Wednesday, October 03, 2018

Treasure Quest - Season Finale "Payday"

Late last night (October 2) I received a comment to my last post about Treasure Quest (which now has Snake Island appended to it again). Todo Segalla suggested he had seen the October 5 episode and that, according to him, they had found the treasure. He wrote, “Kevin They found the treasure. I saw the episode that airs Oct. 5, they found the cave… using the drone they located another hill with a cave inside… silver coins, gold bars… it’s flooded and requires expert diving to recover all the treasure. CONGRATS!”

Todo Segalla (I hope)

I don’t know who Todo Segalla is or how reliable this information he has provided is. I do know that in the past, on the treasure hunting shows, we have been teased with big finds that later turn out to be less than spectacular. Remember the old Treasure Quest when they found the Inca sun god icon that they suggested could be worth as much as a quarter of a million dollars, little, silver llamas, and a suggestion that they had found the Treasure of the Trinity… and then nothing.

But the Internet is a wonderful tool and I was able to find something about Todo Segalla, if this is, in fact, the same guy. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on June 9, 1963. It is suggested that he is a Navy veteran and, of course, was a SEAL… possibly. The Imdb noted that the time of this service is unknown and that he doesn’t talk about it much. He is now a Federal Police Office with the Department of Veteran Affairs. He has abandoned his award-winning acting and his renowned Martial Arts training.

In trying to learn more about this, after looking up Segalla, I blundered into the Discovery Channel website. I noticed that the Friday (Oct 5) episode was available. It was called “Payday.” I clicked on it, of course, and it took me to a list of cable suppliers. Mine was there and I clicked on that. It asked me to sign in but I wasn’t ready to do that but apparently the site checked and the next thing I knew, the episode, commercials and all, was playing on my computer…

So… Spoilers Below

We started with Jeremy Whalen entering the hole they had made in the tunnel, which is where we had left off the week before. He has apparently fallen and another of the treasure hunters repels down after him. Whalen has lacerated his back, a place on his head, and they start calling for the medic. She arrives, advises that he get out of the tunnel, but Whalen rejects that. She apparently stitches him up, and off they all go.

This is just another proof that this isn’t just four guys in the wilderness hunting for a treasure. There is a large support team with them, so much of the drama is artificial, but at this point I’m not sure that I care.

The medic patches up Whalen, and then the rest of the team and the camera crew and the sound guy join them. It’s probably getting pretty crowded down there. They begin the search, find a big hairy tarantula that worries them greatly, but they get it out of the way to continue the journey.

They realize that there are markings on the wall that suggest the high point of water, which is no longer present. They are walking in mud, which tells them the water was there not long ago… and it’s raining outside meaning that more water might enter the cave.

And, as before, they reach the end of the tunnel. This time, however, they realize that it is an artificial wall that isn’t all that thick. Jack Peters, the demo guy, said that he could surgically remove part of the wall so that they could look beyond it for booby traps and they would be able to see deeper into the tunnel.

He has three sticks of dynamite, det cord and other supplies with him, or so it seems. In fact, they seem to have a lot of equipment in that tunnel that we don’t see until they need to do something more. Just one more proof that we’re watching television rather than an expedition into the wilderness as they keep telling us. But, again, I’m not sure that I care about that anymore.

They successfully take down about half the wall, and beyond it, they see the underground lake. Now they are stymied because they don’t like the look of the water, which might have been there for a long time, filled with bacteria and other toxins which could lead to serious illness. Shawn Cowles wonders about flesh eating bacteria and I have to say, I think he’s got a point.

Whalen, however rigs a way to explore the lake just beyond where they are using the underwater metal detector which I’m not sure they had with them when the climbed into the tunnel. Almost immediately he gets a hit, and the rig a way to scoop the soil from the bottom of the lake. They bring up a Spanish coin and we get a lecture on Pieces of Eight.

They continue in that mode, find I think, another half dozen silver coins, which a massive treasure they do not make. I’m wondering if this was a treasure horde, why are the coins scattered in the dirt. Seems more like coins dropped by accident, but then, why are there so many so close to that wall.

Whalen wants to dive into the lake, but Cowles said, “No.” He’s the expedition leader and won’t allow it. Too dangerous. They work out a compromise and Whalen drops into the freezing water. He walks around and using a Go Pro on a stick, films underwater. He eventually reaches a place where it seems the bottom drops out.

If I have this correctly, they take the boom from the sound guy, and rig a way to measure the depth. Sound guy? Someone else in there with them. The real point however, is that their measurement suggests the bottom is under a hundred feet of water. Given that, given the rain coming down, and given the temperature of the water, they had to abandon the search. They’ve had some success, believe they are on the doorstep, but they just can’t get there.

