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Pockets Full of Gold

By Chris Valerio

What an exciting treasure hunting vacation! That is an understatement, as this last treasure hunting adventure put a capital letter A in adventure. An adventure can turn out good or bad, and on this adventure a little of both. So there is some good news to report and also some bad too. Guess that’s what makes an adventure an adventure, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! One simply has to take both the good and bad, knowing in the end, one has fulfilled another treasure hunting dream come true.

This trip of mixed blessings was planned as another return to the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe, this June 3rd thru 12. Guadeloupe is a Department of France and has always provided a bounty of gold jewelry from the sea, for determined treasure hunters. Most of the gold jewelry found here is 18K, as the locals do not like a lesser percentage of gold. Remember 18K is 75% pure gold! Any item found with less gold such as 14K (58% gold), was more than likely lost by a visiting tourist to the island. There was enough 18K to be found on this trip, that even us treasure hunters frowned on found 14K! Are we spoiled or what?

For this adventure George Streeter invited myself, Bill Mitchell, Don Foster and newcomer David Hawkins to search for gold in the sea. David is a retired LA Sheriff and somewhat new to Caribbean shallow water detecting. The 5 of us would share most expenses, making such a trip rather pleasantly affordable. The biggest expense on this trip would be our airfare. For me round trip from Seattle Washington was some $1,100. Located way out West, I pay the most for airfare and usually try to match some of my flights with that of the others, so that we all arrive and depart our destination as a group. But this time that was not possible and I did not fly American as usual, but with Alaska and Air France. David was able to get the same Miami to Guadeloupe Air France flight as I, and we were scheduled to arrive in Guadeloupe just minutes after George, Don and Bill flying American. That worked out pretty good, only on the way to Guadeloupe we had to make a scheduled stop in Haiti. Air France did not exactly make that clear to us. When landing in Haiti, one could see miles of shanty-town! Obviously not an inviting place for Americans! But we remained on the plane, then after about an hour were back on track to Guadeloupe. I guess Air France services Haiti daily. A nice touch of Air France is that they still serve meals and beverages, including fine French wine on their flights. Dave and I actually received 2 complimentary meals on that flight! Seattle is a long way from the Caribbean, but finally we touched down in Guadeloupe, and all my daily stress and worries vanished. Within minutes we passed immigration, had our luggage and whisked right through customs in nearly the blink of an eye!

We found George, Don and Bill waiting for us at SIXT, our car rental company. It is a good thing I made it to Guadeloupe because our Peugeot rental van was in my name! Before long we were loaded-up and bound for our bungalows. This was the best van I have ever rented. New, roomy and very fuel stingy! SIXT offered the best rental price by far, and I never expected a new vehicle to boot! Although I have now been to Guadeloupe several times, finding our way from the airport always seems confusing. Once I get on the highway to our Bungalows, then I know where I am and can find my way around the island. But getting on the right highways can be tricky. Thank Goodness Bill was along with his great sense of direction. I drove and Bill directed! Between the 2 of us we found our way and made our bungalows in no time flat! Which was a good thing because the bungalow manager was waiting for us with the keys in hand, and wanted to go home. Because of a little mix-up with our required bed count, Dave and I shared a room, George and Bill another, and Don got his own room for one night, until management could move another bed for Don into my room the next day. Each man needs his own bed and that eventually worked out rather well for us.

Like kids in a candy store we could hardly wait to go detecting for gold in the sea. We had a few hours of daylight left and so we did, and some of us actually struck first gold! I found a gold band and George and Bill did so too! What a great way to start our trip, with found gold and within hours of our arrival! At dusk we showered-up and made a B-line for dinner. We were hungry treasure hunters and nothing was going to get in our way here! Our restaurant of choice is less than a block from our bungalows, and serves delicious French and Creole style gourmet food at great prices! Oh by the way, a beautiful beach with palm trees, white sand and crystal clear blue-green water and loaded with gold, is a mere stones throw away from our bungalows! So this set-up is great. Plus there is a wonderful bakery, deli, general store, pay phones and bank just round the corner- sweet! I should mention that calling the United States from Guadeloupe is very inexpensive, if you purchase a pre-paid calling phone card, Allo Card, from one of the stores round the corner. One can choose several hours of payphone use time for around 10 Euros or less! Since Guadeloupe is a Department of France, Euros are used there and US Dollars are not accepted. At this time 1 Euro equals about $1.60 US.

