collecting countries

[+terratin]

20 countries in Europe is quite impressive! Though there's still lots of opportunity in the Nordics for you, like Iceland, Faroe Islands, Åland

 

Yea, my wish would be Montenegro, and then visit Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and maybe Albania (car rental companies don't like that) on the same trip We'll see if it works out. The biggest issue seems to be finding a nice accommodation that is not a modern flat. Oh well.. still lots of time.

[+Mirage Breton]

39th country two days ago! Vietnam! This gentleman just laid caches in Saigon a few weeks ago which was a good thing 'cos I DNFed the first one...

As a French woman I keep the Europe countries for last... for my old days

[+terratin]

Congratulations, Mirage! Well done.

[+Andromeda321]

20 countries in Europe is quite impressive! Though there's still lots of opportunity in the Nordics for you, like Iceland, Faroe Islands, Åland

 

Yea, my wish would be Montenegro, and then visit Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and maybe Albania (car rental companies don't like that) on the same trip We'll see if it works out. The biggest issue seems to be finding a nice accommodation that is not a modern flat. Oh well.. still lots of time.

 

What my brother and I did that trip was enjoy the week in Croatia on the coast, and then went over to Montenegro for the day. I don't know how hung up you are on Montenegro specifically, but if you might consider a base in Dubrovnik you can easily do day trips there from Montenegro and to Bosnia (and there was a company that arranged onward travel via Albania to Corfu in Greece, even!). Bro and I also snagged a nice little apartment in the old city walls, recently renovated sure but in a nice old building.

 

Recalling my brief time in Montenegro, yeah it's mainly going to be modern buildings as the Riviera there is being overrun by Russians and they're building like no tomorrow. Kotor was a nice old town though- maybe look and see if there is accommodation there.

 

Bus travel in that part of the world btw was quite reliable and reasonably priced, so while you don't get the flexibility of a car rental I wouldn't discount it. Also in summertime note the border crossings in that part of the world can be absurdly long; the main Croatia-Montenegro one was 2 hours wait the day we went but luckily our guide knew a smaller one to take us to.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

20 countries in Europe is quite impressive! Though there's still lots of opportunity in the Nordics for you, like Iceland, Faroe Islands, Åland

 

Yea, my wish would be Montenegro, and then visit Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and maybe Albania (car rental companies don't like that) on the same trip We'll see if it works out. The biggest issue seems to be finding a nice accommodation that is not a modern flat. Oh well.. still lots of time.

 

20 in Europe is definitely impressive. I just got my 20th country total and that's includes 3 other continents. Of course, I don't live in Europe either.

 

Is the train service as good in Montenegro/Croatia/Bosnia-Herzegovina as it is in other parts of Europe (excluding France...which always seems to be having a strike)?

 

 

[+redsox_mark]

You know what this thread needs? Pictures.

 

Ok.. here are a couple. First, New Zealand, near GC2XY0G Why Waimangu....(Bay of Plenty)

 

 

Next is Brunei... near GC2P2YG Tasek Lama I

 

 

And lastly, Cape Town, South Africa. At GZ of GC12Z9M TF30 Blouberg Ridge Primary School Beach 2 Beacon

 

[+terratin]

Ok, here's a photo from our northernmost caching experience, and northernmost cache: Múla http://coord.info/GC4GMDB

On the Faroe Islands were we spent 5 days, of which we had about 2 hours of non-rain Yes, it rained here as well

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Here is a photo that I took shortly after finding this cache in Zimbabwe. See if you can find the person (wearing a blue shirt) standing in the river above the falls. That should give you a sense of just how big this waterfall is.

 

[+Andromeda321]

20 countries in Europe is quite impressive! Though there's still lots of opportunity in the Nordics for you, like Iceland, Faroe Islands, Åland

 

Yea, my wish would be Montenegro, and then visit Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and maybe Albania (car rental companies don't like that) on the same trip We'll see if it works out. The biggest issue seems to be finding a nice accommodation that is not a modern flat. Oh well.. still lots of time.

