Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp
Gold Member
About 1914, while the Us was still deciding to stay out of the war or not, the Germans set up a spy system in northern Mexico. They constructed a very high Marconi antennae here in Alamos and daily communicated with Germany on general activities and ship movements.
Germany attempted convince Mexico to set up a system of border Incidents in order to keep the US more interested in her borders than Europe's. Not like today's government. she knew that she couldn't win the war with the US's production capabilities against her.
Zimmerman was the German consulate in Hermosillo. He became the principal in the plot. The newly formed Mexican gov't was agreeable since they were to paid in chocolate sized gold bars and desperately needed money.. Everything was going just fine, the gold bars arrived in a small steam driven German ship and was in Guaymas waiting to unload.
Unfortunately the Britlanders playing their usual secret service stuff, confiscated a diplomatic pouch from Zimmerman which disclosed the entire plan. Being famous for their diplomatic courtesy, they promptly had full details printed in the Hermosillo papers. This so embarrassed the Mexican gov't, that They rejected all parts of the plan and ordered Zimmerman and his Consul to leave Mexico..
The small ship in Guaymas with the gold bars? It left one dark night with the approach of a hurricane and was never heard from again.. It was assumed that it ended up in Rio de Janeiro
So there matter sat until the 1950's. I had a friend, Mittendorf, who knew a gentleman in Nogales Az . This gentleman told Mitty that he desperately wanted to talk to me, so off we went to meet him.
We entered one of rundown areas of Nogales at that time and finally found the equally run down trailer. We knocked on the door, a short but immaculately clean Mexican gal of about 40, opened the door. We introduced ourselves and she invited us in. we found an very thin, beat up gringo of indeterminate age in a wheel chair. He weakly bid us to sit-down next to him, which we did.
After sending Lupe off to brew some new coffee, He opened with "What I am about to tell you, I have never told anyone before, nor has my former partner before he died. In the late 40's I had concluded a very profitable business deal, so my Partner and I decided on a 2 - 3 weeks fishing and diving trip down in Baja. We went to La Pa, and rented a live aboard boat, and stocked with provisions. We also rented the latest dive equipment. When everything was ready, we set off down the coast of Baja towards San Lucas. We had no schedule, just being very lazy, and cruised a bit every day just diving, fishing, and sight seeing.
After about a week we were running short of fresh supplies, so seeing an isolated ranch on the shore, we set off in the small boat to see if we could get fresh eggs, chickens etc.. They were very friendly and while the man of the house was rounding up our supplies, his wife invited us into the house for the ever present Mexican custom of drinking coffee. While we were talking of this and that , she bluntly asked "just what were we doing"? I explained that we were just fishing and diving. She instantly picked up on the diving and asked several questions about it, apparently satisfied she asked "Why don't you dive on that ship out there? pointing to near where our boat was anchored.
I started to question her, and she told me that when she was a little girl, during a hurricane, she saw a small ship foundering and eventually it sank. There were no survivors. The ship was steaming south when the Hurricane struck and the ship sank.
The next morning we commenced scouting the area and finally found it in about 45 ft of water. a picnic. We first dove down and tied a green Clorox bottle to it's rail so the bottle floated about 12 ft below the surface. You could see the bottle IF you were actually looking for it but not otherwise.
As it turned out, this was a good idea. We commenced diving on it, it was a screw driven metal ship. It had a cabin and control room, with one hold in back - fantail for you x swabbies -. After a day or so of exploring the upper decks, our curiosity got the best of us, and we finally managed to open the hatch. It was empty except for a large metal container, the size of a small room. It was bolted together with an access door. It took two days to finally open the door, but it was worth it, inside it was filled with small boxes filled with chocolate bar sized bars of Gold.
So the next few days we started recovering bars. We had a fair amount aboard when we were notified to come up immediately by our crew. We surfaced and our crew were pointing excitedly towards la Paz to a large power boat approaching at high speed. We quickly cleared our anchor and started the engines and slowly moved away from the wreck. When the boat finally arrived, we were over 300 meters from the sunken boat and we gently lowered the anchor again.
We were boarded with armed men in uniforms which we assumed were of the armed forces of Mexico. They promptly searched our ship and discovered the gold bars. They confiscated them, and demanded the others. We explained that that was all that we had seen. They were welcome to use our gear to verify this.
They then left, but first ordered us to return to La Paz immediately and never mention this to any one or we would-be arrested, and that if we remained, we would also be arrested. Taking the hint we did exactly as they ordered. We left Mexico and neither of us has ever been back, since we expected to be arrested. I was never able to identify them as being any branch of the Mexican navy.
However, by this time I had contracted rheumatic fever which effected my heart and I am dying according to the doctors. I am unable to move, Lupe, helps me, more from pity I am sure, since it can't be from a huge salary. All that I ask is if you can locate it by my directions, that you give me enough for small things like cigarettes and candy, and set up a small pension fund for Lupe.
Naturally, we agreed, and he gave us the lat and long. We then gave him some money to help hold him over. When I returned a few months later to give him some more money, He had died, and I could not find Lupe. Soo at the moment I am the only one alive that knows of this or of the details.
