Lost Treasure in Mexico
April 20, 2023 – Los Cabos, Mexico
Rays of sunshine peeked through gaps in the thatch umbrellas. Lounge chairs, which started the morning perfectly organized, lay jumbled and dusted with sand. Music blasted near the resort’s pool combined with the sound of crashing waves. For Tony Coughlin and his family, lying back and soaking up the tropical atmosphere was pure luxury.
A waitress shuttled all-inclusive drinks from the poolside bar to the beach. Tony began the morning by promising a big tip if she kept the drinks coming. He reminded her of the promise using broken Spanish every time she returned. After each drink delivery, he took a stroll to the water with his wife and kids. Tony was barrel chested, with swollen biceps that looked like swim floaties. He worked hard in the gym for his arms and was happy to show them off in his swimsuit.
With his thick arms and scruffy vacation beard, Tony easily intimidated the resort staff. He also intimidated the many vendors who drifted up and down the beach selling stacks of hats and sunglasses, parasailing tours, and the chance to take a picture with a pet monkey or parrot.
“How much for a picture with the bird?” Tony barked at one of the vendors.
“Ten dollars, Señor.”
“Ten dollars? You’re kidding! For ten dollars I should be able to eat it,” Tony replied with a loud laugh.
After some begging, a jewelry vendor was allowed to display his trinket collection to Tony’s teen and tween daughters. The vendor promised the jewelry would make them look even more beautiful. One of the girls liked a silver anklet.
“How much? And don’t give me your sucker tourist price,” Tony said harshly.
“Fifty dollars. It’s a good deal.”
Tony laughed and slowly worked the vendor down to twenty dollars. The vendor walked away looking defeated while Tony bragged about his negotiating skills. “In every transaction, there’s a winner and a loser. No one’s ever taking me for a loser.”
Later in the afternoon, while Tony digested his lunch, a skinny teenager circled his lounge chair. He carried brochures for packaged zipline expeditions. No matter how gruffly Tony responded, the teenager did not take the hint to leave.
At the same time, a stranger with sun-bleached hair strolled up the beach from the water’s edge. He had the type of face that hid his age. He might have been twenty or fifty. He wore a T-shirt and long pants, and it was unclear if he was a resort guest, employee, or a lost fisherman. The visitor confronted the pesky teenager and convinced him to leave with rapid-fire Spanish. Then he dropped onto the open lounge chair next to Tony.
“You don’t mind if I take a load off for a minute, do you?” the stranger asked in an American accent.
“Go right ahead,” Tony replied.
“Some vendors can be too aggressive. They can’t see when people just want to relax.”
“Yeah, kind of ruins the vibe. You staying at the resort?”
“Nah. I’ve got a place in town. Resort security is never sure whether I belong or not,” the visitor said with a laugh. “You got a good-looking group. You here on a family vacation?”
The visitor’s voice was so sincere and complimentary, Tony immediately liked him. “We came down from Scottsdale, Arizona. I’m Tony.”
“Arizona? That’s where I’m from too. Terrible beaches. People around here call me The Guapo Gringo. But I go by Jay.”
“Is that J-A-Y or just the letter J?”
“Either one works. You come down for Spring Break?”
“Something like that.”
“You’re catching the tail end of the busy season. By next week, things will be a lot quieter. Not sure what all these vendors will do.”
Tony introduced Jay to his wife and then his daughters and teenage son. Jay graciously repeated how they were a great looking group and how his own family members were all in the States. He told a few funny stories about the crazy things he had seen Spring Breakers do and talked about how Los Cabos had changed in recent years.
“Feels more like the U.S. Lots of regulations. They even license who can sell things on the beach. Doesn’t stop people from getting ripped off.”
“I could tell from their prices,” Tony said.
“Not everyone’s as sharp as you. Kind of feel bad for them.”
Tony shared some of his experiences in the business world and why he could instantly spot a good or bad deal.
“You doing any excursions while you’re here?” Jay asked. “You can do almost anything you want these days, but it doesn’t fell very authentic.”
“Maybe people on vacation aren’t interested in authentic.”
Jay chuckled. “I guess that’s true. How about you?”
“Depends.”
The drink waitress arrived and Tony ordered something extra. He slipped the glass to Jay when he was sure no one from the resort staff was watching.
