Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Okeanos Aggressor I
14th – 24th of June 2019
Day 1: Thursday 13th of June 2019
Amsterdam to San Jose
10.00. Wow, we’re really doing it, crossing of one more high ranked dive destination of our bucket list. A visit to Cocos Island has been high on our wishlist for years, ever since we saw the documentary ‘Island of the Sharks’ produced in 1999. It was always very pricey to get to and believe me, it still is. Luckily we came across a nice last minute deal and decided now is as good a time as any.
So here we are, waiting in line to drop of our bags. Schiphol is a very efficient airport but when the fully automatic luggage system is down with a technical failure, it’s chaos! So we wait 45 minutes to hand our luggage over to a nice KLM ground hostess at the desk. Maybe it’s us, but we prefer a nice smile to a machine. The new security checking department works fantastic and we roll through within minutes although my mask defogger and toothpaste are double checked. Because a line has already formed for boarding we just join in.
We used some of our frequent flyer miles to choose a seat this time. We picked 2 in the back because young children are usually seated in the front. Well not on this plane. We’re totally surrounded by two year olds, feels like being in a kindergarten. On go the headphones. After 3 movies and a documentary about orca’s in New Zealand we’ve already reached Panama City.
We spent some time strolling through this shopping Walhalla before we board the connecting flight that brings us to San Jose, Costa Rica in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
In San Jose we take an official (orange) taxi that brings us to the Holiday Inn Express Forum for 40 USD. Tip: use the hotel pick-up service, they charge only 30 USD.
By 21.00 local time we roll into a nice comfortable bed.
Day 2: Friday 14th of June 2019
San Jose to Puntarenas/Okeanos Aggressor 1
Major jetlag. Awake at 2.00 and a terrible desire for coffee at 3.00. So I’m out of bed checking out the hotel facilities. They have a nice gym where I spend some time. Guess I’m not the only one with a jetlag. Gerard is also up and by 5.30 we’re walking up and down the street. It’s cloudy but nice temperature and very busy with traffic. At 6.00 we’re at the restaurant for breakfast. To be honest, we’ve had better so of we are to the streets again. Starbucks is now open.
If you book a liveaboard with the Okeanos Aggressor I or II you must book a one-night stay-over in San Jose, Costa Rica one day prior to the yachts departure to meet the transfer schedule to Puntarenas. In principle you have 2 hotels to choose from to spend the night prior to the pickup. It’s either the Holiday Inn Express Forum or the slightly more expensive Holiday Inn Escazu.
At 9.50 we’re picked up in a medium sized coach. All the luggage goes in a lorry. The ride to Puntarenas is slightly longer than the connection flight we had yesterday and takes around 2 hours. We have a stop in the middle. Lots of little fruit stands but I figure there’ll be plenty to eat aboard the Okeanos Aggressor I.
I’m not really impressed by the landscape surrounding this highway. I’ve seen nicer stretches of Costa Rica when we there in March 2017. We dove along the Pacific Coast starting in Playa del Coco with Catalina Island. Next we drove to Quepos to dive Manuel Antonio National Park. Further south we stayed in Uvita and dove Cano Island also called ‘Little Cocos’. We really liked Cano Island and we’re so excited to see what the real Cocos Island is like.
We arrive at the quirky town of Puntarenas. This town is said to be the center of the (illegal) shark fin trade. That would explain the numerous Chinese shops and Chinese restaurants everywhere. And also why the dock we drive too is in a highly secured facility. The wall, the gate and the locks we pass are enormous. Both Okeanos Aggressor I and II are docked. We have to walk over II to get to I. It’s just a feeling but I like Okeanos Aggressor I more. The Okeanos Aggressor II is only 10 feet bigger than the 110 feet long Okeanos Aggressor I. Both can accommodate 22 guests. 
We sail almost immediately. We pass a large, mostly Chinese, fishing fleet before we get to the corner where the Pacific Ocean starts. I’ve seen a Dutch documentary (Freek Vonk – Naar de haaien) where they show that some of the houses in Puntarenas have double roofs. On the roof shark fins are dried and a fake roof is put over them so this can’t be seen. Puntarenas gives me the creeps.
Off we go on our 550 km (340 miles) long trip. 36 hours to reach Cocos Island National Park. Calm sea, cloudy skies. Lunch. A short safety briefing. Just before sunset we spot action behind the boat. A big school of spinner dolphins. There‘re so many of them out and in the water it looks like the water is boiling. What a treat.