 

20 in Europe is definitely impressive. I just got my 20th country total and that's includes 3 other continents. Of course, I don't live in Europe either.

 

Is the train service as good in Montenegro/Croatia/Bosnia-Herzegovina as it is in other parts of Europe (excluding France...which always seems to be having a strike)?

 

Not really, people tend to rely on buses there. Croatia has a network that goes down to Split, and you can go from Zagreb to Bosnia, but other than that the network was either never built or destroyed in the war.

[+Andromeda321]

Here is a photo that I took shortly after finding this cache in Zimbabwe. See if you can find the person (wearing a blue shirt) standing in the river above the falls. That should give you a sense of just how big this waterfall is.

 

 

This is also really close to where I since hid the Mosi-oa-Tunya earthcache- it's been very fun to maintain that page just because you can see how much the water indeed changes depending on the season. Funny how I don't have a find in Zimbabwe, but I do have a cache! (Same in Laos actually.)

Edited December 9, 2013 by Andromeda321

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Here is a photo that I took shortly after finding this cache in Zimbabwe. See if you can find the person (wearing a blue shirt) standing in the river above the falls. That should give you a sense of just how big this waterfall is.

 

 

This is also really close to where I since hid the Mosi-oa-Tunya earthcache- it's been very fun to maintain that page just because you can see how much the water indeed changes depending on the season. Funny how I don't have a find in Zimbabwe, but I do have a cache! (Same in Laos actually.)

 

I remember when you had that cache published, just a short time after I was there. At the time there was the traditional cache on the Zim size (close to the Dr. LIvinstone statue) and a virtual on the Zambia side. Three was also a traditional in the town of Victoria Falls that had gone unfound for almost a year. I was with a group so I couldn't try for that one and I *think* it was found once then archived. Most of the caches in that area (and there aren't very many) are in ZImbabwe. I was staying in Zambia across the road from Mosi-oa Tunya National Park.

 

 

[+Andromeda321]

Here is a photo that I took shortly after finding this cache in Zimbabwe. See if you can find the person (wearing a blue shirt) standing in the river above the falls. That should give you a sense of just how big this waterfall is.

 

 

This is also really close to where I since hid the Mosi-oa-Tunya earthcache- it's been very fun to maintain that page just because you can see how much the water indeed changes depending on the season. Funny how I don't have a find in Zimbabwe, but I do have a cache! (Same in Laos actually.)

 

I remember when you had that cache published, just a short time after I was there. At the time there was the traditional cache on the Zim size (close to the Dr. LIvinstone statue) and a virtual on the Zambia side. Three was also a traditional in the town of Victoria Falls that had gone unfound for almost a year. I was with a group so I couldn't try for that one and I *think* it was found once then archived. Most of the caches in that area (and there aren't very many) are in ZImbabwe. I was staying in Zambia across the road from Mosi-oa Tunya National Park.

 

Small world indeed. I actually maintain Earthcaches in Zimbabwe, Laos, Tibet, and Argentina- and have had some folks log them in more than one country (legit non-armchair folks). Really ought to invite those people to join this thread I think!

[+terratin]

Yes! And maybe we get some more nice photos from them

[+Ambrosia]

Great! I'm enjoying the pictures. I need to upload more to my logs.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Great! I'm enjoying the pictures. I need to upload more to my logs.

 

This is the view from a cache in Singapore. I had heard a few rumbles of thunder off in the distance but it didn't seem like a storm was moving in so after I took that picture I was walked toward the location of another cache that was located near the grandstand that overlooks a portion of the formula 1 car race track (the annual race took place a couple of weeks after I was there). I figured I'd try to find that one (I didn't...GZ was closed off due to the upcoming race) then see if I could go up onto that cruise ship in the sky. As I was getting close, I heard a loud crackle and then what sounded like an explosion. I have no idea how close the lightning strike was because I was looking the other direction but it felt *real* close. There were no other nearby lightning strikes but I decided that going up onto that building probably wouldn't be a good idea.

 

 

 

[+Viajero Perdido]

That's not a waterfall, mate. THIS is a waterfall.

