TODAY, May 2, is the tenth anniversary of geocaching. When in the year 2000 the switch was pulled and 24 satellites opened up and gave access to anyone with a GPS. GPS enthusiasts celebrated and over the internet discussed ways they could use the newly available technology.

On May 3rd Dave Ulmer a computer consultant wanted to test the accuracy so he hid a container in the woods and noted the co-ordinates with a GPS, he then posted the info on the net and within a few days a number of different people including a Mike Teague found the hidden container. Like all fun things it spread and other containers were hidden and found. Mike then started to list the co-ordinates on his web page.

When Jeremy Irish stumbled on Teague’s web site while researching GPS technology he realised he had discovered something that combined two of his main interests. He bought a GPS went out and discovered a cache hidden nearby and launched a hobby site for the activity. Adopting the term geocaching he set up the web site on September 2, 2000, when there were 75 known caches hidden in the world.

The growth of the hobby has been phenomenal and today there are 1,055,000 caches hidden - some of which can be found in Andalucía. Armed with a hand held GPS unit you download the co-ordinates from the web site and then set off to find the hidden "treasure".

Like any sport or pastime there are different levels of interest, all the caches are graded in terms of difficulty and effort involved. Some like the one hidden by Castillo Sohail in Fuengirola take about half an hour and a pleasant stroll, while some like the one I have placed on top of El Palo the 1400 metre high peak looking down on Jimera de Libar, involve a good 3 or 4 hours hike.

There is one in Ronda that involves visiting six different tourist locations and matching the view with some pictures then solving a puzzle to obtain the final co-ordinates.

As a means of getting the kids to go walking it is definitely a family activity.

Some of the caches just contain a log book while others have lots of goodies which you can trade, pick up a small toy and drop off Swedish Coin. As the motto goes: Take some stuff, leave some stuff. You will also come across track able items, these are tagged objects that you can register having collected from a cache and then register into another find.

The web site can help you keep a track of how the item moves around. We helped a Matchbox Mini car travel from one site to another around Denmark, and we brought a medal originally from Austria down to Andalucía, where it is waiting to be collected.

Most of the caches are in places you wouldn't normally get to see, but when you do it will have a special view or some point of interest. One of my hidden caches has a remarkable view of Ronda and gets great reviews from visitors.

A basic GPS will cost you less than 100€, then go to www.groundspeak.com and log in to start geocaching.

You may even be the one to find the Danish Christmas beer that I have hidden in the mountains of the Sierra de Libar!

To create link towards this article on your website,
copy and paste the text below in your page.

<style type="text/css"><!--.quote {width:350px; padding: 6px; border: solid 1px #456B8F; font: 10px helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; color: #222222; background-color: #ffffff}.quote a {font: 13px arial, serif; color: #003399; text-decoration: underline}.quote a:hover {color: #FF9900; }//--></style><div style="float:left;padding:5px;"><img src="http://www.secretandalucia.com/guadiaro-valley/images/stories/walking/boots.jpg" width="120" alt="" /></div><div class="quote"><a href="http://www.secretandalucia.com/guadiaro-valley/blogs/paul-darwent-guadiaro-blog/459-happy-birthday-geocaching.html" target="_blank">Happy Birthday Geocaching!</a><br />Sunday, 02 May 2010<br /> TODAY, May 2, is the tenth anniversary of geocaching. When in the year 2000 the switch was pulled and 24 satellites opened up and gave access...<div align="right" style="width:350px"><p style="text-align:right;">© 2012 - <a href="http://www.secretandalucia.com/guadiaro-valley/" target="_blank">Secret Andalucia - Guadiaro Valley, near Ronda</a></p></div></div>

Preview :

Happy Birthday Geocaching!
Sunday, 02 May 2010
TODAY, May 2, is the tenth anniversary of geocaching. When in the year 2000 the switch was pulled and 24 satellites opened up and gave access...

© 2012 - Secret Andalucia - Guadiaro Valley, near Ronda

Powered by QuoteThis © 2008