After dinner we go to bed at 21.00. Our cabin must be the smallest on the boat. But we have a private bathroom. A sink is positioned in the room at the side. We only have very little storage room. We take down the tv because we don’t want to bump our heads in the middle of the night. But all and all the room is still twice the size of the room we had on our last trip (Quino el Guardian). Again we have bunk beds with not too much space overhead.
Day 3: Saturday 15th of June 2019
We get up at 5.00. It starts to get light. Breakfast at 8.00 Hooray they have plain yoghurt, whole grain cereals and different fruits. Because of drizzle it’s no option to sit outside. We sail underneath a 180 degrees rainbow which is very nice. At 10.00 dive briefing and the film of last week. Oeps, that was not very impressive. We all get safety responders. The captain checks the dive certificates. We’ll have 2 groups in 2 zodiacs 1 dive guide each: captain Mauricio and the cruise director Warren. Well, they are not really dive guides like say in Egypt. Here they just provide diving supervision. They will do u/w photography and videography, critter spotting and assist in locating specific points of interest. All dives are done with Nitrox.
We hang out in the sun for about 30 minutes when it’s time for lunch. The theme is ‘build your own sandwich’. Dessert is a scoop of ice cream and backed banana. We decide to put on our boardshorts before we go back to the top deck and the lovely hammock. Bad decision. It drizzles again and after a while it starts pouring. Thunder and all. But again dolphins, also alongside the boat this time. Sunset is very weird. The ocean is pitch black. The sky is pitch black. There is only a narrow line where red light shines through.
Dinner. We arrive at Cocos at 21.00 I’m already in bed by then. Gerard waits until the boat anchors and sees some more dolphins.
Day 4: Sunday 16th of June 2019 COCOS ISLAND
1st Dive: Chatham Bay
2nd Dive: Manualita Garden
3rd Dive: Manualita Outside Wall
It’s still dark when we go outside. It’s also raining cats and dogs. Time for some real coffee from the expresso machine that grinds beans on the spot for Gerard. I stick to my tea. I don’t like the selection on offer. Fortunately I brought my own rooibos but not a lot, so I’m on a tea ration for the rest of the trip. It starts to get light. A beautiful green island appears. Mountains with a dense tropical forest. The water is totally flat and the first thing we notice is a long oil trail on the water coming from the other boats. The Sea Hunter and the Argo are both nearby as is a beautiful private yacht. I have my little yoghurt breakfast at 6.00 while the regular breakfast is served at 7.00. But I don’t want to jump into the water with a full stomach. Still lots of rain. It takes quite a while before we finally go diving but by that time the sun comes out.
Dive 1: Chatham Bay
Time: 8.32 
Viz: 15 meters
Temp: 28 Celsius
Dive time: 60 minutes
Depth: 14,2 meters
Check dive. We swim over patches of rock and sand. Lots of white tips, a few big milkfish, lots of pufferfish and fusiliers. A lobster. Feels like swimming in an aquarium. Viz is ok, the water nicely warm.
Back on the Aggressor I a big bowl of fruits awaits. The rangers have arrived to give a lecture about Cocos Island. Well, the volunteer does all the talking because the rangers do not speak English.
Dive 2: Manualita Island Coral Garden
Time: 11.30 
Viz: 10-15 meters
Temp: 27 Celsius
Dive time: 58 minutes
Depth: 23,8 meters
Manualita Island is 150m long, lying to the north of Chatham Bay, off the northeast corner of Cocos Island. The coral garden, also known as Manualita Inside, is located on the protected east side of the island. The conditions are perfect for our second dive. Sun. Little wind. We roll next to the island. While we swim over some rock formations towards the sand we spot a big hammerhead within one minute. We lay flat on the ground and schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks pass us by. It’s like a parade of hammerheads. Forget all the garden eels and the sea stars, the flounders or the school of fusiliers. It’s hammertime. But with only 6 minutes to deco we need to move. The guide calls all the group together. A tiger shark has been seen swimming around here and it attacked a diver before. The women did not survive. So we need to be aware. We shoot through the channel. Underneath us another white tip and a marble ray. We surface on the other side of the island in the sun. The sea is flat. We see a big waterfall. Picture perfect.
Lunch is ‘build your own cheese burger’. I have my peach pie dessert outside in the sun with a million dollar view on green and lush Cocos Island. The sky is full with frigatebirds. Makes you wonder what they’re doing up there until a little white bird arrives from sea and 5 frigatebirds start to chase it. As soon as the white bird drops a little fish it caught at open sea the frigatebirds lose interest. The white bird flies on to the island without a meal and free of assailants.
Cocos Islands reminds me of Nicobar Island in the Andeman Sea (India) and Maksur Island (Indonesia). Clouds start to move in. A bottlenose dolphin swims past the boat. The zodiac from the private boat visits to fill some dive tanks.
