Diving Cocos

Michael Gallagher · Issue 52, Jan/Feb 2010 · pp. 44–47

Products mentioned: Canon 50D, Hugyfot housing, Ikelite DS125 strobes, Tokina 10-17mm FE lens, Canon 60mm macro lens, Canon Ixus 75

We were a real mixed bag - an Israeli, 4 Americans, 4 Brits, 4 French, 2 Japanese, 2 Russians, a Turk plus a token Aussie - all lured from our respective homelands thousands of miles away to the isolated sea mount that is Cocos Island in the Eastern Pacific. Our collective interest was not to search for buried pirate treasure, for which the island is famed, but which has yet to been found, nor to admire the scenery, which not too long ago featured in one of the spectacular opening scenes of Jurassic Park. Instead our quest was to experience some of the most exhilarating and unspoilt diving on the planet. Expectations amongst us ran high - this is real “dive trip of a lifetime” stuff. Actually to refer to Cocos Island as “isolated” is somewhat of an understatement - it lies a good 400 miles off the west coast of Costa Rica in Central America, which meant that our 10 day liveaboard trip co…