Adventures in Cocos Island, 1999
Author: Cristian Bendfeldt

Bienvenidos! Welcome! I am Mark and would like to welcome you onboard Okeanos. For the next 10 days we will do out best to make your stay with us a pleasant and safe one. Our crossing towards Isla de Cocos will take a day and a half and for those that have never endured an open ocean voyage we suggest you start taking seasickness medication. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to your crew. While he started presenting his crew you could just wander who Mark was. This "American Hoosier" had been sailing these waters for over 1 year. His laughter was strong, deep, and contagious, and his enthusiasm was ever present. Even though his Spanish was simple, the crew respected him. Mark would be our host, dive master, entertainer, voyage manager, and Jack of all trades for days to come.

The sweet sticky feeling of sea breeze was aphrodisiac like and the cool refreshing flavor of my rum and Coke were reminders of the good things to come. Salud! Salud! (Cheers, cheers,) Tzing..! Tzing..! where the sounds that came out of our glasses after the toast. The sky had turned into a bright orange canvas, typical from this time of the year and the group was slowly gathering on the different decks looking at the spectacle of this bright red sun loosing the battle against the huge robe of the night. Greek mythological Titans had formed from the clouds to witness this ephemeral duel that has taken place since the beginning of time. The background noise from the twin diesel engines would share our dreams, thoughts and conversations for long hours to come until the sudden sound of silence would announce our arrival. At a distance thunderstorm lighted the background and light showers were waving us good bye from the dock.

Cocos Island had been on my dream list for some time now and being so close to me I had never put my mind in just doing it. Going to Costa Rica from Guatemala is cheaper (I don't understand why) than going to Cozumel, so the excuses were drying out. Late June I called my college buddy and compadre Miguel, who is married to a "Tica" (the nickname we people in Central America refer to a female Costa Rican) and dropped the idea on his table. After a few seconds he said yes and he offered to call his in-laws that night. Next morning I received his call and he just says… it done! He had contacted the Okeanos Aggressor office in Costa Rica and had "miraculously" found space on the trip leaving Nov. 2. Some days later I found out that his wife had been pushing for a trip to visit her parents for some time now and he had accepted that first week of November. He now had an excuse for spending the next 10 days diving in Cocos with me, instead of a week at his in-laws. Swell guy. We arrived to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, after a very short one and a half-hour flight from Guatemala. After going through immigration, Miguel had planned a short visit to a business associate but that was canceled on the last minute so we decided to go straight up to the pick up point at the Amon Plaza Hotel in San Jose.

Costa Rica is a wonderful Country but I myself, being a Central American, have always felt they are very snobbish and they don't like being considered Central Americans. They have a great public education system, great national parks, no military forces and a solvent democratic tradition not seen anywhere else in Latin America but are heavily in debt. It's like your neighbor that drives a car of the year has a huge house, the kids attend private school, but it's making ends meet just to pay the minimum monthly installment on the credit card. Costa Rica is very much "Gringo" oriented and safe and has become the residence of many ex-pats and businesses so you'll hear English often. It offers the best Eco-tourism infrastructure of all the Central American countries and it's still small (4 million people in all C.R). Overall this is a beautiful country and you should plan a visit, sometime.

We left San Jose on an A/C shuttle bus following a westerly route on a trek that would take us some 2 hours on a winding road. Puntarenas is a sleepy fishing port on the Pacific Coast that has been rattled by tourist over the years. Hostels, Bed and Breakfasts, Plantations, Eco-farms etc. have been opened to cater this swarm of visitors in search for comfortable yet rustic accommodations. Embedded in the gulf of Nicoya, this town is not considered a deep-sea port and tides and currents play an important role on the naval traffic. We would have to wait a while for the next high tide to lift anchor and depart towards Cocos.

But, what have I learned about Cocos Island other that it's part of the same underwater ridge system that extends from the Galapagos, goes through Malpelo Islands in Colombia and ends at Costa Rica? The story starts during the early Spanish exploration era when a sailor called Juan Cabezas first laid eyes on it on the year of our lord 1526 as he would have said. The first cartographic reference came from a French Map a little over a decade after its discovery. Named "Ile de Coques" or Shell Island it was wrongfully translated phonetically by the Spaniards as Isla de Cocos or Coconut Islands. Over the centuries the name stuck.

Cocos Island claims to be the largest unpopulated island in the world (one internet-clip said 24 square km and another said 70 square km but I would go with the first number). Over the centuries It was known to be the temporary refuge of sea scoundrels and pirates and a trustworthy provider of fresh water for en-route boats, if you where able to find it. Being literally in the middle of nowhere, constantly surrounded by fog or dense clouds and at 300+ nautical miles southwest of the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, it takes navigation skills plus some 30+ hours to do the crossing on the nice modern ships of our time.

