a phone number, whereas in South America the sim card had no phone number; only data. (You can't just buy a Simcard in Hong Kong and shove it in your phone and expect it to work as I have done with Simcards in Europe. It needs to be set up and that is in Chinese script, so help needed there.)

Re GBs needed: For this recent trip and my 14 day 5GB add on, because over the first two days in Indonesia I was on a cruise ship (Sydney to Singapore) and didn't have wi-fi aboard (was NOT paying $40 a day aboard for it) I managed to use half of the 5GB over two days, but I was uploading photographs, etc. However after that when I arrived in Singapore and stayed in a hotel with wi-fi, I used the hotel wi-fi for the internet and uploading photographs etc. The 2.5GBs left were enough for the seven days cache roaming in Singapore and Malaysia. I used that for geocaching, although I also used a GPS sometimes too, which took the strain off the phone's GBs.

 

For general information, for other Australians who might be travelling. I would have liked to know this before I travelled.

The countries Boost covers in the roaming packs (likely whatever brand you use, they will cover similar countries; maybe even more countries than Boost): Canada I China I Croatia I Czech Republic I Fiji I France I Germany I Greece I Hong Kong I Hungary I India I Indonesia I Ireland I Israel I Italy I Japan I Malaysia I Nauru I Netherlands I New Zealand I Norway I Papua New Guinea I Philippines I Poland I Portugal I Qatar I Samoa I Serbia I Singapore I Soloman Islands I South Korea I Spain I Sri Lanka I Sweden I Taiwan I Thailand I Tonga I Turkey I UK I USA I Vanuatu I Vietnam

 

Otherwise I buy a monthly A$30 simcard for travel. Unless it's South America, which was difficult, and I ended up with a A$50 simcard for data only for 14 days, as many South American packages don't include Argentina, and I needed one that did. 

 

Next year I have a 2 week trip booked for Vietnam and Cambodia. I note that Boost (my provider) covers Vietnam, but not Cambodia. We start in Vietnam, so I will likely roam for the first week in Vietnam with a 7 day roaming package with my provider, even though it's more expensive than buying a simcard, as I like to keep my phone number, and buy a simcard for the second week in Cambodia.

Edited August 14, 2024 by Goldenwattle

[+Viajero Perdido]

My recent trip to Korea was 3+ weeks, and I went just barely over 1GB of data.  However, I pre-loaded my phone (Locus Map on Android) with all caches and maps needed for offline mode, like loading up an old Garmin, so my data usage was just miscellaneous stuff like loading extra logs, spoiler photos, navigation with CityMapper, restaurant reviews, etc.

 

Most quality caching apps let you pre-load everything you need, eliminating the need for a SIM.  There may still be a want for a SIM, of course.  So, I get one, even though I cache in airplane mode.

 

There are a bazillion SIM options, and coverage is phenomenal; Korea is hyper-modern.  I think this is the SIM I used, and it was fine:  https://www.trazy.com/experience/detail/korea-sim-card-international-shipping-service

 

(I don't usually buy a SIM in advance, but my plane landed at stupid:30 AM and I knew nothing would be open, and even though I didn't need that SIM to find my way into Seoul on the first train, I wanted it.  Correction...  Actually I did need it to CityMapper my way around between caches the first day while my bag waited for check-in time at a locker in the station.)

 

Edited August 14, 2024 by Viajero Perdido

[+Goldenwattle]

1 hour ago, Viajero Perdido said:

I think this is the SIM I used, and it was fine:  https://www.trazy.com/experience/detail/korea-sim-card-international-shipping-service

That starts at A$39.10. I can't find what that covers.

 

This one starts at A$29. I have used this brand for Europe and South Amercia: https://simcorner.com/collections/asia-sim-card

I don't know how that compares though to the Korea one.

Edited August 14, 2024 by Goldenwattle

[+Vooruit!]

If your phone has esim capabilities, then I'd definitely go for that. It's just so much easier than preordering a sim online, or, after arriving, finding a shop that sells sim cards. Definitely the future of having data when on holiday.

