El Dorado Relics Recovered

By Bob Gebhardt

A retired Navy SEAL and nonbeliever of the paranormal is subtly contacted by a spirit wishing to help the friends of spirits by revealing the location of an ancient and famous myth of treasure, the world famous legend of El Dorado.
Although in denial about his belief in Guardian Angels he does a little soul searching and skeptically accepts the concept. Through dreams or prompted thoughts he is led on a very profitable, informative, and adventurous journey into belief of spirits and ancient aliens’ existence.
He and associates not only discovered the historic and valuable archeological site of El Dorado, they stumbled on evidence of ancient visitations by extraterrestrials who had left their transport craft on earth hundreds of years ago. .

“We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience.
We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience.”
Author unknown

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 27, 2013
• ISBN: 9781304366436

Book preview

El Dorado Relics Recovered

El Dorado Relics

Recovered

a novel by

Bob Gebhardt

Copyright © 2013 Bob Gebhardt

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 987-1-304-36643-6

No part of this book, eBook, EPUB, text, or the likes, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, data process or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, typing, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

Contact Bob Gebhardt

Email

[e-mail]

Website

www.gebhardtnovels.com

Purchase Gebhardt novels online

Lulu Bookstore

www.lulu.com/spotlight/BobGebhardt

This book is dedicated

to my loving wife

Patricia A. Gebhardt

For her tireless assistance, her encouragement,

and support in the preparation of my novels.

Very special thanks to my friend, neighbor,

and professional illustrator,

Mike Bartus

for his help, advice and illustrations

in this and my other novels.

Other Books by Bob Gebhardt

Trove

The discovery of a hide map that leads to a pirate trove

of riches and lifelong friendships.

Island of Death

Those who venture in search of its pirate treasure never come back.

Pirate’s Ghostly Spirits

The friendly paranormal interaction with the spirits of the pirates.

Treasure a Sailor’s Siren

A pirate’s spirit complicates the hunt for untold riches.

Sailors Tacking from Murder

The lure of romance, riches and high-seas adventure.

Extra-Dimensional Visitation

A parallel dimension of advanced humans

making rare visits sharing enlightenment.

Sailing Simplified

A short, to the point, lesson on how to sail

small-to-medium sized sailboats.

Visit the author’s website at:

www.gebhardtnovels.com

Disclaimer

This novel is a totally fictional rendering of the author’s imagination including all of the characters and some of the locations. Any similarities between persons or activities must be considered purely coincidental. The spiritual topics should not be construed as true, real or aligned with any religious teachings. Parapsychology and psychic abilities are unproven, controversial and unexplained mental phenomena at this time. The presence of angels and Guardian Angels, as well as different types of afterlife activities are beliefs that have been present for eons and many are comforting to believe and interesting to contemplate.

"We are not human beings

going through a temporary

spiritual experience.

We are spiritual beings

going through a temporary

human experience."

Author unknown.

List of Characters:

Albert - A psychic and friend of the group

Amanda Henley - Medallion owner, pilot, Sol’s girlfriend

Amy Cooper - Ex Navy Chief Electronics Mate

Bill - Wealthy antiquities expert and dealer

Bob Banner - oldest member, engineering aptitude

Captain Schmidt - commander of the island’s naval facility

Cheryl Muenster - Co-pilot of albatross seaplane.

