To kick-start 2008, I traveled halfway around the globe to fulfill one of my greatest dream to the remote Isla de Cocos, better known as Cocos Island for some of the wildest and most adventurous diving experiences.
Cocos Island is situated 375 nautical miles out in the Eastern Pacific, off the coast of Costa Rica. The main Island covers an area of approximately 24 square kilometers, the majority of which is covered in dense tropical rain forest. The landscape is very rugged, thus forming many waterfalls, some of which are spectacular as they plummet from great heights to the sea. Cocos Island was granted UNESCO recognition as a World Heritage Site in 1997 and has a 12 nautical miles fishing exclusion zone for commercial and sport fishing around the perimeter of the island. Rangers of the Costa Rican Parks Service, who maintain two ranger stations on the island, the only human habitation now remaining on its shores, administer the island.
Getting to Costa Rica - Zooming through different time zones
31st Dec 2007: After settling a minor glitch with the airline, I departed Singapore via Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong before connecting to Los Angeles. After a 4-hour lay over, I then flew with TACA on another 6 hours flight to San Jose in Costa Rica. Total flight time ~ 30 hours. Phew, what a lengthy and exhausting journey and guess I must have celebrated two New Years Day on the airplanes. Upon arriving at San Jose airport, I cleared immigration and customs without any hassle but was amused by the immigration officers. I think they must not have met many Asian, particularly from Singapore so they were passing around my passport and each one examining my stamps on the pages. I was then picked up and transferred to Grano de Oro, a nice and orderly ran hotel, which was arranged by Alan from the Undersea Hunter.
San Jose - The long Wait for Chris
1st Jan 2008: After checking into the hotel, I took a few hours nap to try and recover from the jet lag induced by the traveling. Chris will be flying in from Miami and his flight was scheduled to touch down at 4pm. He was supposed to meet me at the hotel by 5pm but at 6pm, he was still nowhere in sight. I went down to the front-desk and logged onto the internet to check on his flight status and found out that it had been cancelled. Jesus Christ! What should I do now?? He does not have an US mobile number and I was feeling loss. Then I got a call from Irene (I hope I got her name right) of Undersea Hunter and she helped me to call American Airlines. But upon checking, they said that there were two Chris with the same name on that flight and they wont give her any details unless we can provide them with the booking number for security reasons. I decided to call American Airlines myself and luckily I have Chriss address that he used to book his flight and finally gotten the answer that he was re-scheduled to fly into San Jose at 2pm the next day. I called Undersea Hunter to arrange pick-up for him and then I sent him an email hoping that he will get to read it. Feeling relieved but disappointed, I went back to the room, ordered room service for dinner, showered before hitting to town for some gambling fix at the Casino to kill my boredom. After 2 hours at the jackpot machines, I lost 100 USD and reckoned that this was not a very good start to the New Year so I headed back to the hotel to check to see if there is any news from Chris. Finally, I got an email from him confirming his flight status and off I went to slumber land.
2nd Jan 2008: Woke up late to a chilly morning, had breakfast and decided to take a little walk around the area near the hotel. Found nothing very interesting and went back to the hotel to check on Chriss flight status at noon, found that it was delayed for 30 minutes so I went back to the room to stare at the rectangular box, TV i.e. while I waited. I checked that the flight has landed at 2.25pm and was expecting him to be at the hotel by 3pm, but as each minute ticked by, there is still no sight of him. By 4.30pm, I decided to call Undersea Hunter and Alan told me that the driver has just picked him up and they should be at the hotel in 30 minutes. What a relief! We were both starving by the time we met; ordered room service, did some catching up before retiring for the night and looking forward to the Big day.
** The bottom line is, plan plenty of time for your arrival to San Jose to avoid problems. Once the boat leaves for Cocos you can't catch up with it.
Getting to Cocos Island Sailing into Sunset, Sunrise and another Sunset
3rd Jan 2008: The day before boat departure, Undersea Hunter will leave you a note at the hotel with the pick-up time for the following day and a representative will call you in the evening to confirm the schedule. Grano de Oro is one of the few hotels that the Undersea Hunter bus will pick you for the ride from San Jose to the coastal town of Puntarenas where the boat is docked. We were picked up at 7.15am sharp and the trip takes about 3 hours through lush forests and rich farmlands of the region, with a pit stop where you can have some snacks and see some butterflies. Along the way, our friendly tour guide highlighted to us various crop plantations, gave comments and would gladly answered any queries asked.