Cocos is one of the few places on earth that still rains more than you can imagine. I didn't investigate this deeply, so don't take this as a fact, but remember reading a report with something outrageous like 5000mm-8000mm of rain a year (16-27 ft). The northern shore has one large waterfall and the south shore has two that pour this fresh liquid asset into the sea. Early explorers just wondered how big the lake had to be since the waterfalls never dried out. Over time they discovered that there was no reservoir or lake and the water was simple rainwater in tremendous amounts. The complete island is covered with thick tropical rainforest and ships seeking refuge can still find it on Chatham and Wafer Bays on the Northwest coast and Iglesias Bay on the southeast side. This natural paradise has served as inspiration to stories like Treasure Island and more recently the remote island host of Jurassic Park. Considered the most important wildlife refuge of the National Park system of Costa Rica it was inducted to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1997. The remoteness, the lack of infrastructure and the few visitors a year has preserved this natural beauty for over four and a half centuries.

The trip to Puntarenas was uneventful so my mind was set into the drifting mode. Images of scalloped hammerheads, Mobula and Marbled rays, white tips and silky sharks and, if I was as lucky as our Diver to Diver board friend Wrasse, a sailfish filled my gray matter. In the back of my mind were also images of the little stuff, the horrible and elusive red lip batfish, the beautiful harlequin shrimp, snails and slugs that I enjoy so much filled the mental picture I was building in a collage like manner. I had such high expectations about the marine life to be encountered that I was starting to worry if I was not becoming biased by the stories heard and read from divers that had visited this remote paradise before me. The only hint that was given to us by Mark was that the cleaning stations were receiving a lot of hammerhead visits and this could yield for very good photo opportunities.

We boarded Okeanos late afternoon. Painted in marine white, this boat has 120' in length and was built in 1972 at an Italian shipyard to indulge the wealthy tastes of a tycoon. During her maiden days she traveled through out the Mediterranean visiting the "in" places of the Jet Set, hosting champagne parties and serving as a sun deck to topless beauties. As time went by it became one of the first Aggressor franchise boats after it was bought and refitted in 1986 to make it diver friendly. Two years ago it had some renovations done and it's still in good shape even if age is starting to show off. Consistent with the Aggressor quality the boat has all the amenities of a 5 star hotel with the obvious limitations of space and some signs of wear and tear. Since it was re-designed with divers in mind, working and photo tables, dive platforms, filling stations are all well appointed. You can take the sun on the third floor deck (if the sun ever comes out and the rain stops) and the main salon has TV, VCR etc. The dining area is separated from the main salon and includes buffet tables and sitting areas. The cabins, even if they are small, are well appointed and decorated. The wet bar is in the upper deck, but contrary to other Aggressor boats there is no Jacuzzi on this one. For diving, two inflatable boats are deployed for the short rides between the sites and the anchored boat. Night dives are the only time you dive off directly from the platform.

Dong! Dong! Dong! announced that dinner was served. After some short introductions the group had finally assembled and an international review of divers conformed it. The boat was 2 spaces short of being full and Swiss, German, Austrian, Guatemalan and Americans filled the dinning area and started sharing travel stories, diving adventures, and jokes.

To get to paradise you have to go through hell

Well that was my case. Miguel is the one that normally gets seasick so he was playing it extra safe. He was using a wristband, taking some pills and staying at close quarters. Thinking myself a "macho man" I just took some pills, had breakfast and moved around the boat freely. By ten my breakfast was already feeding the fish and my green face was a common denominator with half of the boat. By lunch only half of the guest showed up and half of the once that did we also "calling the subs" as Tiller mentioned in his report. The boat was really moving and the crew just to show their support was letting everyone know that this was one of the easy crossings. By dinner only a hand full of brave divers were enjoying their dinner. That night was a mixture of determination, concentration, and denial to a situation that was really nasty. The thunderstorms that waved us good bye at Puntarenas had brought some big swells and some rain and the rocking motion of the boat was a mixed bag of ups and downs topped with a side to side motion. Contrary to the high spirits of the first night, by eight the rumbling noise of the motors where our only companions to a long, long, long, night.

A few hours later the movements where not as intense as the cocktail party we had been invited since the early hours of the afternoon and the pitch movement of the boat was no longer an interminable rollercoaster ride to hell. With nothing more than a big 1 ½ liter container of bottled water as a companion I was able to catch some sleep and pray for this "mal de mer" to end. We had been lucky to be placed in Cabin No. 9 which is at the same foyer as the wet bar and our room was a little bigger than the other cabins. A better arrangement could not be expected and the extra space proved invaluable throughout the expedition.

