On the 1st July 2007, a small jeep left Michigan USA and started a journey which so far has covered over 60,000 kms (more or less one and a half times around the globe)
This week it arrived in this area – at Sommocolonia to be exact where it will be resting for a few days before once again starting off on the next leg of its journey round and round the globe.
At the start of this article we did say that it was a small jeep, maybe now we should also say just how small it actually is …. it can rest quite happily in the palm of your hand – yes, it is a toy jeep, but a toy jeep with a difference. This one is tagged and being tracked around the globe.
It is equipped with a unique geocaching tracking number and its movements since 2007 have been followed by many people from many nations.
When you find a red 2007 Jeep Commander Travel Bug, enter the unique tracking number into the Jeep Geocaching site to log its movements in the real world. You can then move it to the next cache you find so others can help it on its journey.
As can be seen on the map of its journey it has travelled across the states and across the world as far as Mauritius in the Indian Ocean before returning to Europe once again where it stopped for over a year in the far north of Europe in Denmark before travelling south and this time calling into Sommocolonia.
Where is now ? … hmm, good question – only those who are geocachers know the answer to that.
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 42 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.
All of the articles we have published over the past 12 months about the cultural geocaching project can be seen here