Once at Puntarenas, dive master, Manuel greeted us and we were ushered to board our 'mother ship' the Undersea Hunter while the other crewmember quickly transferred our gears on-board. It was crucial for us to set sail at 11am, which was high tide on that day. The journey to Cocos takes approximately 32 hours across open and exposed water. There may have been a little roll here and there but the crossing was considered quite smooth on our trip. While en-route, we got briefed on boat rules and assigned our cabins. We also set up our dive gears and the dive masters collected our C-cards/Nitrox certification, asked us our dive experience and most recent dives and briefed us on the diving and safety rules. Each one of us was given a safety sausage, an EPIRB transmitter (the signal of which could be received by any boat within a range of 8 miles) and a torch that was attached to the BC throughout the week. We were also introduced to the crew Luis (the captain), Juan Manuel and Puis (dive masters), Manuel Campos and Youdi (panga drivers), Chico (the chef), Pedro (the barman) and Mackey (the engineer). The boat sailed into sunset, sunrise and another sunset; I spent most of these enduring transit moments sleeping, eating and watching DVDs. Chris told me he saw some dolphins from the deck.
The Boat: Undersea Hunter Our Floating Home
The 90 feet Undersea Hunter is a truly outstanding dive boat. Being all steel and heavy, it is very stable in a rough sea. It can accommodate a maximum of 14 divers in 7 staterooms, all en-suite, roomy and comfortable. The salon/dining area is functional and large enough for all 14 passengers and several crewmembers to eat or watch videos at the same time. The boat also has a sundeck above the salon, pretty small area but it makes for a nice spot to off-gas after a dive.
The dive deck is huge and there is plenty of room for donning wetsuits. Each diver was allocated a tank pod labeled with your name and a footlocker in which you can store huge amounts of gear. There is a 3-tiered camera storage areas complete with charging facilities, both for 110 and 220 volts power plugs. In addition to that, there is also a large camera rinse tank, a fresh water shower and hose for rinsing. Towels were always available after each dive and we were told to return them to a designated basket after we dry ourselves so that the crew could re-wash and dry them.
The meals were buffet style and were very good, varied and plentiful. Warm snacks and fresh fruits were served after each dive, except for the ones before lunch. A wide variety of drinks, including two kinds of beer were permanently available in the refrigerator. Tea and coffee, made from an Italian coffee maker, different types of cookies and chips were also available throughout the week.
Cocos Island is situated 375 nautical miles out in the Eastern Pacific, off the coast of Costa Rica. The main Island covers an area of approximately 24 square kilometers, the majority of which is covered in dense tropical rain forest. The landscape is very rugged, thus forming many waterfalls, some of which are spectacular as they plummet from great heights to the sea. Cocos Island was granted UNESCO recognition as a World Heritage Site in 1997 and has a 12 nautical miles fishing exclusion zone for commercial and sport fishing around the perimeter of the island. Rangers of the Costa Rican Parks Service, who maintain two ranger stations on the island, the only human habitation now remaining on its shores, administer the island.
Getting to Costa Rica - Zooming through different time zones
31st Dec 2007: After settling a minor glitch with the airline, I departed Singapore via Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong before connecting to Los Angeles. After a 4-hour lay over, I then flew with TACA on another 6 hours flight to San Jose in Costa Rica. Total flight time ~ 30 hours. Phew, what a lengthy and exhausting journey and guess I must have celebrated two New Years Day on the airplanes. Upon arriving at San Jose airport, I cleared immigration and customs without any hassle but was amused by the immigration officers. I think they must not have met many Asian, particularly from Singapore so they were passing around my passport and each one examining my stamps on the pages. I was then picked up and transferred to Grano de Oro, a nice and orderly ran hotel, which was arranged by Alan from the Undersea Hunter.
San Jose - The long Wait for Chris
1st Jan 2008: After checking into the hotel, I took a few hours nap to try and recover from the jet lag induced by the traveling. Chris will be flying in from Miami and his flight was scheduled to touch down at 4pm. He was supposed to meet me at the hotel by 5pm but at 6pm, he was still nowhere in sight. I went down to the front-desk and logged onto the internet to check on his flight status and found out that it had been cancelled. Jesus Christ! What should I do now?? He does not have an US mobile number and I was feeling loss. Then I got a call from Irene (I hope I got her name right) of Undersea Hunter and she helped me to call American Airlines. But upon checking, they said that there were two Chris with the same name on that flight and they wont give her any details unless we can provide them with the booking number for security reasons. I decided to call American Airlines myself and luckily I have Chriss address that he used to book his flight and finally gotten the answer that he was re-scheduled to fly into San Jose at 2pm the next day. I called Undersea Hunter to arrange pick-up for him and then I sent him an email hoping that he will get to read it. Feeling relieved but disappointed, I went back to the room, ordered room service for dinner, showered before hitting to town for some gambling fix at the Casino to kill my boredom. After 2 hours at the jackpot machines, I lost 100 USD and reckoned that this was not a very good start to the New Year so I headed back to the hotel to check to see if there is any news from Chris. Finally, I got an email from him confirming his flight status and off I went to slumber land.
