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May 09, 2005

Beachcombing and Scavanging

If you remember Ventura in the fifties, you might remember beachcombing and finding glass floats that came all the way from wherever the Japanese were fishing. Later, many of us used to collect pieces of colored glass that had been worn down by the constant abrasive work of sand and surf. Some people, today, have big beautiful clear glass jars filled with all colors of broken glass that have been found while walking on the beach and with a little light, they reflect the soft blues, reds, greens and other colors, some of which, came from containers made over 50 years ago.

The Japanese Fishing Float

While scavanging the beach a little north of Ventura and a little south of Jalama Beach, we found about 8 long wooden oars that had been drifting for god knows how long. One of the oddest finds and most lucrative, happened after a strong east wind near the Ventura pier. The wind had blown fiercely for most of the night and in the morning, every dropped coin from any previous beach goer, was sitting on top of a little pyramid of sand. What a score! So what are we finding in Mazatlan when it comes to treasure? Read on.

I got the wakeup call at 7:00 AM and was told we'd be heading out by 7:30. The idea was to beat the heat although it really didn't feel that bad this morning. The temps have been running in the high to mid 60's F. and that's pretty comfortable. It's May in Mazatlan and the sun is getting to be very intense by about 10:00 or 11:00 AM. Getting a good jump on the sun was a good idea. Usually, I'm up by 5:30 but since I didn't sleep the night before, I slept in. We were going on an adventure today and there was no question in my mind that I was going to fly out of bed, make a strong batch of coffee and be ready to head out the door. Coffee is always first so I blasted down a cup of good strong java and was ready to greet the challenges the day with a clear mind. In fact, I wasn't even hungry.

At my present weight, I knew I could last a month without eating and knowing I had only 30 minutes to get ready, I passed on breakfast and figured I'd drink water and do just fine. A few years ago, some of us got caught in the desert, outside of Tucson, without sufficient water. We barely made it back to our vehicle without some kind of dehydration accident so if nothing else, I was going to have at least a gallon of H2O.

Our mission was to seek out some pre-columbian artifacts that were being pulled up, from under the ground, by plows in an agricultural area. This place is not a big secret with the local village but only one of our party had been there and his impression was that it was exciting and held the possibility of finding some very interesting pieces. It's not a place I'd tell anyone about and it's not easy to find but when you see the massive amount of artifacts that dot the surface of the land there, it'll blow your mind.

Real Pre-Columbian Artifacts

We went through an ejido village that is like going back in time. It's old Mexico to the tee. We drove passed fields of Sarghum, corn and peppers. We opened gates that kept cattle and horses from being where they shouldn't. We ended up at the side of a dry river bed and had to walk about 2 KM to the site. Luckily, on the way, we stopped at a market where I bought some fruit and some freshly baked croissants filled with ham, cheese and peppers. I didn't have to starve myself and I had plenty of water.

My head was protected by a big straw hat; I had on Levis and a light shirt. I carried my water, a small collapsible shovel and a bag for the artifacts in an old green army knapsack. We wandered across the river and up the other side, following a well worn path used by the locals both on foot and with their horses. I could see that at one area a huge cactus was being harvested now and then by whomever came by. I hadn't eaten yet and after looking at that cactus plant, my mind drifted towards one of my favorite meals; nopales and eggs. If you don't know what nopales are, look it up.

We broke out of the brush and trees to a big open field lined with erosion marks from the last rains. It appears that between the rains and the plowing, the artifacts are both unearthed from the ground and rolled into piles from the little streams that run down from the hills nearby. We encountered a local farmer, on the way, and he asked if we were looking for the little "monkeys". The locals refer to some of the rock or clay pieces that resemble humans as "monos" or monkeys.

We all went our different ways and started looking for hidden treasures. There are literally thousands of small pottery pieces and larger pieces of stone grinding tools. I lucked out and found the head of either a spear or an arrow. It's made of obsidian and most likely was from out of the area. In the photo, you'll see what else I found. After an hour and a half in the baking sun, we were ready to leave. I'd like to go back again, more prepared and spend several hours looking for something very out of the ordinary. It was another great day in paradise.