Jay gratefully accepted the drink and began telling adventure stories about his boat. He had shot circling sharks and discovered things and places no tourist would see on a sanitized excursion.
After more drinks, Jay talked of pirate caves and bandit hideouts. Baja Mexico used to be a wild, thrilling place before American corporations arrived and tamed it. Jay had seen the evidence of the wild days with his own eyes.
“I could show you things you won’t believe still exist,” Jay said in a smooth, dramatic voice.
“Oh yeah? How would that work?” Tony asked.
“We could take my boat. You’ve shown me lots of hospitality. I’d repay the kindness.”
Tony hesitated and said, “I’m not used to getting something for nothing.”
“Then maybe we split the cost of the boat’s gas.”
Tony grew to like the idea as they continued to talk. Jay told him to be at the harbor the next morning by 9 am.
“How will I find you?” Tony asked.
“I’ll be watching for you.”
“Can I bring my son?”
“Sure. He’s old enough for a real adventure.”
After Jay disappeared, Tony decided taking a look at the harbor could not hurt. If anything looked sketchy, he would muscle his way out of the situation. The next morning, he and his son took a taxi to the Los Cabos waterfront. As they got out of the car, Tony heard Jay’s familiar voice.
“Right on time! I’m glad you made it. Ready for some fun?”
“You been waiting for us?”
“I was walking by when I saw your taxi.”
“Where’s your boat?”
Jay led the way past newly constructed retail shops. The space reminded Tony of outdoor malls in the U.S. Colorful boats were parked in slips along a spotless waterfront. Tony eagerly wondered which one of them belonged to Jay and whether they would be sailing or using a motor. After a long walk, Jay opened a gate and tramped down the floating dock to an aluminum sport boat with peeling paint. The padding was ripped from its seats and its canopy was torn.
“Hop in!” cried Jay, who began untying the rope holding the boat in place.
“We aren’t going too far, are we?” Tony asked.
“Just out past the bay.”
Tony shrugged his shoulders and stepped onto the boat. His son followed. Jay immediately pushed off from the dock and started the engine. Before Tony could change his mind, the boat was cruising through the harbor toward the open sea. When clear of any speed restrictions, Jay gunned the engine, pouring black smoke toward the water.
“We’ll head north a little!” Jay called over the sound of the motor. “Maybe spot some whales out here.”
Jay steered a straight course away from land. He shouted about whale and dolphin encounters and being boarded by the Mexican Navy. When the shoreline features began to blur, he made a sweeping left turn.
“Where we going?” Tony shouted.
“You’ll see when we get there!” Jay shouted back with a mischievous smile.
The rocking of the boat tugged on Tony’s head and stomach. His son doubled over like he was on the verge of throwing up.
“Hold onto something and stare straight ahead!” Jay shouted.
Tony was too worried about seasickness to pay attention to the coastline. He was on the verge of asking Jay to turn around when the boat made another slow left turn. Jay plowed straight for a towering cathedral of rocks. He wordlessly navigated the boat through a narrow opening and into a hidden cove. The tide was low and Jay ran the boat up a wide stretch of sand on the cove’s opposite side.
“Bet you didn’t think this was here,” Jay said, cutting the engine. “The boat’s okay for a few minutes. Jump down and let me show you something.”
Tony and his son dropped into the shallow water surrounding the boat and then jogged up the beach with Jay. At the edge of the sand stood pockmarked pillars of stone. Some of the pillars contained caves large enough to fit a human. Jay hurried toward one of them with a triangular opening.
When Tony and his son joined Jay inside the hole, they discovered a deep cavern filled with rocky nooks and shelves. Jay clicked on a flashlight and pointed out wooden planks and piles of candle wax.
“I figure this was an outlaw hideout,” Jay said in a whisper. “You can only get here from the sea, so it’s nice and safe. They used it for stolen loot.”
Tony was impressed but when he heard the part about the loot, he chuckled and said, “How can you know that?”
Jay smiled with satisfaction and shuffled deeper into the cave. He aimed his beam of light at a small wood chest sitting on a ledge. When he lifted its lid, a golden glow oozed out. Jay grabbed a handful of gold coins and let them fall back into the chest with a clinking sound.
“You gotta be kidding me,” Tony said in a stunned whisper. “Those can’t be real.”
Jay laughed and handed him one of the coins. It felt cool and heavy in Tony’s palm.
