Cocos Island is a national park of Costa Rica nearly halfway to the Galapagos Islands. Jacques Cousteau called it the most beautiful island in the world, Costa Ricans declared it one of its Seven Wonders, and it is a finalist as one of the Seven Wonders of the world.
Cocos lies about 340 miles off the Pacific shore on the way to the Galapagos. Though it is very small, its fame today comes from its underwater treasure. Some call this gem Shark Island because of the incredible number of sharks inhabiting its waters, along with a huge number and variety of other fish, sea turtles, whales, and porpoises. Considered by many to have the best big marine animal viewing on earth , experienced scuba divers brave 30 hour boat rides for a Costa Rica diving adventure of a lifetime.
The island has long been famous for pirates, real and imagined. Some people think that it served as inspiration for Robert Lewis Stevenson's famous adventure Treasure Island but real pirates often sailed to it to get away from the English fleet and to bury treasure. Indeed to this day two great treasures, called the Devonshire Treasure and the Lima Treasure, may still be buried there. How big are they? Think hundreds of millions of dollars.
Cocos Island is also the setting for Michael Crichton's famed novel---and Steven Spielberg's blockbuster movies---Jurassic Park.
The island is very isolated, hundreds of miles from any other land. Except for a few Costa Rica park rangers who are there to prevent its waters from poaching, it is uninhabited. That isolation has protected its rainforest from destruction and until recently its underwater splendor was also safe from depredation.
If you are one of the fortunate few who get to visit Cocos, you will need previous permission from the rangers to go ashore and you will not be allowed to camp overnight. But, as you walk the shores, thinking of pirates and imagining where the buried treasure is, you will see many rocks along the shore bearing inscriptions from sailors over the centuries. Way before Kilroy was here, sailors wrote their names and dates of visits. There is even find one bearing the name of Jacque Cousteau's son, who signed a rock a couple of decades ago.
About the Author:
Victor Krumm writes from Costa Rica. His acclaimed website about Costa Rica Vacations. Ever imagined learning how to surf? Check out www.costarica-discCosta Rica Surfing for world-famous beaches and incredible waves Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
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