[Josh] This is a pirate cave.
[Bradley speaking]
Amaro Pargo.
[Richard] There's even a story
that he has a fight with Blackbeard,
which kicks off a 40-year career at sea.
[Josh] Lava actually comes down
and destroys ships in the harbor.
[Bradley] Gold, silver, jewelry.
In today's market, it would be worth millions.
But I think I might know where it is.
Where?
It's a pirate story, Josh. Where else?
[Josh speaking]
Let's do this.
Daggers, cannons, and crosses.
That's Amaro through and through, right?
[Josh speaking]
Just before we drown, we'll get out of here.
Dig, dig, dig.
[Richard] This is Amaro winking at us
from beyond the grave.
[Bradley] Hey. Hey. Look at this. Look.
-Oh! -[Bradley laughing]
Look at that!
We're diving through a volcano.
The age of pirates was a brutish, violent era
where lawless cutthroats terrorized
the high seas for carnage and profit.
But the Spanish buccaneer, Amaro Pargo,
threatened to smash the mold.
[gunshots]
[Josh] In a world of bloodstained booty,
Pargo is seemingly a contradiction.
A devoutly religious nobleman,
a pirate, and a savvy businessman,
whose enterprises make him
the richest man in the Canary Islands,
a Spanish paradise
off the northwest coast of Africa.
Pargo's life is, in a word, legendary.
Feared on the high seas and a hero at home,
some call him the Spanish Robin Hood.
It is said that he even battles Blackbeard.
There's also the legend of a hidden treasure
and this one is the stuff that goonies dream of.
His own will mentions glittering valuables
and his tomb is emblazoned
with a cryptic skull and crossbones.
A secret long-lost document reportedly leads
to a carved chest
overflowing with a fortune worth millions.
Now, a renowned treasure hunter with some old maps
and a new theory is exploring perilous sea caves
along the island's rocky coast.
Meanwhile, a team of divers
is searching treacherous waters
at the base of an active volcano
that could lead to a long destroyed harbor
and a treasure from Pargo's sunken ships.
Our compass is pointing east.
So, raise the anchor and hoist the sails
as we set a course for unchartered waters
and the undiscovered riches of Amaro Pargo.
My name is Josh Gates.
Hello!
Explorer...
Here goes nothing.
...adventurer...
[exclaims]
Oh, that's a long way down.
...and a guy who ends up
in some very strange situations.
I'm alive, for now.
With a degree in archeology
and a passion for the unexplained,
I travel to the ends of the Earth
investigating the greatest legends in history.
[over the radio] Ready to rock and roll.
This is Expedition Unknown.
Welcome to the Canary Islands,
part natural paradise,
part colonial time machine,
part Club Med.
We are floating about 60 miles west of Morocco and yet,
somehow we are technically in Spain.
Confused yet?
Yeah. Me, too.
In the 15th century,
the Canary archipelago
with its seven main islands
was colonized by Spain
as a strategic stronghold in the North Atlantic
and as a way station for Spanish ships
headed to their newly discovered ATM, the Americas.
Even Columbus stopped off to use the restroom
and stock up on snacks during his trip in 1492.
In the years that followed, the Spanish ships
that transported the plundered riches
of the New World put the Canaries
at the center of global commerce,
including piracy.
Today, the pirates may be long gone, but Tenerife
is still going strong, home to just shy of a million people.
But don't let that number fool you.
There are a lot more folks on this island this week.
They've got one thing on their minds
and it is not Amaro Pargo's treasure.
♪ Yay! This is carnival ♪
♪ Yay! You'll see Colors everywhere ♪
It's carnaval!
♪ Get ready to jump and wave Yay! This is carnival ♪
This is actually the second-largest
carnaval celebration in the world after Rio.
Carnaval marks the beginning
of the Catholic period of Lent.
But from the looks of it, these folks
don't really seem to be into self-denial.
As for me, I am a 100% here for work.
This isn't just any wine
that I'm drinking out of this leather sack.
It's Malvasia.
Amaro Pargo and his family shipped this grape
all over the world making them very, very rich.
And it's making me and many other people here
very, very drunk.
♪ Shake, shake ♪
[Josh] And the wine isn't the only
carnaval connection to Pargo.
It's a pirate party!
No. No, I...
I'm joining the pirates!
Hey! Whoo!
[grunts]
I don't wanna alarm you,
but your foot's about to explode.
I'm in carnaval, with pirates.
My life is complete.
♪ Yay! You'll see color everywhere, yay! ♪
[Josh] By the painful light of a new day,
I drag myself through the nearby colonial streets
of Cristobal de La Laguna.
I'm here to meet maritime historian,
Dr. Richard Blakemore.
-Richard. -Hi, Josh. Nice to meet you.