They go back to their base camp, load their pick-up truck… pick-up truck? Where did that come from? I thought this was such a remote area with no roads. I thought they had to pack in using burros. They do seem to have gotten a number of vehicles into the area based on what we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks.

Colibri Hostal, Quime, Bolivia
As the rain comes down and the storm breaks, they head to Quime and the Colibri Hostal (20 bucks a night) where Whalen is reviewing the footage from the Go Pro on his computer. He stops, goes back, enhances, and calls to the others. Excited, they run down the porch (veranda?) looking for Cowles. Whalen shows him what looks to be a gold bar somewhat obscured by the murky water. Oh, don’t get me wrong, what we see there looks just like those ingots pulled up from wrecks of Spanish treasure ships… and there are hints of other bars beneath it.

They have found the treasure. Or so they say. They certainly seem to have done better than the guys at Oak Island. We don’t know because the rainy season drove them from the site, and they need specialized diving equipment to get to the bottom of that lake. It will take weeks, if not months and a pile of cash to arrange for the equipment and the diving expert, though Cowles might be qualified in that arena.

Given what Cowles has said, it seems that this is the end of the line for this season. They won’t be back in the Sacambaya Valley any time soon. They have to arrange for the diving expedition. I confess that I am intrigued by their finds in the tunnel even though they only came out with a few silver coins and underwater pictures of ingots that might be gold. Now we’ll have to wait for next season to learn just what they have found. I hope it turns out better than the last expedition on Treasure Quest where it seemed they were on the verge of a huge discovery only to have the show semi-cancelled, replaced by this version.

Oh, and to Todo Segalla, they didn’t find the treasure. They found evidence suggesting there is something more there, but they didn’t find two billion dollars of stuff. As I say, I’m intrigued, but not convinced yet… of course, this will ensure a second (or is it fourth) season.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

With all that locating equipment, GPR, etc., I'm wondering why the couldn't locate the bottom of the vertical shaft from outside, drill a big hole in the side of the hill to drain it, and/or excavate thru the side of the hill from outside. I guess if it were practical, they would've mentioned it?

Unknown said...

I thought the same but I guess that would end the show to quickly and there wouldn't be another season. I wonder how long we will have to wait to see the end of the story.

Unknown said...

I thought the same thing but I guess that would end the season to quickly and wouldn't have another. That's probably how the next season will start, either that or they pump out the water.

Unknown said...

I read that the rainy season is November to March. Did they perhaps film this prior to November 2017 and have already been back to continue the search. It makes sense to hold off airing their find or even this last episode's hint of a big find until they are done - to reduce the risk of others sneaking in.

Unknown said...

Drilling into the tunnel sounds easy. However it's not. There are a lot of unknowns in the show. The depth of the tunnel, is there a concealed entrance? The distance from the shaft to the false wall. In short a drain tunnel is not practical. What is, is using a submersible high volume pump. Draining the shaft is what I would recommend. Consider deep mines always pump. Also because of the height from the river, weather is not a concern. Now to see if we ever hear anything.

Unknown said...

Continuing what I was saying before. While the idea of drilling a horizontal bore hole or a actual tunnel sounds easy, it's not. First you need to determine where the bottom of the flooded shaft is in relation to the topography of the mountain. Then, hopefully, the entrance or starting point for the bore/tunnel needs to be accessible. Drilling a horizontal bore hole is iffy at best as the drill bit can wander and you end up somewhere else. From the show the area around the discovery shaft is easily accessible. You can see a road clearly. This ability to access the site with power generating capabilities and the size of the tunnel/audit make it ideal for pumping.

Unknown said...

Anybody know when the next season will start

Unknown said...

What I want to know is where is the actual entrance to the tunnel? Those spiders didn't get there through solid rock...there's something that they didn't show us... Also, is it possible that they actually entered from the bottom and climbed up the shaft to stash the stuff in a difficult place to find ftom the original entrance down below? Then they sealed the shaft and somehow knew that water would leak into the tunnel?

Unknown said...

Cool how they struggled so hard, trekked 7 hours I think it was, externally found the tunnel and then a ute and digger rock up to site the next day

Tim Swartz said...

What I want to know is what happened to the finds at the end of the previous season? They found a huge series of waterfalls and discovered the Gold Incan figure and some other stuff lodged underwater in the rocks. The season ended and no further information. Was this discovery real or just "reality television fakery"?

wildthing said...

i was wondering when this was filmed ? have they gone back yet ? i questioned when he got hurt and suddenly there was a medic there ? how many people were on site ? i think draining the water is a much safer option than a deep water dive in murky water. watching gold rush they move vast amounts of water with large industrial pumps , also on oak island they pumped out alot of the money pit and drained the swamp .

Unknown said...

Love it best ever,cant wait till next season.can anyone tell me when that will b showen in the UK.

Unknown said...

Wth happened with the treasure they found under water the season or so before!!!!! You know, the girl came up with the gold su foc piece etc!!!!!!WTH!!!!????? Its killing me not knowing.

