Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
opening shot of
Jurassic Park,
where the helicopter sweeps over a tropical island? That
was here.
Isla del Coco (aka Cocos Island) is around 500km southwest of the mainland in the
middle of the eastern Pacific. As it's the most far-flung part of Costa Rica, you'll have to
pay through the nose to get here, though few other destinations in the country are as wildly
exotic and visually arresting.
As beautiful as the island may be, its terrestrial environs pale in comparison to what lies
beneath. Named by PADI as one of the world's top 10 dive spots, the surrounding waters
of Isla del Coco harbor abundant pelagics including one of the largest known schools of
hammerhead sharks in the world.
Since the island remains largely uninhabited and is closed to overnight visitors, visits re-
quire either a private yacht or a liveaboard dive vessel. While nondivers are certainly wel-
come to make the trip, it pays to have some significant underwater experience in your log-
book - sites around Isla del Coco are as challenging as they are breathtaking.
History
In 1526 Spanish explorer Joan Cabezas stumbled onto Isla del Coco, though it wasn't
noted on maps until its second discovery by French cartographer Nicolás Desliens in 1541.
In the centuries that followed, heavy rainfall attracted the attention of sailors, pirates and
whalers, who frequently stopped by for fresh water, coconuts and fresh seafood.
Between the late 17th and early 19th centuries, Isla del Coco became a way station for
pirates, who are rumored to have hidden countless treasures here. The most famous was
the storied Treasure of Lima, a trove of gold and silver ingots, gold laminae scavenged
from church domes and a solid-gold, life-sized sculpture of the Virgin Mary. 'X marks the
spot,' right? Not really. More than 500 treasure-hunting expeditions have found only fail-
ure. In fact, in 1869 the government of Costa Rica organized an official treasure hunt.
They didn't find anything, but the expedition resulted in Costa Rica taking possession of
the island, a treasure in itself.
Settlers arrived on the island in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, though their stay
on Isla del Coco was short-lived. However, they did leave behind domestic animals that
have since converted into feral populations of pigs, goats, cats and rats - all of which
threaten the natural wildlife.