-How are you? -Nice to meet you, too.
I'm, uh, I'm hungover, but thrilled to be here.
[chuckles] Carnaval?
[Josh] Yes, carnaval.
So, let's talk about Amaro Pargo.
When I think of pirates,
I tend to think of people who have these,
like, rags-to-stolen-riches origin stories.
But that is not the case with Pargo, right?
No. He's born into a fairly wealthy family.
In fact, right around where we're standing here,
his family owned a lot of property, houses,
vineyards, things like that.
So, he's really in the island elite,
uh, when he starts off.
And he goes from this position of privilege
to having this swashbuckling career.
Yeah. Well, this is often known as the Golden Age of Piracy.
The time when Pargo is out at sea
so is Captain Kidd, Blackbeard.
He's even in the Caribbean
in some of the same years as those figures.
There's even a story that he encountered
some of them and has a fight with Blackbeard.
Yes, and lives to tell the tale.
Absolutely.
[Josh] While the details of Pargo's supposed
skirmish with Blackbeard are lost to history,
as the main extractor of wealth from the Americas,
Spain and her ships were a primary target
for raids in the Atlantic.
It's thought that a young Amaro Pargo heard stories
of Spaniards under attack
and signed aboard a ship as a corsair,
a legal pirate with a license
to loot the property of Spain's enemies.
And there's a particular episode, a story passed on
by his descendants that he distinguished himself
when his ship was attacked by pirates
and he persuaded the captain to pretend to surrender,
only to then lead a charge that overthrew
the pirates and seized their ship,
and that this act of bravery is what,
uh, rewards him with his first command.
Which kicks off a 40-year career at sea.
A 40-year career for a pirate is, like, unheard of.
Yeah, it's very unusual.
So, he's in command of his own ships
probably by his mid-20s.
That's insane to me.
It's pretty early.
I feel like such a slacker.
Pargo spends half a lifetime
attacking the ships
of England, France, Portugal, and Holland,
adding treasure, textiles,
porcelain, and art to his already
impressive family wealth.
And, at the same time,
he's working other revenue streams.
He is sailing in these trading voyages.
He's producing wine from his estates.
Don't mention the wine. My head is killing me. Please.
He's also purchasing American commodities, like,
uh, cocoa for chocolate, sugar,
which he's transporting back to Spain.
That's what's so interesting about this guy,
is that he is diversified, in a way, right?
He's not just out there
raiding ships and stealing gold.
He's a businessman.
Unfortunately, some of Pargo's business
is in the trade of human beings.
For part of his career, he was a slaver,
which should put an end to any thoughts
of romanticizing the man.
Though it didn't hurt his reputation here.
How was he regarded during his life here
in the Canary Islands?
Well, I think he becomes a really significant figure,
almost a folk hero.
And it's said that when he dies,
mourners just filled these streets.
And he dies here on Tenerife?
Yeah. He spends the last years of his life here in Tenerife,
he dies here, and he's still here today.
-He is here? -[Richard] Yeah. You wanna see?
Please.
To see Pargo for myself, Richard leads me
to the rather plain-looking entrance
of a nearby church with wonders inside.
Wow.
Look at this.
[Richard] This is the Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzman.
It's built in 1522.
[Josh] 1522. Incredible.
[Richard] And it plays a really important role
in the life of Amaro Pargo.
And, you know, this is surprising, right?
Because when we think of pirates,
we think of criminality.
We think of murder. We think of rum drinking, right?
We don't picture this.
No, but it is an essential part of the Amaro Pargo story.
He was an intensely devout man,
and we see that faith all the way through his life.
[Josh] Wow.
Pargo gave the equivalent of millions
today in charity around Tenerife
and generously endowed Catholic churches
all over the island.
How generously?
One shrine here features a pure silver throne
of Jesus Christ that humbly bears Pargo's name,
as well as a pirate's cutlass and grapple.
And, of course, his name appears here
in one other place.
So, Josh, here we are before the man himself.
This is the tomb of Amaro Pargo.
Now, is this, like, a symbolic memorial,
or is he actually here?
No, he's actually down here.
So, we are standing above a pirate right now.
We are.
[Josh] And on top of this tomb,
we have Pargo's crest?
Yes.
[Josh] Daggers, cannons, and crosses.
This is a fierce coat of arms.
-That's Amaro through and through, right? -[Josh] Right.
[Richard] That's the statement he wants to make to the world.
And then, this skull and crossbones,
which has a really curious expression.
It's almost smiling at us.
[Richard] Yeah, and possibly winking.
And some have even said that this is Amaro
winking at us from beyond the grave.
Like all good pirate stories,
there is a treasure legend here.
[Richard] There is.
