5 new country souvenirs coming soon

[Pup Patrol]

From today's newlsetter:

 

Have you planned your 2017 travel?

 

One of the coolest things about geocaching is that it's played by people around the world in so many different ways. To celebrate this, we're releasing five new country souvenirs over the next few weeks!

 

If you’ve already found a geocache in any of these countries, you’ll automatically receive the souvenir on your profile. Souvenirs that are currently available can be found here. You can view which ones you’ve already earned by checking out your Souvenirs on Geocaching.com.

 

Stay tuned for the first new country souvenirs announcement in next week’s Geocaching newsletter.

 

B.

[+hzoi]

\o/

 

Assuming the past trend of picking countries continues, my guess looking at the caches by country list* is:

 

Romania (#32 with 3,212 caches)

Hong Kong (37th, 1,804 caches)

Taiwan (39th, 1,589 caches)

Israel (41st, 1,486 caches)

Argentina (44th, 1,207 caches)

 

Still leaves quite a gap until the next country that already has a souvenir, Iceland (53rd with 652 caches), so there is room to maneuver if Groundspeak wants to emphasize one region over another. I think Romania is assured, Hong Kong might also be a safe bet. Would one of the other three be passed over in order to provide a little more regional equity on the souvenir list?

 

*Just hit the "filter button" without picking anything and you get the full list.

Edited November 30, 2016 by hzoi

[+Team-BO]

Have a look at https://www.flickr.com/photos/geocaching_com/albums/72157627767218578/page1

 

You can see four new countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Ethiopia

[+hzoi]

Have a look at https://www.flickr.com/photos/geocaching_com/albums/72157627767218578/page1

 

You can see four new countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Ethiopia

 

I'm familiar with that flickr page, but it hasn't been updated since 2011. And though it contains souvenirs for England, Scotland, and Wales, Groundspeak ended up going with one UK souvenir rather than breaking out the three nations within the UK. I'm not sure they're going to go back on that decision, though I suppose it's possible.

 

The Ethiopian one is also from 2011. With 40 active geocaches, Ethiopia is in a 3-way tie for 130th place as far as the ranking of caches by country. Not holding my breath on that one.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

\o/

 

Assuming the past trend of picking countries continues, my guess looking at the caches by country list* is:

 

Romania (#32 with 3,212 caches)

Hong Kong (37th, 1,804 caches)

Taiwan (39th, 1,589 caches)

Israel (41st, 1,486 caches)

Argentina (44th, 1,207 caches)

 

Still leaves quite a gap until the next country that already has a souvenir, Iceland (53rd with 652 caches), so there is room to maneuver if Groundspeak wants to emphasize one region over another. I think Romania is assured, Hong Kong might also be a safe bet. Would one of the other three be passed over in order to provide a little more regional equity on the souvenir list?

 

*Just hit the "filter button" without picking anything and you get the full list.

 

China (#43) would be higher on the list of Argentina and I wouldn't be surprised to see it before Hong Kong or Taiwan. Someone I missed that Romania did not yet have one in my other predictions. Since this batch of souvenirs is supposed to "celebrate geographical diversity" we might not see three of the five souvenirs from Asian countries.

 

A lot of people have speculated that the primary criteria for a new country/region souvenir is the number of caches in the country. I think it might make more sense to use the number of *finds* (or number of distinct geocacher ids with finds) per country. Vatican City/State only has 10 caches yet most geocachers visiting Rome are probably going to try and find at least one of them and the traditional with the most FPs has over 4300 finds. Compare that with Jersey and it's 372 caches and the cache with the most FPs has fewer than 300 finds. There may be a *lot* more caches in Jersey than the Vatican but there are probably a lot more geocachers visiting Vatican City/State.

 

 

[+hzoi]

China (#43) would be higher on the list of Argentina and I wouldn't be surprised to see it before Hong Kong or Taiwan. Someone I missed that Romania did not yet have one in my other predictions. Since this batch of souvenirs is supposed to "celebrate geographical diversity" we might not see three of the five souvenirs from Asian countries.