 

Iguazu Falls, Argentina. (Unfortunately, caches there tend to have problems...)

[+NYPaddleCacher]

That's not a waterfall, mate. THIS is a waterfall.

 

Iguazu Falls, Argentina. (Unfortunately, caches there tend to have problems...)

 

Iguazu Falls is definitely on my bucket list of places I'd like to visit. Victoria Falls is quite impressive though, but is hard to capture in a single photo as it's over a mile wide. Iguazu is wider but not nearly as high.

 

 

[+Smashing Ground]

I will be visiting Iguazu falls on the Argentina side this up coming february.

Should be a spectacular site.

[+Ambrosia]

I am doing a poor job at uploading pictures to my cache logs. But here are two pictures from this spring.

 

Oman, up in the mountains/wadis:

 

 

 

UAE, where two different types of desert meet:

 

[+terratin]

Amazing photos! The Oman one looks like some magmatic rock, or ophiolites?

[+Ambrosia]

Amazing photos! The Oman one looks like some magmatic rock, or ophiolites?

 

Even though I love rocks, and have been to over one hundred ECs, I'm terrible at identifying rock.

 

Here's the Oman cache: Wadi Bashing.

 

The UAE picture was taken right next to a really cool EC: A Walk on the Sea Bed: Jebel Al Buhais. Lots of fossils everywhere.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Amazing photos! The Oman one looks like some magmatic rock, or ophiolites?

 

Even though I love rocks, and have been to over one hundred ECs, I'm terrible at identifying rock.

 

Here's the Oman cache: Wadi Bashing.

 

The UAE picture was taken right next to a really cool EC: A Walk on the Sea Bed: Jebel Al Buhais. Lots of fossils everywhere.

 

Great photos. I have a few more I'm going to post later today. There's an earthcache about a half mile from where I live that has, as one of the criteria for logging a find, finding and identifying a rock containing a fossil. It took me about 5 minutes to find one.

 

I think that earthcaching and geocaching while traveling go hand in hand, especially when the earthcache highlights a feature unique to the region. One of the more interesting ones I've done was at some sand dunes on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The requirements asked to post the lat/long coordinates and elevation (if it could be determined with ones GPS) of the highest point on the dunes. It was amazing to see how much and how quickly that spot moved.

 

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Here are some photos take while searching for three different caches. This first one is in Rome. Just behind me, from where the photo was taken is the Colesseum cache, which is used as an example of a micro on the wikipedia geocaching page.

 

 

The next one is in Barcelona. I don't recall the name of the cache nearby but it's close to where the photo was taken:

 

 

The next one is in Montpelier, France. I DNFd on the cache nearby. I'd like to find caches at some of the other Triumphal Arches around the world. There are actually quite a few of them.

 

 

[+Ambrosia]

 

The next one is in Barcelona. I don't recall the name of the cache nearby but it's close to where the photo was taken:

 

 

 

I like this one.

 

I managed to miss both the arch in NY city, and the one in Delhi. Went all around the things, but didn't get to them.

 

I'm hoping to finally stop by the Peace Arch this weekend (I know, tiny little thing). I've gone by it so many times, but it's always bad timing because of customs and being in a hurry. I think we might actually stop this time.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Ambrosia

[+Ambrosia]

The Taj (cost 20 dollars to go in, very expensive for India, with not much there compared to other historical sites, but a must see regardless):

 

Edited December 12, 2013 by Ambrosia

[+NYPaddleCacher]

The next one is in Barcelona. I don't recall the name of the cache nearby but it's close to where the photo was taken:

 

 

 

I like this one.

 

I managed to miss both the arch in NY city, and the one in Delhi. Went all around the things, but didn't get to them.

 

I'm hoping to finally stop by the Peace Arch this weekend (I know, tiny little thing). I've gone by it so many times, but it's always bad timing because of customs and being in a hurry. I think we might actually stop this time.