The restaurant owner and staff know us and provide a welcome atmosphere for us. That night our Spirits were high and full of expectations. We were jovial, toasting ice cold beer, made great conversation and feasted on delicious food at our reserved table for “The Americans“! Yes, the fun Americans were back in town, but soon the Gods of Sleep caught up with us, and we made our way to bedtime. Little did I know it would turn out to be one of the unluckiest nights of my life! I felt great, but was very tired. I had a touch of jetlag and lost several hours traveling from Seattle. We planned on getting up early the next morning, so it was straight to 7th Heaven. Dave beat me to the punch and I had one more thing to do before finally retiring for the night. There was a hungry kitten at our door and I decided to feed him some beef jerky from the States. I have a soft-spot for animals in need, and kitty chowed-down like no tomorrow. With that task accomplished I wished my new little friend good night, shut and locked the door, and was out like a light with dreams of gold. Then…

Man, I was out of it. At about some time around 3 AM, I barely awoke to Dave declaring that Bill was in our room. I did not think much of it at the time because Bill has said he would wake us up and I thought it must be our 5 AM revelry. I looked over towards the door in a groggy half-sleep and saw that it was ajar and open! I was so stupefied and out of it, I did not even wonder why our door was open and fell right back to sleep as Dave must have too. I was simply too tired and there was no way Bill was going to get me up that early! What a failure and oversight on my part! I have never been that way before and am often accused by others of being overly cautious and aware of my surroundings. But on that night I was simply out of it. I was on a treasure hunting vacation and I had foolishly let my guard down at the wrong time. As it turns out, that was not Bill in our room, but was a thief! It was still dark and Dave could not quite make him, the intruder out. Somehow Dave woke up, saw the thief, and thought it was Bill. But it was not. This was Dave’s first trip with us and he did not know game plan. He didn’t really give a second thought as to why Bill was in our room, and thought that’s how we did things when it was time to get up. Unfortunately for me I had started to unpack my belongings the night before and the thief got most everything. He got my cash, camera, cell phone, passport, drivers license and more. About a $2,500 plus loss! All while I was sleeping! He did not get my detectors though and perhaps because Dave had woken up? The thief even took things right by my head from my nightstand. What a horrible feeling! I was at the mercy of this man and could have been killed! How could this happen? Well while I thought I locked our door, I did not realize the deadbolt had to be turned fully around twice to lock. I had turned it only one time and the door was still unlocked! I guess this is some European design? The thief walked right in! More than likely he returned several times, systematically cleaning out the room! That is until Dave partially awoke. I simply can not describe in words how I felt the next morning. I was angry but felt so violated too! At first I thought the others were playing a well deserved prank on me, but as much as I wished for that it was not the case. I was robbed and to make a horrible and long story short, I had some big problems with no ID and no cash and credit cards! What a mess. Luckily I was with good friends who helped out with money. I had to meet with a US Counsel who just happened to be on the Island by chance, to try and straighten out my lost passport situation. For several days I was not sure if I was ever going to be able to board my return flight home without any ID! I had to cancel all my documents in a foreign country where French is spoken, make a police report where they spoke no English whatsoever, and it was a living Hell for some time! I found out later this style of robbery happens often there. It is now quite common throughout the Caribbean. The Counsel told me they usually gas the room first with chloroform, then systematically steal everything while their victims are knocked-out! I do not know for sure if we were gassed, but that would explain why I felt like I was in La La Land, and not the least concerned why our door was open in the wee hours of the morning! This is really the first time in my life that I felt helpless and victimized! The Counsel advised that one should tie a glass coke bottle on a string to the door, so if it is opened, a loud noise would be made. This whole ordeal tried to ruin my trip, and for some reason only my personal belongings were stolen. To lay this to rest, I do not think the French police really care, and that our bungalow manager should have warned us, since this happens regularly. But he didn’t and I simply did not know whom to believe and trust there anymore. Who knows whom is involved for a cut, and I was told I would never see any of my belongings again, even if recovered!

Well I learned some important lessons here. I also realized how we really own nothing but for a short while. Material possessions can slip into and through our fingers from one day to the next. I just about could have cried, but also realized things could have been much worse. That thief had a lucky night. Nearly everything went his way. We were nearly out cold and there was stuff for the stealing. But perhaps he does not know just how lucky he was- he has no idea what would have happened to him had I awoken with my senses about me! Perhaps one day that thief and I may meet and I’ll get a chance to return the favor! I offered a local street gang a sizeable reward for information and tried some other tricks to catch the thief, without success. Since this was our first vacation day, I also held hopes that the Gendarmerie might still come up with something. There was only one thing left to do. That was to make lemonade, and I did that to the best of my ability. I kept reminding myself, there was gold to be found in Guadeloupe!