 

I keep forgetting that China doesn't have a souvenir yet. Maybe because I keep seeing the one for Iceland in my head, which to me looks more Chinese than Icelandic.

 

 

A lot of people have speculated that the primary criteria for a new country/region souvenir is the number of caches in the country. I think it might make more sense to use the number of *finds* (or number of distinct geocacher ids with finds) per country. Vatican City/State only has 10 caches yet most geocachers visiting Rome are probably going to try and find at least one of them and the traditional with the most FPs has over 4300 finds. Compare that with Jersey and it's 372 caches and the cache with the most FPs has fewer than 300 finds. There may be a *lot* more caches in Jersey than the Vatican but there are probably a lot more geocachers visiting Vatican City/State.

 

Good points. And clearly number of caches isn't the only factor, as Iceland jumped the line by quite a bit.

Edited November 30, 2016 by hzoi

[+redsox_mark]

I'm familiar with that flickr page, but it hasn't been updated since 2011. And though it contains souvenirs for England, Scotland, and Wales, Groundspeak ended up going with one UK souvenir rather than breaking out the three nations within the UK. I'm not sure they're going to go back on that decision, though I suppose it's possible.

 

The Ethiopian one is also from 2011. With 40 active geocaches, Ethiopia is in a 3-way tie for 130th place as far as the ranking of caches by country. Not holding my breath on that one.

 

I agree regarding England, Scotland, and Wales. IF Groundspeak ever decided to award these, I don't think they would call them "countries" in this way.

Edited November 30, 2016 by redsox_mark

[+NYPaddleCacher]

China (#43) would be higher on the list of Argentina and I wouldn't be surprised to see it before Hong Kong or Taiwan. Someone I missed that Romania did not yet have one in my other predictions. Since this batch of souvenirs is supposed to "celebrate geographical diversity" we might not see three of the five souvenirs from Asian countries.

 

I keep forgetting that China doesn't have a souvenir yet. Maybe because I keep seeing the one for Iceland in my head, which to me looks more Chinese than Icelandic.

 

 

 

Although that does look like a dragon I assume that it's a depiction of a masthead from a viking ship. Icelandic viking ships often had dragons at the bow to scare away evil spirits of the see. The souvenir is almost certainly based on this:

 

 

 

A lot of people have speculated that the primary criteria for a new country/region souvenir is the number of caches in the country. I think it might make more sense to use the number of *finds* (or number of distinct geocacher ids with finds) per country. Vatican City/State only has 10 caches yet most geocachers visiting Rome are probably going to try and find at least one of them and the traditional with the most FPs has over 4300 finds. Compare that with Jersey and it's 372 caches and the cache with the most FPs has fewer than 300 finds. There may be a *lot* more caches in Jersey than the Vatican but there are probably a lot more geocachers visiting Vatican City/State.

 

Good points. And clearly number of caches isn't the only factor, as Iceland jumped the line by quite a bit.

 

Coincidentally my most recently acquired souvenir is for Iceland (I spent a few days there about a month ago) but I've been to China three times so I'm hoping that China will be included in the next batch.

 

[+hzoi]

Although that does look like a dragon I assume that it's a depiction of a masthead from a viking ship. Icelandic viking ships often had dragons at the bow to scare away evil spirits of the see. The souvenir is almost certainly based on this:

 

Oh, I know. I just keep seeing it as the not yet existent Chinese souvenir.

[+jellis]

I know it's small but still hoping for one for the Bahamas.

[+Viajero Perdido]

Hong Kong (37th, 1,804 caches)

That number's pretty darn impressive, given that

 

1. Hong Kong is just a speck on the map really, and
2. Most of those caches are not urban hides, contrary to what you might expect. Most people think of Hong Kong as a crowded city, right? (I think of it as a mountain range & archipelago with city tucked into the crevices.)

It certainly gets my vote as a quality caching destination. (I know, nobody asked.) I just got back from my third geo-visit to Hong Kong, and I could happily go back annually and still have plenty to do while completely ignoring urban hides.