The early morning sun light reminded me that our crossing was coming to an end and the god of foul weather and the witches of the secret sisterhood of the "mal de mer" had been defeated by this brave group of divers. Slowly, one by one, we started showing up with a fresh clean look after the morning shower to the mess hall. Fresh baked croissants and some fresh fruits where decorating the buffet table and a crewmember was taking orders for breakfast. The day was still gloomy and the overcasted skies and light rain did put some shivers down your spine. There in the horizon, among a huge boulder of clouds you could start making up a silhouette of this mysterious and phantasmagoric island called Cocos. Dolphins! Dolphins! Was overheard on the bow of the boat dragging everyone out of what they where doing to watch the spectacle. A nice pod was acting as ambassadors and greeting us welcome to this wonder of nature. There in the bow that gloomy and mysterious feeling overwhelmed all of the present and a mental picture of "Phantom´s" Skull Island filled my mind. Among the clouds you could partially see the sharp walls plunging into the sea and the strong surf carving up the stone shores. To all the young ones out there, the "Phantom" was a comic strip character that swore to defend humanity from pirates for generations to come. He lived in a secret Island called Skull island, rode a huge white stallion, carried a couple of colt 45´s on his belt and his pet was a wolf.

The boat did a slow approach to the protected waters of Chatham Bay. Half and hour later the crew had unloaded the two inflatable boats and you could start feeling the tension build up. An hour later we were ready to do a Check out dive.

Manuelita Island is the largest structure, other than Cocos, that can be considered an Island. At a north bearing from our moored position we were only few minutes away on the inflatables. Our check out dive would be on the area called the shallows.

Manuelita Shallows
72´ 55 min

The dive was an easy gear check out dive. The protocol asked for a maximum depth of 60´ and a maximum time of 55 min or 500 lbs. which ever came first. We did a back roll entry from the boat to become mesmerized with the amount of sea life present. The coral formations where unspectacular, dull and colorless and dropped easily from 25´ to 45´and the temperature was in the mid 70´s. The visibility was in the 50´s but you had so much to see that you didn't need to look far to complain about visibility. Grunts lined up in a military manner in groups that I had never seen before, Moorish idols wandered around turning at unison when you approached, an eel garden that extended all the way to your sight capabilities, marbles rays of up to 5´across were some of the treats. Two Green turtles and hundreds of starfish that laid down on the floor like a childrenlike painting with their sharp five extremities, almost perfect. Then without taking notice we where among the big boys. White tips in sizes from small babies to young 5 or 6 footers. Tangs, Surgeons, Bigeyes and lobsters, not even bothering in hiding away from the divers filled the little crevices, nooks or where minding their own business. Then as ghostly apparitions a small group of 5 or 6 hammerheads approached to check out the commotion. If this was our check out dive I could still be feeding the fish for another couple of days just to get here and have the chance to watch specimens of these perfect predatory machines.

Manuelita Wayward side
Counter Clockwise
98´45 min

We were dropped in the middle of the wayward side while the other group was dropped a few meters further north. They would do the clockwise turn while we would do the counter clockwise turn. As soon as we were dropped we had to get down the sloping wall and catch the current that would take us in that direction. The diving protocol from now on would be a max depth of 120´ and a maximum time of 55 minutes with a recommended safety stop of 5 minutes minimum. A cleaning station was sketched during the briefing session and we only had to find the group of barber fish (a member of the butterfly fish family) stay some feet away, find a small crevice, hide and wait. After a few minutes we spotted the place, grabbed our place on this natural theater to watch the show. Some moments later a small group of hammerheads approached to be serviced and groomed by the ever-faithful barbers. The huge mass of muscle and nerve had stand still for a moment to be enjoyed in an ahh inspiring way by us mortals. After some minutes there we drifted in the current enough time just to be checked out by a 6 ft silky. This stealthy looking creature moved out with a purpose, and a purpose only, turned away after our bubbles created enough disturbance. Getting close to the end of the island where the apex was formed, we swam a moment against the current just to end up again at Manuelita Shallows among two huge schools formed by hundreds of juvenile jacks swimming among us. God didn't create divers paradise, but this was a heck of a tryout!

