A wonderful holiday in Peru and Chile, with geocaches found in both

I spent three weeks vacationing in Chile and Peru. It was my first vacation in South America, and I was truly stunned by the beauty of the scenery in both countries, and the friendliness of the people, particularly in Peru.

In Chile, I only visited the north, particularly the salt desert of Atacama, with its rich wildlife consisting mostly of birds like Andean flamingoes. As you can see below, thay are very pink, including their legs and toes. This is due to the microscopic shrimp larvae they are eating.



I also visited the volcanic area of the Tatio geysers in Northern Chile at 4200m. It was great fun, but the altitude was a bit difficult to cope with, particularly during the first two days. In other words, it was breathtaking, quite literally. Look at the scenery and judge for yourself :


But the highlight of the trip was Peru, with a visit to Cusco and the Machu Picchu Inca Sanctuary, which was quite impressive in spite of the rain. The sheer size of the site and the grandiose scenery are truly worth the visit. Some say the entrance fees are a rip-off, but I think it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I do recommend to go. Some like to walk up via the Inca trail, and that's what I wanted, but it was raining and the path was extremely slippery, therefore not recommended. Here is a view from the top of the site, and even with the rain, it looks great :




Another highlight of the trip was Lake Titicaca. We stayed for 3 days on a remote island of lake Titicaca. It is amazing to see that people there still live without roads, electricity or running water. The island of Taquile has a very interesting coimmunity of Indians who make clothes and bags with unique patterns which are protected by Unesco. And, most interestingly, there is a geocache on their island, and I wa shappy to introduce our Indian host to the GPS technology, and to geocaching. He was absolutly thrilled that he found a geocache on his island. He would not let go of the GPS as you can see on the picture :



All in all, a memorable trip and lots of memories. A must-do for all travel fans, geocachers or not

Two new countries visited recently

Yes, I know, August was a quiet month on this blog, and work has taken its toll, but here I go...


Although they are not officially recognized as 'countries' - and I definitely want to remain politically correct - the Geocaching.com website lists Hong Kong and Taiwan as two geocaching 'countries'. I was on a business trip to both countries recently and I was amazed by both.

First, I was in Hong Kong when typhoon Nuri hit the island, and it was a direct hit. I was impressed by the way everybody reacts in a quiet and orderly fashion. Although three people died (they went swimming when the eye of the typhoon was over the area - how silly can you be ? ) there was not a lot of material damage, and the next morning I went geocaching along the harbourfront because my flight was delayed. The airport had been closed and the chaos at Chek Lap Kok (the unpronounceable name of the airport) was understandable

And then, Taiwan was a real pleasant surprise. People are genuinely friendly, even with their less-than-adequate understanding of English, the food is absolutely exquisite, the landscape is mountainous, a bit like a tropical Switzerland, and Taipei has a very striking resemblance with Japan, with little alleys and narrow streets where you can find restaurants with heavenly food. I am told that the Japanese stayed for a long time in Taiwan, and it still shows.

Of course, the most impressive landmark is the Taipei 101 tower, with its elegant shape and incredible design tha can withstand the strongest winds and earthquakes.

Geocaching in Taiwan was a bit of a challenge because street names are not necessarily translated or indicated, so the GPS was really helpful, and I had the great pleasure of finding a cache while twenty elderly ladies were doing their morning Tai Chi exercises a few meters away. I have to go back to Taiwan, and its gentle and very Asian atmosphere.

Watch this space - you will know when I am there again. Here is a picture of the skyline of Taipei at night

A new geolocation application : Wherigo

I bought a new GPS from Garmin a few days ago. It's called the Colorado, and for those who know hand-held GPS devices from Garmin, it is an improvement on the famous 60CSX with lots of built-in functions. But the most interesting improvement is the Whereigo game player.