 

Oh, and if I can dare to generalize... Those 1804 caches are well-maintained by an active community.

[+The A-Team]

I haven't gotten the newsletter yet, but this has been posted on the blog:

Isla del Encanto: Puerto Rico newest Geocaching souvenir!

Every time new souvenirs get released, there always seem to be a lot of people asking for one for Puerto Rico, so this will make lots of people happy.

 

Edit to add: Just realized there's another one too:

Brand new geocaching country souvenir for Russia

Edited December 6, 2016 by The A-Team

[+cheech gang]

Looks like I just received the Puerto Rico and Russia sovenirs. I would have not known it were it not for this thread.

[Pup Patrol]

Looks like I just received the Puerto Rico and Russia sovenirs. I would have not known it were it not for this thread.

 

The newsletter of today announced Russia and Puerto Rico.

 

Groundspeak's blog:

 

https://www.geocaching.com/blog/

 

B.

Edited December 6, 2016 by Pup Patrol

[+hzoi]

Looks like I just received the Puerto Rico and Russia sovenirs. I would have not known it were it not for this thread.

 

The newsletter of today announced Russia and Puerto Rico.

 

Groundspeak's blog:

 

https://www.geocaching.com/blog/

 

B.

Interesting. 46th and 49th on the list.

[+speakers-corner]

I have never been to Russia but I got the new souviner yesterday. Cool

[Pup Patrol]

I have never been to Russia but I got the new souviner yesterday. Cool

 

You need to contact Groundspeak to report the error.

 

B.

[+narcissa]

I have never been to Russia but I got the new souviner yesterday. Cool

 

You need to contact Groundspeak to report the error.

 

B.

 

Or just keep it because it's funny.

[+Kacher82]

Puerto Rico is technically not a country. It's a territory of the US.

 

Not that it doesn't deserve a souvenir. I just find it interesting that it's included in the country souvenirs.

Edited December 6, 2016 by Kacher82

[+Viajero Perdido]

You need to contact Groundspeak to report the error.

Or you can simply hide it in your own profile via this page: https://www.geocachi.../souvenirs.aspx

Tick the little box so it says the opposite of what you want.

[+redsox_mark]

Puerto Rico is technically not a country. It's a territory of the US.

 

Not that it doesn't deserve a souvenir. I just find it interesting that it's included in the country souvenirs.

 

Not all of the "countries" listed as such by Groundspeak are sovereign countries. Puerto Rico is unincorporated territory, meaning it is controlled by the United States government, but is not part of (ie., "incorporated" in) the United States. So if they listed caches in Puerto Rico as being in the United States, that wouldn't really be true either.

 

The souvenir didn't cause this or change it... the decision by Groundspeak to list caches in Puerto Rico as "Puerto Rico" was made long ago.

[+pseudoprime]

I know I'm nitpicking here, but other souvenirs are listed on my profile with the date based on when I found the geocache (even if that predated the existence of the souvenir), but the Puerto Rico one is listed as having been acquired yesterday, despite it being based on a 2007 find. Will this fix itself, or am I going to twitch a little bit when I check my souvenirs?

[Pup Patrol]

I know I'm nitpicking here, but other souvenirs are listed on my profile with the date based on when I found the geocache (even if that predated the existence of the souvenir), but the Puerto Rico one is listed as having been acquired yesterday, despite it being based on a 2007 find. Will this fix itself, or am I going to twitch a little bit when I check my souvenirs?

 

It's not going to fix itself.

 

You need to report it to Groundspeak.

 

There's always glitches when they do these rollouts, and they need to know about them.

 

B.

[Pup Patrol]

You need to contact Groundspeak to report the error.

Or you can simply hide it in your own profile via this page: https://www.geocachi.../souvenirs.aspx

Tick the little box so it says the opposite of what you want.

 

That doesn't help him at all. And it doesn't help Groundspeak track the errors.

 

Reporting the glitches to Groundspeak is the only logical solution.

 

B.

[Pup Patrol]

Puerto Rico is technically not a country. It's a territory of the US.