 

I found a couple of caches near the arch in St. Louis but that's a different kind of arch. If you look closely at the photo you'l see a row of bicycles on each side of the arch. There were a few different places that rented bikes and and pick up/drop off stations all over the city. I rented a bike for the day to ride around the city, see the sights, and do some caching. It was a great to way to go caching in a city like Barcelona which is too big to see much on foot but with all the traffic and one way streets (and lack of parking) isn't real conducive to caching by car either.

 

 

[+FunnyNose]

Here are some of my pictures from some of my favorite earthcaches.

 

Cliffs of Moher

 

The Giant's Causeway Earthcache

 

Pão de Açúcar

 

Gullfoss (Golden Falls)

 

Abu Simbel

 

Rano Kau - Rapa Nui

[+Bullfrog Eh-Team]

Just found this forum thread. We're from the lakes and forest region of Ontario, and have found caches in 18 different countries, in 48 of the USA states (missing CA and HI), and in 9 (missing NL) of our Canadian provinces. We enjoy caching while on commercial bus tours. Most interesting cache finds were in Belarus, Cuba, Fiji and Gibraltar.

Hmmmm ! Where to go next - haven't tackled the Caribbean yet ?

[+colleda]

Just found this forum thread. We're from the lakes and forest region of Ontario, and have found caches in 18 different countries, in 48 of the USA states (missing CA and HI), and in 9 (missing NL) of our Canadian provinces. We enjoy caching while on commercial bus tours. Most interesting cache finds were in Belarus, Cuba, Fiji and Gibraltar.

Hmmmm ! Where to go next - haven't tackled the Caribbean yet ?

 

How about Australia then? We even speak a similar language, eh.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Just found this forum thread. We're from the lakes and forest region of Ontario, and have found caches in 18 different countries, in 48 of the USA states (missing CA and HI), and in 9 (missing NL) of our Canadian provinces. We enjoy caching while on commercial bus tours. Most interesting cache finds were in Belarus, Cuba, Fiji and Gibraltar.

Hmmmm ! Where to go next - haven't tackled the Caribbean yet ?

 

How about Australia then? We even speak a similar language, eh.

 

I'd love to go to Australia and find some caches. It would give me my 5th continent. Ironically, even though I live within 3 hours or so of the Canadian border I've never found a cache in Canada, nor have I found any caches in Mexico or the Caribbean.

[+terratin]

Ironically, even though I live within 3 hours or so of the Canadian border I've never found a cache in Canada, nor have I found any caches in Mexico or the Caribbean.

Funny how those things go. We live about 30 mins from Sweden, and have only found one cache there (while passing through). It's really easy to get across the Øresund to Malmö by car or train, bur for some unknown reason we just don't. We've been planning a couple of times to get across, but there's always something coming up...

 

We're now thinking of a caching trip to Sweden at the end of the year. But even if we actually go, Sweden won't be a 'new' country

 

Mr. Terratin

[+sparklefingers]

 

I'd love to go to Australia and find some caches. It would give me my 5th continent. Ironically, even though I live within 3 hours or so of the Canadian border I've never found a cache in Canada, nor have I found any caches in Mexico or the Caribbean.

 

Well I have to say Mexico is nice but there aren't many caches. We stayed at the riviera maya and the closest cache was a two hour walk or an hours tip by bus. I had 10 caches on my GPS and we got to three… two of which were virtuals at tulum ruins and chichen itza, which was nice as they're full of history and a nice place to be but it's no container… the other I found in a pub garden and met german geocachers looking for it.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I'd love to go to Australia and find some caches. It would give me my 5th continent. Ironically, even though I live within 3 hours or so of the Canadian border I've never found a cache in Canada, nor have I found any caches in Mexico or the Caribbean.

 

Well I have to say Mexico is nice but there aren't many caches. We stayed at the riviera maya and the closest cache was a two hour walk or an hours tip by bus. I had 10 caches on my GPS and we got to three… two of which were virtuals at tulum ruins and chichen itza, which was nice as they're full of history and a nice place to be but it's no container… the other I found in a pub garden and met german geocachers looking for it.