As a group we shook-off the robbery like a wet dog and for the next several days hit our favorite beaches in search of gold! While I never did get the mishap fully out of my mind, I still had a wonderful time with my friends in Guadeloupe. There really are only a handful of secret beaches we detect there, so some of them we visited on multiple occasions. 4 or 5 experienced treasure hunters armed with Minelab Excalibur’s can really clean house! Despite being off to such a poor start, I never expected to find as much gold as I did on this trip! But I did and so did my Mates! For shallow water Caribbean treasure hunting the Minelab Excalibur 800 is King of detectors! I know as I have tried many other detectors there on past trips, and nothing finds gold for me like an Excalibur. I can say the Excalibur is nearly a gold magnet! I had brought another modified pulse detector along to try on this trip. With it I found 3 pieces of gold and hundreds of junk items. The rest of the nearly 4 ounces of gold jewelry I found was with my trusty Excalibur. Even newcomer David soon realized that his 2 expensive pulse machines were no match for the Excalibur, he borrowed from Bill and Don! As a matter of fact Dave is selling his most expensive pulse detector and will replace it with an Excalibur. In the Caribbean we all use Excalibur’s and find lots of gold! If you want an Excalibur, George Streeter of Streeter Electronics is the man to see for the best deal on the planet! Plus George will fill your ears with valuable treasure hunting knowledge, and may even invite you on a treasure hunting vacation too! Excalibur’s simply pay for themselves many times over!

On this treasure hunting adventure, Bill was the Gold King and dug more than 4 ounces of the yellow stuff! We think he might have a more sensitive machine than the rest of us? Well, that is our explanation and excuse. Really, Bill is just that good and may be one of the best water hunters alive! George and I about tied in Gold finds, Don came in 4th with 16 nice finds, and Dave did pretty good for a beginner. We all found plenty of gold this time around! I’m quite happy with that. One heavy Gents gold ring I found, caught the eye of Don. It obviously was a special custom one of a kind piece of 18K or higher purity! It is a squarish ring with a small diamond in each corner, an oval glowing moon stone set in the center and constellations engraved on the sides! What a ring! Don liked it so much, and since I needed to recover some of my losses, I sold the ring to Don at a very fair price. Don is now smiling as the ring now has a new home! And speaking of rings, Bill found a ladies diamond ring that looked very expensive. We heard a few years back that a ladies $50,000 ring had been lost in the water at this particular resort! So for a while we all thought that Bill had found that ring and that his year had been made! But after testing with an electronic diamond tester back at the bungalow Bill discovered the ring was cosmetic jewelry- or so Bill says, as I never actually witnessed the test! The beautiful white gold and jewel encrusted ring sure looked real to me!

Besides finding much gold daily, each morning we would stop at one of the many roadside French style bakeries for fresh pastries and coffee. As a coffee shop owner, I can say the espresso coffee in Guadeloupe is simple, yet delicious! Several times for lunch we would stop at our favorite deli for scrumptious sandwiches on fresh baked French baguettes, or have rotisserie roasted chicken! Why a cold can of The Real Thing never went down so good! After lunch I enjoyed a fine pastry dessert. Refueled, we then detected in the sea for treasure until dusk. We ate dinner at our favorite restaurant "Le Lucullus", every night. I really think the restaurant owners are going to miss us! The French people really love to eat and converse for hours. Perhaps their ways are beginning to rub off on us, as every night our dinners lasted more than 2 hours, consisting of delicious food, drink and camaraderie! My good treasure hunting friends made more than half of the trip for me! We had a wonderful time, made more fond memories and filled our pockets full of gold! Can it get any better? Well... as men we simply could not notice how beautiful the women of Guadeloupe are- on the inside and out! They seem very comfortable with their physical bodies and like to wear very little. They do not seem to mind when a man tastefully enjoys the “Eye Candy” presented, and clearly consider a smile and “wow-wee” looks a compliment. Women just feel free in Guadeloupe to express themselves and they often do by going topless at the beach! At times there seem to be as many topless women of all ages as there are men! And few locals take any real notice as it just seems natural there. At times my blood started to boil, but gold fever always got the better of me and I continued detecting upon my merry way! It did help to be in the cooler water though! It is difficult to describe the feeling of seeing gold in your scoop, glittering in the Caribbean sunlight! Happy and just makes you just want to find more gold, no matter how little clothes the natives are not wearing! Yes, I can vouch that gold fever can be really hot!

