Wandering Around The 'Drake Ruins' Of Old Pisagua, Chile, 4 February 1579

Let's have a look at the extent of the settlement of about 16 houses. This settlement at Pisaigua is not at the mouth of the river, as some of the sources tell us, because that would be subjecting the houses to flooding. But they're on high ground, overlooking the river. There's about 16 dwellings here, but some of them must have been used to stable the llamas. This was definitely a treasure terminus that Drake might have known existed, but he certainly struck lucky here. And to disappoint me, there's no sign telling us about the history of these ruins. People know they're 16th century, that's all they can tell me. The skeletons I found here before were a result of the settlement being abandoned due to some people telling it was yellow fever or bubonic plague. Of course, what's annoying, I find, in some of these prominent Drake places around the world, there's no plaque telling the public that this great man, this famous or this infamous buccaneering character, was plundering this coastline. It would certainly bring personality to this place. It was inside this largest building in the settlement of Peace Agua that I found several mummified skeletons. None remain today. So, in a way, I always keep saying I started my travels at the right time, back in the 1970s, because the world was less developed, Drake places were less touched. And one place that's changed beyond recognition is Guatoco in Mexico. When I was there in 1983, Drake would have recognized it. Now, there's high-rise buildings. So, this is truly a magnificent place to come. Even now, there's still plenty remaining. So, Drake left here. He sailed north. It took two days for him to arrive at Arica, which is the final destination of In Drake's Wake in April 2016. I'll have been photographing Drake's Wake north of Valparaíso, taking the best three places. It was in here, 29 years ago, that I found three or four skeletons. They were on the left-hand side, slouched against the wall. I've got pictures of them in my slide album at home. Apparently, they were common sites in this part of the world, so the Royal Geographical Society told me. This could have been a stabling centre for the llamas, or if it wasn't used for animals, maybe it was the tavern, because this is the biggest building in the complex. It's just a shame that these Latin countries don't spend more money on their history, because Panama's the same. They've got lots of history, but they don't spend the money on it. In Panama, we found the remains of a ruptured cannon that was fired against Drake on his last voyage. The authorities weren't interested, and the cannon was then buried when they were making the jetty for the ships to take the manganese they were mining on the site of Well, here you are. There's my luggage in the mid-ground, the hotel owner's vehicle, which he's just about reaching, and you can see the valley. That was the main highway to and from the silver mine. The llamas would go back up into the mountains, unladen, and return with bullion bound for Spain via the Camino Real in Panama, where other videos have been made. So these videos complement the shots in Panama, because this is where the treasure became accessible to Francis Drake, who never lost the opportunity to make a few quid. Ciao for now, Drake Scholars!