 

I know what that's like. The first time I was in Tanzania I was staying in a town called Morogoro, where the National Agriculture Library is located. The nearest cache was about 50 miles away at the entrance to a national park, and the next closest maybe 70 miles away (but much further by vehicle) in the other direction. Morogoro is about 3 hours away from Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania with over 4.3 million people in the region. There was only one cache in the city the last time I was there. I think there's another maybe 15 miles away now and the next closest about 45 miles on Zanzibar.

Edited December 15, 2013 by NYPaddleCacher

[+terratin]

At the moment we're looking into a small winter vacation, and came up with... Malta

Yup, it might rain, but it's really nearby and there's tons to see.

[+terratin]

And here's the big news: We've moving again, back to the Middle East. That should give up easy opportunity to at least add Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to our list of countries. Plus the Maldives and Iran are on the need-to-visit list already.

 

Mrs. Terratin

[+NYPaddleCacher]

And here's the big news: We've moving again, back to the Middle East. That should give up easy opportunity to at least add Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to our list of countries. Plus the Maldives and Iran are on the need-to-visit list already.

 

Mrs. Terratin

 

Congrats. I think. When looking at possible flight itineraries to Africa, I've seen all sorts of potential layover cities. Cairo, Dubai, and Riyadh have come up but until Egypt calms down a bit I don't think I'll be visiting any of them.

 

 

[+Oxford Stone]

Who can claim the most overseas caches (total or %)? Probably someone who's lived in more than one country...? I've done 69/1162 outside the UK. 996/1162 in 3 counties.

Dr Solly, one of the UK's most prolific cachers (35000 or so?) has done all but 5 in the UK, those 5 being in Finland!

(You often hear urban myths about what a low % of Americans have passports but I bet the proportion among geocachers is much higher...)

[+terratin]

 

Congrats. I think. When looking at possible flight itineraries to Africa, I've seen all sorts of potential layover cities. Cairo, Dubai, and Riyadh have come up but until Egypt calms down a bit I don't think I'll be visiting any of them.

 

Riyadh is a problem as you're not allowed to enter Saudi. For us it would be easier as we could apply for a transit visa and for example drive from Qatar to Bahrain, but for someone not living in the area it's nearly impossible. Dubai doesn't have any political problems as such, and you should be able to get a visa on arrival. Thus that might be a good stopover chance for you. With Cairo I agree.

 

Mrs. Terratin

[+terratin]

Who can claim the most overseas caches (total or %)? Probably someone who's lived in more than one country...? I've done 69/1162 outside the UK. 996/1162 in 3 counties.

Dr Solly, one of the UK's most prolific cachers (35000 or so?) has done all but 5 in the UK, those 5 being in Finland!

(You often hear urban myths about what a low % of Americans have passports but I bet the proportion among geocachers is much higher...)

 

We currently have 1198 in our living country, and the remaining 1026 elsewhere. Note that not all of the 1198 were found when we were living here. Once we move only 156 will be local, and the rest abroad

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Who can claim the most overseas caches (total or %)? Probably someone who's lived in more than one country...? I've done 69/1162 outside the UK. 996/1162 in 3 counties.

Dr Solly, one of the UK's most prolific cachers (35000 or so?) has done all but 5 in the UK, those 5 being in Finland!

(You often hear urban myths about what a low % of Americans have passports but I bet the proportion among geocachers is much higher...)

 

I know of one cacher that has lived about an equal amount of time in Germany and in the U.S. so they probably have a pretty high number of overseas caches. Personally, when I geocache while traveling I don't try to find a lot of caches (and in many places I've visited there aren't a lot of caches to be found).

 

I can't tell what you're talking about regarding Dr Solly. Are you talking about counties? This thread is about caching in different countries. I'm not sure that the proportion of american citizens with passports is any higher than for everyone else. I think the number cachers that travel to other countries is relatively small.

 

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Congrats. I think. When looking at possible flight itineraries to Africa, I've seen all sorts of potential layover cities. Cairo, Dubai, and Riyadh have come up but until Egypt calms down a bit I don't think I'll be visiting any of them.