Despite the bounty of gold and good times, that dark cloud was hanging over my head. Would I be able to leave the country? Obviously I did, but for a while I was not quite sure I would? The US State Department told me I might have to stay in Guadeloupe 8 to 10 weeks, waiting for a new passport! The US Counsel said I might have to fly to Barbados somehow for a new passport, and that I could take a loan out with Uncle Sam to pay for it! I realized that none seemed to know what really would happen to me and while the Counsel stated that he doubted that Air France would let me board for home, I utilized my better judgment and went to parley with Air France at the airport in Guadeloupe. For a while it did not look too good for me, but then I found a helpful plain clothes airport policeman who smiled and told Air France I could fly! He really had no authority to let me fly, but his word was as good as gold, and that is all I cared about at the time! I could fly home! When the day came for us to leave this Island Paradise, we said our goodbyes at the airport and I indeed boarded my flight home. Again Dave shared my Air France flight home and also a motel room in Miami. But then there was the Haiti Incident! Again our flight made a stop-over in Haiti. Only this time we had to deboard the plane for some reason, then reboard again. Dave and I got off the plane following the other passengers, and waited in what felt like a Third World Nation airport! A black & white public television had some sort of politician on, screaming his mouth off about something! It sounded rather crazy and like brainwashing! It was then that I realized I had no passport and could end up being detained in that country! When it was time to reboard I was asked for my passport. There was little I could do but to sternly declare “I do not have one!”. With that I got a snappy hand motion to pass, and after a pat-down body search boarded my plane- Thank God, as it could have gone sour real fast! They could have detained me if they wanted to! When I approached US customs in Miami, I was prepared for hours of questioning. Instead I was told to relax as I was now home and in America. Why with hearing that, I could have raised Old Glory, danced a jig and sung our National Anthem! The US Counsel in Guadeloupe had promised me that he would notify US Customs to expect me. But he had not. He also said he was going to cancel my US passport, but had not done that either! Despite this I walked right through Customs faster than Dave with all his proper documents! I must have an honest face? I got through with zero delays! The toughest time I had was boarding my Miami Alaska flight home to Seattle. But eventually boarded that flight too and landed softly in Seattle. Someone must have been looking after me? It is difficult to believe that I traveled from halfway round the world and from foreign lands, got through US Customs without a hitch, all with no ID whatsoever, and these days! But I did. Clearly I must research better exactly what one does when in my situation? That information may make for another Gazette article in the near future, as it is vital knowledge for American treasure hunters traveling abroad.

I have sold my recent Guadeloupe finds as scrap gold to a Refiner that I trust. This was done to help offset the robbery. It comes close. Despite the robbery and difficulty getting home, I had a good time and shared many pleasant hours with my treasure hunting buddies. Why I find that I am missing them already, and am looking forward to my next treasure hunting adventure. If you have any questions about metal detecting in Guadeloupe, please contact George Streeter (Papa Georgio) Gstreeter@ne.rr.com or at his website Streeter Electronics, www.streeter.org  or me by email at cabochris@msn.com. On these trips the only thing better than having a pocket full of gold, is that we all had a pocket full of gold, as well as fulfillment in our hearts and minds. To all, may your treasures be realized!

HUNTING SEA GOLD

By David Hawkins

I recently had the opportunity to enjoy the company of some experienced "gold seekers", when George Streeter invited me to come along on one of his "infamous" Caribbean gold hunting adventures. Little did I know what an adventure it would be! My first surprise was the flight to the island of Guadeloupe included an "unscheduled stop" in a 3rd world country of Haiti. Air France told me nothing about that! My initial thought, "What the hell am I doing here?" After a layover, my plane proceeded and finally landed in Guadeloupe.

All kinds of thoughts were going through my head, "What is George & his group like?", "Metal detecting with complete strangers for 9 days on an island I've never heard of ?", "What could happen, would I ever return?", "Would I actually find "gold" in my scoop?". This was my first trip with George and "crew" and the possibilities were endless!

Well, needless to say, all on the trip were great. There was George, Chris, Bill and Don who had thousands of hours of metal detecting experience under their belts. I realized they knew what they were talking about! During our adventure, they treated me as an "equal" and everybody got along just fine!
Everyday included hours and hours of metal detecting in the water. It was hard work and I was having the time of my life! The thrill of finding my first gold jewelry item in my scoop was an adrenaline rush to say the least! Once "gold fever" strikes, you don't want to stop hunting. If I had a question about anything, these guys were willing to help me & had the answers. I learned SO MUCH due to the positive attitudes of my fellow gold hunters.
I learned that the preferred detector is the Minelab Excalibur 800. It leads you to the gold! My J W Fishers and my White's Pulse detectors couldn't match the sensitivity of the Excalibur in the hunt for the precious finds!

I plan on listing my detectors on EBAY and buy an Excalibur from George at a later date. Bill was nice enough to let me use his backup Excalibur II 800 and it worked great! I found more gold with that machine. than with any other. I was hooked!

For my first trip, George said I did well, because I found 7 gold jewelry items (6 more then he thought I’d find). He said the dream is coming on one of his treasure hunting trips and 2nd part of the dream is to find several gold items. Usually, on the first trip, one does not find much gold. I also found numerous silver jewelry items, several worthless Franc’s & good Euros. I lost count of dollar number, a Euro is worth $1.64 US, because my interested was now in finding more gold! I enjoyed everyone’s company, the "thrill of finding gold in my scoop", the good at Le Lucullus and the entire trip! Would I go again, in a heartbeat and without hesitation! The experience was GREAT! I hope they will have me join them again for another of "George's Caribbean Adventures", the sooner the better! Special thanks to George, Chris, Bill and Don for a great time!