For the good cause, that of your permanent discovery, my soul as an editor only took a turn when it came to testing the geocaching game, Terra Aventura, playful and full of awakening. Immediate boarding of the family for a morning full of surprises in Saint-Savin, in Upper Gironde.
Saint-Savin is one of the smallest Tèrra Aventura courses, out of the 27 offered across the Gironde. I suggested “small” to convince a 4-year-old boy, and especially a 13-year-old teenager, moderately motivated by walking and heritage.
After a 30-minute drive from Bordeaux, we have arrived, totally out of place in this village not far from Blaye. The route begins in front of the Tourist Office: the app guides us, step by step, to the heart of the history of this town. The objective: to seek AND find a Poïz, one of the many characters that make up this funny Tèrra Aventura tribe.
So here we are in front of a mill, looking for a number, or even in front of a church, trying to decipher its riddle… Victor, the under-motivated teenager, gets caught up in the game, and grabs the phone to follow the app : it's won. We continue in front of the fountain, or even in front of a sculpted house, nicknamed “the mascot”… In short, each stage is conducive to getting to know the place, but while having fun, and that changes everything!
Last step: a padlock to open thanks to the number of each answer formulated. Victor, the self-proclaimed leader of the game, begins to search the thickets, the underside of stones, the benches, in order to find the precious sesame, supported by his brother, whose only interest is to know what the Poïz look like. We are on the verge of abandonment, when suddenly, a clue guides us in the right direction. Obviously, dear reader, I cannot destroy your curiosity by revealing the secret of the cache, because I have become a referenced player and I do not want to compromise this new promotion. On the other hand, I can only tell you how much joy, satisfaction and even pride could be read on the faces of the family team, after this walk – treasure hunt.
On the way back, we say to ourselves that we would try a longer route next time: watch out for the Poïz, here we are!
Marielle, writer