[+colleda]

On 8/14/2024 at 11:41 AM, Viajero Perdido said:

My recent trip to Korea was 3+ weeks, and I went just barely over 1GB of data.  However, I pre-loaded my phone (Locus Map on Android) with all caches and maps needed for offline mode, like loading up an old Garmin, so my data usage was just miscellaneous stuff like loading extra logs, spoiler photos, navigation with CityMapper, restaurant reviews, etc.

 

Most quality caching apps let you pre-load everything you need, eliminating the need for a SIM.  There may still be a want for a SIM, of course.  So, I get one, even though I cache in airplane mode.

 

There are a bazillion SIM options, and coverage is phenomenal; Korea is hyper-modern.  I think this is the SIM I used, and it was fine:  https://www.trazy.com/experience/detail/korea-sim-card-international-shipping-service

 

(I don't usually buy a SIM in advance, but my plane landed at stupid:30 AM and I knew nothing would be open, and even though I didn't need that SIM to find my way into Seoul on the first train, I wanted it.  Correction...  Actually I did need it to CityMapper my way around between caches the first day while my bag waited for check-in time at a locker in the station.)

 

Thanks for the info. I am looking at your SIM recommendation whichs looks good. I would prefer just a plug and play SIM, phone calls are not a priority as I rarely phone anyone while away. I will be travelling with a tour group so my time is restricted by the itinerary except for any free time allowance and any time to spare after the days' touring activity. However what I would really like to know is approximately how much data would would a phone use per day for casual geocaching Traditionals and Virtuals only?

My phone does not have E-SIM capability (Motorola G82 5G).

BTW. Your point on having the SIM before arrival was a good one and I had that in mind.

Edited August 25, 2024 by colleda

[+Viajero Perdido]

Though I have no data to back this up...

 

I'd think "spontaneous caching" might use 10 or 20 MB / day tops, maybe extra if you're loading spoiler pictures and you haven't loaded map tiles in advance.  It's images (spoilers, map tiles, videos, ...) that really suck up bandwidth; simple text such as cache listings and logs is minor, a lower order of magnitude.

 

TLDR: 1GB should be way more than enough (CLARIFYING: for the entire trip; you were asking about GB/day), and you'd even have leftover for miscellaneous stuff (checking email etc.) between WiFi points.  (Can you even buy less than 1GB nowadays?  Dunno.)

 

PS, if I was in a tour group with only limited time for caching, I probably wouldn't even bother with a SIM.  I'd just have all the caches and map tiles pre-loaded in advance (at home, or over hotel WiFi), then pretend my phone was a dumb old Garmin.  All of South Korea (map tiles + caches) can easily fit into a caching app.

 

If you're one of those people who watches videos while on the train/bus, ignore my advice; you'll need gigs.  No idea how many, but people seem to buy "unlimited" because they have no idea either.

 

Edited August 26, 2024 by Viajero Perdido

[+colleda]

Thanks. My phone is not glued to my ear and I have no idea at all how much data it uses. I'd average, maybe, one call a day and one or two texts. The only time I use it for caching is when I do maintenance.

This will likely be a trial run for my Adriatic cruise Nov/Dec when I'll have heaps more time. I have a couple of free days in Athens and Rome where I would normally load PQs into GSAK for download to my Garmin.

[+colleda]

I am now home from my South Korean tour. And, I achieved my objective to find at least one cache. I also arrived home with a travel bug - TB code = COVID 19. I managed my one and only find late at night on the last day. I tried, possibly, every possible way to make it hard for myself to find a cache. I had planned to buy a SIM before leaving home but I surmised, incorrectly, that it would be easy to pick one up in a modern,  technologically savvy country but this was not the case. I did not see any for sale in Seoul airport. Hmm.

I asked at my hotel and was directed to a street kiosk a few blocks away. They only sold one type with little data but unlimited calls. I thought I should try and find another store but had no luck. For the rest of my tour I did not see another The tour I was on was full on and left not a lot of free time outside of finding somewhere to eat for lucnch and dinners. There were "markets" but these were pretty much selling food and clothing. One day we had lunch in a huge department store but all I could find there was an Apple store and Garmin watch store.

