We left a unique and spectacular Island to make landfall in another astonishing one. And they are completely different from one another. Isla del Coco has dramatic rock formations, steep hills covered by a rich forest all the way to water, the only break in green being he one from the many waterfalls coming down the mountains, falling into the sea.
The riches of the land are surpassed by the riches of the water. We snorkeled with huge schools of fish, small and large, and of course with the signature ones: hammerhead sharks. There were innumerous white tip sharks and James and Ron had a bull shark surrounding them. Under the boat there were more schools of fish, white tips and one day we had 2 large wahoos swimming around, just teasing us. The Island being a national park it is totally protected from fishing or any type of taking. We left no trash behind and we didn't take anything but photos. It rained a lot while we were there. One day it rained hard the entire day and night. The next day there were countless waterfalls coming down the entire sides of the island. Outside the bay we saw a massive tree being carried by the current. It gave us a taste of how strong the current was around there. I was glad to see that the tree was not going in the direction we were.
The park ranger, Victor, took us in a hike across the island. It was steep and muddy but it was worth every step. We went across a bridge the rangers had built completely with debris that washed ashore and fishing stuff apprehended from boats fishing illegally in the area. The trees on the hill top were completely covered with bromeliads. I never seen so many. I can just imagine what a magnificent site it will be when they bloom. And as it is with anything that man touches we also saw the devastating effect of invasive species introduced long ago, from pigs to deer to vines. Our permit was only for 5 days, so we sadness we lifted anchor and in an early cloudy morning we said hasta luego to the magnificent Isla del Coco.