 

Riyadh is a problem as you're not allowed to enter Saudi. For us it would be easier as we could apply for a transit visa and for example drive from Qatar to Bahrain, but for someone not living in the area it's nearly impossible. Dubai doesn't have any political problems as such, and you should be able to get a visa on arrival. Thus that might be a good stopover chance for you. With Cairo I agree.

 

Mrs. Terratin

 

I would have no qualms about getting out of the airport and even staying overnight in Dubai. A couple of years ago I would have certainly have considered a long layover in Cairo. I probably wouldn't have much trouble going to Qatar as there is a college there affiliated with the university where I work.

 

Where are you going to be living?

 

 

[+Ambrosia]

It's easy to visit the UAE. Dubai, especially, wants visitors. We extended our layover in Dubai to 3 days, but ended up staying 4 days because I got sick in India and needed to be treated in Dubai and my insurance made us stay longer. We thought of Dubai as sort of an early Vegas. The advertising and the town have that sort of feel. It's amazing how much development is going on over there right now. It's a beautiful, but disconcerting place.

 

I have a few pictures here of the ongoing skyscrapers and the Burj Dubai. I feel a bit self conscious, because I've lost my photoshop and couldn't tweak them like I usually do, mostly just contrast and stuff. But they show you the modern aspect of Dubai, although not the more uniquely Arab parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[+terratin]

 

I would have no qualms about getting out of the airport and even staying overnight in Dubai. A couple of years ago I would have certainly have considered a long layover in Cairo. I probably wouldn't have much trouble going to Qatar as there is a college there affiliated with the university where I work.

 

Where are you going to be living?

 

Yes, we're moving to Qatar. Been there before and liked it. Getting into Qatar on a layover is pretty much impossible though as the terminal you'll end up is in the middle of nowhere and doesn't have customs. You basically cannot leave the building and go find a cache. Things might change with the new airport or they might decide that this works and keep it like this.

Edited December 24, 2013 by terratin

[+Oxford Stone]

Who can claim the most overseas caches (total or %)? Probably someone who's lived in more than one country...? I've done 69/1162 outside the UK. 996/1162 in 3 counties.

Dr Solly, one of the UK's most prolific cachers (35000 or so?) has done all but 5 in the UK, those 5 being in Finland!

(You often hear urban myths about what a low % of Americans have passports but I bet the proportion among geocachers is much higher...)

 

I know of one cacher that has lived about an equal amount of time in Germany and in the U.S. so they probably have a pretty high number of overseas caches. Personally, when I geocache while traveling I don't try to find a lot of caches (and in many places I've visited there aren't a lot of caches to be found).

 

I can't tell what you're talking about regarding Dr Solly. Are you talking about counties? This thread is about caching in different countries. I'm not sure that the proportion of american citizens with passports is any higher than for everyone else. I think the number cachers that travel to other countries is relatively small.

 

I agree, when I've been in a new country it's been tourism 1st, getting a couple of easy caches 2nd. In Italy in the heat, was within 200m of a few and that seemed too much like hard work when there was a cafe terrace 20m away! In Lisbon you could absolutely fill your boots and do 100 a day if you wanted to. We did about 4 a day I think.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-d-chalmers/the-great-american-passpo_b_1920287.html , the "hardly any Americans have passports" myth debunked.

 

Dr Solly - no, countries. 5 caches out of 35000+ abroad. I did mention counties in relation to myself, and that far too many are in Oxfordshire / Berkshire / Buckinghamshire.

 

Spain and possibly Belgium on my radar for 2014 BTW. Belgium is stupidly close to SE England. And it's well known for beer, chocolate and chips. What's not to like?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

It's easy to visit the UAE. Dubai, especially, wants visitors. We extended our layover in Dubai to 3 days, but ended up staying 4 days because I got sick in India and needed to be treated in Dubai and my insurance made us stay longer. We thought of Dubai as sort of an early Vegas. The advertising and the town have that sort of feel. It's amazing how much development is going on over there right now. It's a beautiful, but disconcerting place.

