A20,000000, which was hidden on cocos island in the pacific by a scottish pirate about 100 years ago, has. Cocos islandits stories of buried treasures watchtower. Cocos island national park is a scuba diving paradise that contains 11,500 acres of water filled with hammerhead sharks, tropical fish and coral reefs. Apr 25, 2016 the national park is located on cocos island which is near the pacific ocean off the shore of costa rica. Cocos island, which has been referred to as one of the most beautiful and unique islands in the world, is also sometimes called treasure island. Cocos island is a small island designated as a national park, located in the pacific ocean, approximately 550 km 342 mi from the pacific shore of costa rica. Cocos island national park, province of puntarenas. Stories tell of buccaneers burying treasures here edward davis in 1685, benito bonito in 1820, and william thompson in 1821, but if they did leave treasure there is an authentic treasure map, but no one has ever found any they. Some claim that treasure island drew inspiration from its pirate tales as well. Not a real gold treasure but the treasures of nature.
While this may be true, many have already found the treasure in cocos island. The largest island in the world without peopel 36 hours sailing from ainlnand mostly puntarenas is cocos island. Etsy has thousands of handcrafted and vintage products that perfectly fit what youre searching for. Map showing the location of cocos island national park. Sep 03, 2019 cocos island the mysterious island in the pacific free highquality documentaries. Mar 21, 2018 isla del coco, or cocos island, has been visited for over 300 years by infamous pirates like benito of the bloody sword and explorers such as sir francis drake. The buried treasure of cocos island by reagen smith. The area has long been known for its history of possible buried treasure. The most sought after treasure is the loot of lima treasure which was buried on the island by captain thomson and his mate james alexander forbes i in 1821. Established as a national park in 1978, the island is located in the pacific ocean southwest of cabo blanco and requires an extensive two day boat ride to access. Yet it is for buried treasure that cocos is perhaps most famous.
Cocos island treasure by stanley mcshane goodreads. List of treasures buried in cocos island cocos island costa rica. For you to be really convinced that cocos island is really a treasure island and join the belief of others like stevenson himself for example, allow us to lay down all the treasures that were buried in this offshore costa rican island. The island features some incredible waterfalls and exudes a real feral and jurassic charm. Small hauls of treasure have been uncovered over the years. List of treasures buried in cocos island cocos island. Cocos island the mysterious island in the pacific youtube. There is an island about 300 miles 480 km off the southwest coast of costa rica that is known for its stories of buried treasure. The island itself, isla del coco, also known as treasure island, is the only landmark of the vast submarine cocos range. All of the details gleaned from a number of documents and sources are listed in the following acco. The treasure map, characterized by cryptic directions understood only by its maker, became the key to finding hidden treasure. Author michael crichton was so enamored by the island that he modeled his famed jurassic park isla nublar after it, and robert louis stevensons classic novel treasure island catapulted cocos island to fame.
There are many versions of this treasure cache, and about as many suppositions as to where it is buried on the island. Governance of the islands is based on the cocos keeling islands act 1955 and depends heavily on the laws of australia. The most valuable treasure said to be buried on cocos island is the fabled treasure of lima. Shaun whitehead is leading an archaeological expedition to cocos island, the supposed hiding. It is the only emergent island of the cocos plate, one of the minor tectonic plates. The long lost treasure of cocos island unexplainable. Gold, silver, gems and church treasures were all buried by pirates on the. According to a popularly believed legend, in 1821 a captain thompson on the mary dear was assigned the task of protecting the treasure during an attack and these harbor men gave in to the gold mania and ended up keeping their newfound treasure at cocos. Some historians claim that the inspiration for robert louis stevensons famous book treasure island came from cocos island in costa rica. And graham wasnt the only pirate said to have stashed treasure on cocos island. Attempts were made to recover the treasure using a map made by captain grahame himself and to be led by the nonetheless one of the. Oct 27, 20 treasure island cocos island, costa rica. Cocos island, also known as treasure island, has been luring people for hundreds of years with the idea of finding buried treasure. This map is supposed to be the real location of the treasure of lima, which is not cocos island, as many have believed in the past, but an unknown island located off.
A map of cocos island isla del coco drawn in 1947, costa rica. Cocos island national park encompasses the entire island, protecting its lands and waters. But the truth remains buried and hidden just like the treasure of lima. I spoke with whitehead who told me, members of the team did visit the island, and we had permissions to carry out the more comprehensive. Captain william thompson was ordered to ship the treasure of the church of lima in his brig, the mary dear, to mexico.