Dive 3: Manualita Outside Wall/Deep
Time: 15.30
Viz: 12 meters
Temp: 27 Celsius
Dive time: 50 minutes
Depth: 25,5 meters
We roll next to the wall on the west side of the island and descend fast to 20m to avoid any possible washing machine made by holes in the rocks. At the cleaning station we lay down on the boulder formations and wait. Big scalloped hammerhead sharks swim by and have themselves cleaned by yellow barberfish. Amazing sight. Too bad the light is not that good anymore. Underneath us a big school of fusiliers. A big Galapagos shark and then all of a sudden a Tiger shark swims past. Reef left shoulder we make our way to the second cleaning station located farther south. We pass the other group on the way, more marble rays, white tip sharks and Galapagos sharks. Unfortunately there’re no more hammerhead sharks at the second cleaning station. The yellow barberfish now clean other small fish. After 45 minutes we swim into the blue. The zodiac ride takes us along the wall of Manualita Island. We see lots of boobies and their white fluffy young.
On the boat another big plate with fruits and a pineapple shake is served. After we get changed we have to pay 490 USD per person Cocos Island Park Fee and 30 USD Mandatory Emergency Evacuation Program Fee. The sun disappears behind clouds and a huge moon appears. Hundreds of bird arrive back on the island. Such a fascinating sight. Seen it before on Ahe island, Indonesia. Time for dinner. No buffet but 3 rows of cutlery and 2 crystal glasses. Dinner is served. We start with a pie of avocado, mango and rice. Next an union soup. Main a risotto. Dessert somebody’s birthday cake. We move up to the main deck for some star gazing.
Day 5: Monday 17th of June 2019 
1st Dive: Punta Maria
2nd Dive: Dirty Rock
3rd Dive: Viking Rock
4.30 Rise and shine. Drizzle so I have my tea in the salon and meet one of the tech divers from Texas. We chat so long it’s 6.00 and time for my yogurt. I skip the 7 o’clock breakfast. We take the touristic route to the dive spot. The zodiac takes us along de green walls of Cocos. They’re covert in ivy. We pass a cave and an enormous waterfall. Than we head to a buoy a bit further out at sea. Punta Maria is an underwater mountain about 500m off the southwest coast of Cocos Island. Water is still calm, no wind.
Dive 4: Punta Maria
Time: 8.10
Viz: 7-12 meters
Temp: 21-28 Celsius
Dive time: 54 minutes
Depth: 29 meters
Underwater circumstances are different. We descend along a line although this is not really necessary. It’s much darker than I had expected. Viz is bad due to a thermocline. And it is cold. Gerard will probably be happy now with his double 7mm with hood. Before in the zodiac he was really sweating in the full sun. We lay down in a row on the latch. Next to us a school of barberfish but no hammerhead sharks show. We roll back and forth in the surge and move to another rock. Swimming across the little channel to the next pinnacle turns out to be hard work. It’s almost uncomfortable, but lots of fish and white tips are the reward. After 30 minutes divers start to go up. We stay, still lots of no deco time and plenty of air. We see the rest of our group as they do their safety stop, so viz up is good. There is a silver tip shark swimming above. Now that everybody is gone all the fish and white tips start to surround us. A big hammerhead swims by. After 50 minutes we go up and with 54 minutes we’re back in the zodiac with 80 and 50 bar. As soon as we set foot in the zodiac our air pressure is checked. 50 bar is minimum so we’re ok. Didn’t break any rule here. 
We go back to the waterfall. We jump in the water and swim to shore. We crawl to the waterfall because the rocks are really slippery. But taking a shower is not nice at all, the water has such power it hurts you head. Pictures are nice though.
Back to the boat and the plate of fresh fruit it is. The next dive sounds more promising. The other group had hammerheads, a Galapagos shark and a dolphin. We will swap dive spots. The private boat also saw hammerheads and they signal (eye of a) whale shark but if that’s true???