And in Pargo's case, with good foundation
because we know that he was hugely wealthy.
But the treasure story really starts with his will.
His will?
Richard produces a copy of Pargo's will.
It's either that, or War and Peace.
This is a serious-looking will.
It is.
And it's really significant because it shows us
just how wealthy Pargo was.
This will and other wills of the Pargo family
mentioned silver, gold, jewelry.
So, there is treasure afoot here?
-Absolutely. -[Josh] All right.
Now, let's get to the legend part of this.
Where do we get this idea of a buried treasure?
Well, the legend tells of an additional document,
a ledger, marked with the letter "D,"
which gives further details of Pargo's wealth,
including a chest stuffed full of gold, silver,
and precious items,
and explanation on how to find it.
Aha.
So, that's a great story.
Where does it come from? Is there any basis for this?
Well, the will does mention a book,
Libro, marked with the letter "D."
[Josh] We have that in the will?
[Richard] We have that in the will.
Okay. So, there is a ledger of some kind.
And do we know where that ledger is?
No one's ever found it.
Aha. Lost to history.
[Richard] So it seems.
[Josh] So, without this missing ledger,
do we have any idea where this treasure might be?
Well, local folklore says that it's buried in a cabin.
At a cabin?
Yes. And Amaro Pargo did have a house near here.
It might be a good place to start.
A pirate's house.
Okay.
[bike engine revving]
All right.
Let's do this.
Like many wealthy people,
Pargo lived in the hills,
high in the hills.
A few hundred feet of elevation later,
I pull over in the town of Machado
at the base of a remote footpath.
Above, I spot the ruins of Amaro Pargo's home
and hopefully, the next clue
on my hunt for buried treasure.
[Bradley] Josh.
[Josh] Hey.
On the island paradise of Tenerife,
I'm on the hunt for the treasure
of the pirate, Amaro Pargo.
His former house has been the subject
of centuries of rumors, and it's where I meet
my old friend, Bradley Williamson.
I love what you've done with the place.
Well, it's a little bit of a fixer-upper.
[laughs] Yeah.
[Josh] Brad is a treasure hunter with decades of experience.
He and I have been down the pirate road before,
searching for the fortune of Jean Lafitte,
as well as Captain Kidd.
This place is incredible.
This estate belonged to one of the most feared pirates
-who sailed the high seas. -Amaro Pargo?
Exactly.
I've seen his will now, this huge document
that outlines a lot of his fortune.
And then there's supposed to be this
ledger with a "D" on it.
[Bradley] His ledger has never surfaced,
but according to the story...
it lists gold, silver,
jewelry, porcelain,
and just an incredible amount of treasure.
In today's market, it would be worth millions.
-Millions, literally? -[Bradley] Millions--
-Yes, literally millions. -Wow.
And as I've just learned, supposedly,
it all goes into a chest and he hides it at his cabin.
Well, we're here at his estate,
so could it have been hidden here?
[Bradley] Josh, I don't think so.
Amaro left this estate to his servants,
and they would've gone through
every square inch of this place.
Look, I mean, wouldn't you? Realistic--
-Totally. Of course. -[Bradley] Sure. Sure.
And they dug holes everywhere.
They tore apart the walls.
They searched this place thoroughly.
And they found?
-Nothing. -Nada?
-Zip? -Zip.
So, no chance it's buried here?
-No chance. -[Josh] All right.
But I think I might know where it is.
Where?
It's a pirate story, Josh. Where else?
[Josh] The sea.
Specifically, along the northeastern shore of the island.
It's an area Pargo would have known well.
All right. So, other than the fact that, you know,
pirates sailed on the ocean...
-Yes. -...why are we out here?
-Sea caves. -[Josh] All right.
[Bradley] This whole northern point of the island
is riddled with sea caves.
[Josh] So then, my next question is,
-really? -[Bradley laughs]
You know? I mean, pirates and caves,
it's very goonies, right?
Yes. Yes, yes.
But did pirates really hide things in caves?
-Yes. -Yes?
[Bradley] Yes. Because back then, there's a term,
"sin registrata."
Sin registrata is what, without registration?
Exactly.
These guys were legal pirates.
They had to pay taxes.
[Josh] As a corsair, Pargo had the right
to steal from Spain's enemies,
but not from Spain herself.
[Bradley] When they had to pull into port,
they would meet with the king's representative.
He'll be waiting for them on the dock.
[Josh] Like a customs stop.
[Bradley] Exactly.
Just like we go through customs nowadays.
"Do you have anything to report?"
-"No!" Exactly. -"No, no, no.
There's no rum.
-There's no Cuban rum in this bag." -[Bradley] Exactly.
-Exactly. -"Nothing, officer."
