callout: Benito "Bloody Sword" Bonito hid 273 gold-hilted swords, 783 gold
ingots, and a gold crown studded with emeralds and diamonds in the deep jungle
here.
"A sea full of strange creatures is the one that encircles this mysterious Isle
of Cocos," wrote the Spanish pilot Johan Cabeças in 1529, three years
after he discovered the island. Little did he know how right he was: only deep
dives with scuba equipment have revealed the extraordinary degree to which
Cocos' clear, tropical waters teem with sharks, rays, whales, dolphins, and
other ocean-going creatures. The island itself has stories to tell as well. To
explore Cabeças' "mysterious Isle of Cocos," both on land and beneath
the sea, click on the labels on the map below.
