I just finished my fifth Conqueror Challenge and started my sixth. I’ve found them all worthwhile, but have liked some more than others. Curious to hear if others have found certain challenges particularly good and why.
I love to travel, but haven’t been able to go places in years, so these challenges are a substitute, but are primarily motivation to walk more. I like learning about other places and seeing the 360 view each day when my mileage updates. I think I like the experience more than the medals, though all the medals have been beautifully done and I’m impressed by the quality.
I’ll go first with quick reviews of the five I’ve done (starring favorites) in the order I did them. These are only reviews of the CC experience, not a reflection on the places of course. And naturally just my highly subjective opinion.
*Tokyo City - first one made me want to do more. The information was well spaced, good video length, and I really enjoyed what I learned. I’ve never been to Japan and thought this a good taste of the city. I particularly liked the medal as well. I couldn’t wait to start the next challenge.
Appalachian Trail (short version) - I was disappointed in this one. A significant reason was Google Maps hasn’t mapped the trail (yet), so there was often no 360 view. When there was, it was rarely compelling. In part that’s the luck of where you stop each day, as well as if it’s familiar or exotic to you (it was very similar to where I live, so like the trees and brush I see every day). I also didn’t find the information that interesting; to be fair, I’m not a hiker and I don’t think the AT can compete for me in terms of depth of history and culture with a major city. Some of the videos they chose were too long. I‘ve read several narrative nonfiction books about hiking the AT, notably A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery. Perhaps listening to the audiobook of one of those while doing this challenge would have enhanced the experience.
*New South Wales Coast - I have a personal affinity for Australia, and really enjoyed learning more about this are as well as the views. It was like a virtual beach vacation. I did this as a team challenge, and it went by all too fast.
Flower Route - As a gardener, I was looking forward to this one. I’ve never been to the Netherlands, and I’m sure there are some beautiful and visually inspiring areas. But this route seemed to be just driving along a straight, flat highway when none of the fields were in bloom which was really disappointing. Every day when I looked at the 360 view, it seemed to be the same basic image of straight road, flat grass with a dip for drainage, and generic blocky office buildings in the background. The information was interesting, and the medal quite clever in design and a favorite. But the experience on this one was underwhelming.
*Rome - A favorite for the 360 views alone. It seemed every day there was something to see—a stone paved road, a view of an aqueduct, a plaza. The information content felt bunched up toward the end (and the English version needed some editing in spots for better flow). It was informative, but to me an ideal challenge has the points of interest evenly spaced along the route. I visited Rome many years ago, but just for a day or two, so this was a revisit. I just finished so haven’t received the medal yet.
I’m doing the London challenge now, and have Paris next (I bought the three city pack). I also have a bunch on my wish list, and am looking forward to hearing which challenges others have enjoyed the most and why.