KRandle said...

If you listened to the interview with Keith Plaskett carefully, you should be able to figure it out. They really didn't find any of the treasure and there is no evidence that the Inca sunburst icon they found was of great value. Listen to the interview and you should be able to find out what happened.

Unknown said...

Are they going to have another show, so we can find out tge conclusion?

Unknown said...

It appears that this show, just like the last one, will never be resolved. Remember when on the last season's end treasure was found in the river? There was never any word about what happened. Same thing is happening with this one. It seems to be a pattern, on the last show, get close to the treasure and forget it. I honestly was hoping for something better.

JoeM said...

I wondered what happened to the artifacts they found, i.e. the dented chalice, the bit of samite , possibly from a vestment, and the large bronze bell that had Maria ora pro nobis embossed on it. Surely those would have been of considerable interest to the Bolivian Museum. It seems that it is one situation to hunt freely for a treasure that has been missing for hundreds of years, but once items are actually found, I think that in most countries a variety of permits would be required.
I wondered why they did not show the openings they had made to the caverns being capped somehow, to avoid the unwary from falling to their deaths. Such a failure in the U.S. could be seen as reckless endangerment and criminal negligence. But what the heck. I suppose in South America, peons are being born every day.
I wondered why they did not seem to consider that if they abandoned their search because of the rainy season, then Bolivian miners or mining companies might move in and drill from the side, drain the water from the 100 foot deep shaft, and retrieve whatever is at the bottom.

Unknown said...

As the author states I think we need to remember this is for entertainment rather than pure adventure ands if you take everything [ie all the little dramas] with a pinch of salt and go along for the ride you'll enjoy it more, however I do think they skate close to the edge by making the guys look a little dumb at times [while ironically trying to make them look clever] and they clearly aren't

Such as, letting the explosives guy loose on the trail in episode 1, in an area of notorious landslides we'll just blow some more mountain up? genius! come on that was just for show and letting the guy play with his toys!, Getting stuck on the road and making a makeshift wooden bridge and yet they have a back-hoe on the trailer? and not being able to locate a welder [even from the guys who leased them the back-hoe and had obviously welded it before] but yet they find welding rods -why do they sell welding rods when apparently no-one in Bolivia owns a welder? and then they make a make-shift welder - setup for the cameras and way to obvious! Come on - at least treat your audience like adults

I think they should be forced to do an archeology course first too - finding a bale seal is not PROOF the treasure went down the tunnel - I know they're excited and its wishful thinking but why does every tiny little discovery suddenly become proof by the next episode?


So much like the author I like to suspend belief, ignore the fact they think that we [the audience] are dumb and believe all those little set-ups and go along for the ride and the scenery

On a similar topic I can't work out if Pirate Traders is serious[ !], entertainment, comedy or as I treat it a fun little travelogue in exotic places

Leslieb127 said...

So, from what I've read from these posts, I can presume that the search for the treasure of the Sacambaya is over? Too bad. Guess I can delete it from my DVR search list. And as far as Oak Island is concerned, I have so many questions concerning the screwy logic of the depositors, that I'm convinced there is no treasure left. Samuel Ball found it. The End.

Unknown said...

After watching the final 2 episodes I have only more questions? 1/ Why when they have a back-hoe did they not carefully dig out the precious bell but drag it out forcefully possibly shattering it? other than to get the ringing scene of course! And why do they need to go back with a dive team? The gold bars where seen when the camera was on the end of the rod? not when they dropped the stone 100foot down the chasm, so surely they just need to go get the gold bars from the top of the lake?

Also, just take the back-hoe over, dig off the top for easy access, pump out the water and bingo! why dive? Also have they considered that may not be the location of the treasure but just a trap? Incas etc threw treasure into mines and pools to please the gods, Jesuits liked to hang onto it, more likely its in a more accessible area than down a 100foot drop they'd never retrieve it from

Anyway, roll on series 2, despite my misgivings I know I'll still be tuning in and still be grumbling at the script and the hammy acting the directors force the treasure hunters to do


Blue Eyes said...

So, when does the new season start?

Cork Graham said...

Perhaps this might clear things up... So You Want to Be a "Reality" TV Star: EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT SEX, DRUGS, FRAUD, ROCK AND ROLL, AND VIPERS AS TEAM LEADER OF DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S TREASURE QUEST: SNAKE ISLAND… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G5BBDPP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_B..4EbVFA8597

KRandle said...

Please contact me at KRandle993@aol.com. Thanks.

Unknown said...

All I know is I'd like to see what's going to happen next. I do believe they were going to get permits to dig/scuba for the rest of the treasure. I sure wish Discovery would do something!! Whether real or not...I'm hooked. Please go on with the Bolivian dig to keep my dreams alive!