The map featured an island with bays, harbour places, forests, mills and ruins and an offshore island named skeleton island. Apr 21, 2014 cocos island is an important breeding environment for other big pelagic species like dolphins, manta rays and eight varieties of sharks. The treasure of cocos island metal detecting, gold. Adventure quest, llc introducting the cocos island project. After his rescue from coco s island, thompson returned to the sea as a seaman, where he met keating. The most adventurous treasure in the world must lie on cocos island.
Established as a national park in 1978, the island is located in the pacific ocean southwest of cabo blanco and. Cocos island is the suspected inspiration for many works of fiction, most notably the costa rican island isla nublar that was used as the pretend setting in jurassic park series. Where did those rasty, barbaric theftdriven pirates bury thei. A history of buried treasure on cocos island by reagen smith. Cocos island is an oceanic island of both volcanic and tectonic origin. Treasure hunting on cocos island advertising antiques. This is probably the closest thing that you will ever see to a bonafide pirates treasure map. One of the two passed on the location of the treasure, in the form of a map, to a man named john keating. Handy guide to buried treasure in north america cocos island a german named august gissler, using an old treasure map which supposedly had belonged to pirate benito bonito, searched cocos from 1889 to 1909. It is costa ricas most secluded and least visited national park and can only be reached by a 36hour boat ride. Isla del coco, or cocos island, has been visited for over 300 years by infamous pirates like benito of the bloody sword and explorers such as sir francis drake. Selamat datang welcome, the cocos beach resort is beautifully located right next to the ocean, and within short walking distance to local amenities on cocos keeling islands west island.
Similar in scientific value to the galapagos islands, cocos island has an advantage. Cocos island became the center point for many buried treasure stories. One of the most notable was the german august gissler, who lived on the island from 1889 to 1908. British explorer closes in on legendary treasure of lima. A20,000,000, which was hidden on cocos island in the pacific by a scottish pirate about 100 years ago, has been found, according to a message received today by mr. Buried treasures in north america cocos island part 2. Captivating great treasure of lima ancient origins. Certain historians claim that the inspiration for the acclaimed novel treasure island actually came from. Search for the treasure of lima and wealth beyond measure. Stories tell of buccaneers burying treasures here edward davis in 1685, benito bonito in 1820, and william thompson in 1821, but if they did leave treasure there is an authentic treasure map, but no.
Cocos island national park province of puntarenas 2020. The national park is located on cocos island which is near the pacific ocean off the shore of costa rica. It is a real map, of a real island, made by a real spanish cartographer in 1883, that i myself personally pirated from the internet. Adventure quest, llc introducting the cocos island. Cocos island is a crucial habitat for other large pelagic species like dolphins, giant manta rays and at least eight types of sharks. Sep 06, 2012 cocos island is the suspected inspiration for many works of fiction, most notably the costa rican island isla nublar that was used as the pretend setting in jurassic park series.
One of the legends of cocos island has it that successful raids of ships and cities along the pacific coast of central america left one pirate band overloaded with gold and jewels. Cocos island national park visit costa rica costa rica. Buried pirate treasure found on cocos island trove. The history of cocos island costa rica scuba diving. From massive cliffs to subterranean caverns, cocos island is a photographers dream and a haven for those looking to explore a piece of something that feels unspoiled. Discover all the extraordinary items our community of craftspeople have to offer and find the perfect gift for your loved one or yourself. Treasure hunting is strictly prohibited by the costa rican government and permits are. Since 1860 coco s island has been known chiefly as a treasurehunting site. In more modern times famous treasure hunters like president franklin roosevelt have quested this island for what is without question, the largest real life lost treasure ever hoard known to mankind the great treasure of lima. Cocos island national park unesco world heritage centre. The treasure of lima is a treasure which was reputedly removed from lima, peru in 1820 and never recovered. We spent three weeks exploring the island and discovered a rock map that led us to what i feel was the cave in which the treasure of lima was.