I resorted to minimal roaming usage after first checking areas near our hotels. There were few opportunities but time would overrule potential finds. There was one time when I was about 20m from a traditional but could not go after it as we were to board a boat for a night river cruise. Another time I accidently left my phone on the bus and found, on my return, that we had been right at an easy Virtual - Cheomseongdae Observatory - GCAJJKV  DOH!

My last day was very long and tiring. It included going down into the DMZ Third Tunnel of Aggression where I reckon I picked up my bug. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Tunnel_of_Aggression There are no caches allowed anywhere near the DMZ.

Following a posh, eight course, Korean last-night dinner we returned late to our hotel. Back in my room I checked the surrounding area on my laptop to discover a Traditional only 150m away. This time I was using my phone with a AU$10 a day internaional roaming plan I managed to instal (after a lot of trouble with a call centre person who I could barely understand and who was more intent on trying to sell me a new phone) two nights earlier after finally getting through to my provider.

Minutes later I had an easy Found it. Circular Square Traditional Cache GCAM0P7

Geocaching was an activity well down the list for this South Korean holiday. For me, it was a personal trial run to see if I could cope for the first time, on my own, without my life partner of fifty years who passed a little over six years ago. I now feel a little more confident about my Adriatic, Italy and Greece cruise coming up in two weeks. And, I intend to be a little better prepared to add a couple more countries to my stats.

 

 

[+GeoElmo6000]

3 hours ago, colleda said:

I had planned to buy a SIM before leaving home but I surmised, incorrectly, that it would be easy to pick one up in a modern,  technologically savvy country but this was not the case.

 

First, congrats on getting your South Korea cache, and I'm glad you were able to successfully make the trip solo.  I'm sorry about your loss!

 

Sounds like you have an Android device whereas I use an iPhone, but when I've gone to foreign countries from the US and didn't want to worry about a data plan, I've been able to download all the geocaches in a certain city or region onto my app (I use Cachly which is iOS exclusive but this option is probably available with other apps) and then do the whole trip in airplane mode with the app in an offline mode.  In airplane mode (at least on the iPhone) you still pick up GPS, so I was able to find caches with no data plan using my phone.  And if I needed any updates I could just connect to a local Wifi.  Easy peasy.  You can easily test this at home.  I'd also download offline maps in the Cachly app ahead of time.

 

I was also able to save maps ahead of time (or updates over Wifi) on my Google Maps app to navigate around.  That worked really well on Google Maps when I went to England but later when I went to Italy that didn't work as well, not sure why.  The geocaching download worked fine.

 

I hope you enjoy your trip to the Adriatic!  Sto imparando l'italiano e sono geloso.

[+colleda]

Arrived in Athens, Greece today prior to my Adriatic Coast cruise starting 2/11. Made my first Greek find with the first cache I looked for then DNFd two others. This time I had a Europe SIM for my phone whic worked fine. I also had my Garmin  loaded up before I left home thanks to GSAK. Both devices were working well in the city. Tomorrow I plan to do a Big Bus tour to find some more - it's a Ho-Ho.

[+colleda]

Final day in Athens today. Total find 16. Today I made an early start at about 8.30. I already had five finds and three DNFs from previous day. Three hours later I had added eleven more to the tally - 9 Trads and 2 virtuals. One of the 9 was a frown from yesterday that I turned in to a smile.

It was, for the first time, a day where I was caching using my phone. I also took along my old Etrex 20s just to make some comparisons. I was impressed with how well the phone, Motorola 82G did it's job but it had one really annoying feature - it would want me to log a find when I was within about 10m of GZ

 whereas my Garmin would continue counting down to zero. A good morning was had (zero DNFs) so I decided, or should I say my feet decided, it was enough so I had a restful afternoon. Tomorrow I board the cruise ship Nieuw Statendam, destination Corfu.

 

 

[+Viajero Perdido]

On 7/18/2023 at 5:58 PM, 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. 

 

I went right by there today, on the bus going to/from a soggy geo-hike in the hills above.  That hotel is impressively huge when you're even halfway close.  Heck, it stands out across the city when you've got a sight line.