Clifford Barnes - Major, ex-navy seal, code name Edge

Don Tanner - Sailors Siren member, Lottie’s husband

Einstein (Professor Ernest Stein) - Archeology Professor

Father John - Priest with spiritual & physic history

Felipe - laborer from South America proven as cartel agent

Goyo - Captain of the Santa Rosa, Spanish treasure ship

Gwen - Lieutenant, Navy tail hook pilot

Jake Corning - treasure broker

Jan (Janet Manson) - ex Marine Colonel, Cliff’s girlfriend

Joanne Burgess - Electronics geek and Ron’s wife

Juanita - aka Deghe, interpreter / extraterrestrial

Julie - Lieutenant, Navy tail hook pilot

Kevin Banner - Bob’s son and group’s financial advisor

Lottie (Charlotte Aster) - Sailors Siren member, Don’s wife

Miguel - Pirate Captain of the El Leon

Oro - Chief of the Muiscas tribe El Dorado

Pam Adair - Treasure hunter, psychic, Chris’s wife

Pat Banner - Bob's wife, R. N. and cook extraordinaire

Paul - Pilot/Owner of Albatross Marine Aviation

Rich - ex-navy seal, code name Bag, short for money bags

Sajakeed - Alien visitor spirit

Salvador - Former conquistador now a spirit

Sol (Roy Thomas Solomon) - Sailors Siren group member

Spike - Lieutenant Alice Naylor, Navy SEAL

Susan Barto - Kevin’s lady friend and realtor

Suvam - Alien visitor

Voz - elevated Guardian Angel leader but still involved

Prologue

In the fifteen hundreds the Spanish conquistadors were looting and conquering the South American continent and in particular the area now known the Republic of Colombia. There were two large tribes of aboriginals in the area, the Caribs and the Muiscas, both of whom resisted the Spanish, some resisting to the point of committing suicide. The Conquistadors were ruthless in their collection of anything of value including but not limited to relics, precious metals and stones. The more they could collect and ship back to Spain the higher their esteem. The armies went out on asesinato y pillaje despiadados (ruthless murder and pillage) expeditions and brought back their plunder.

These expeditions lasted sometimes for months, and when they returned the exact locations of where they seized specific relics and treasures were vague. Several of these expeditions resulted in much conversation and rumor about a tribal chief of the Muiscas called El Dorado, the Gilded One, or El Hombre Chief Golden Man. The rumor was that he would cover himself with gold and jump into a lake, possibly a lake called Guatavita. The tribe also was reported to dump quantities of raw gold and gold jewelry into the lake in some sort of a sacrificial offering to the gods.

This had become a present day myth or legend that had been researched and pursued many times over, however no one admits to finding El Dorado or any of the gold until some marine treasure salvers, the Sailor’s Siren group, chronicled in the fictional novel Treasure, a Sailor's Siren by Bob Gebhardt, turned up relics thought by experts to be evidence of El Dorado’s true existence.

Suplemento Del Preludio

If we could digress to a time in history, and report a fictional supplementary form of introduction, or suplemento del preludio, to the story, we would say the following.

It was about 1514 in the port town of San Sebastian de Buena Vista on the Gulf of Uraba located on the east side of the South American continent, off the Caribbean Sea. A busy group of Spanish was loading a ship destined for Spain after a planned stop in Cuba. After several days of loading and provisioning they were ready for their voyage.

All the cannons were checked and readied as well as all the handheld flintlock pistols, muskets, cutlass swords and daggers in preparation for the possibility of a privateer, buccaneer or pirate attack. The crew had sailed this area several times and had not seen a pirate. They had heard stories of pirate attacks when meeting up with other seamen in Cuba but thought they were probably just sea stories.

One such pirate ship was wandering around the Caribbean at this time just looking for ships to plunder, preferably Spanish ships carrying goods of value or fresh water and rum provisions. They were running low on rum to mix with their bug-laden drinking water to make grog. Not only was the water contaminated, their hardtack was molding and contained beetles. Dipped in grog the hardtack was almost palatable. They had recently plundered several ships and had been lucky to avoid the well-armed armada of Spanish ships that were looking for pirates.

They had to avoid populated islands so drinking water had to be stolen or found in deserted places. Most of the islands and deserted land masses they did visit and spend some time on did not have fresh water sources. Sneaking into a populated island or up a river where there were water resources was dangerous because they would become vulnerable to becoming trapped where they could not outrun the Spanish armada.

The foremast lookout loudly hollered ship ahoy, twenty five points to starboard, sir. Captain Miguel on the pirate ship El Leon made his way to the starboard rail and raised his telescope aiming it in a south southeast direction.

It took him a bit to get the telescope centered on the ship the lookout had spotted, focused, and the magnification increased, but once he had it he found the distance was such that he had to guess that it was a galleon type of ship and probably Spanish.

His ship, the El Leon, was a smaller ship, and due to its size and the fact that it was sloop rigged, it was mostly powered by vertical sails fore and aft rigged, and was pointing almost directly at the other ship, its silhouette would allow it to be unseen until they got pretty close.

Come to port twenty degrees, strike the mizzen topsails and increase the foresails!

Aye, captain, as the first mate called the commands to the different crew members on deck and aloft.

They struck the square sails to present a smaller silhouette, came to port and raised several larger diagonal jib foresails to increase her speed.

The ship, El Leon, her name interpreted as The Lion, almost felt as if it leapt forward and went faster in pursuit of its prey while flying the Jolly Roger atop her foremast.

Aboard the Santa Rosa the crew was exhausted from their days of loading the ship and then leaving at first light the day before, but they had to raise some eighteen heavy canvass sails and flaking lines, secure excess cargo and clear all the weather decks. The wind seemed to be as exhausted as the crew as it worked hard to produce three knots out of the West Northwest. The heavily laden galleon had difficulty moving out of the Gulf of Uraba and steerage was difficult due to its slight forward speed. Once clear of the gulf they managed three to four knots to the north for several hours as the day-heated winds increased somewhat.