Manuelita Wayward side
Clockwise
104´ 47 min

As Mark had said during all of our briefings the only sure thing about Cocos is that there is no sure thing. Change is the only constant ever present. By the afternoon our group would be doing Manuelita´s wayward side again but this time going in a clockwise manner. We were dropped in the same place as that morning and the current had picked up considerably. The current was so strong that this drift dive would become a roller coaster ride. We had been briefed again of the possibility of another cleaning station but you would have to hang on tight if you wanted to see anything. On the group, 3 of us had reef hooks that would become handy on this dive. Miguel my buddy didn't have one and by the time we got to the cleaning station he had to grab with all his strength to what latter we laughed about and called flagpole diving. Alberto (our other dive master), Mike (a guest dive master from the Turk and Caicos Aggressor) and I, hooked to the reef and started flying like kites on a nice windy afternoon. After a few minutes there Miguel signaled that he couldn't grab any more and waved good bye after signaling he would pair up with another buddy. The current was so strong that you had to face straight into the current or your facemask would be stripped away while still hanging by the reef hook. The cleaning station was declared empty after some minutes there and we declared officially the hammerheads to be no-shows that afternoon. We started drifting at an amazing speed when suddenly an up current grabbed Mike and me. So violent was our ascent that I'm sure we did 80 to 20ft in 10 seconds flat. When I think back, everything comes again in slow motion and my only response was to open the dump valve and exhale as strong as I could. I was able to swim away from the up current and regain control but I have to admit I was shaky. Still drifting along the wall I found a place where the current was a little slower and was able to cling to the wall for a while and descend again. I took some deep breaths, relaxed and regained control of myself. Mike was a little behind me and as soon as he drifted pass me I let the wall go and continued on our rollercoaster ride. We did an extended safety stop just to play it safe. Mark´s words came back to me again. "At Cocos the only sure thing is that there is no sure thing. Change is the only constant ever-present"

Reef hook.... Ha.... Take your "cojones" with you.

That expression shared with some of the crewmembers of the boat is what best can define the conditions we found at Dirty Rock. We did this site several times over the days and again Mark's words "the only sure thing at Cocos is change" came back immediately after each back roll entry. Dirty Rock is on the north West Side of the Island very close to Wafer Bay. We did this area for some days since going to the south side would be out of the question, the conditions we faced during most of the trip where windy, rainy, sunny, windy, rainy in no particular order and during unthinkable intervals. Dirty Rock is a small pinnacle that raises from the deep and breaks into the blue skies with no vegetation and enough bird droppings on it to give it it's name. The main pinnacle drops vertically to a sandy bottom that starts at 105 feet into the abyss and then a small group of sea mounds that start at 85, 60 and 90 feet following on a north bearing. Here are three different log book entries of the same place.

Nov 5 early morning dive
95´ 50 min

Ready, now! Where the words out of Harold, our boat captain, while he supervised that everyone did their back roll entries on the right spot. The seas where calm, the visibility was in the high 50´s, the water was in the mid 70´s and the currents were forgiving. We were greeted by a cruising school of marbled mantas moving so gracefully that painfully reminded everyone how clumsy we move under water. 15 to 20 healthy specimens that ranged from 3 to 6 feet across and that where not interested in moving out of the way. While down there, I'm sure I overheard "You are the intruder, you move away, damn you diver!" With the rock at our right hand side we drifted slowly until we encountered a huge schools of Jacks. If we could have counted them I'm sure there where a thousand of them. A small group of white tips where sleeping on the bottom. Pepe, another of my Friends that joined us in this expedition, had already lost all respect for them and just laid down beside the group and started video taping them so close that one by one they started moving away just to give him space inside the sandy cave. When we saw his tape that night you couldn't believe how close you can get to them. After seeing so much pelagic life everywhere you forget all the little stuff also. Sharks are what make Cocos famous, but you wouldn't imagine how many colorful puffer fish there are. Yellow, spiny, gray, pacificblue, spotted white, spotted yellow. Small as one inch and as big as 2 feet this fish are remarkable and you get to like them (and yes I confess that I harassed them a little just to get them puffed). I'm not even mentioning lobsters since there are so many and I get so hungry about them (and you can not even think of eating them). Green pigmented Flounders, eels (green, tiger, zebra and the beautiful Snowflake) where some of the other species that you find so easily that forget how uncommon they have become in other locations. Our nitrox fills didn't prolong enough our bottom time to become satisfied with what nature was showing us, but each diver picked up by the zodiac wore a huge smile on the way back to the boat as a complementary part of their gear.

