so--theories?

[asakiyume]

Okay, so I am interested in entertaining theories, from the realistic to the far-fetched, for the origins of the gold on the shores of the Venezuelan fishing village in the last entry. Other details you should know are that

the jagged coastline around Guaca, on Venezuela’s Paria peninsula, is punctuated with bays and islands that have long given refuge to adventurers.

It was on this peninsula, in 1498, that Christopher Columbus became the first European to set foot on the South American continent, thinking he’d found the entrance to the Garden of Eden.

Later, this sparsely defended coastline was regularly raided by Dutch and French buccaneers. Today, it is a haven for drug and fuel smugglers and modern-day pirates who prey on fishermen.

Also, possibly, this:

Once the first photo of the discovery was posted on Facebook, the news spread around Venezuela. But the area’s remoteness, the widespread shortage of gasoline and the coronavirus quarantines prevented a national gold rush

Okay, go for it!

Comments

[wayfaringwordhack]

OK, so I am feeling really blah energy and health-wise right now, so I have no brain cells for creativity, but I would like to say YAY for this:

Once the first photo of the discovery was posted on Facebook, the news spread around Venezuela. But the area’s remoteness, the widespread shortage of gasoline and the coronavirus quarantines prevented a national gold rush

I am glad outsiders were held back from "profiting" from this.

[asakiyume]

I am feeling really blah energy and health-wise right now --tender hugs. I would love to be with you and making you a hot-lemon drink, something to make you feel better.

And yeah, me too re: outsiders!

[watersword]

Mermaids mermaids mermaids. Alternatively, undersea dragons.

[asakiyume]

Excellent.

Now, por favor, un paso más--why did these fabulous beings do this? Was it on purpose or by accident? And if on purpose, to what end? And if by accident, what caused it.

(Okay, that's more than just one more step, I'll grant...)

[watersword]

Since I believe fervently that the Sea People from c.1200 BCE were mermaids, I wouldn't dare speculate on what their motivations might be. I'm already alarmed at the prospect of their population spread to the west Atlantic.

Honestly, if this were happening in the Mediterranean, I'd be able to come up with much better shenanigans. I don't know enough about Venezuelan history to speculate wildly.

[asakiyume]

I am here for mer-Mediterraneans exploring the Western Hemisphere! That'll do me!

[asakiyume]

And OMG, I just went to your DW profile, and that poem you have in the bio, "You Can't Have It All," by Barbara Ras, I had never come across that, and it is just one of the most beautiful poems I've ever read. The things she mentions! It was busses that kneel that did me in. That she noticed them and mentioned them. Beautiful.

[watersword]

I love that poem a lot and I'm so glad it spoke to you.

[sartorias]

Gold spewed up after one of the many quakes around those parts.

Deep-sea divers go looking for gold, find a rift, and . . . either it veers toward fantasy or SF or some kind of archaeological fun!

[asakiyume]

Awesome.

Your find-a-rift thought takes me toward undersea golden kingdoms. But archaeological fun would be great too! Perhaps ancient civilizations in the area had developed excellent refining and alloying skills, but a tidal wave swallowed them, and now, what the sea taketh away, it giveth back...

[sartorias]

Yes!

[cgbookcat1]

I hope it's the same people leaving aluminum monuments in remote places! I'm glad that the local people have benefited.

[asakiyume]

I want to join their club! I like their modus operandi.

[pjthompson]

Well...gold and other valuables are always washing up on Florida's coast (that's why part of it is called the Gold Coast) because of all the wrecks of Spanish galleons back in the day. Why not more modern treasure? Perhaps a hurricane, et al., finally dislodged a cache from a wreck and it has been drifting slowly to shore. Never underestimate the tides. :-)

[asakiyume]

I will *never* underestimate the tides! Yes, a mid-20th-century rum runner's pleasure yacht or something.

[pjthompson]

Sounds about right!

[pjthompson]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/abegarver/2015/12/16/metal-detector-sales-strike-gold-after-holy-grail-of-shipwrecks-found/

[asakiyume]

**Excellent**! YES.