Detecting Santa Marta, Colombia- a few rings found so far

[perdidogringo]

So I'm taking a little vacation in Santa Marta, Colombia, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in South America. Lots of history from the conquistadors, several pirate attacks/sieges, and even with Simon Bolivar. Nowadays it is a sleepy resort town that is often overlooked by international travelers who prefer to go to Cartagena. I reached out to banned member, StoneShirt, to meet up and we agreed to meet at a coffee house in el centro but unfortunately he never showed.

I first visited the main beach located in front of the historic center- small, ugly and full of trash, it's the beach most tourists ignore for the more popular and modern Rodadero Beach located a few kilometers south. I spent a couple of hours there and found a few Colombian coins as well as a junk ring. It was the first time I used my new Equinox 900 just purchased from Bart at BigBoysHobbies so I was pretty happy with the results as it did a GREAT job of discriminating the coins/ring from the millions (literally) of pop/beers can all over that beach.

The next day, I took a boat from Rodadero to a beach called Inca Inca beach. I initially wasn't optimistic as I was searching for a secluded beach (I prefer to find colonial Spanish relics/coins, etc. rather than modern drops), and unfortunately, there were 2 dozen Colombian families there that day with sun tents and the beach even had a restaurant with wifi. However, I could see from the sand that it looked more "natural" than the huge beach at Rodadero (meaning perhaps no additional sand had ever been dumped there and I would have a chance to find something older). I ended up searching about 2 hours and found a hand full of coins, a "blob" of lead that may be a fired musket ball (?), and 3 rings. One ring looks like it could be old? It is crudely made and has "INRI" engraved on it (so obviously worn by someone who is/was religious).

I have a few days left and will post any updates here. Happy hunting!

 

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[E-Trac-Ohio]

Great finds and continued good luck with your new NOX !

Even though Bi-Metal coins are newer - there still really cool looking.
I just found my first one last month - a $2.00 Canadian.

 

[Digger RJ]

So I'm taking a little vacation in Santa Marta, Colombia, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited city in South America. Lots of history from the conquistadors, several pirate attacks/sieges, and even with Simon Bolivar. Nowadays it is a sleepy resort town that is often overlooked by international travelers who prefer to go to Cartagena. I reached out to banned member, StoneShirt, to meet up and we agreed to meet at a coffee house in el centro but unfortunately he never showed.

I first visited the main beach located in front of the historic center- small, ugly and full of trash, it's the beach most tourists ignore for the more popular and modern Rodadero Beach located a few kilometers south. I spent a couple of hours there and found a few Colombian coins as well as a junk ring. It was the first time I used my new Equinox 900 just purchased from Bart at BigBoysHobbies so I was pretty happy with the results as it did a GREAT job of discriminating the coins/ring from the millions (literally) of pop/beers can all over that beach.

View attachment 2111780

The next day, I took a boat from Rodadero to a beach called Inca Inca beach. I initially wasn't optimistic as I was searching for a secluded beach (I prefer to find colonial Spanish relics/coins, etc. rather than modern drops), and unfortunately, there were 2 dozen Colombian families there that day with sun tents and the beach even had a restaurant with wifi. However, I could see from the sand that it looked more "natural" than the huge beach at Rodadero (meaning perhaps no additional sand had ever been dumped there and I would have a chance to find something older). I ended up searching about 2 hours and found a hand full of coins, a "blob" of lead that may be a fired musket ball (?), and 3 rings. One ring looks like it could be old? It is crudely made and has "INRI" engraved on it (so obviously worn by someone who is religious).

View attachment 2111782

View attachment 2111783

I have a few days left and will post any updates here. Happy hunting!

Very Cool!!!! Congrats!!!

 

[oldmxrat]

Sounds like a great time, enjoy and good luck!

 

[perdidogringo]

Day #3 I returned to the small beach in front of the historic center hoping to find some drops from any of the pirates who sacked Santa Marta over the years or more likely, from a random colonial Spaniard.

From VisitSantaMarta.com

Origin of the pirates in Santa Marta and the Caribbean​

The endless wars between Spain, France, and England, religious disputes among Catholics, Anglicans, and Calvinists, and the ban on navigation and trade with Spanish colonies set the stage for pirates, privateers, buccaneers, and filibusters to emerge in the Caribbean.

Santa Marta suffered greatly as a result, being attacked and threatened over forty times by notorious figures such as Roberval in 1543, Martin Cotes in 1555, John Hawkins in 1566, 1567, and 1595, Francis Drake in 1568, 1585, and 1595, Walter Raleigh in 1595, and many others.

Gotta be something left, right? Unfortunately, I know from my time in other Latin American countries that the oceanfront can change dramatically in 400 or 500 years, with many coasts silting in rendering the historic coasts/beach fronts deep under modern streets and buildings (or the other way- washed away). Not to mention the propensity to dump sand from other locales on top of older sand (as they do a lot on the treasure coast of Florida) and of course, the plethora of modern trash everywhere (more of an issue in the developing countries I search). Thus, I'm pretty realistic about the potential for significant beach finds in this type of environment. A better bet would be to find a deserted plot within the city which formerly had an old building or perhaps a farmer's field or even a forest near the city that had traffic; however, that takes local knowledge and I don't have that luxury on vacation. There is also the issue of petty crime, which is significant in Santa Marta, and a gringo running around with a detector stands out to say the least.