Since this was the port
for every Spanish ship
going to and from the New World,
all of the goods arriving here
were subject to royal tax.
And unsurprisingly, pirates hated paying taxes.
[Bradley] These sea caves here, this would be a perfect spot
for them to hide some of their stuff
before they pulled into port.
This is like a literal offshore bank account.
[Bradley] Yeah.
[Josh] So, okay,
-Amaro Pargo is using these caves. -[Bradley] Yes.
They're depositing treasure there.
[Bradley] Yes.
Which cave?
What gives us an edge?
I'll show you.
Okay.
Okay. I love a map.
-This is Tenerife. -[Bradley] Yes.
And we are on the eastern side.
We came out of Santa Cruz harbor.
Yes. And almost everybody
has looked for this treasure somewhere else.
Okay. Where have people been looking?
They've been looking here on either the northern side
or the western side of the island.
And there's a long-standing legend
that his treasure has been hidden there.
And nothing's ever been found over here?
Correct. Nothing's ever been found over here.
So, is that why we're here on this eastern side
because it's basically an untapped area.
It's actually more than an untapped area.
People get so obsessed with legend,
they're not thinking of maritime history.
This whole northern area of Tenerife
was Amaro's stomping ground.
Ships weren't over there, they were over here.
This would be the entrance to the harbor
where he'd be coming around with his vessels.
[Josh] Using centuries old
maritime charts and documents,
Bradley has pieced together that Pargo's ships
frequented a cove
near the northeastern tip of the island.
Okay. Well, now we just gotta find some treasure.
-Let's go do it. -[Josh] Let's do it!
[Bradley laughs]
Ahead!
We pilot the boat around the rugged
and unpopulated edge of Tenerife,
where Brad has identified a cave
that could pull double duty as a bank vault.
Josh, right over there.
[Josh] Unbelievable.
-That is a pirate cave. -Yes, yes.
[Josh] And this is a perfect place, right?
We've got this protected bay.
You could anchor a ship here and bring small boats ashore.
-[Bradley] Exactly. -These are just sheer cliffs.
There's no way you're coming down this, right?
[Bradley chuckles] Oh, no.
That is a protected vault.
[Bradley] Yes.
This is perfect.
We're gonna have to be careful, though.
We can only get this boat so close right now
because of the way the tides are running.
And unfortunately, I think we're gonna have to swim in,
because of all the rocks that are there.
I think it would tear up the bottom of our boat.
-Wait a minute. -[Bradley laughing]
The boat? Isn't it gonna tear us up if we swim in?
Okay. Here we go.
We prepare ourselves and our gear
for the treacherous plunge into the ocean.
The tide is currently going down,
but the waves are formidable.
Diego, bring us in as close as you can.
[Bradley speaking]
[Josh] Okay. You ready?
[Bradley] Yup.
[Josh] Let's do it. Here we go.
[Bradley speaking]
[Josh speaking]
[Bradley speaking]
[Josh speaking]
[Bradley speaking]
[both whooping]
[Josh speaking]
[Bradley speaking]
[Josh speaking]
Once we're out of reach of the waves,
we change into dry clothes
and assemble our metal detectors.
Okay. We got lights, we got metal detectors.
And the tide should be almost low at this point,
but we gotta keep an eye on that.
You don't wanna be stuck in a sea cave
when the tide comes in.
Absolutely. Okay.
All right. Let's start looking around.
-[Bradley] Okay. -Let's do it.
Amaro Pargo's chest of treasure
is hopefully in here with us.
We start up the metal detectors to find it.
Small hit there.
Hmm. Maybe not.
One of the things that's really tough about locations
like this is a lot of minerals in the rocks,
a lot of magnetic material in the sand,
in these stones, so you can get
these hits here and get really excited,
but it's just part of the natural rock.
Where is that water coming from?
Hey, Brad?
What?
I think we got more cave over here.
[Bradley] Really?
Okay. Let's take a look.
I think this goes through.
You see this light?
[Bradley] Yeah.
[Josh] We got water come... Whoa.
So, we got water coming in here. Yes.
Okay, it opens up.
And this is another one of the entrances
that we saw from the outside.
So, these two openings are connected.
Let's see if more of them are.
[Bradley] Sounds good.
I see light.
I think it opens up.
Ha!
It opens way up.
Look at this.
-Woo-hoo! -[Bradley] Nice.
[Josh] Oh, my word.
Whoo!
This is a pirate cave.
Okay. We got a lot more territory to cover.
Yes.
[Josh] Let's get to it.
Nothing significant here yet...
but we got a lot of cave to search.
We scan the cavern floor for over an hour.
Got anything?
Nothing yet.
[Josh] It's hard not to notice
that the tide has turned
and is now creeping back in.