Now you had better keep me alive. snicker
Don Jose de La Mancha
Germany attempted convince Mexico to set up a system of border Incidents in order to keep the US more interested in her borders than Europe's. Not like today's government. she knew that she couldn't win the war with the US's production capabilities against her.
Zimmerman was the German consulate in Hermosillo. He became the principal in the plot. The newly formed Mexican gov't was agreeable since they were to paid in chocolate sized gold bars and desperately needed money.. Everything was going just fine, the gold bars arrived in a small steam driven German ship and was in Guaymas waiting to unload.
Unfortunately the Britlanders playing their usual secret service stuff, confiscated a diplomatic pouch from Zimmerman which disclosed the entire plan. Being famous for their diplomatic courtesy, they promptly had full details printed in the Hermosillo papers. This so embarrassed the Mexican gov't, that They rejected all parts of the plan and ordered Zimmerman and his Consul to leave Mexico..
The small ship in Guaymas with the gold bars? It left one dark night with the approach of a hurricane and was never heard from again.. It was assumed that it ended up in Rio de Janeiro
So there matter sat until the 1950's. I had a friend, Mittendorf, who knew a gentleman in Nogales Az . This gentleman told Mitty that he desperately wanted to talk to me, so off we went to meet him.
We entered one of rundown areas of Nogales at that time and finally found the equally run down trailer. We knocked on the door, a short but immaculately clean Mexican gal of about 40, opened the door. We introduced ourselves and she invited us in. we found an very thin, beat up gringo of indeterminate age in a wheel chair. He weakly bid us to sit-down next to him, which we did.
After sending Lupe off to brew some new coffee, He opened with "What I am about to tell you, I have never told anyone before, nor has my former partner before he died. In the late 40's I had concluded a very profitable business deal, so my Partner and I decided on a 2 - 3 weeks fishing and diving trip down in Baja. We went to La Pa, and rented a live aboard boat, and stocked with provisions. We also rented the latest dive equipment. When everything was ready, we set off down the coast of Baja towards San Lucas. We had no schedule, just being very lazy, and cruised a bit every day just diving, fishing, and sight seeing.
After about a week we were running short of fresh supplies, so seeing an isolated ranch on the shore, we set off in the small boat to see if we could get fresh eggs, chickens etc.. They were very friendly and while the man of the house was rounding up our supplies, his wife invited us into the house for the ever present Mexican custom of drinking coffee. While we were talking of this and that , she bluntly asked "just what were we doing"? I explained that we were just fishing and diving. She instantly picked up on the diving and asked several questions about it, apparently satisfied she asked "Why don't you dive on that ship out there? pointing to near where our boat was anchored.
I started to question her, and she told me that when she was a little girl, during a hurricane, she saw a small ship foundering and eventually it sank. There were no survivors. The ship was steaming south when the Hurricane struck and the ship sank.
The next morning we commenced scouting the area and finally found it in about 45 ft of water. a picnic. We first dove down and tied a green Clorox bottle to it's rail so the bottle floated about 12 ft below the surface. You could see the bottle IF you were actually looking for it but not otherwise.
As it turned out, this was a good idea. We commenced diving on it, it was a screw driven metal ship. It had a cabin and control room, with one hold in back - fantail for you x swabbies -. After a day or so of exploring the upper decks, our curiosity got the best of us, and we finally managed to open the hatch. It was empty except for a large metal container, the size of a small room. It was bolted together with an access door. It took two days to finally open the door, but it was worth it, inside it was filled with small boxes filled with chocolate bar sized bars of Gold.
So the next few days we started recovering bars. We had a fair amount aboard when we were notified to come up immediately by our crew. We surfaced and our crew were pointing excitedly towards la Paz to a large power boat approaching at high speed. We quickly cleared our anchor and started the engines and slowly moved away from the wreck. When the boat finally arrived, we were over 300 meters from the sunken boat and we gently lowered the anchor again.
We were boarded with armed men in uniforms which we assumed were of the armed forces of Mexico. They promptly searched our ship and discovered the gold bars. They confiscated them, and demanded the others. We explained that that was all that we had seen. They were welcome to use our gear to verify this.
They then left, but first ordered us to return to La Paz immediately and never mention this to any one or we would-be arrested, and that if we remained, we would also be arrested. Taking the hint we did exactly as they ordered. We left Mexico and neither of us has ever been back, since we expected to be arrested. I was never able to identify them as being any branch of the Mexican navy.
However, by this time I had contracted rheumatic fever which effected my heart and I am dying according to the doctors. I am unable to move, Lupe, helps me, more from pity I am sure, since it can't be from a huge salary. All that I ask is if you can locate it by my directions, that you give me enough for small things like cigarettes and candy, and set up a small pension fund for Lupe.
Naturally, we agreed, and he gave us the lat and long. We then gave him some money to help hold him over. When I returned a few months later to give him some more money, He had died, and I could not find Lupe. Soo at the moment I am the only one alive that knows of this or of the details.
Now you had better keep me alive. snicker
Don Jose de La Mancha