 

I have a few pictures here of the ongoing skyscrapers and the Burj Dubai. I feel a bit self conscious, because I've lost my photoshop and couldn't tweak them like I usually do, mostly just contrast and stuff. But they show you the modern aspect of Dubai, although not the more uniquely Arab parts.

 

 

Nice pictures. My impression of Dubai has been that it's a country that has more money than they know what to do with. The buildings and the developments that clearly looks like palm trees when seen on satellite views all just seem excessive (like Vegas). If I were to have a layover in Dubai it would most likely be for a possible trip next year to Jimma University in Ethiopia. They're very interested in collaborating with us and have already asked if I could come to do some consulting. Jimma is about 4 hours away (by vehicle) from Addis. The closest cache is an earthcache about 80 miles away. Can you imagine spending a couple of days in Dubai and then going here:

 

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I would have no qualms about getting out of the airport and even staying overnight in Dubai. A couple of years ago I would have certainly have considered a long layover in Cairo. I probably wouldn't have much trouble going to Qatar as there is a college there affiliated with the university where I work.

 

Where are you going to be living?

 

Yes, we're moving to Qatar. Been there before and liked it. Getting into Qatar on a layover is pretty much impossible though as the terminal you'll end up is in the middle of nowhere and doesn't have customs. You basically cannot leave the building and go find a cache. Things might change with the new airport or they might decide that this works and keep it like this.

 

I was thinking of Qatar more as a final destination. Cornell University (where I work) has a campus in Doha (Weill Cornell Medical College) and one of the projects that I work on has had some collaboration with the Weill Cornell Medical College in NYC. It would be a real long shot that I would ever be asked to go there but it's not out of the question. I was looking at the map where the campus is located and it's in area with campuses for Carnegie Mellon University, Texas A&M, Northwestern, and Georgetown.

 

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Who can claim the most overseas caches (total or %)? Probably someone who's lived in more than one country...? I've done 69/1162 outside the UK. 996/1162 in 3 counties.

Dr Solly, one of the UK's most prolific cachers (35000 or so?) has done all but 5 in the UK, those 5 being in Finland!

(You often hear urban myths about what a low % of Americans have passports but I bet the proportion among geocachers is much higher...)

 

I know of one cacher that has lived about an equal amount of time in Germany and in the U.S. so they probably have a pretty high number of overseas caches. Personally, when I geocache while traveling I don't try to find a lot of caches (and in many places I've visited there aren't a lot of caches to be found).

 

I can't tell what you're talking about regarding Dr Solly. Are you talking about counties? This thread is about caching in different countries. I'm not sure that the proportion of american citizens with passports is any higher than for everyone else. I think the number cachers that travel to other countries is relatively small.

 

I agree, when I've been in a new country it's been tourism 1st, getting a couple of easy caches 2nd. In Italy in the heat, was within 200m of a few and that seemed too much like hard work when there was a cafe terrace 20m away! In Lisbon you could absolutely fill your boots and do 100 a day if you wanted to. We did about 4 a day I think.

http://www.huffingto..._b_1920287.html , the "hardly any Americans have passports" myth debunked.

 

Fortunately, I've found that tourism 1st also brings you to places where someone has hidden a geocache and sometimes finding a cache will take you to places worth seeing but not in the tourist guidebooks. I've been to Italy several times (mostly to Rome as I do quite a bit of work with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. there) and the weather has been good every time. Unfortunately, I've always been there for work and have been limited in the amount of free time to do some geocaching. There's a decent chance I may go back next year related to a project I've collaborated on with FAO that will likely be rekindled. As part of the contract, it would include some face-to-face meeting time in Rome with the person I've work with many times in the past. I've never been to LIsbon but it's definitely on my bucket list, not so much for all the caches, but because I'm Portuguese and I've never been to Portugal.

 

 

Dr Solly - no, countries. 5 caches out of 35000+ abroad. I did mention counties in relation to myself, and that far too many are in Oxfordshire / Berkshire / Buckinghamshire.