Let's check up here.
We got this dry land, this inland beach.
Let's see if there's anything in there.
-[metal detectors beeps] -[Bradley chuckles]
Hey, Josh.
-I got a hit. -You got a hit?
[Bradley] Yeah, I got something here, yeah.
It's definitely something metallic.
Solid hit?
-Solid hit. Yeah. -Okay. What do we got?
I'm getting a reading here
and a small reading over there.
[Josh] Want this?
[metal detector beeping]
-Whoa. Hey. -Whoa. Hey, hey. [chuckles]
-Hey, we got something. -[Bradley] Okay.
[metal detector beep]
I mean, it could be some tiny filing.
It could be...
could be from this volcanic rock.
[Bradley] Hey. Hey, look at this. Look.
-Oh! Look at that. -[Bradley laughing]
[Bradley] Hey. Hey, look at this. Look.
-Oh! Look at that. -[Bradley laughing]
Oh, my word.
That is a nail.
That is perfectly preserved.
-Look at that. -[Bradley] Yeah.
[Josh] In a volcanic sea cave
inside the cliffs of Tenerife,
Bradley Williamson and I
are searching for the lost treasure
of the pirate, Amaro Pargo.
And so far, I gotta say, we've nailed it.
That's bronze, that's not iron.
-[Josh] That is bronze. -Those are rare.
It's not corroded at all.
-[Bradley] No, no. It's beautiful. -That is a bronze nail.
[Bradley] That's old. And those are expensive.
-This is not like a deck nail. -[Bradley] No.
'Cause back then,
most of the nails are made out of iron.
Rarely were there are bronze like that.
-That is nice. -Right. So this should be
more like a finishing nail on something
-that's more valuable. -[Bradley] Yeah.
Maybe something like a nice mahogany chest.
Like a treasure chest?
Okay, I'll go with that.
Let's just manifest this, Brad.
Okay, okay.
[Josh] We dig further into the hole
where we found the nail.
[metal detector beeping]
And it seems like whatever it is, it's right there.
-Yeah. -Our new technique is to just sift
as much of this volcanic sand as possible,
make sure we're not missing anything.
Wait, that's another nail.
-All right! -That is incredible.
-[Bradley] Yeah. -This is insane.
-Get outta here! Dude! -Yes! Whoo!
-[laughing] -Look at this.
That's huge. That means...
-Something. Yes, yeah. -...something is here.
Two more is holding something together,
like mahogany boxes
-filled with gold and blues. -Yes.
-Yes, Brad. -[Bradley laughing]
Now you're talking.
[laughing]
What were you holding together?
More digging, more digging.
I mean, I don't know.
There's this volcanic kinda conglomerate
down at the bottom of all this,
-it really is like concrete. -Yeah.
We got a lot more sand in here.
Let's keep looking.
The search continues,
now with more urgency
as the tide inevitably approaches.
Copy that.
Is that a rock?
Hey, Brad. Brad, come here.
-What? -[Josh] Hey, come here.
-[Bradley] What? -What is this?
You got something? What you got?
-What you got? What you got? -I thought this was a white stone.
-[Bradley] Yeah. -It ain't.
Look at this. See that blue?
[Bradley] That's dye right there.
-Is this porcelain? -It is.
Nice. This is real porcelain, Josh.
-It is, yes? -It's a piece. Yeah.
Here. Let's see if anything else is in here.
So it was wedged down in these rocks.
[Bradley] Yeah, but it would makes sense
'cause if it broke up...
-Oh, hey, Josh, look, look, look. -[Josh] Oh, more
-Hey. Now that-- Look at that. -Look at that.
-That's nice. -[Josh] Look at that patterning.
[Bradley] This is not modern, Josh.
Look at the discoloration
-inside the porcelain. -Yes.
[Josh] This has been here for a long time.
[Bradley] Yes.
Actually, it looks like the Qing Dynasty.
So wait, this is Chinese porcelain?
[Bradley] This is real Chinese porcelain.
-This is real. Yes. -[Josh] Real deal?
People think about treasure,
they think about gold and silver.
But this is like gold.
Exactly. Incredibly rare, incredibly valuable.
This is like pirate booty.
-This is the kind of goods... -[Bradley laughing]
...that people like Amaro Pargo were stealing...
-[Bradley] Exactly. -...and transporting.
In Pargo's day, fine porcelain
from the Far East was a luxury commodity.
It's the kind of item we know appeared in his will.
Well, we got two fragments,
-so let's keep digging. -[Bradley] Okay.
[Josh] Something's smashed here...
[Bradley] Yup, yup.
[Josh] ...and got buried down in these rocks.
-[Bradley laughing] -[Josh] Is that one?
