An arrowhead aimed at the
Caribbean, the bastion of
Santo Domingo (above)
defended the colonial port
from pirates tempted by
treasures like this recently
discovered gold cacique
and jaguar from the pre-
Columbian Sinú culture.
Seven miles of stone walls,
60 feet thick in spots, still
encircle a hundred-block
area of the old city.
But exactly where?  Landmarks have changed, but the
treasure indeed exists, unfound....somewhere in
this swelling sea.
     The gold can be precisely found only in
        legend and literature.  A 12 y-year-old
         diver named Euclides reports having
      seen "many old sailing ships lying
     among the coral reefs...in such good
      condition....,"their sails intact" as if
      they had sunk along with their own
     space and time...."  The boy has iden-
    tified the San José by gold letters
    on the poop and has seen "the body of
the commander, dressed for battle and
From the: National Geographic - Page 8 of 12

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