Muy bueno

I'm still not the sporty person my doctors would like me to be, but I must admit: going outdoors to do some geocaching is a big hit. Looking forward to any occasion, I leave my hiking boots and thick socks in the car. The whippets are all hyper for they know they can come along. Lana loves to "prepare" them (read: make them crazy!) for their day out, so they are totally stressed out by the time we leave. They are too nervous to eat their breakfast and they don't like to eat in a different location, so when we get home late at night, they are starved..

Friday was a wonderful day. Although the rain washed us out numerous times, the sun warmed our heads and dried up the wet shirts. I think the five of us make a great combination to do this game of sports. I'm not of much use, since I still don't understand the rules (no I won't read the guidelines), but I love to observe the interaction between my friends. How they discuss coordinates, how they compare their mobile devices and GPS systems. I'm not clever enough to solve the mathematic formulas and it amazes me how good they are at it. Each one of us has its role in the game. Still trying to find out what mine is... LOL.

Let's get physical

I had been looking forward to this day. We were promised another walk of geocaching. The weather forecast sounded promising and we were packed and loaded with drinks and cookies. The hiking boots really come in handy. We were all set to discover the region of Affligem this time. The whippets were all excited about this journey as well. They were that nervous that breakfast had not been touched. I don't like it when they don't eat at all before they go out for the day, but there's not much I can do about it, is there?

The theme of this walk, was the Smurfs. You know, the little blue dwarfs with the white hats. They are cartoon figures, created by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo. As teens we were huge fans of the Smurfs, Gargamel and Azraël. We watched the cartoon on TV and bought the comic strips to read at home. Today we had to find several treasures. There were four of us to help find the hidden containers. They weren't that hard to find except for two. Nevertheless, only two of us found the treasures, because the other two were too busy chitchatting. I won't tell the names, no I won't.

We walked quite a bit this time: our tracking devices told us we had walked 16 kilometers. Not bad if you are not used to working out. Even the dogs were worn out. They were happy to see their benches. I guess they will sleep all day.. I don't blame them. I would love to join them.

It was interesting to say the least

I did it!! I'm so proud of me! My friend took another friend and myself geocaching in Vlaams-Brabant. He had organized this game for us and his enthusiasm was so catching we couldn't stay behind. My other friend was even more eager to find out about this game, so he tried out some geocaching on his own in the days prior to D-day. Leaving me behind as the only geocaching-virgin..
I didn't mind though. I knew I was in good hands and we had 3 GPS's handy, so I was sure we were not going to get lost.

It was freezing cold and the wind was torturing our heads and hands. For once, I had traded my high heels for more comfortable ankle boots. That was definitely a very good idea. The narrow paths weren't that muddy, but absolutely not convenient if you were wearing your best high heels. I don't get the coordinate thing at all. It's too mathematical for me, so I leave that up to the boys. But I did enjoy the walk and the game and the treasure hunting. Okay, I didn't find any treasure myself, but at least I helped looking for it. I had no idea how many attributes you need when you are geocaching. Must haves: a torch, to take good peeks inside dead trees ; a mirror, to see the small sign underneath the railing of a rusty bridge ; a good camera, in case you want to take a picture of the hints instead of writing them down ; drinks and food - you never know how long the walk will take and you do not want to run out of water or food. You need extra glucose strips and glucose tablets too. That is, if you're a diabetic of course. Haha! it would be a bit silly to carry those around and not be a diabetic. The three of us were amongst the lucky bastards to have picked the winning lottery ticket saying: you have diabetes. There was no need to worry about holding up others because your blood sugar is low. It didn't matter if you had cookies while the others were not ready to snack yet. The empty containers of our glucose strips make the perfect box to hide little treasures or hints in for future geocaching.

My whippet girls enjoyed the afternoon just like we did. They had a great time, running around the fields and the narrow paths. Trying to avoid close contact with mules and woolly lambs, I let them run free whenever I got the chance. I would definitely love to take them along next time. Yes, you heard me all right: next time. That means that I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the serial. That is if you will have me.

There's a first time for everything

I still can't believe I agreed to do this...
I believe I'm the most unsportsmanlike person on this planet. Really... I hate sports. It doesn't do anything for me. No adrenalin rush, no good feeling afterwards, no weight loss, no better condition whatsoever. Did I mention the boredom sports brings me? How boring can it be? I can't keep my jaws from yawning while working out. Well, that is.. some decades ago I signed up to go to the gym. I even went 3 times a week and every single time I had to drag myself to go. I hated it from day one, every single minute. Not one person has been able to convince me of the contrary. I just don't get it. It's not my cup of tea.

My friend has a new hobby. They call it geocaching. Let me guess? You have never heard of it? That's exactly what I thought. I'll give you a short briefing. Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices. After the hunt, they share their experiences online. I assume you understand where I'm headed to? Exactly.. my friend has made me enthusiastic for this "hobby" (I refuse to call it sports, since I do not want to dislike it beforehand), by sharing his adventures. I do admit: it sounds appealing. He is as much a sportsman as I am (read: so not in to sports), but he loves this game. So yes, this Sunday, we're going to hunt for our first treasure. I really can't believe I'm going to wear hiking boots (where on Earth will I get those?? I'm so not buying hiking boots!) and a backpack on my raincoat. Cheese and rice... Really.. But nevertheless - I should use a smaller font now - I'm looking forward to the game (no, I'm not going to call it a walk - sports, remember?). There's a first time for everything. I'll get back to you. With or without the treasure..