“These must be worth a fortune. Why don’t you sell them? You could buy a much bigger boat.”
Jay laughed again. “I like keeping the secret. And money’s not the most important thing in life. But maybe someday. Hey, we better get going before the tide comes in.”
Jay retrieved the coin from Tony and closed the lid on the chest. Then he gestured for Tony and his son to follow him back to the boat. As Jay steered them out of the cove and toward the harbor, Tony stared back at the cave. He stayed quiet as gold fever warmed up his head. He studied landmarks on the coastline as his son complained about being sick. When they glided back into Jay’s boat slip, the goodbyes were abrupt. Tony claimed he wanted to get his son home. Jay did not ask for Tony’s share of gas money.
Through the rest of the day and into the next morning, Tony obsessed over the gold coins in the chest. He described them to his wife and his son confirmed the details.
“We’ve got to find that cave again,” Tony said greedily.
“And then what?” his wife asked.
“The gold’s sitting there for anyone to take it. Finder keepers.”
“I don’t want to go out there again. I still feel sick,” Tony’s son complained.
“Well, I’mnot going with you,” Tony’s wife said.
“Fine, I’ll go by myself.”
That afternoon, he returned to downtown Los Cabos. He walked to the dock, and as soon as he was in view of the boats, he met a smiling man wearing khaki slacks and a long-sleeve white shirt.
“Are you looking for a ride somewhere, Señor?” the man asked Tony.
“Maybe. I need a boat.”
“I have a very good boat. I can take you anywhere. One hour or all day. Do whatever you like. No questions asked.”
“Only the two of us?”
“If that’s what you want, Señor. My name is Leon.”
Tony shook Leon’s hand and decided he could be trusted. Fifteen minutes later, they were cruising out of the harbor and into the Sea of Cortez. Leon’s boat was bigger than Jay’s and had a new paint job. Tony realized he had not asked about rental prices. He winced when Leon quoted numbers that sounded excessive. But it was too late to turn back and find another ride.
“So where are we going, Señor?” Leon called.
“North. Up the coast.” Tony pointed toward the distant shoreline. “I’ll know it when I see it.”
Leon turned the boat and then puttered steadily forward. Tony wordlessly scanned the coast, periodically telling Leon to get closer or to move farther out. They chugged back and forth until sundown.
“I don’t see it,” Tony admitted. “I guess we better go back.”
“Sure, no problem,” Leon said, steering toward the harbor and hitting the throttle.
When they returned to the boat’s slip, Tony asked, “Could we start tomorrow in the same spot we left off?”
“Sure. No problem.”
“How about I pay you after tomorrow’s trip?”
“Okay. I trust you.”
Tony was back in the morning. He and Leon spent another frustrating day scouring the coastline, but Tony could not find the narrow slit which led to the hidden cave. The frustration made him more determined.
“This is why it’s stayed hidden. But I know it exists. I’ve been there,” Tony said to himself.
The family trip was scheduled to end the next day. Tony sent his wife and kids back to Arizona and found a cheap hotel room near the harbor. He spent the rest of the day with Leon. And the day after that and the day after that. Leon was always available and happy to add days to Tony’s rental bill.
Finally, six days after starting the search, Tony found the gap in the rocks. Leon reluctantly but skillfully maneuvered his boat into the cove and set the motor idling when he reached the sandy beach.
“Stay here! I’ll be right back!” Tony shouted, jumping into the shallow water. He raced into the triangular entrance of the cave he vividly remembered.
Using his phone for a light, Tony squeezed through the jagged columns until he reached the rocky shelf. The chest was gone. Tony looked around in panic but he knew he was staring at the exact spot Jay had shown him. Had Jay been playing a prank? Had he grown nervous and retrieved the gold himself?
Tony emerged from the cave looking angry and crestfallen. He climbed into Leon’s boat and shouted that they could return home.
“Did you find what you were looking for, Señor?”
“No! It’s gone.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Do you know someone around the harbor named Jay? They call him The Guapo Gringo.”
“No, I’ve never heard of him.”
Leon made sure to hide his smile. He did not want to jeopardize his payment. Once he got Tony to the harbor, he would collect on six very expensive days of boat charter – days that were usually hard to fill because departing spring breakers left the harbor empty. Empty like the shelf in the cave.
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