"TELL ME, O MUSE, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and
wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy." So begins
The Odyssey.
You are Odysseus, wily master of landways and seaways, king
of the island state of Ithaca, husband of Penelope and father of
Telemachus who has never met you.
10 long years ago, you sailed with twelve ships to fight in
the long Trojan Wars on the sands before the walls of the City of
Troy. And finally it was you, O wily Odysseus, who masterminded the
fall of Troy with the clever ruse of the Gift of the Trojan Horse
and led the final assault!
Now you set sail for Ithaca. But the Greek gods and goddesses
have other plans for you, and before you return to the arms of
Penelope, you must survive many more adventures.
O clever Odysseus, will you ever return to your kingdom?
Only the Fates know for sure.
And the Fates are not telling!
Into the Underworld
Now Odysseus, favorite of grey-eyed Athena, after spending
many months with Circe on her island, you resolve to leave.
But Circe warns you that you may not sail directly for
Ithaca. Instead you must now travel to the End of the Ocean. There
you need to enter into the Underworld of Hades, the dreaded Land of
the Dead wherein dwell the shadows of those who once lived their
lives upon the earth. In Hades you must seek the shade of the blind
seer Tiresias who has important information for you regarding your
voyage home.
But the shades who dwell in Hades no longer have the power to
speak to mortal men.
O clever Odysseus, how ever will you learn what you must from
the shade of Tiresias?
This cache contains one of the clues needed to find the puzzle
cache Tales of Odysseus: The Return of the King. Look in the
back of the logbook for the clue. In the Tales of Odysseus
series this cache follows Circe, Witch Goddess and precedes
The Sirens.
The story of the trip to the Underworld of Hades is told in Book XI
of The Odyssey.
Enjoy! And happy caching!
O wily 50sumtin!
And now, the tale's end ...
And so you sail to the End of the Ocean and enter into Hades
the Underworld. And there you are approached by the shades!
Warned by Circe that the shades cannot talk unless
re-animated with blood, you do as Circe instructed. You bleed a
sacrificed lamb. You hold all the other shades at bay with your
blade so that Tiresias may drink the blood.
Tiresias gives you warnings about your journey home and tells
you what you must do.
Cache owner's note:
For some months I have toyed with the idea of placing a series
of caches along the scenic Pacific coast north of Santa Cruz, each
of which would be in a scenic location near the ocean and would
also contain a clue for an overall connecting puzzle cache. And
while walking the coast at Wilder Ranch one day and taking in the
breath-taking scenic views, the Muses inspired me to make the
connecting theme for the series the adventures of Odysseus as told
in The Odyssey, as so much if not all of his homeward voyage
adventures occurred along coastal settings.
As of April 15, 2007, all of the caches associated with the
Tales of Odysseus series (including the puzzle cache) have
been placed.
I hope that you will find the series entertaining and enjoyable,
but if not at least scenic.
This particular cache will treat you to scenic views of Panther and
Yellow Banks Beaches from lands recently deeded to the California
State Parks. While there are cliffs nearby, the cache is
sufficiently away from them as to pose little danger while seeking
in good visibility. Still, I do not recommend seeking this cache
during periods of dense coastal fog.
The cache sets well back from the bluff trail.
And with luck you may see whales!