The next morning they had a fresh breeze and were making four or five knots. The crew were all lying about the decks keeping cool and were not very attentive until the lookout screamed, Ship ahoy, ship ahoy. Captain, ‘tis a fast sloop rig, heading for us very fast. She has a bone in her teeth, and she’s getting close.

The crew automatically scrambled to their stations for sail handling to avoid collision or being overtaken, but the captain, who had examined the image in his scope and saw the jolly Rogers’s flag and pennant streaming from its foremast, called out, Battle stations, battle stations, heave to.

The El Leon got within a couple of miles of the Santa Rosa, which they now knew was a loaded Spanish galleon displaying a full sail compliment but making only three to five knots.

Captain Miguel was making almost seven knots on a port reach and figured he could pass the galleon starboard to starboard and swing around her stern and come up to her port side and board her if she took no evasive action.

As he was approaching and preparing to pass her he was going to fire one or two cannons at her to assure the captain he meant business. But she turned in front of him toward the east and trimmed her sails to gain more power with the wind at her stern.

She’s trying to outrun us, but is a fool for trying. Fire all port cannons as we pass.

Aye aye, Captain.

Pass and fire they did as the Rosa was completing her turn. The cannon balls hit her in the port side and stern and the stern shots did a tremendous amount of damage. She lost steering but was pouring on the power.

Captain Miguel turned to port and trimmed his sails, calling for yard sails as he completed his turn. He was slowly gaining on her coming port to her starboard. As the Leon came up to speed the Rosa was taking on water quickly.

Catching up and starting to pass they threw grappling lines over as Miguel had the helmsman actually crunch the ships together. The crew of the Rosa had already panicked as their ship was taking on water rapidly so they chose to throw down their arms and seek shelter on the Leon.

The Leon crew was ready to fight but they had no takers, in fact some of the crew abandoning their ship were bringing with them treasures to trade for their lives.

The captain was standing at the helm and was about to take his life with a dagger when captain Miguel jumped aboard from his afterdeck to the deck of the Rosa and knocked him down and telling two members of his crew, Put him in irons and secret him in my cabin; tell no one!

Some of the Leon’s crew was rounding up the surrendering seamen while others struck out to find and recover as much booty as they could before she sank.

All of the sails aloft were still driving the two ships at a good clip as the Rosa was getting lower in the water. When the last of the Leon's crew climbed aboard with all the treasure they could carry they slashed and chopped all the lines holding them together. There was fear the huge galleon would sink the smaller Leon by pulling her over.

When the lines were cut the Rosa veered away to its port and rolled to the port side.

Most of the water aboard shifted to the port and forward causing it to plow down bow first. In a matter of minutes she was no more than floating debris. They scanned the area finding only two possibly usable partially filled barrels floating. When they recovered them, one originally containing fresh water had been splashed with sea water and was unusable. The other was about one third full of excellent uncontaminated rum.

Captain Miguel announced to the surrendered crew that they would drop them off on a point of land about twenty miles from a tribal settlement so they would all survive.

Then he went to his cabin and addressed the galleon's captain.

Miguel knew of the Captain and addressed him as, Captain Goyo, there is no need for you to die; my religion does not permit suicide or killing unnecessarily.

But you are a pirate. You kill unnecessarily all the time.

We feel it is our function and livelihood to take your goods and will kill you only if you resist with deadly force, and we are forced to use equal force.

That's crazy; and it makes no difference. They will kill me anyway for losing their ship and treasures.

Not if you disappear and blend into some rural Caloosa tribe’s village. I will drop you off with a friendly tribe I know on an island behind Boca Grande up in Florida. Your crew will think you went down with the ship.

Why would you do that for me? I'm your enemy.

You are not an enemy until you fail to give me what I want.

Well, I don't want to make you mad, but that’s crazy. I guess that’s why you’re a pirate.

Crazy, huh, where did you get the treasures you had on board?

Thinking about that he replied, Well, yes, I get what you’re saying. You’re just like the King’s government. You take what you want and if anyone resists they get killed. It’s crazy, though I pray the Lord forgives us and thank you captain, I would love to be put off in Florida, still breathing.

Flight to the Island of Death, Year 2013

Two buddies who recently retired from the United States Navy, both of whom had been SEALs the last six years of their twenty plus years of service, had been invited to a free vacation at the resort Island of Death