To put it simply, Whereigo is a new application that enables adventures based on geo-location. For example, when you do geocaching or treasure-hunting, you no longer follow the latitude and longitude address printed on a sheet of paper your printed, but the GPS will detect when you arrive at a specific spot, and will trigger messages or uncover clues, or tell you where to go automatically when you are at a specific spot. Here is the new Colorado with the rocker wheel (no more keypad)

In other words, based on the place where you are, the Colorado will tell you where to go, what to do or what to look for. This opens up a lot of possibilities and I am already thinking about several new applications, like an application for tourists : you are somewhere in a city you want to visit, and your GPS will lead you through the most interesting sites in town. Or if you are on long-distance walkways, the WhereIgo could make sure you don't miss the most interesting places to see along the way.

The best thing is that WhereIgo can also run on PDA's or other hand-held computers that contain a GPS. Such as the the new Mac I-phone 3G, maybe ? Let's see how this technology develops.

There are already a few Whereigo adventures, and I did one in Steenokkerzeel near Brussels last weekend. It's fascinating to see that you arrive at a specific place and the GPS flashes the next instructions. Clearly. there is a future in this. Here is a screen layout of the first Whereigo I played in Belgium. By the way, the mapping software of the Colorado is brilliant - just look at the picture below


Watch this space. I'd like to design a Whereigo application (the design of the applications does not look very complicated), so here is a hobby that could turn into a passion, and then a business...

Check the website www.whereigo.com for more details

New Geocoin released : Malaysia

And here it is :


I am pleased to announce that the sixth coin in my series 'Geocaching around the Planet' was released this week. The country chosen for this geocoin is Malaysia. Lots of reasons for that: I lived and worked in Singapore for quite a while and I visited Malaysia many, many times. It is a country that has not done enough to attract tourists, although it has a lot to offer, particularly in the area of eco-tourism. I remember that I spent some wonderful times in Sepilok and Sukau, two great nature reserves on the Island of Borneo (yes, I know, few people realize that Borneo is mostly part of Malaysia, and it is a well-kept secret in terms of natural wonders). Here is a picture of the Orang-Utangs in Sepilok in Northern Borneo. I was there last year and I was impressed with the way they do rehabilitation and bring back orang utangs to the wild jungle environment which is theirs. This one looked pretty relaxed, at least...


I was also impressed with the Kinabatangan river nature reserve in Sukau. This is an eco-lodge which is only accessible by river boat, and it tries to be low-impact in terms of its influence on the local environment. It is also part of a 'responsible toursim' initiative whereby local residents are in charge and earn their living with the project, and the food or other products are mostly locally grown as well. The Kinabatangan is a river that regularly floods the low plain it goes through, and when I was there last year the water level was definitely high. Luckily the bedrooms were on the first floor, but the lower floor where the dining room is located, was under water. The picture below gives you a good idea of how it was.


I was also incredibly lucky because the guide who was with us found a Raffleisia, a flower which has a double record : it is the largest flower in the world, and it stinks like no other (although the Durian fruit is a strong contender in the stinking category as well). The Raffleisia is a parasitic plant and does not flower often, so it is a rare event when you see it, and the landowner made everyone pay a hefty pack of Ringgit, the local currency, to witness this rarity.


But back to the Geocoin. You probably wonder what it depicts. Actually, it is the Wau, the traditional kite which the Malaysians love to assemble and fly. There are many patterns, designs and colors, but the one I have chosen for this geocoin is the Wau Bulan, or moon kite. Have you ever wondered what was the symbol emblazoned on the tail of all Malaysia Airlines planes? Well, that's the Wau. Although for most people, it is nothing more than just an emblem, it has a huge significance for each and every Malaysian that makes them proud. It is one of the oldest traditional games in the Malay culture. When flown, a wau is accompanied by a hummer, which produces various buzzing and purring sounds when soaring in the wind. There is something mystical about the way the kite defies gravity by swaying and climbing slowly up the sky. The wau on the geocoin is truly elegant and shaped like a moon crescent (hence the name...) and hereunder are pictures of the real-life object. The coin was designed by Paula Collins, based on original designs which I provided, and I think she did a wonderful job with the transparent colors and the shape of the kite. There is lots of visible metal on the coin, and the transparent colors with the metal shapes under the paint give this goin a very appealing look. If you want to know more about my geocoins and if you want to buy one (or the whole collection) have a look at my Website on www.ellandel.com

The Russian Federation : Not just the Eurovision

Yesterday morning I found my first geocache in Moscow, just before flying back home. And in the evening I watched the Eurovision song contest with some friends and the Russian Federation won. Looks like it was my Russian day yesterday !

