Greek Geocaching

[+youhoo]

Hey everyone! I live in NYC, going on vacation to Athens and the Greek Isles. I bought an eTREX20 for the occasion.

Are maps of Greece already loaded in? Does anyone know, or have some advice for me?

thanks!

[Pup Patrol]

Hey everyone! I live in NYC, going on vacation to Athens and the Greek Isles. I bought an eTREX20 for the occasion.

Are maps of Greece already loaded in? Does anyone know, or have some advice for me?

thanks!

 

The subtitle of your thread is "Greek Geocaching how to hide/find cache in Greece"

 

Before thinking about hiding a geocache, have you read the Guidelines thoroughly? "Vacation caches" are not encouraged.

 

https://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx

 

Owner is responsible for visits to the physical location.

 

You are responsible for occasional visits to your cache to ensure it is in proper working order, especially when someone reports a problem with the cache (missing, damaged, wet, etc.), or posts a Needs Maintenance log. Temporarily disable your cache to let others know not to search for it until you have addressed the problem. You are permitted a reasonable amount of time – generally up to 4 weeks – in which to check on your cache. If a cache is not being maintained, or has been temporarily disabled for an unreasonable length of time, we may archive the listing.

 

The region in which a cacher is considered able to maintain caches responsibly will vary from person to person. A cacher who has previously logged caches within a wide range of their home may be considered able to maintain a geocache 200 miles (322 km) away. However, someone whose geocaching activities have primarily been within 25 miles (40 km) of home may not be able to maintain a geocache this far from home. This factor is determined at the discretion of the cache reviewer or Groundspeak.

 

Because of the effort required to maintain a geocache, please place physical caches in your usual caching area and not while traveling. Caches placed during travel will likely not be published unless you are able to provide an acceptable maintenance plan. This plan must allow for a quick response to reported problems, and might include the username of a local cacher who will handle maintenance issues in your absence. Alternatively you might train a local person to maintain the cache. Document your maintenance plan in a Note to Reviewer on your cache listing. This should include contact information of the maintainer. The note will auto-delete on publication.

 

B.

[+Ben0w]

I bought an eTREX20 for the occasion.

Are maps of Greece already loaded in?

Does it say something about world map or european map? Then most probably yes. I've seen the etrex20 some days ago in a shop and barely recall, that there was a world map included.

 

Does anyone know, or have some advice for me?

There is a section in these forum, "Discussion by Country/Greece (Hellas) & Cyprus" you may check for country specific questions. Don't hesitate to ask in english.

 

Be a bit prepared! If you know where you go: have a pocket query downloaded to your device or however you try to get to the cache descriptions in the country. Maybe check your internet data plan. Description language could be a problem, in Greece even to read the character set...

 

In a foreign country you should be very defensive in caching: if feeling suspicious, stop. Could save you from troubles with land owners and authorities, you do not fully understand (and they don't understand you).

 

Pay more attention to the location than to statistic points.

 

But most important: just try it!

 

I did it on Cyprus (all cache descriptions in english there) and found caching there a somewhat new experience, other than at home. Don't know exactly why, beside cutting my bare foot on a rock the second day, when finding a cache in the mediterrean sea.

 

Have fun!

[+terratin]

With the eTrex 20 I think you can load maps from Open Streetmap, not? Those will most likely be much more detailed than the basemap the GPS came with. Generally, the worldmaps on Garmin units are very basic in most cases and only contain the biggest roads, if at all. Open Streetmap is probably the way to go here.

 

And please, don't place a cache! There's so much geotrash out there already, and I highly doubt a reviewer will publish a cache if it's a long distance from your home as you won't be able to maintain it. Plus you probably don't know the local rules with regards to cache placement. I don't know about Greece, but could imagine dry stone walls being not allowed for placement. Not sure about historical sites. The Greek militaries are certainly very strict when it comes to taking photos nearby. Hiding a cache near a military post, even if you don't know it's there might get you into trouble. Hey, I know of former fellow students who were arrested in Greece for conducting geological field work on a hill behind which was a non-civilian airfield.