-Hold on. Is that more? -[Bradley] That one?
-[Josh] Look at that. More. -[laughs] Nice.
-A small little piece, small piece. -It's little pieces
of it all busted up in here.
Wait, wait, wait. Hey.
-[laughing] Hey, I got one, too. -More.
Oh, more!
-Holy [bleep]. -[Bradley] What?
-Look at this. Look at this. -[Bradley] No, no.
[Josh] Look at the pattern on this.
[Bradley] That's a nice piece.
-Get out of here! -[laughs]
-[Josh] This blue line... -[Bradley] Yes.
[Josh] ...on the inside, on the rim.
-Yup. -And then this
-incredible pattern. -[Bradley] That's beautiful.
This could be part of Amaro Pargo's treasure.
This could be items that him or his crew
were hiding in these caves.
[Bradley] I mean, porcelain was definitely something
he was trading in.
How about this, a little more looking,
and then just before we drown, we'll get out of here?
Exactly, exactly.
Dig, dig, dig.
-The tides are coming. -[Bradley] I know.
[Josh] As the proverbs says,
"Time and tide wait for no man,"
even if you're digging for treasure.
And we're soon forced to take our porcelain to go.
We make a daring swim to exit the rapidly flooding cave...
and then speed back to dry land.
I wish Bradley luck
as he vows to return to the cave
and keep up the search for Pargo's treasure.
As for me, after drying out,
I'm following Pargo's lead
in looking for a little divine intervention.
Well, I'm standing in a very long line
outside of Tenerife's Convento de Santa Catalina.
Now, convents like this don't usually draw a crowd.
So, why am I and thousands of others waiting?
Well, we're here to meet face-to-face
with a very special nun.
Remarkable, considering she died
nearly 300 years ago.
Mary of Jesus de Leon y Delgado,
lovingly referred to as "La Siervita"
or the "Little Servant,"
was Pargo's secret weapon.
She's alleged to have performed countless miracles
including healing, clairvoyance, levitation,
and bilocation,
the scientifically challenging act
of being in two places at once.
But to the faithful, she is very nearly a saint.
And the most famous demonstration
of her divine talents
involves Amaro Pargo himself.
According to the story,
Pargo was ambushed at the port of Havana.
And though La Siervita is over 4,000 miles away
in the Canary Islands,
she miraculously appears in Cuba...
standing between Pargo and certain death.
And the legend says
that her miraculous assistance
doesn't stop there.
When I said that I was here to meet this famed nun,
I meant that literally.
That's because La Siervita is part of a select club
known as Incorruptibles,
people whose bodies are miraculously
preserved after death.
And once a year, today,
the church puts her remains on display for all to see.
This is a woman who died in the year 1731
at the age of 87 and yet, there she rests,
sleeping peacefully 292 years later.
The tomb she's lying in
was commissioned by Pargo himself.
And his devotion to La Siervita
is displayed in a special poem
written on the casket
called an acrostic.
The first letters of the lines
spell out a message.
In this case, they spell out Pargo's name.
Another wink from beyond the grave
reinforcing his local reputation
as the most pious of pirates.
The poem on the coffin reveals
just how deeply Pargo was tied to his faith.
And some have suggested that this is where the bulk
of his wealth went, to the church.
But there may still be a treasure on this island,
and it may be an act of God that's points to its location.
This island, it seems,
only has two directions,
downhill and uphill.
Turns out, there's a reason for that.
Tenerife is a volcanic island.
In fact, some 14th and 15th century maps
refer to is as "Isla del Infierno"
or "Hell Island."
During Columbus' voyage of 1492,
he noted a great fire as he sailed by.
The fire Columbus saw
was undoubtedly from one of the island's 300 volcanoes.
The largest, El Teide, is the tallest peak in Spain,
over 12,000 feet above sea level.
If you measure it from its base
on the ocean floor though,
it's over twice that,
a 24,000-foot tall time bomb.
I climb up toward the top of one of El Teide's
neighboring volcanoes, Trevejo.
The vegetation ends abruptly
as the ground turns to volcanic ash.
Waiting in the shadow of the summit
is a man who can tell me how this place changed
the course of Tenerife's history
as well as Pargo's.
Local historian,
Ricardo Sanchez-Serrano Guerrero.
I have to say I'm a little distracted.
That looks suspiciously like...
A volcano.
This whole island is basically a volcano, yes?
Well, all the Canary Islands are volcanic islands.
And just for my own well-being,
-the last eruption was when? -[Ricardo] Mm-hmm.
The last eruption wasn't very far from here.
-Oh, perfect. Good. Yeah. -[Ricardo] It's here at the back,
and that was in 1909.
[Josh] 1909?
So it's been just over a century.
So hopefully, today is not the day.