The treasure is the island the island is located between parallels 530 and 534 and meridians 8710 and 876 the blueturquoise water is extraordinarily clear and makes a great habitat for an abundance of marine life, making this island one of the most extraordinary places in the world for diving. It is said that cocos island actually used to be a popular hideout spot for pirates in ancient times. In addition to the standard famous treasure of lima, and the cache of bennett graham, there are other hordes said to be hidden on the island, including benito bloody sword bonito and his cut of gold said to be buried before he was caught and hanged. It may have also been the inspiration for the setting of daniel defoes robinson crusoe 1719 and robert louis stevensons treasure island 1883. Cocos island costa rica a word heritage site full of. Cocos island in costa rica is now famous all over the world for several different reasons.
After posting the article about the treasure hunters going to cocos island we received an email from on of them. Nov 25, 2019 it is possible that james alexander forbes lived without knowing this, believing that the treasure remained on cocos island when it was not there. I can understand the fascination as we hovered over the. Strictly speaking that recovery was probably more simple theft than actually treasure finding but the plunder was there and it was found. It is believed by some that robert louis stevenson based his famous book treasure island on tales of pirate treasure buried there. The treasure of davis 1685 estimated current value. Teeming with a large seascape and a flourishing wildlife, cocos island is often referred to as one of the worlds top ten scuba diving destinations. It is possible that james alexander forbes lived without knowing this, believing that the treasure remained on cocos island when it was not there. Potassiumargon dating established the age of the oldest rocks between 1. Certain historians claim that the inspiration for the acclaimed novel treasure island actually came from cocos island, costa rica. The capital of the territory of cocos keeling islands is west island while the largest settlement is the village of bantam citation needed home island. Cocos island is a costa rican national park, a unesco world heritage site, and an ocean natural treasure. Over the centuries before the republic of costa rica assumed control of the island in 1869, pirates used cocos as a buccaneer bank.
Keating claimed thompson gave him documents, maps and other information to recover the treasure concealed on the island. Since that time, hundreds of treasure hunters have travelled to cocos island and tried to find the treasure of lima, sometimes also referred to as the loot of lima, or the cocos island treasure. Cocos islands rich pirate history environment the guardian. A rough yet remarkably emerald island, this world heritage site is the strikingly beautiful crown that adorns costa ricas royal garb of the countrys several national parks. Many treasure hunters dont know about the story recounted in mammy pleasants partner by helen odonnell holdredge 1954. Cocos island has brought in enormous amounts of cash in the diving and tourism industry where divers around world continuously visits this offshore reef blessed with a bounty of marine life.
Sharks of treasure island, documentary film starring jacques cousteau and crew. Since the 1970s there has been a law in place forbidding treasure hunting. The story of his treasure island started with a map, which stevenson drew for his stepson during a holiday in the scottish high moor. Costa ricas cast away treasure island located in the eastern tropical pacific, about 300 miles to the southwest of cabo blanco, costa rica is the famous cocos island marine park. One theory is that the treasure was not buried on the cocos islands at all, but on an unknown island off the coast of central america. It was wellknown for possibly holding various legendary treasures, but its protected area status had forbidden treasure hunting on it since 1978. Dec 16, 2016 for you to be really convinced that cocos island is really a treasure island and join the belief of others like stevenson himself for example, allow us to lay down all the treasures that were buried in this offshore costa rican island. Hi i stumbled upon your blog while doing a little bit more research about cocos island, and i see that you mentioned our little story. There are tales of piracy and treasure on cocos island, costa rica. Because the map was made in 1883 though, it is in the public domain, so you can copy it to your hearts content. Isla del coco is an island in the pacific ocean administered by costa.
Dec 12, 2016 while this may be true, many have already found the treasure in cocos island. I respectfully disagree with you treasure has been found on cocos island. Images of the island may be familiar to those who have seen the jurassic park movies, as isla nublar is based off the majestic, tropical cocos island. About buried treasure in north america, history of cocos island, account of previous searches and locations. Keating, with the help of the third mutineer, a man named boag, later located the treasure on the island but the crew of the ship that had taken them to cocos demanded a share, facing a mutiny, keating and boag hid in the jungle until the. Remote cocos island is said to have inspired the adventurefilled settings of treasure island and jurassic park. Searching for pirate treasure in cocos island by malcolm campbell, butterworth 1931, 260 pp. Cocos island the mysterious island in the pacific free highquality documentaries.
250 1179 1176 152 239 1424 426 611 382 739 326 259 1070 964 979 780 490 1360 835 86 156 1370 1002 1447 484 119 1082 1362 296 689 1029 1025 1305 1204