Three new countries added to the geocaching list

I have not done a lot of geocaching recently. Too much work, traveling and domestic activities... Still, at the end of 2008 I took a few days off and visited the 'Alpes Maritimes' in France, stopping on the way to visit the splendid cities of Avignon, Arles and also the Camargue, a wonderfully preserved natural park near the Mediterranean. The trip ended in Nice and Monaco, where I found a geocache near the launch pad of the Monaco Paragliders.

I had never seen paragliders, and it is quite an impressive sport, particularly when you see them start off, running off the cliff and hoping you will stay in the air... like this :

And of course, from the top, you have a stunning view of the Principality of Monaco. The weather was cold, and there was a lot of wind, but the sky was adding a nice touch to the grandiose view :

And in early January I took a business trip to Mexico and Argentina. As usual, very little time to do any sightseeing, but I took an couple of hours to do some geocaching and discover some of the interesting places of the capitals of those two countries. First in Mexico, I went to the casa de azulejos (translated as 'the house of Tiles'), an old 18th-century palace transformed into a restaurant, where the facade is covered with the blue and white ceramic tiles that are commonly seen in Portugal, and which are thought to have originated in China. A must-see when you are in Mexico. It is located in the historical center, and is very close to the Palacio de Bellas Artes, another great baroque building in Mexico

And finally, the wonderful city of Buenos Aires. My colleagues took some time to show me the city and invited me to a great Tango show (Thanks guys !) which was very different from anything I have seen in documentaries. Seeing tango live is quite an experience, and since we were seated in the first row, it became quickly obvious that these dancers are athletes as well... You definititely need stamina for this 'sport' . Maybe that's why the Argentinians are eating so much - especially meat (huge steaks that would humiliate a Texan), but I'm not complaining. I am not a great fan of meat, but I have to admit I had the best steaks, or 'asados' as they call them, in my life

So I took them geocaching in the city and as usual, they were amazed that these little treasures are hidden everywhere in their city. We had great fun, especially since one of the geocaches was near a huge monument in a part of the city that they had never seen. If it wasn't for geocaching, they would never have seen it...

But I did not want to leave Buenos Aires without having seen a symbolic place : the Plaza de Mayo.

Since Oct. 22, 1977, dozens of women whose sons and daughters were kidnapped and presumed murdered during the bloody military dictatorship that ran Argentina from 1976 to 1983 have been trying to find two younger generations. Their children and grandchildren are among the 30,000 who were "disappeared" during the nation's so-called dirty war. They are called the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo. The group's name reflects its origin in the 1970s when mothers and grandmothers gathered at that square in central Buenos Aires every Thursday afternoon for a half-hour walk to protest their children's and grandchildren's disappearance.

So far, the grandmothers have helped to trace back hundreds of victims but more importantly, recover the identity of 88 young people, sons and daughters of those who 'disappeared'. It is a very moving story and a highlight of the modern history of Argentina. The grandmothers have a website, so check it on http://www.abuelas.org.ar/

So I went to visit the square, had a silent moment to reflect on the fate of those thousands of 'desparecidos (disappeared) and prayed that it would never happen again anywhere in the world. Here is the square, with the presidential palace at the southern end of the square :



Next countries ? probably Egypt or the Arab Emirates... Stay tuned

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