Cocos Island Trip Update

For 10 days in August, thirteen Dive Addicts experienced diving nirvana found at a remote island in the pacific ocean 300 miles off the shore of Costa Rica. Cocos Island is a Costa Rican national park and has gained a reputation of being one of the best locations in the world for viewing large marine animals as well as encountering hundreds of sharks. Cocos did not disappoint.

The Dive Addicts trip started with a short flight to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. Our group spent one night in the beautiful Alta Hotel surrounded by lush Costa Rican jungle. The next day we boarded the Okeanos Aggressor and began our voyage towards the bountiful Cocos Island. Our thirty-two hour crossing included many sighting of dolphins, one whale sighting and lots of sea-sickness pills for some passengers. After the long voyage the appearance Cocos Island over the horizon was breath taking. With dozens of majestic waterfalls and dense jungles, staring at Cocos Island is like viewing a real life Jurassic Park, an island from the past frozen in time. Below the surface the excitement continued. Each dive consisted of an average of 45 minutes of awe-filled wonder. The hardest part about the diving was knowing which way to look and not letting the regulator float out of your mouth when you were struck with jaw-dropping amazement. There was never a dull moment. Hammerhead sharks numbering in the thousands would circle above or make a close pass in an attempt to be cleaned; white tip sharks either resting or hunting were visible everywhere; countless marbled rays would swim through schools of hundreds of thousands of jacks while ten foot long eels with heads as big as basketballs would emerge from their caverns and swim across the reef; Manta and Eagle Rays would make gliding appearances while 6 foot long tuna would dart through schools of smaller fish in search of a meal; Large turtles would lazily pass by and Amber Jacks the size of a diver would curiously approach; and just to ice the cake, Whale Sharks made many cameo appearances to check out the scene. The most amazing fact though, is that this description is not a compilation of everything seen throughout the week, instead it is a description of a single
typical dive at Cocos.

The amenities aboard the Aggressor were fantastic. The rooms were comfortable, the food was delicious and plentiful and the company aboard was unforgettable. But the best part was obviously the diving. Needless to say, this was another Dive Addicts trip of a lifetime.