Cocos Island Costa Rica

A brief view of a great place…

by Marco Garrido

With almost 46.6 square kilometers, 24 kilometers of coastline and located two hundred and seventy miles Southeast of Costa Rica; Cocos Island represents a world known nature’s jewel which the memorable Jacques Ives Cousteau(1910-1997), scientific oceanograph, professional diver and filming director of sealife documentals, brougth up this island worldwide through the communication media together with his Calypsus’ Ship crew , in the late 80’s.

Cousteau deemed Cocos Island as ”the most beautiful island in the world…” and Michael Crichton wrote “Jurassic Park” with this place in mind. Cocos Island was inscribed as WORLD HERITAGE SITE in 1997 by UNESCO and more recently it has been nominated as candidate of the 2nd phase in the www.new7wonders.com world contest.

Exuberant vegetation typical of the tropical rainy climates and high level of rainfall generates abundant rivers of fresh and crystalline waters that cascade into the sea in waterfalls of extraordinary beauty.

A rugged shaped coastline full of steep cliffs, turns the island in an almost impregnable fortress which rises over 500 feet above sea level.

The only points of access are two bays: Chatham Bay and Wafer Bay, which are separated from each other by the “Presidio” Peninsula. Mount Iglesias which reaches an altitude of 2178 feet over the sea, is the island’s highest peak.

Since Cocos Island is first mentioned in 1541 in Nicolás Desliens cartographic map, it is assumed that it was discovered before that date. Nevertheless, its exact date of discovery is not known. In Desliens’ map it is identified as “Coques” (Inst. Geog. of C.R., pp. 33., 1964).

It is said that Cocos Island owes its name to the abundance of coconut palms and fruit. A captain by the name of Colnett mentioned having loaded 2000 coconuts onto his ship on a visit to the island in 1793.
                                              

                                 
                                                                                            

                                           NATURAL HISTORY

by: Fernando Cortes, National Park Service copyright National Parks Foundation, Costa Rica 

Cocos’ steep cliffs are remnants of íts volcanic origin, and the entire island is composed chiefly of lava flows of labocorite and andesite. The islets observed around the island are of columnar basalt. They serve as important nesting areas for marine birds like the Boobies, Seagulls and Noddies.

The origin of its fauna is mainly eastern Pacific, Galapagos and Central American mainland, but several groups, including some corals, are of Indo Pacific origin very few species are related to the Atlantic-Caribbean province.
At least 60 species of animals are endemic to the island, several of which are on the endangered species list.

Fortunately, the abrupt topography and the remoteness of the island have inhibited the establishment of permanent settlements therefore avoiding the destruction of the natural flora and fauna. 

 The flora of Cocos consists of 155 vascular and 48 nonvascular plants, of which about 15% are endemic. Several trails on the Island permit visitors to penetrate the enchanting forests of giant, moss-draped trees, dripping bromeliads, colossall tree ferns, svelte palms and tangled vines.

Many unanswered questions about the natural history of Cocos remain for example it is unknown if some of the fish populations live there permanently or migrate into the area periodically. Although current research is continually contributing to our knowledge of the island, basic information of the land and marine biota is needed.

“…Understanding the natural history of the island, park planners and managers will be better equipped to protect the island…”

 

Fifty-nine species of fish, ninety-seven molluscs, fifty-seven crustaceans, two lizards and seven land birds have been reported. The island has seventy-four species of birds, including three that are endemic: the Cocos Island Flycatcher, (Nesotricus ridgwayi ), Cocos Island Finch, (Pinaroloxias inornata) & the Cocos Island Cuckoo (Cocyzus ferrugineus) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most startling beautiful of all the birds that visit the island for nesting is the “Espíritu Santo” (White Tern) a small white species which often hovers in the air just a few feet above one’s head, totally unafraid of visit

ISLAND’S HISTORY AND THE LEGEND…

During the XVI, XVII, and XVIII centuries, the island served as refuge for pirates and whalers, and the occasional military reconnaissance mission. The pirates used to scour the American coastal waters, looting the Spanish ships of their rich cargoes which they subsequently hid before disposing of them. This has fueled the legend that on the island there lie hidden, great treasures just waiting to be discovered.

Among some of the most notorious pirates which are said to have used the island as a refuge and supposedly buried their treasures there are Captains Morgan, Edward Davis, and William Thompson. This is not really too likely since the pirates were all English, Dutch or French and they would have had to sail around the tip of South America to get to the island; a rather long and unlikely trip just to hide a treasure.

To return to Europe, they had to go down all the way around Cape Horn; this trip could take years.

In spite of the above, there is a story that apparently justifies the theory of the existence of a treasure in the island. It begins in the year 1820 in Perú, in the city of Lima, to be specific.

At that time, Lima was the site of a revolution and the Spanish authorities decided to protect their treasures by loading them aboard a ship in which they could take their riches with them should they have to sail away.

Unfortunately for the Spaniards, Captain Thompson was put in charge of safeguarding the ship and he simply took off with the booty sailing to Cocos island where he supposedly buried it. According to the story, he had to bury the treasure because the Spanish “armada”, once the revolution was under control, went after him.

Towards 1869, the then Costa Rican president Jesús Jimenez ordered the island formally included as part of Costa Rica’s territory. For this, he organized an expedition headed by don Rafael Oreamuno, who raised the Costa Rican flag for the first time on the island. Later, during the administration of Tomás Guardia it was used as a penal colony for political prisoners (1876-1882), (Inst. Geog. de C.R., Pag. 108, 1963).

In 1889, August Gissler arrived in Cocos island and was named Lieutenant Governor between 1897 and 1906.

Gissler, who devoted 18 years of his life to hunting the treasure, is the personification of the quest fever  for gold . Reportedly, in Hawaii, he met a man named Old Mack, who was said to be the grandson of one of the survivors of the looting of Lima.

On the basis of that story, Gissler never desisted in his search for the treasure, but to this day, no positive results have ever been forthcoming.

In spite of this, there is an oral tradition about a man named John Keating who was able to find the treasure hidden in the island and take part of it. Mr. Keating was a wealthy industrialist who, on his death bed, told his family of his experience on the island after a shipwreck, and how he was able to locate the treasure and rescue part of it (Raul Arias, UCR, 1995).

Today, there is widespread belief that there really is a great treasure buried in the island. Around the turn of the century, it was reckoned to be in the neighborhood of one hundred million Dollars. Be that as it may, the truth is that the island’s greatest treasures are its tropical beauty, its paradisiacal waters and its exuberant flora and fauna which have earned for it the status of PATRIMONY OF HUMANITY.
Best Of Cocos Island Part 1 of 3_YouTube