 

I think GS is aware of that.

 

https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2016/12/isla-del-encanto-puerto-rico-newest-geocaching-souvenir/

 

A territory of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a paradisal Caribbean destination.

 

B.

[+speakers-corner]

You need to contact Groundspeak to report the error.

Or you can simply hide it in your own profile via this page: https://www.geocachi.../souvenirs.aspx

Tick the little box so it says the opposite of what you want.

 

Reported

[+Birdie.NL]

I suddenly have a souvenir for Puerto Rico while I never have been across the Atlantic. What's going on in Seattle?

[Pup Patrol]

I suddenly have a souvenir for Puerto Rico while I never have been across the Atlantic. What's going on in Seattle?

 

A roll-out of 2 new souvenirs, and glitches and erros happened, as per usual.

 

Report it to GS.

 

 

B.

[+pseudoprime]

I reported the issue with the wrong date for the Puerto Rico souvenir, and got a message that they were looking into it, then another that they were running a script to fix it. And it's fixed!

 

That went well.

[+TeamRabbitRun]

I suddenly have a souvenir for Puerto Rico while I never have been across the Atlantic. What's going on in Seattle?

 

I think if GS gave you that souvenir, then they should be responsible for getting you there for a caching trip.

 

I see it as going into a store and seeing an incorrect price tag - they have to give you the item at that price if you insist!

 

Report back and let us know how it goes.

Edited December 8, 2016 by TeamRabbitRun

[+hzoi]

\o/

 

Assuming the past trend of picking countries continues, my guess looking at the caches by country list* is:

 

Romania (#32 with 3,212 caches)

Hong Kong (37th, 1,804 caches)

Taiwan (39th, 1,589 caches)

Israel (41st, 1,486 caches)

Argentina (44th, 1,207 caches)

 

Still leaves quite a gap until the next country that already has a souvenir, Iceland (53rd with 652 caches), so there is room to maneuver if Groundspeak wants to emphasize one region over another. I think Romania is assured, Hong Kong might also be a safe bet. Would one of the other three be passed over in order to provide a little more regional equity on the souvenir list?

 

*Just hit the "filter button" without picking anything and you get the full list.

 

Brand new geocaching country souvenir for Russia

Isla del Encanto: Puerto Rico — newest Geocaching souvenir!

Newest Geocaching country souvenir: China

A new country souvenir for Singapore!

The final new country souvenir of 2016 is … Romania!

 

OK, got 1 out of 5, would have been 2 of 5 if I'd done the math on China right. [shrug]

 

But hey, the only one I really had a good feeling about was Romania, and I got that one right.

Edited December 20, 2016 by hzoi

[+NYPaddleCacher]

\o/

 

Assuming the past trend of picking countries continues, my guess looking at the caches by country list* is:

 

Romania (#32 with 3,212 caches)

Hong Kong (37th, 1,804 caches)

Taiwan (39th, 1,589 caches)

Israel (41st, 1,486 caches)

Argentina (44th, 1,207 caches)

 

Still leaves quite a gap until the next country that already has a souvenir, Iceland (53rd with 652 caches), so there is room to maneuver if Groundspeak wants to emphasize one region over another. I think Romania is assured, Hong Kong might also be a safe bet. Would one of the other three be passed over in order to provide a little more regional equity on the souvenir list?

 

*Just hit the "filter button" without picking anything and you get the full list.

 

Brand new geocaching country souvenir for Russia

Isla del Encanto: Puerto Rico — newest Geocaching souvenir!

Newest Geocaching country souvenir: China

A new country souvenir for Singapore!

The final new country souvenir of 2016 is … Romania!

 

OK, got 1 out of 5, would have been 2 of 5 if I'd done the math on China right. [shrug]

 

But hey, the only one I really had a good feeling about was Romania, and I got that one right.

 

I got 2 of the 5 (China, Singapore) new souvenirs and only predicted the one for China correctly. There are still 8 countries in which I have found a cache that do not yet have souvenirs. Hoping that we don't have to wait an entire year before we get any more.