Dirty Rock
Nov 5 Late afternoon
115´ 42 min

The Zodiac was huffing and puffing just to get us there. The overcastted skies had dropped the surface temperature, there was a light rain and the swells were big enough to spray everyone constantly on our way there. As soon as we back rolled we notice that our mild drift was now a strong and fast current. The visibility was still around 50´ and we had to fight our way to get to the other underwater sea mounds that lay northward of Dirty Rock. Going to these mounds a cleaning station was in progress and we where delighted by the presence of hammerheads. I can not say how many of them since we could just make up shadows beyond 50´ but the 10 or 15 that where close, got really close. Once we spotted where the barber fish were we took again our place on this natural theater, grabbed a rock, hold our breaths and one by one, the big predators of the oceans would approach for service. My thoughts were; thank god for the "El Niño". Mark had mentioned that it was possible that due to the high water temperatures and lousy conditions of the previous year sharks had developed lots of fungii. Being them deeper than usual the barber fish and the king angel fish had not been able to clean the out. Now it was a different story. Cleaning stations where found almost at every site and once you find them you can never get enough of these predators high above in the food chain. Their phony looking head, their menacing teeth, and their bodies covered with some kind of sleek, stealthy material make you wonder and think how perfect these creatures are. Since our check out dive I had been battling with my mask since it was leaking horribly. I don't know if I'm wearing it to tight, or too loose but did try both things and it didn't fix the problem. I'm beginning to think that I have some knew face wrinkles since my last dive trip. While clearing the mask I raised my sight just to become mesmerized by a huge yellow fin tuna that could have fed the entire boat for the week to come. This beautiful, blue and yellow fish was some 300 lbs. and moved at such a high speed that if you blink you loose. My mouth was wide open and I was amazed with such amounts of marine life that I couldn't have imagined in such vast numbers. What made me drop the regulator out of my mouth was when I saw a pod of 20 to 30 dolphins some 50 to 60 feet away from me and against the few rays of sun that were getting through. The graceful downward motion of their tails called for no mistake. Their role in this mental film was brief but it became the necessary ingredient to make it become a classic. One that I will be able to play over and over again, here in my head, for the rest of my life.

Dirty Rock
Nov 6 Noon time
89´ 39min

Among the most challenging dives during the expedition. The group started fine, we did our back roll entries as we had done previously but the current was so strong that we had to fight, huff and puff, cling to rocks and literally go hand by hand against the current just to get to catch the other current that would allow us to do this dive in a clockwise manner. Half of the group got separated immediately and turned out going counterclockwise since they didn't make it. The current was hitting directly on the drop point and as soon as it hit the rock it split in half. The northerly underwater mounds had proven to be a great sighting place for hammerheads and everyone had planned in going there. The separated divers would have to go around the rock and if their air supply would last, they would get a chance on reaching the mounds. The current was so strong that as soon as I snatched the reef hook the 8-foot long silk rope could have be used as guitar string. Later comments in the boat, from people that had gone to Palau referred to this experience as the most challenging currents they have tried. Hanging there for a while was great, even if the visibility had dropped to 20-30 ft you could seen again the thousands of Jacks with their silvery color and their males willing to mate dressed in black (the male Jack changes color to a dark black during mating season). We couldn't get to the other mounds and we go to see no hammerheads this time. But just the thrill to do a superman like drift dive, or clinging against the currents among thousand of Jacks that were less than a foot away proved to be rewarding enough. And yes the reef hook could have been left of the boat, but "Cojones" you had to bring them along just to fight, drift, and dive Dirty Rock this day.

More diving highlights

Over the days there were several dives that deserve special mention but I couldn't relate a narrative story between them so I´ll just try to recapture them to the best of my recall, so here they come:

Punta Maria
Early Morning
Nov 5
105´ 42min.

Punta Maria is on the South West End of the Island, very close to another famous site called Dos Amigos. The weather conditions to the southern part of the island had been difficult over the days and we where lucky we finally did a couple of dives on the south side. Earlier in the morning a crewmember had been to the dive site and dropped a marker line over the submerged pinnacle. The seas where high, the wind had picked up and if by any chance you loose your guide line and the currents take you away, you would have no chance of finding the site again. This pinnacle has a plateau that rises to 70 feet; a sand channel at 105´and a couple more pinnacles on a northwest bearing which proved to be where the action was. At the beginning the life was scarce but as soon as we moved to the other northward pinnacles, you where impressed with the amount of life. The current was ripping and the thermocline dropped the temperature to 68 F. My 3-millimeter wetsuit gave me little protection but I just moved a little up to gain some warmth. This pinnacle had more sharks swimming together than any of the previous sites. Five different species of fish schooled in huge groups, and the array of colors they presented gave you a collage picture in yellows, blues, browns, and reds. At least 150 white tips where hanging almost motionless against the current while us clumsy divers were huffing and puffing. I reached for my reef hook out of the BC pocket strapped myself to the rocky bottom, punched in a little air and flied and watched the show. Being there motionless they would approach to less than 1 ft. away. If someone asks me, I can now tell that I rub elbows (literally) with sharks, not loansharks but hundreds or white tips at Punta Maria.

