Yesterday, there was a message in my inbox from a ‘RaRoch’, a Czech geocacher. A travel bug, Koala the Agent, had hitched a ride to Tasmania with some muggle friends; could Snuva meet up with them Friday evening or Saturday morning? After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing in which I was a bit confused about which ‘today’ RaRoch meant as he is on the other side of the date line, I had the phone number for the muggle’s Czech mobile (which she had with her in Australia), sent a message with a rendezvous time and place, and heard back that she would be there!
About 15 minutes before the appointed time, I received a message saying they would be 15 minutes late; obviously they over estimated the size of Hobart as we soon had a message saying they were waiting for us! I told my slaves to pick up the pace and sent them in to make the swap. The female slave ran up to someone who looked a bit confused and blurted out ‘Are you from the Czech Republic?’. Yes, this was the right person! They had been to Maria Island and were now on their way to Cradle Mountain. She didn’t even have time for a drink with us, but Koala the Agent was passed over and the first part of its mission is complete.
Yes, there are good things and bad things about travel bugs and geocoins. Sometimes they can seem a distration from the basics of caching. But for me one of the basic things I like about geocaching, aside from finding a lunch box in a cool spot on a fabulous bushwalk, is playing an international game and meeting people. Bugs and coins have gained me more friends then I have lost. And from the most unexpected places and at the most unexpected times. There’s something really nice about that. And if you have something to say against that, well this is Snuva’s space and she moderates the comments.
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