Today is Monday, a Monday is--
[Josh] It doesn't happen on Mondays?
-It never happens on Mondays. -[chuckling] No.
What about this guy very close to us?
This one is close to the other,
but it's very different.
And actually, it's connected to Amaro Pargo.
Okay. So pirates and volcanoes,
connect the dots for me.
So, it was the 5th of May, 1706,
that was the worst eruption
in the recorded history of the island.
[Josh] On the slopes of the active volcano
known as Trevejo,
I'm learning about the day this peak
played a role in the lost treasure
of the pirate, Amaro Pargo.
The lava flow, it came down
and destroyed the harbor of Garachico,
that, at that time,
was the main harbor of the island.
-Wow. -[Ricardo] Amaro Pargo
had some of his ships anchored in the bay of Garachico.
Lava actually comes down this mountain...
-[Ricardo] Yes. -...and destroys the harbor
and ships in the harbor?
-[Ricardo] Mm-hmm. -It's that devastating?
Yeah. It was devastating and that was at
about the time Amaro Pargo was working
for the Spanish treasure fleet.
[Josh] Aha.
The Spanish treasure fleet
connected Spain to its colonies in the Americas,
ferrying a constant cargo of wealth
from the New World across the Atlantic.
So, Amaro Pargo said
that he had hidden a treasure in a cabin.
Yes. I've been to his estate though at Machado
which is completely picked over.
There's nothing there.
Cabin in Spanish could be also the cabin of a ship.
-Oh, right. -Not necessarily a house.
-A ship's cabin. -[Ricardo] A ship's cabin.
So, maybe a treasure in a ship in a bay?
That was sunk.
[Josh] It's a tantalizing theory.
And historical records indicate that Pargo
likely had ships registered here
at the time of the eruption.
Meaning, part of his vast wealth
could be entombed in a wreck at the bottom of the harbor.
And what about the old harbor itself,
has that been refound?
There's a dive team in Garachico
investigating it right now.
And I would love to introduce you to them.
-I would love to meet them. -[Ricardo] So...
-Follow the lava? -Absolutely.
All the way down the hill.
-[Josh] Let's go. Come on. -Let's go.
[Josh] Modern Garachico is a quaint fishing town.
But in its heyday,
this was the crossroads of world trade.
The question is, could part of Pargo's fortune
be waiting out in the water?
Now, a local dive operator thinks his team
has located the remains of ships
that sank in the 1706 volcanic eruption.
Ricardo brings me to meet Cesar Hernandez Acosta.
Josh, this is Cesar
and he's the lead diver
who is investigating the old port.
So, I take it that this is the new port
-of Garachico. -Si.
Right. This one looks very undestroyed.
So, in terms of the old port,
back in its day, hundreds of years ago,
this was a significant harbor, yes?
Yes.
In fact, this may have actually been
the busiest port in the Canary Islands.
So, now Ricardo tells me that Amaro Pargo had ships
here in the harbor during the eruption.
Absolutely. This was the main port Pargo used.
And we think at least a few of his ships were destroyed
in the lava flow.
Do you know where that old harbor is?
Have you been able to find it?
We don't think, we know we found it,
and we can show it to you.
Do you wanna see it?
Yeah. Of course, I wanna see it.
-Yes! -Let's go then.
[Josh] We pile into Cesar's Zodiac
and head out past the modern seawall
that shelters Garachico from brutal Atlantic storms.
[Ricardo] Josh, here you can see
that how the two lava flows coming from the volcano
affected the old harbor.
Oh, you can see it.
So, on either side of this ridge here,
that's where the lava flow was?
You can see in that black soil there on either side.
[Ricardo] Yes.
And then, Josh, if you see the old fort--
So yes, an old fort right there.
So that's from the time of the eruption?
[Ricardo] Yes.
The old harbor was right there.
[Josh] Uh-huh.
Wow.
Ships anchored in the harbor
were obliterated by fires that spread
during the largest eruption in the island's history.
And the evidence still lies on the ocean floor.
So now, we just gotta get in what's left of the harbor.
Reefs made of hardened lava
make it impossible for us to motor in all the way.
Fortunately, Cesar knows a shortcut.
[Cesar] Okay, Josh.
We're headed down. Follow me.
[Josh speaking]
[Ricardo speaking]
Do you read me?
[Josh speaking]
How's the visibility?
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] Just keep following me.
There's gonna be a bit of a drop off here.
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] No, it's not a cave.
It's a lava tube, Josh.
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] Yes, this is all from the volcano.
It connects to the harbor and our discovery.
Follow me.
[Josh speaking]
We'll pick you up on the other side.
[Josh] We activate our lights to enter the tube.
A passage created in 1706
during the massive eruption.