Manuelita Rock
101´50min
Nov. 7

Again we were not blessed by a good visibility. At less than 30´you really had to open your eyes to make something out of all the marine life. With the current running in a clockwise manner and dropped on the wayward side of the island we where ready for the ride. A cleaning station was spotted and we just hang around it for some minutes, waiting for the hammerheads to show up. Once the action stopped there we continued drifting towards the apex of the island. The previous time we had done this site the current was violent, this time we could take it a little more relaxed. Once on the apex, I turned around against the current, placed the reef hook on the almost vertical wall and waited. In minutes a Group of 50+ white tips hang around just waiting for something to come down current. I felt just like one more of them. They got as close as a foot away and flying with the reef hook made me take the current very much in their same way. If the current slightly changed direction, and they moved at unison, I became one more of them. Hanging there, Miguel and Don appeared and I let go of the wall and we where literally slingshotted towards the outer blue. Getting near the Deco limits we ascended and did our safety stop. On the surface the day was still nice, and we had drifted about ¼ mile off Manuelita. The boat was no where near until Miguel and Don spotted it another ¼ mile into the ocean. Someone in the group had drifted further away than us. I don't know why Miguel looked under the water until he just lets us know to look below. "Guys I think we have visitors" came out of his breaking voice. A group of 12 Silky sharks were circling us, closer and closer with every pass. We blew our dive alert horns but the boat would be still 10 minutes away. The dozen silkies (yes a dozen, and I did counted them) varied from some 4 footers to a group that where way beyond 6 feet. You knew by their green menacing eyes you where being checked, over and over with each pass, each time closer and closer. Swimming "with a purpose" some got to be real curious almost bumping Miguel´s fins passing at less than 2 inches away from us and this time our hearts where pounding and our dive alerts where blowing and blowing. Any body else writing this report could have said, "yeah, it was cool". No Sir not me. One or two I wouldn't care but a dozen and some as big as us it was fearsome. Miguel got a little more nervous than we did and in the distance the boat was approaching to pick us up. With all the noise we where making other divers in the boat asked what was it all about. Before answering the only thing we really wanted was getting out of the water. Once we told them what was going on Frank, got his camera, fins and snorkel and got in the water. One or two minutes later he was back in the boat pale as we had been. Manuelita drifting and slingshotted into the blue will remain with me for some time.

Submerged Rock
Nov. 9
South side of the Island
105´ 45 min

This was also an excellent dive. This pinnacle drops from a shallow part at 4-5 feet underwater, has a couple of Plateaus at 20 and 40 and a swim-through at 60´right in the middle of pinnacle. The falling walls drop to 120 into a sandy bottom. We went down to 105´ and swam our way back to 60´where most of the life was concentrated. A group of King Angel Fish had established cleaning stations with some Hammerhead specials for the day. Just hanging around, clinging to a rock, waiting for the "boys" to show up was a treat. They didn't mind our bubbles and where more interested in getting cleaned than anything else. We where able to get as close as 5 feet away and the guys with video got some great footage. Submerged Rock proved to be perspiring with life. Two huge schools of yellow stripped and yellow finned snappers occupied all of the swim-through and you had to literally move them away just to get through. A huge 4-foot Dogtooth snapper was watching the entrance like a toll collector. Checking around the rock was easily done and the visibility was better than at other places. Suddenly a school of fish got disturbed and they all moved violently at unison opening up the space for a fast moving Yellow fin tuna in search for breakfast. My safety stop was done clinging to a wall on the southwestern area of the rock, delighted by all the action of the Galapagos Barnacle Blennies. With their huge eyes and big mouth they would be really scary if they got to grow more than the 1-inch length these little fish are. I don't know if it was just because we were finally doing dives at the south side of the island that this dive became memorable in my mind. But if I close my eyes the swim-through and the thousands of snappers are fresh as this morning's orange juice.

Alcyone
Nov 9
101´35min

Finally the weather was good enough to do this famous underwater mound. Starting at 80´Alcyone is a group of underwater mounds that rise from the abyss in the middle of nowhere. The seas where choppy and the ride on the zodiacs took some 20 minutes. Our captain knew how to get us there using only a group of simple alignments between reference points on land. When he was ready to drop an anchor we noticed that the Undersea Hunter had already marked the place since a Japanese film team was still working on the island after some 20 days now with them. We were briefed to descend using the line since the currents could sweep you away very easily. The visibility was very low with a max of 30´ but we where in for a treat. We backed rolled into the water and started descending into the blue following only the line. Once on the mound we could just made up the shadowy images of a huge school of hammerheads in the distance. They would not come closer and you could just see the ones that where very close. I couldn't locate any cleaning stations so my mind was set into the reconnaissance mode. I finished pairing up with Mark, our trip director, and that turned out to be a great draw of luck. His keen eye identified over a dozen octopii in a space less than 100 square feet and hundreds of starfish could be found on the turn of your head. Zebra and gray spotted eels hiding in several crevises and we where delighted with a snake eel. Life was so rich at this mound that you just dreamed to have good visibility to let you enjoy its entire splendor. A huge group of White tips were on the sandy bottom just doing their own stuff and the Hammerheads just barely showed themselves through the muck of nutrients this waters had. We played with the octopii for a while until one became so annoyed that he sprayed his ink and fled. To make the best from the poor visibility, the little stuff where the showstoppers until our computers were putting us near deco time. This second deep dive of the day had come to an end and had left a feeling of just wanting to go back again. Divers among group 1 had the good fortune of doing their safety stop at the presence of a huge sailfish. We just had the menacing visit of a single silky some 6´in length that stayed through the entire safety stop until the boat showed up. Alcyone, Greek goddess of the wind, gave us a glimpse of its beauty and reminded us mortals the power and grandeur of nature.

