Caching Tales

Back home the week started on a slightly sombre note as a good friend of ours had died whilst we were on holiday.  The funeral was lovely and held at a new crematorium on the outer edges of Cambridge. Following the wake at a nearby pub, I decided I needed to brighten my day a little and grab a cache or two.  Both were in Barrington and luckily I could park quite close by, grabbing them as caches and dashes. The weekend was Earthcache Day and a souvenir was up for grabs. I have actually been a bit rubbish at collecting earthcaches, on Earthcache Day in the past, despite the fact I really enjoy doing them.  Last year was first time I’d managed it, when I took my mum on a walk around Lackford Lakes, which was sadly one of our very last caching trips together.  This year I managed to persuade the other half to go with me and we set off for a Norfolk forest and the location of - The Devils Punchbowl. And what a fascinating place.  ...

After blogging about our initial perceptions of Mexico and the start of our caching adventures last week, this week’s part two is rather more action packed, as we headed further afield in the trusty hire car to get the real Mexican experience. We start with a trip to the Tulum Ruins, to the far south of the Yucatán Penninsula. It was a very long drive! The speed limits in this region of Mexico are lower than many UK roads and having been so ferociously warned by the car hire chap about the high police presence on the roads the other half didn’t dare go above it.  Needless to say we were probably the slowest vehicle travelling on the dual carriageway - old bangers and even huge juggernauts overtook us.    It took nearly two hours to get from our hotel on the far North coast of Cancun to Tulum, but it was well worth it. Before I go on to regail you with our visit, I want to forewarn others of a rather sophisticated con at the site.  As we turned...

This month we went on our first ever trip to Latin America - Mexico to be exact! And boy did we learn a lot about the people, culture and heritage thanks in part to Geocaching.  The first thing that strikes you as the plane swings round to land at Cancun airport is how green the country is. From all those movies set ‘down in Mexico’ I’d been led to believe it was mainly baron and desert, but it’s not at all.  Around Cancun and along the eastern coast it’s actually quite lush and green, with lots of trees and shrubs across the landscape.  I learnt that I know more Spanish than I believed. Aside from a couple of misunderstandings leading to drinks being ordered in error, and a car park attendant not understanding my version of “Cuanto cuesto?” - ‘how much?’ - I managed to get by pretty well.  I also realised I’m no longer a youngster, after a young couple in a lift at the hotel asked me if I was taking my kids to the party night! Err no! ...