Anyway, here are my finds for Day #3. Nothing great but still had a lot of fun. Found another junk ring, a "Mona Lisa" key chain (that also says "I love Paris"), and 7 modern Colombian coins (I gave 3 away to the kid who was following me around as I detected).

 

[Hbot37]

Looks like a lot of fun!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Santa Marta is also the home of Santa Marta Gold, which is one of the finest Sativa's ever grown.

"Colombian Gold, also known as "Santa Marta Colombian Gold" and "Santa Marta," is a classic landrace sativa marijuana strain that originated in the Santa Marta mountains of Colombia. Its buds are fluffy and crystal-covered, radiating skunky, sweet notes of lemon and lime."
Some great finds there. Hopefully you can test those diamonds and they turn out real...

 

[perdidogringo]

Today, I decided that I wanted to hit a secluded (few people) and relatively clean beach. Modern finds are not my real interest as I would much prefer to find the old historical stuff (cobs/coins, relics, etc.). So on this day, I ventured to Playa Escondida (hidden beach), which is near a village on the outskirts of Santa Marta called Taganga. There is a large and popular beach in Taganga, Playa Grande, but I was assured by some locals that Play Escondida (located 600-700 meters and over a hill from Playa Grande) would be more what I am looking for. The hike was a longer than I expected from Playa Grande (about 25 minutes) and was moderately difficult. Unfortunately, when I arrived at Playa Escondida it was a very small, rocky beach and full of trash. About the only thing that was accurate was that it was secluded (no other people were there except some fishermen and his family). I only spent about 10 minutes making a cursory search before I packed up and headed back. On the way, I noticed another slightly larger and cleaner beach also with several fisherman and 1 guy selling beer/pop and other sundries. I figured what the hell and bought a beer from the guy before asking him if it was ok to search around. He was fine with it as I was buying beers from him.

I had very low expectations due to the fishing activity at the beach but in the end I did find a sterling silver (925) ring with several (fake?) diamonds in them. My eyes almost popped out of my head as this was the last place I expected to find anything worthwhile. I also found (as usual) several Colombian coins (some I gave to the fisherman's kids who ended up following me around) and several items that look like old buckles (which I assume are something from the fishing). So even though the ring isn't gold, I would say it made the trip to this part of Santa Marta worthwhile!

The ring is currently soaking in a baking soda paste to clean it up a bit.

Today's finds.

Sterling Silver ring (I assume the diamonds are fake but who knows?).

Plays Escondida

 

[perdidogringo]

I tried to clean the ring with baking soda and water without much success. It helped a little but I'll need to explore some other ways to clean it. It definitely is inscribed with "925" and the name "Ray" on the inside of the ring. Here are some updated photos:

 

[perdidogringo]

For the 2 or 3 of you who have been following along , this is my last update as I leave Santa Marta tomorrow.

I had high hopes for my final beach search in Santa Marta. I hiked about 30 minutes from Rodadero to reach Playa Calderon, which is a less visited beach next to Inca Inca beach that I hit a few days ago. It was a nice moderately difficult hike over the mountain towards Santa Marta proper. I was still optimistic as I arrived at the beach as I had it all to myself! I figured it had never been detected and I had a few hours to pound the rocky beach. Unfortunately, I had one of my worst days- no rings and nothing even approaching colonial Spanish. I think I was correct that Playa Calderon hadn't ever been detected because I found 20 modern Colombian coins dispersed throughout the beach, but nothing else besides a lot of building materials (there is a zip line with that ends at a structure at the very far end of the beach plus a couple of other small buildings there- one in ruins) and trash brought in from the sea. The sea was rough and high as it was windy this day. Here's a photo of the 20 coins found (most toasted):

Here's a photo of Playa Calderon:

I had a great time in Santa Marta for the last 2 weeks and I would encourage anyone to check it out if you're looking for a Latin American beach vacation. There's a number of good restaurants and nightlife opportunities. Of course, a lot of Colombian women are absolutely gorgeous so there's that, too. I believe a detectorist could do well here with all the amazing history, but one would really need a local contact and to do a lot of research. I think another avenue for success would be some underwater detecting off the main beach at the historic center.

Thanks for reading and happy hunting!

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Your best bet probably would have been out in the water about 3 to 4 foot deep on the old beaches to avoid the trash.

 

[perdidogringo]

Your best bet probably would have been out in the water about 3 to 4 foot deep on the old beaches to avoid the trash.

Yes, that would be another possible strategy. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my sand scoop as they are a pain with which to travel (even the smaller travel ones that break down). Of course, I'd love to bring my Nemo Blu3 or some other SCUBA equipment. Safety would be an issue, though. Best to come with a buddy and hire/meet a local- strength in numbers in developing countries.