Silverado
Nov 9
40´for 45 min.

While getting ready for the diving someone spotted a huge pod of dolphins just playing near where the boat was moored. We geared up a headed towards them. We had the intention of watching them before heading for our dive site. Shy as they can be, some of us just slided carefully into the water but as soon as we got in they just swam faster and further away. However the huge pod of Dolphins where replaced by the open water ever curious silky sharks. Another group of 10 of them gathered immediately around the few of us that where floating in the water and their piercing eyes penetrated our bodies with each pass that they did. Fast and hydrodynamic as they can be, you can't pose any competition against any of these animals when confronting them in group. Having this time the comfort and security of being a few feet away from the boat and not ½ mile away as my last encounter with them, I started snorkeling and free diving among them. Ha! What a difference a boat makes. My attitude had changed from passive and scared to active and confrontational. This time I don't know who was checking whom.

Silverado is a shallow spot southward of Chatham bay. To get there we went by a rock called Ulloa that host hundreds of Bobbie birds that where nursing their young white feathered chicks. The sights were impressive but the smell was pungent. Silverado is a rocky bottom that drops easily to 45´ into a sandy bottom. The protocol was easy. Just drop and hang a while at the edge of the sandy bottom. If we where patient we would be in for a treat. As soon as we back rolled a 4´silver tip came close to checked us out. This was the species we wanted to spot at Silverado. With their pointy nose and sleek features they are from the same Charcarias Family of the Silky, Bull, Blue and Reef sharks. Fast, aggressive but much more muscular that the silkies, the silver tips also have menacing eyes and large, much larger muscular bodies than the smoothie ones. Hanging there, still as you could be, a group of 5 or 6 Silver tips just came closer and closer with every pass. One was as big as an ocean Kayak and only during this dive I felt the need for looking behind my back. Hammerheads are menacing muscled predators also but seeing them in such vast numbers and at almost every dive you loose a little respect for them over the week. White tips you've lost respect for them after the second dive but these silver sleek beauties were intimidating and their barrel size chest and pointy features looked more like a great white and scarier to me than anything else we encountered during the week. After a while they disappeared as fast as they had appeared, and I decided to move and explore. The rest of the divers that stayed in the area had the luck of videotaping an eagle ray. I missed it because of my impatience but was delighted to find a huge school of surgeons intermingling with a school of triggers. Being the third dive of the day my body was shivering from all the diving during he week but the grin of satisfaction couldn't be wiped off our faces, no matter what.

A visit to Treasure Island and Final thoughs

We skipped an afternoon of diving to visit the Island when the boat was moored on Wafer Bay. Hugo one of the Park Rangers that had made the crossing with us invited the crazy Guatemalans to a Park visit. Our two-hour hike would take us from the sandy Bay of Wafer to the rocky shoals of Chatham, across a mountainous ridge and through this emerald green island. Mark made all the arrangements and called via radio to the ranger station soon after lunch. Once he had the confirmation, the zodiac was ready and he did a last roll call for anybody else to join us on this hiking trip. To our great surprise, Frank, Kevin and Nic decided to join us. Frank is a "southern boy" from Alabama, whose dark humor made me laugh with all his comments and whose' "special" redneck accent was a joke just to listen. Kevin, a computer wizard from Illinois was a little shy at first but I'm sure that he was having a good time listening to all the jokes and pranks we were pulling (first among ourselves and later among the entire group during the week). Nic was a chiropractor from Minnesota that was travelling with Don; a 6'5" Viking like character that was the total opposite from our Pepe at 5' 3". The two of them had adapted very easily to the light and cheerful attitude we Guatemalans had during the trip. Chubby, our cabin boy and the boat's Chef, who unfortunately I don't remember his name finished up the roll call.