This country is moving very fast. I have been there several times and although there is a lot of talk in the press about India and China growing fast, Russia is showing incredible dynamism and growth. I have only seen Moscow so far, and its terrible traffic jams can be irritating, but overall I like the atmosphere and the sense of energy and pride the people are showing. How things have changed in just 10 years.

I went on a short walk last Friday with a colleague, and the Kremlin and the Red square are simply magnificent. I really like St Basil's cathedral with is colorful domes. It looks like it is coming from a fairy tale


On Saturday morning I had to fly back to Brussels, but before I did I woke up early and went to find my first geocache in Moscow. A quick look at Google Maps showed that there was a geocache just 2.5 km from my hotel : the Novodevichy convent cache. It was raining and the walking was not ideal, but obviously because of the rain there were very few people in the streets of Moscow, and even fewer around the parks of the Novodevichy convent. I took a walk around the place, and it is an interesting area full of churches, cemeteries and green parks. Worth an in-depth visit when I visit the country again. The cache was easy to find and I left one of my geocoins in the cache. I also picked up the two geocoins that were in the cache and brought them back to Belgium.

This was the 35th country where I found a geocache.

Milestone achieved : 500 caches found

Well it has finally happened. Although I am not trying to break records and spend my entire life finding geocaches, I discovered my 500th cache yesterday. I found it while I was participating in the 'Sir Emile' geocaching event near Cerfontaine in Southern Belgium. The event was fabulous, with great caches near the lakes created by the river dam of the 'Eau d'Heure river'. Last time I visited this site was 15 years ago, and the changes are obvious. You can now do canoeing, sailing and even scuba diving in the lakes

It is a nice and peaceful place, and the caches were well hidden in the woods and near the lakes. Since the dam and the lakes are used to regulate electricity production, the water level can change suddenly and actually one of the caches ended up drowning under 1.5meter of water (that's around 5 feet). But luckily, my number 500 was not under water. It took me 2 and a half years to get there. let' s see how long it takes to find the next 500....

And here is the 500th find, recorded for eternity. It was a classic ammo box, very close to the water edge

Geocoins around the Planet ? Yes, they do travel !

A while ago, I received pictures from Peter in Bremen, Germany, who took some of my geocoins on a trip to the country they represented. Here are the pictures :

This is the one from Australia, with the Sydney opera in the background

And this is the Singapore coin, with a Singaporean cargo in the harbor

Thanks for those, Peter !

And if you have other pictures of my coins in their 'natural' home, send them and I will publish them here !

Finally, check my website http://www.ellandel.com/ if you want to see what these coins are all about

Top 10 places to visit - and to find a geocache

I am currently preparing my 2008 travel destinations, and here is my selection of the Top 10 places or things I would like to visit this year.

Hopefully I will find a find a geocache there - and if not, I'll place one :

1. The Red Square, in Moscow, Russia
2. The Taj Mahal, in Agra, India
3. The Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu, in Peru
4. The Pyramids of Egypt
5. Victoria Falls, in Southern Africa (either Zambia or Zimbabwe)
6. The Northern lights, in any place near the arctic circle
7. The Himalaya
8. The volcanoes of Iceland
9. Petra, the city carved in the mountain, Jordan
10. The Galapagos islands

That's my wish list for this year. Let's see if I can do at least five of them. Since I have to go to a wedding in Northern India in April, it looks like I will be able to see 2. and 7. And in october I plan to visit Peru and Ecuador, so Machu Picchu and the Galapagos islands are on the agenda, That would be 3 and 10. Finally, in two weeks from now I'll be in Moscow, so I will try to see the Red Square..

