The Baron’s Cache
Baron Plato von Ustinov, grandfather of actor, the late Peter Ustinov once made Jaffa his home. Old Jaffa is one of the world's oldest port cities. This particular area is the location of early American and German colonies before modern Israel was established. Later, Baron Ustinov purchased Beit Immanuel, center-piece of this historic neighbourhood, and made it into his own Russian style palace complete with exotic gardens and a clinic. It is now known as Beit Immanuel Guest House hosting a small museum which describes the history of the local area. There are several other historic buildings on this street as well. I have many fond memories of my visits here.
The Baron's Cache is a 600 ml clear lock and lock container. First-to-Find was awarded a Traveling Gnome complete with his very own official gnome passport. This little guy was awarded to "starless" and is now happily traveling the world. You can track his adventures under the travel bug number TB196HQ.
Original contents: Travel gnome and passport, Uncle John's Ahh-Inspiring Bathroom Reader - Miniature Edition, 3 Marvel superhero pogs, a pair of Mexican cuff links, Mini deck of cards, decorative notepad, pack of camo tissues, a Signal geocoin on its first mission and a tin full of trinkets and costume jewelry for trading. Happy caching!.
The coordinates have been averaged from more than a dozen readings using two different GPSrs. If you are having difficulty it is not the coordinates that are off, it is the environment that is blocking the satellites. Don't be surprised if the signal bounces around a lot once you get within 20 or so meters. You may find you will sometimes have better luck at a different time of day depending on atmospheric conditions. Or you can try to triangulate by taking bearings on the cache from different positions where you can get a good signal from open sky. Move around and take more than one bearing. There are a number of taller buildings nearby that can block the satellite signals and the dense foliage of the trees may also make it difficult to get a good signal.
If your GPSr has difficulties in leading you to the right spot, use the hints. Each one is specially designed to get you closer without giving away too much information. If you have to use all five hints you should be able to find the cache without further problems. If there is a tour group in your way, you can either wait in the shade on a nearby bench, enjoy a drink at the Baron's Café or check at the desk to find out when the the group will be gone so you can return a little later.
As suggested by some visitors to the cache, I have also adjusted the difficulty and terrain ratings. Some of the changes in the garden have made the cache more difficult to reach for wheelchairs depending on your strength and the dimension of your wheelchair. There are some low curbs and tree roots and wider chairs may not fit within the space to get close enough. Also, depending on a person's physical limitations, it may now be more difficult to reach from a wheelchair. But don't count yourself out for the Baron's Cache. I suggest bringing a geocache partner to help with the final meter or so. I apologize for any inconvenience in the past.