An interesting chance meeting in Barga Vecchia this afternoon as a family from Holland were sitting on one of the benches looking through the contents of the first cultural geocache to be put in Barga.
As you can hear from the short interview below (in English) the family had come to Barga intrigued by the idea of a cultural geocache and wanted to see for themselves what it entailed.
After looking at all the art in the box they then added their own special eco geocoin and took with them the geocoin which had recently arrived in Barga (article here)
That coin had travelled from Europe across the Atlantic, right though the states including Alaska and up into Canada before once more coming back to Europe and will hopefully finally make its way to its original starting place in Central Switerzland.
But now it will probably jump Switzerland and will be placed in another geocache in Holland and will then have to move back south down to Central Switerzland.
There was a small problem for the family getting the cultural geocache back into its hiding place without being seen by the other people walking through the city but these are seasoned geocachers who know some of the “tricks of the trade”.
Mission accomplished.
What is a Geocoin?
A Geocoin is a special coin created by individuals or groups of geocachers as a kind of signature item or calling card.
Each Geocoin is assigned a unique tracking ID which allows them to travel from geocache to geocache or to be passed amongst friends, picking up stories along the way.
How do Geocoins work?
Because each Geocoin is assigned a unique tracking number, its progress can be tracked online through logs posted by the finders. There are different types of logs that can be made on a Geocoin’s personal home page, including picking up or dropping off the coin, and “discovering” the coin.
GEOCACHING is an outdoor recreational activity, in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches”, anywhere in the world.
A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook where the geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it with their established code name. After signing into the log, the cache must be placed back exactly where the person found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (Tupperware or similar) or ammunition boxes can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value.
The cultural geocaches of Barga are somewhat different as they in fact do contain objects of value.
The caches contain signed original artworks, drawings, charcoal drawings, prints and etchings by 35 artists working in this area.
There are also mini poems and short stories in Italian and Latin
Professional musicians have prepared a series of cards containing QR codes which when scanned by smart phones will play music specially written for the project. The music includes classic, jazz, piano, tango, rock and folk.
The project is an attempt to “raise the bar” on the level of objects which can be found and exchanged in geocaches.
We hope that the people who find these objects will enjoy them as much as we have in preparing them. (the map for the first cultural geocache can be found here)
Andee Sorenson on facebook
It took me awhile to share about this alluring activity taking place in little town I once lived in Tuscany. This “geocaching” thing was new to me so I had to go get a grip on it. The site linked here is really informative. And now that i have the definition of geocaching handy, it seems funny yet fitting, that in a place where cultural treasures make the physical structure of the environment, locals are having fun planting yet another layer of “hidden treasures” to be discovered, mapped, etc…
Perhaps this modern sprinkling of cultural cache will spark a hunt for the wealth of knowledge and tradition and human spirit that is accessible in Barga and other culturally rich communities in this very green and lush Tuscan valley.
I, for one, am hopeful that this new layering is a sign of human and cultural flourishing in Barga. These places, like many places, will benefit our collective consciousness if they continue to vibrate with local music, art, festivities and food.