Stay tuned - you'll see the results on this blog every Sunday at least

A fabulous day in the Bahamas

Last week I was in Florida for a business trip and I decided to leave one day earlier (it's good to get rid of the jet lag on your first business meeting anyway) and fly to the Bahamas for a little geocaching.

It was surprisingly cheap : Less than 100 USD for a round trip from Ft Lauderdale to Nassau with American Airlines. The flight only takes 45 minutes and can be bumpy when the weather is stormy (the aircraft is a little ATR, see pic below). I left at 9 in the morning and returned at 6pm. It was a great day and actually you don't need much more time to visit this main island (Nassau is the capital). The weather was incredibly nice, with generous temperatures and a gentle breeze to cool you down when needed.

I found 4 caches on the island. As usual, without Geocaching I would never have seen the places I discovered. First the governor's mansion, where there is a microcache that is rather easy to find.

Then I went on to visit the water tower, a virtual cache where you need to find information about the tower itself, and you get a great view from the hill (yes, the water tower is on a hill, which makes quite a nasty climb when the weather is hot). Third cache was near Parliament Square, a cool green square in front of the pink parliament building. Most buildings are pink. Anybody know why ?



And last but not least I went to Paradise island to find my fourth cache. You need to take a ferry that takes you to the island in around 15 minutes, while a tour guide tells you funny stories about the island.


Unfortunately they tell the same jokes on the return trip as well, which makes it not so funny after all. The worst one ? "Watch your head when get on the boat. And if you hit your head, watch your language. Haha"





So when you get to the island you discover a Bahamian Disneyland with a huge Hotel-casino-beach-shopping complex that is called Atlantis and looks incredibly tacky. There is a mixture of Roman statues, Egyption styles and Greek temple columns, all looking awful together, but the whole place is grandiose.

And the boats (yachts, they are called, I think...) are a perfect match for the place. The place is quite large, and you need to walk a lot to get from the ferry jetty to the hotel, but the shops along the way are tempting. Finally when you enter the place you see the casino, which looks like most other casinos anywhere else in the world.





But the most interesting part of the hotel is certainly the restaurant, where diners are surrounded by a gigantic aquarium, with Sharks, manta rays and lots of other colorful fish.

The menu is all around you, so to speak (if you like to eat fish, of course)

Lots of visitors to see the aquariums, as the restaurant was closed

And the geocache in Atlantis ?


Well, it's a virtual cache near one of the entrances of the hotel. I won't give away the secret, since the place itself is stunning (no pictures, therefore) but it's even more grandiose and tacky at the same time than the rest of the hotel. That was the fourth cache of the day

I took a taxi to the airport at 6pm for the return flight (the airport is only 10 minutes away from the city center) and I enjoyed this day - Bahamians are a friendly bunch, as I met a few during the day.

There are a few more caches on the island, so that gives me a good excuse to come back, maybe on a cruise next time...

Very enjoyable day !

Discovering Carnaval while Geocaching

A nice geocaching day today. I completed a wonderful series of 26 caches today, in a small Flemish Village called Herenthout. The cache series was great because it took me through superb landscapes, and at the end of the series, a carnival procession was starting in the village.

Herenthout claims that this is is apparently the oldest carnival in Belgium, and I certainly don't want to start to start a debate on that, but it is clearly a crazy and joyful moment for the villagers (and lots of tourists who joined). The interesting thing is that there are 45 floats with a group of people who tell a story or perform a specific play... Interesting - look at the pictures

By the way, we had 17 degrees this afternoon in Herenthout. Looks like the global warming conversations will start again at the office tomorrow.

But gosh, the countryside looked so beautiful under the pale winter sun.

Here we go !

Feb 9 - Let's get started !

I'm traveling a lot, for work and for pleasure.
I see lots of wonderful things. And I meet lots of great people.

In spite of all the negative things you read about the world every day, our planet is still a wonderful place.
So I'd like to share what I see and like.

And since my hobby is geocaching, I'll also share all the great geocaches I have found, the great sights the geocachers wanted to show, and also the news about the geocoins I design.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think

Cheers

Luc.

PS : if you want to know more about geocaching, follow this link