We left Marina Los Suenos where we were for two and half weeks doing…….boat projects! We got a lot of things done and Beach House is in as good as shape as ever. This is the dreaded fishing line that the pangas put out at dusk and collect at dawn. This is the only way they are marked and can be up to a half a mile long. We had to dodge several en route to Coco Island, 285 miles southwest of mainland Costa Rica. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This was the container ship “Morning Ninni” (love the name) en route to the Panama Canal and one of the things we have to watch out for on our passages. Coco Island, Costa Rica
At about 700 feet long, we just go behind these behemoths when we’re even close. We motored the entire way to Coco Island (2 1/2 days). Coco Island, Costa Rica
I was on watch, it was hot and Cindy thought she’d “chill” in the cockpit as it was pretty warm down below. Coco Island, Costa Rica
We arrived at night, but as Chatham Bay on the northeast side of the island was unobstructed, with our night vision scope we were able to anchor easily. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This was Isla Manuelita which turned out to be a dive site we did several times. There are hammerheads and LOTS of white tip sharks here as well as LOTS of other marine life. Coco Island, Costa Rica
We were pleasantly surprised to find that this island was lush and green as we had envisioned it. They say in Coco that it is raining or getting ready to rain. The lushness of the land tells the story. This was a dive boat from the Aggressor Fleet. We were waiting for our group “Sea Hunter” to show up the next day. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Moorings are used here at Coco to protect the coral. The island is very well protected and patrolled. Quite expensive to stay here, about 100.00 USD/day! In the background is one of the two Park Ranger stations here at Coco. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Coco Island, Costa Rica
The day before “Sea Hunter” arrived, we went ashore for a guided (required) tour of one of the three paths on the island. It is lush and thick jungle. The island is only 5 miles long and 2 1/2 mile wide but takes two days to walk to the highest point and back. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This is the main Ranger Station at the island where the 12 mile fishing zone is enforced by the Costa Rican Coast Guard. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This place like many others in the world has “business” to take care of. They have a morning huddle every day just like many of us do “at work”. Coco Island, Costa Rica
The world loses 175,000 sharks per day. That is NOT a misprint. This is gear that was confiscated by fisherman who insist on violating the Parks restricted waters. This is only a fraction of the confiscated gear. They have a strict (and enforce it!), 12 mile limit. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This is where the 20 or so park employees and volunteers live and eat. There are no permanent residents on the island. Coco Island, Costa Rica
If this looks a bit like “Lost”, well….it is. They did “Lost 2” here at Isla Coco. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This bridge was made out of confiscated fishing equipment and forges the river up to the waterfall which is one of the three hikes available through the jungle. Coco Island, Costa Rica
They are hopeful that the indigenous flora will eventually grow all over the bridge. It’s only about 1-2 years old. Coco Island, Costa Rica
It started pouring rain 5 minutes after this photo. The trail back became a muddy challenge. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Most of the power on Coco is provided by this very small hydroelectric dam and some solar. Here, Andrea our guide (from Corona, California) and Cindy walk across the fish ladder. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Though not native to the island, they sure were beautiful. The park is constantly trying to remove harmful introduced grasses and other non indiginous plants and animals. Coco Island, Costa Rica
We took our dinghy the 1/2 mile ride from Wafer Bay to Chatham Bay and saw this pass that went over a 100 yds through this small peninsula. We were told that people kayak and swim through here. Looked a little rough to us. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This pretty little waterfall was representative of dozens that we saw after the rains. This one was visible from our mooring at Chatham Bay. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This was a boat we saw in Costa Rica. It took 70 passengers for a 4 day stay and tour of the island. A few of the folks even went in a small 3 man submarine to see what we could with SCUBA. Though they of course could go much deeper. At 400.00/pp for an hour, we passed. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This was the other main landing point, Wafer Bay. Here is a 110 foot schooner preparing for their crossing to the Marquesas over 3000 miles to the south and west. There was a crew of nine on this delivery and we had seen them in Marina Los Suenos. We only saw 4 other private boats the entire 12 days we were here. Coco Island, Costa Rica