Wafer Bay hosts the main complex for the Park Rangers and their installations are pristine. Our hike would take us through a trail that was steep and would make us reach the summit of this side of the island in an hour. The trail was well marked and in some places the Rangers had placed some ropes to help continue through this trail of stones, mud and lush tropical environment. Our bodies where sweaty and the inclination in some places was beyond 30%. The afternoon was beautiful and for the first time in some days the sun was holding for a period of time beyond 30 minutes. The tropical rainforest was overwhelming and the smell of rotting leaves coming though the muddy soil felt like perfume after all the days we had spend living at sea. After some minutes into the hike the forest gave us a break where we stopped. The sight of Wafer Bay below, adorned by the cloudy white Okeanos made for a "Kodak moment" and some snapshots. Along the trek Hugo would take his time to wait for the slow ones and would point out flora and talk about the fauna. He would also take the opportunity to talk about the impact of man throughout time in the island. All in all, this hike was also one of the highlights of this trip. We reached Chatham Bay before Okeanos would return to sleep for the night on its protected waters. The station there was smaller but also pristine and the small neighboring river that flowed into the sea provided refreshing cold water to clean the mud and sweat from this short but strenuous hike. Cigarettes where shared and pictures where taken under the nice sign that said "Bienvenidos a la Isla de Cocos" while a duel of joke telling developed between Hugo and Pepe. The low tide was slowly unfolding to reveal a beautiful sandy beach and delight us with another of Cocos Island's treasures. Over the centuries, visitors had chiseled their names on the rocks and granite blocks with entries dating back to the seventeen century. Captain Morgan and more recently the late Jaques Cousteau are among the "who is who" of this perennial guest book to this wonder of nature. At the distance Okeanos was coming back through the channel formed between the main Cocos and Manuelita Island to pick a group of happy campers that would have another everlasting travelling log entry.

Final Thoughts

I would like to thank all the crewmembers of Okeanos for a most rewarding trip. Mark, Alberto, Harold, Eduardo, Juan, Chubby, and the kitchen crew did a wonderful job to make us feel at home. Would I go back? Tomorrow if I could!

The group of guests (at least all that conformed diving group No.2) couldn't develop a better cohetion throughout the trip. I'm glad that there were no long faces and that after a couple of days together everyone was telling jokes and pulling pranks among ourselves. Kevin I'm sorry to have pulled your fin when we encountered the silkies after the pod of dolphins, it was "unintentional" LOL. I'm sure your scream made them dissapear right after that. Frank I'm sorry that I got you lost. I promise that I'll work on my navigation skills, but remember at the end we had a better dive than most of the guys. I'm honored to have met all of you guys (Nic, Don, Frank, Kevin, Neil) and hope you don't develop a wrongfull image of us four crazy Guatemalans that were just trying to have a good time...all the time.

I'll probably get flamed by the following paragraphs but here are my final thoughs about Cocos. Difficult to get to but worth every stomach convultion I had during the crossing. Cocos is up until today the diving destination where I have encountered the most abundant fishlife. Maybe not the most diverse but the most abundant among the species we encountered. Everything here is measured by the hundreds or thousands.

(Please take note that I'm not endorsing any type of irresponsable diving) Cocos is a place for divers that know how to handle themselves and not for hand held divers that need a dive master to tell them what to do,when to do it or guide (heard) them around. I'm not exagerating when I say that all of us, among diving group # 2, broke most of the diving taboos sometime during this trip. Most, at least once, got to do mandatory Deco stops or were pushing limits of O2 toxicity. We did many days of reverse profiles (to continue with the controversy presented on this board some weeks ago). Solo diving (I would estimate that half of the time during most of the dives) became the norm not an exception and the ones that ran low on air would surface by themselves. The 500psi limit was respected most of the time but if someone went into Deco or felt prudent to do an extended safety stop you wouldn't mind going beyond this limit just to avoid getting locked out by the computer or playing it safe. BC's were never inflated during back roll entries and as soon as we hit the water down we went like rockets. Currents were challeging and we did push our limits most of the times. And finally I confess that peeing in your wet suit during a thermocline is almost as good as having sex.

Help is 36 hours away, so if you will push any limits you better know what you are doing and feel confortable with the risks. If this is too adventurous for you, dive masters are there to take you by the hand. If you need this, they will probably make you feel confortable but be prepared for surprisingly close big fish encounters, lots of tricky currents, low visibility and constant change. Before making this your destination you better log some dives, develop some self confidence and work on your biceps to pull you back into the boat each time. By the end of the week elbows, biceps and triceps where one more sore thing to take care.

For now I will log off until my wallet and my office will let me enjoy more diving adventures. Who knows, maybe the Komodo Dragons of Indonesia or the seldomly dived sites of Christmas Islands or the beautiful sunsets from Taveuni could make an entry into my travel log book soon.

Hope you enjoyed this trip see you soon.
El Buzo

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