[Cesar] Yes. This is part of a lava vent.
[Josh speaking]
We cautiously swim through the passage,
and soon, we're in complete darkness.
[Cesar] We're almost through, Josh,
but it's going to get pretty narrow
before it spits us out.
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] That's it, Josh.
[Josh] Squeezing through a break in the lava tube,
we push through the gloom
and emerge back into the light of day
inside the reefs.
Now I read you. Are you okay?
[Josh speaking]
Okay. And keep your eyes open down there.
[Cesar] Okay, Josh, we've made it.
Here's what I wanted to show you.
Take a look over there.
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] Right here, Josh. Have a look at this.
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] Yes, it's an anchor.
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] It is very old.
Hundreds of years old.
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] Yes. We think this is from when the ship sank here.
[Josh] This is a big find in every sense.
The anchor is huge.
Whatever ship it was mooring would have been huge, too.
[Cesar] A massive ship with a massive cargo.
[Josh speaking]
[Josh] Carnaval in Tenerife.
You didn't think we showed you everything, did you?
Jack Sparrow.
Cheers, Captain Jack.
-Damn it! -[man] Cheers!
Pirates.
I may have lost my drink,
but one person who can always hold his liquor
is my cameraman, Brian.
[Brian] The funhouse.
We're going through the funhouse.
-I mean-- -Funhouse.
[Josh] Brian, that's terrible filming.
[Brian] That was really good.
[Josh] The funhouse is for kids of all ages
and blood alcohol levels.
Camera speeds.
[Josh] Okay, hold on.
-Don't let go yet. -[Brian] Don't let me go yet.
[Josh] Please. Stop talking.
Here we go. Here we go.
[Brian] Yeah, I'm going.
-[Josh] Oh, my God! -[both screaming]
[Josh] Help me. God.
Help me. [bleep].
[screams]
Should probably get another beer.
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] Hold on, Josh. I'm on my way.
[Josh] Off the coast of Tenerife is an old port
where the pirate Amaro Pargo's ships sank
during a historic volcanic eruption.
Now, we may have just discovered where.
[Cesar] Yes, these are amphora.
The remains of many amphora here.
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] Correct. This would be the very top of the amphora.
[Josh] Amphora are vessels
with a wide base and narrow neck
that have been used
since the days of ancient Greece.
The design allows many of them
to be stowed in small spaces
like, say, the cargo hold of a treasure ship.
[Cesar] Wine was the most common,
but they could have also held oil.
[Josh speaking]
The amphora are worth celebrating,
the discovery of artifacts
from Pargo's very specific time and place.
I know I'll be raising a glass
of Malvasia wine to this later.
But right now, I wanna see
what other treasures are here.
We keep searching.
Though soon, we'll need to return to the lava tube
and back to our boat.
And just when we're almost out of time...
[beeping]
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] You found something? What do you have?
[Josh speaking]
[Cesar] Amazing!
[Josh speaking]
We continue to scan around the field of amphora
where we find more and more ceramics.
Eventually, it's time to return to dry land.
[Cesar] Okay. Time to surface.
[Josh speaking]
We rush back through the lava tube...
and then to the surface.
-[Josh] Hola. -[speaking Spanish]
[in English] Oh, it's amazing down there, really.
[speaking Spanish] [in English] I told you.
We really are in the world of Amaro Pargo here.
We have an anchor down there that's from the right period.
And the wine lids totally connect us
to all of the shipping, the merchants,
and also Amaro Pargo, right?
-He had vineyards here. -[Ricardo] Yes.
Incredible.
And then this cross, this really fine thing.
Yes. Items like that, very valuable...
-[Josh] Yes. -...and very unique.
[Cesar] It might be from a captain or noble.
Ordinary sailors could never afford jewelry like that.
Maybe Pargo?
-Maybe him. -[Josh laughs] Who knows?
There must be so much more down there, yes?
Yes, indeed.
There's a whole world down there frozen in time.
[Josh] Incredible.
Much more to explore.
-Of course. -[Josh laughs]
Incredible.
Nice work.
We return to the mainland
with a cross to bear,
elated at the discovery of a ship's graveyard.
Both in a battered sea cave
and beneath the waves of a long-buried harbor,
it is possible that I have held small pieces
of Pargo's fortune.
As to the rest of the loot,
I now realize that much of it is right in front of us,
hidden in plain sight.
Pargo bequeathed the equivalent of millions
to the church.
His wealth can be seen across the island
in baroque displays,
solid silver thrones,
and gilded coffins stamped with his name.
But it's hard to shake the image on Pargo's tomb,
that skull that winks to us from across time
and beyond the grave,
a playful and ominous invitation for us to follow
in the eternal hunt for truth and treasure.