 

I feel like I should go back just to have a proper gawk.  But I wouldn't stay there; not close to anything.

 

PS, every other "Grand Hotel" I've ever seen has been a laughable little dump, like an intentional joke.  Seeing this one broke that chain.

 

Edited November 7, 2024 by Viajero Perdido

[+colleda]

So far, this trip, I have added Greece, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia. Albania is the next one to grab then that will be all for this trip.

[+colleda]

Having a high Gb data SIM is handy because I have been tethering my phone to my MS Surface. Much cheaper than ship internet.

[+Goldenwattle]

On 11/7/2024 at 8:38 PM, Viajero Perdido said:

 

I went right by there today, on the bus going to/from a soggy geo-hike in the hills above.  That hotel is impressively huge when you're even halfway close.  Heck, it stands out across the city when you've got a sight line.

 

I feel like I should go back just to have a proper gawk.  But I wouldn't stay there; not close to anything.

 

PS, every other "Grand Hotel" I've ever seen has been a laughable little dump, like an intentional joke.  Seeing this one broke that chain.

 

 

It's lovely inside too. I don't normally stay in such a Grand Hotel. It was the airline's choice.

 

 Foyer

 

 The room I was given

 

 My balcony

 

 Bedroom corridor

Edited November 9, 2024 by Goldenwattle

[+colleda]

Yesterday I was able tick Albania off the list with two finds during a group tour. That will be the last for this cruise as the next ports of call are in Greece and Italy. Today I am in Argostoli and it's raining. If the weather clears I'll go ashore to try and add to my tally.

[+Goldenwattle]

12 hours ago, colleda said:

Today I am in Argostoli and it's raining. If the weather clears I'll go ashore to try and add to my tally.

😂 What's a bit of rain!. Go. Take an umbrella.

The day in Naples, Italy, making sure I tick this one off.

 

 

[+Viajero Perdido]

Pretty sure I'm not going caching today; it's coming down in sheets. But before I go stir-crazy I'll have to grab the umbrella and at least go for a walk, get down below the clouds. 

 

 

Magnificent ocean view in Taiwan. 

 

BTW, weatherspark.com is usually great for telling you the weather you can expect somewhere, and I always consult it before buying plane tickets.  It said, this is the dry time of year in Taiwan.  Ha! 

[+colleda]

After a sea day from Argostoli, where the wind and rain did not let up, I am now in Messina. Messenia has had buckets of rain this last 48 hours enough to damage roads and the ship has cancelled all its tours. I did not have a tour booked here so, again, I will wait it out for an improvement in the weather. There are only a few trads close to the port.

Tomorrow we call in to Naples. I have a private, non-ship, tour booked taking in the Amalfi, coast, Pompeii and Sorrento. May be able to grab a couple more then.

Edited November 14, 2024 by colleda

[+Vooruit!]

Saturday I'll collect my 50th country, and it will be San Marino. 😎

[+hzoi]

19 hours ago, Vooruit! said:

Saturday I'll collect my 50th country, and it will be San Marino. 😎

 

Enjoy! It's a cool little country.

 

We cached in Germany for the first couple years we were geocaching and visited a slew of countries, but I regretted that we never made it to Monaco and San Marino.

 

Nine years later, we were back for two years. One of our first trips outside Germany was to Nice, so we could get Monaco, and one of the last was a Christmas trip to Italy, which included a day in San Marino. I was very happy we made the effort, it was well worth it.

[+hzoi]

p.s. I see you haven't been to Cyprus yet. I highly recommend it. Especially if you like cats - there are 1 million Cypriots and 1.1 million cats.

[+Vooruit!]

Thanks! Yes, Cyprus is scheduled to be our summer holiday next year. My daughter is crazy about cats, so it'll be a winner for sure. 🎉

[+FunnyNose]

Country #84 Whilst in Zimbabwe visiting Victoria Falls you can walk across the bridge into Zambia. They give you a special stamp at the Zimbabwe passport control which allows you to walk across the bridge and renter without getting another visa. There is an earthcache on the bridge so you don't even have to go Zambia passport control. New country in and out in less than 5 minutes.