After about an hours hike, we came to the waterfall. There were certain fresh water “blennies” (fish) here that actually climbed the walls with modifed suckers on their fins. I couldn’t get a camera up to them, but they really looked cool. The hike was hot and steamy, the swim very refreshing…. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This was a boat we saw in Costa Rica. It took 70 passengers for a 4 day stay and tour of the island. A few of the folks even went in a small 3 man submarine to see what we could with SCUBA. Though they of course could go much deeper. At 400.00/pp for an hour, we passed. Coco Island, Costa Rica
On about our third day of diving, while hiding behind a rock as to not scare the hammerheads away, I landed right on a sea urchin….. OUCH!. Coco Island, Costa Rica
On the 25th, our “ride” arrived. We had Wilson Cadavid as dive guide, Raynor (mostly) as our driver. They and we were our own dive trip for the 7 days we dove at Coco. Coco Island, Costa Rica
In Spanish, congreo means crab. Apparently the dive guys in Spanish call the types of camera system I use; a Congreo!… Lots of folks wonder what it is I use to shoot underwater….now you can see it. It’s big….and heavy. Fortunately underwater is has “neutral buoyancy”. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Cindy and Raynor on a return from a dive. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Here was our diving “mother ship”, “Sea Hunter”. You can see the submarine cover on the back of the boat. Sea Hunter is one of three vessels owned by underwater photographer Avi Klapfer. The others are “Argo” and “Undersea Hunter”. Coco Island, Costa Rica
We had the option of diving with NITROX (NOT NITROUS OXIDE!). This is an air mixture which contains MORE oxygen and LESS nitrogen. In brief, it protects us against the “bends” and gives us more “bottom time” than we would otherwise have on straight air (which is what most divers and we usually dive with). Coco Island, Costa Rica
This is Roberto who is “the boss”. He is the operations manager for the “Undersea Hunter Group”. A native of Costa Rica, he speaks English, Spanish and fluent Hebrew!.. Roberto was terrific and we really appreciated his customer service. He even drove our dinghy on a few occasions. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This rock is famous on Coco as it has inscriptions from as far back as the 1700’s. This is the Chatham Bay landing and AFTER our dive trip was over, we spent several more days hiking and relaxing. Famous Pirates and Privateers were said to have burried fortunes in treasure on this island. Some was actually found on Isla Manuelita. The mother load from a Spanish Galleon is believed to be here. Current value would be over a billion dollars. The government has even tried to find it. So far, no luck…. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Folks, this hike was as tough as I’ve ever done. I walked up to the top of Mount Whitney in one day. This 2 hours reminded me of that experience! It says 2500 meters. Felt like 25 miles!….We only went 2/3rds of the way before we turned around. The skull was telling….. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Beautiful, steep, hot and steamy. Cindy calls these hikes, “death marches”….. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Vermiliads were everywhere. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This tree has vines that grow down over the top of other trees and act as a parasite. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Spider. A very interesting looking one at that. His web was completely across the trail about 12 feet. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This was as far as we were willing to go. I couldn’t imagine walking down into Wafer Bay and then back up the trail. Coco Island, Costa Rica
The trail here is fairly well marked. A friend of ours (20 years ago) hiked to a downed B-24 that crash landed on the island during World War 2. He was able to go the 2 1/2 miles each way to see the aircraft. It took him TWO DAYS!… The locals said no one has hiked to it in over 4 years and they’re not completely sure they could find it. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Isla Manuelita is in the far background. We were about 1500 feet up in the air. The island is a mite STEEP. Coco Island, Costa Rica
It’s hard to see in a photo, but look at the angle Cindy is walking down on the way back to Chatham Bay. It was like climbing stairs both ways. The waterfall hike was further than this but MUCH easier. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Cindy walks down, down, down…..(she did way better than I did ….don’t tell!) Coco Island, Costa Rica
You can see “Okeanos Aggressor” and “Beach House” in the background. Coco Island, Costa Rica
The trail looked like cake when we started. The first several hundred feet was in concrete including this plaque to “Lost 2” when it was filmed here in 2004. Coco Island, Costa Rica
This is Tito on the left and Menno on the right. Sorry, but I can’t remember the lovely ladies name. Tito spoke excellent English was the local Rastafarian (dread locks included). He collected the fees!….We had a permit and all the right papers so it was just “expensive”, not a hassle. The money is put to good use to protect this incredible Pacific paradise. Coco Island, Costa Rica
Goodbye Coco. We’ll miss you. You can see the entire length of the island as we left here in a rain squall. The island is constantly under the influence of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) which is where the northern and southern hemisphere weather systems meet. Though Coco is NOT subject to hurricanes, it is just north of here where they are spawned to travel parallel to the Central American and Mexican coastlines. Next stop GALAPAGOS!…450 miles to the south west. Coco Island, Costa Rica
