Metz. Geocaching Convention: Digital Treasure Hunt in Bliiida

Around a thousand people practice geocaching in Moselle, nearly 300,000 in France, and four million worldwide. "We love finding beautiful boxes, meeting people, and finding ourselves in places tourists wouldn't go! We're big kids," summarizes Christophe Jeandel, secretary and founder of Trip Team Moselle. Founded four years ago in Ay-sur-Moselle, the association now has around fifty members who practice this activity, which is comparable to a life-size treasure hunt. To participate, simply register for free on the international website geocaching.com to obtain GPS coordinates indicating "caches," boxes (but it could be a can, a toy, etc.) that you must successfully find and open, and which contain small objects to exchange. These "caches" are always created by other players.

"There is a classification level for the sites that goes from 1 for a site accessible to wheelchair users to 5 for fairly challenging caches that require expertise and equipment. For example, you will have to climb a tree, descend by rappel, or go caving," continues this enthusiast, himself the creator of 200 caches.

Twenty-five years after the creation of this activity, Metz is expected, thanks to Trip Team Moselle, to host the first international geocaching convention in France from May 16th to 18th. For three days, a thousand geocachers of twelve different nationalities (American, Portuguese, Czech, English, Spanish, etc.) are expected to meet in Bliiida to share their passion and come on Saturday to share it with the uninitiated. During this day, dubbed "Graoully Party," twenty adventures will be offered to the public on the site, including one centered around the Graoully performances. It will also be possible to try "night caching," geocaching practiced at night with a UV lamp. And a conference will answer all the questions of novices.

For their part, geocachers will meet on Sunday morning to clean the banks of the lake aboard 70 kayaks loaned by the Metz Kayak Club. They will also take the opportunity to discover caches specially installed for them. Finally, the association is also expected to offer "premium" subscriptions (access to more caches than with a free registration). "The best reward of geocaching is the memories," says Yohan Perrot, president of the association, praising the caches' "ever-incredible ingenuity."