2nd Jan 2008: Woke up late to a chilly morning, had breakfast and decided to take a little walk around the area near the hotel. Found nothing very interesting and went back to the hotel to check on Chriss flight status at noon, found that it was delayed for 30 minutes so I went back to the room to stare at the rectangular box, TV i.e. while I waited. I checked that the flight has landed at 2.25pm and was expecting him to be at the hotel by 3pm, but as each minute ticked by, there is still no sight of him. By 4.30pm, I decided to call Undersea Hunter and Alan told me that the driver has just picked him up and they should be at the hotel in 30 minutes. What a relief! We were both starving by the time we met; ordered room service, did some catching up before retiring for the night and looking forward to the Big day.
** The bottom line is, plan plenty of time for your arrival to San Jose to avoid problems. Once the boat leaves for Cocos you can't catch up with it.
Getting to Cocos Island Sailing into Sunset, Sunrise and another Sunset
3rd Jan 2008: The day before boat departure, Undersea Hunter will leave you a note at the hotel with the pick-up time for the following day and a representative will call you in the evening to confirm the schedule. Grano de Oro is one of the few hotels that the Undersea Hunter bus will pick you for the ride from San Jose to the coastal town of Puntarenas where the boat is docked. We were picked up at 7.15am sharp and the trip takes about 3 hours through lush forests and rich farmlands of the region, with a pit stop where you can have some snacks and see some butterflies. Along the way, our friendly tour guide highlighted to us various crop plantations, gave comments and would gladly answered any queries asked.
Once at Puntarenas, dive master, Manuel greeted us and we were ushered to board our 'mother ship' the Undersea Hunter while the other crewmember quickly transferred our gears on-board. It was crucial for us to set sail at 11am, which was high tide on that day. The journey to Cocos takes approximately 32 hours across open and exposed water. There may have been a little roll here and there but the crossing was considered quite smooth on our trip. While en-route, we got briefed on boat rules and assigned our cabins. We also set up our dive gears and the dive masters collected our C-cards/Nitrox certification, asked us our dive experience and most recent dives and briefed us on the diving and safety rules. Each one of us was given a safety sausage, an EPIRB transmitter (the signal of which could be received by any boat within a range of 8 miles) and a torch that was attached to the BC throughout the week. We were also introduced to the crew Luis (the captain), Juan Manuel and Puis (dive masters), Manuel Campos and Youdi (panga drivers), Chico (the chef), Pedro (the barman) and Mackey (the engineer). The boat sailed into sunset, sunrise and another sunset; I spent most of these enduring transit moments sleeping, eating and watching DVDs. Chris told me he saw some dolphins from the deck.
The Boat: Undersea Hunter Our Floating Home
The 90 feet Undersea Hunter is a truly outstanding dive boat. Being all steel and heavy, it is very stable in a rough sea. It can accommodate a maximum of 14 divers in 7 staterooms, all en-suite, roomy and comfortable. The salon/dining area is functional and large enough for all 14 passengers and several crewmembers to eat or watch videos at the same time. The boat also has a sundeck above the salon, pretty small area but it makes for a nice spot to off-gas after a dive.
The dive deck is huge and there is plenty of room for donning wetsuits. Each diver was allocated a tank pod labeled with your name and a footlocker in which you can store huge amounts of gear. There is a 3-tiered camera storage areas complete with charging facilities, both for 110 and 220 volts power plugs. In addition to that, there is also a large camera rinse tank, a fresh water shower and hose for rinsing. Towels were always available after each dive and we were told to return them to a designated basket after we dry ourselves so that the crew could re-wash and dry them.
The meals were buffet style and were very good, varied and plentiful. Warm snacks and fresh fruits were served after each dive, except for the ones before lunch. A wide variety of drinks, including two kinds of beer were permanently available in the refrigerator. Tea and coffee, made from an Italian coffee maker, different types of cookies and chips were also available throughout the week.
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