 

Spain and possibly Belgium on my radar for 2014 BTW. Belgium is stupidly close to SE England. And it's well known for beer, chocolate and chips. What's not to like?

.

 

Okay, now I get what you mean regarding Dr Solly. I checked my profile and I have 62 caches that I've found outside the U.S. (in 19 countries). All of that was from work related travel where I've been limited in the amount of free time for geocaching but in some of those countries there just aren't a lot of caches to be found (e.g. in 3 out of 4 countries in Africa where I've found a cache).

 

I've cached in Barcelona (which I really liked) and Brussels. For my last trip to Rome I had a layover in both directions in Brussels and scheduled an overnight stay in Brussels on the way home so that I could do some geocaching. After spending several days in Rome I didn't care so much for the much more modern city. I did enjoy the beer though (I'm a big Belgian beer fan).

 

 

[+Ambrosia]

It's easy to visit the UAE. Dubai, especially, wants visitors. We extended our layover in Dubai to 3 days, but ended up staying 4 days because I got sick in India and needed to be treated in Dubai and my insurance made us stay longer. We thought of Dubai as sort of an early Vegas. The advertising and the town have that sort of feel. It's amazing how much development is going on over there right now. It's a beautiful, but disconcerting place.

 

I have a few pictures here of the ongoing skyscrapers and the Burj Dubai. I feel a bit self conscious, because I've lost my photoshop and couldn't tweak them like I usually do, mostly just contrast and stuff. But they show you the modern aspect of Dubai, although not the more uniquely Arab parts.

 

 

Nice pictures. My impression of Dubai has been that it's a country that has more money than they know what to do with. The buildings and the developments that clearly looks like palm trees when seen on satellite views all just seem excessive (like Vegas). If I were to have a layover in Dubai it would most likely be for a possible trip next year to Jimma University in Ethiopia. They're very interested in collaborating with us and have already asked if I could come to do some consulting. Jimma is about 4 hours away (by vehicle) from Addis. The closest cache is an earthcache about 80 miles away. Can you imagine spending a couple of days in Dubai and then going here:

 

 

Yeah, that's a bit how it was for us, only backward. It was very jarring to come from India after three weeks, especially the teeny remote villages our group was visiting (the village I visited every day was an hour from the nearest town), and then going to Dubai. Just made us shake our heads. It was Disneyworld.

 

Ok, even though it's not geocaching, I'm going to post a few pics from the village:

 

Here's a lady washing her dishes in the dirt, using dirt to scrub her pots, with the chickens darting in to peck at the washed out rice. She's laughing because she couldn't figure out why I felt like taking a picture of something so mundane. One of my Indian companions, who was from a bigger city, asked me how we wash dishes in the U.S. They looked at me like I had grown a second head when I tried to explain "dishwashers" to them.

 

 

My husband took this pic in the village he visited, a lady washing her child in front of her home, next to the road.

 

 

Here's me holding a baby. They don't use diapers, except in the big cities. Scared the heck out of me!

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

 

Ok, even though it's not geocaching, I'm going to post a few pics from the village:

 

Here's a cache that I wanted to find the last time I was in Addis (Fresh and Green Academy). I'm hoping that if I get a chance to go back that'll be able to find time to do it. It's at a school for some of the poorest children in Addis Ababa. Take a look at some of the logs and photos in the gallery.

Here's one of the recent logs:

"By far the best cache I have found yet! The cache is in good shape and had lots of goodies! I removed 2 of the 4 trackables and signed the log book. But this cache is MUCH more than just the cache itself. The school it is located in is an amazing facility! I met Muday, and the children and I just can't believe the impact this school has on the community! But alas, the school has come upon some hard times witha 1/3 of the school being demolished to make room for a road project. I encourage all cachers who find themselves in Addis to find the Fresh and Green Academy and to do whatever is possible to help Muday and her children!"

 

 

[+Viajero Perdido]

lost my photoshop

See http://www.gimp.org/ and don't look back.

 

Excellent pictures BTW, even without retouching.