Dive 5: Dirty Rock 
Time: 11.04
Viz: 10-12 meters
Temp: 25 Celsius
Dive time: 48 minutes
Depth: 28 meters
When we arrive at our second dive site of the day a lot of birds are sitting on the rock. Dirty Rock is called like this because of all the bird droppings on it. An appropriate name. We roll first, almost onto a hammerhead. We swim to 18m and wait for the rest of the group to arrive. Meanwhile we’ve already spotted 3 more hammerhead sharks. We cling to the rocks and little groups of 5 to 6 hammerheads pass by and several marble rays. Then we need to start following the group because they’re almost out of site. We hear a lot of shouting and screaming coming from their direction. Whale shark I think? Nope, within seconds a 4 m long Tiger shark passes us by on eye level. We get a good look at it before it vanishes. Time to join the group. We see them crossing a channel and it looks like there is current. We follow and hold on to the next pinnacle. A marble ray right in front of us and several hammerhead sharks overhead, about 5-7. Big schools of fish in front of us too. Something spooks them and all of a sudden we’re in the middle. But because the no deco time is running low we need to level up. We let go of the rocks and the current takes us out into the blue where the zodiac picks us up. 
After another fantastic lunch with ice-cream & brownie dessert we go to the upperdeck to fly the drone. The sun is shining now but the weather changes here very rapidly. Next on the program is a visit to the island and the ranger station. Marco, our salon boy is the guide. He also volunteered a month at the ranger station. Volunteers in return can dive once every day. We’re taken to the beach in the zodiacs. First a photo session at the sign. We take a quick look at the ranger station facilities. At the ranger station we see 6 little dear, a little piggy and a cat. To the bridge made of fishing gear found and confiscated. Cocos Island has a no fishing zone around it. But what boats will do is stay just outside this zone and use 5 km long lines with hooks. The current will than transport these lines inside the protected aera and goodbye sharks it is. 
The bridge crosses a river and we all take a dip in the fresh water. Before we go back to the Okeanos Aggressor I to get ready for the 3rd dive of the day some guest get the Wi-Fi password.
Dive 6: Viking Rock
Time: 15.30
Viz: 7-10 meters
Temp: 24 Celsius
Dive time: 53 minutes
Depth: 28 meters
We go to a rock nearby the anchored boat. Clouds moved in and underwater the viz is bad. No hammerhead in sight. We see lots of white tips, several marble rays, some moray eels, 2 crown-of-thorns sea stars, some schools of fish and spawning corals. We circle the island until the current gets to strong. Than we just let ourselves fly back. On the boat mango, pineapple and beer awaits.
A wonderful dinner is served at the table. It’s incredible what the chef can prepare in the little kitchen. It’s also funny we meet the guy who sells the plates we eat from. He’s on this trip with his mother and one of his kids. He lives in San Jose and gets called for last minute spaces. It’s his 5th trip to Cocos.
After dinner they show Blue Planet on the big tv in the salon, but it is so freaking cold there I rather sit outside watching the full moon and the stars. I tried walking without shoes today for a while. Normally liveaboards are a no shoe area, but on this one the nylon carpet hurts my feet. Also there are tiny bugs around that bite.
Day 6: Tuesday 18th of June 2019
1st Dive: Baya Alcyone 
2nd Dive: Manualita Outside Wall
3rd Dive: Pajera Rock
Up at 5.00 and see it turn light. Heavy clouds, no wind. At 6.00 the boat starts moving from Wafer Bay to Chatham bay. This will make the zodiac ride to Baya Alcyone shorter. At this offshore location (1,5 km from the island) we hope to see the walls of scalloped hammerhead sharks Cocos is so famous for. A volunteer is picked up from the island to join the dive.
On route to Baya Alcyone we get to see a new part of the island. More waterfalls. Dolphins next to the zodiac. A frigatebird with a full red gular pouch flies along. The waves are getting higher as we come nearer to the buoy.
Dive 7: Baya Alcyone
Time: 8.17
Viz: 10-12 meters at the bottom, 20 meters in the blue
Temp: 23 Celsius
Dive time: 58 minutes
Depth: 30 meters
We descend along the buoy line although with little current, that’s not really necessary. The seamount top is at 25m. A hammerhead and 2 white tips. We swim to the first cleaning station and wait, and wait and wait. The barberfish are all ready for action but only 2 hammerheads show. A California sheepshead fish swims in front of us. It has a piece of sea urchin in its mouth. When another fish tries to steel it, it quickly swallows the whole thing. And to the next cleaning station. We pass a lot of fish and see a fish ball above us. Viz is bad, thermoclines and it is dark. We wait on the ledge of the other cleaning station. Lots of fusiliers in front of us. Several white tips circle behind us. We spend 30 minutes on the seamount top before we swim into the blue. We’ve only seen few hammerhead sharks. While in the blue this changes. After 10 minutes two small ones show and then a few more accompanied by a silver tip shark. As more and more divers go into the zodiac more hammerheads appear. In the end it is just 4 divers in the water playing the game ‘find the hammerhead’. Viz is getting better. We can still see the bottom. We max out our dive time and are back in the boat with 58 minutes.
On our way back to the big boat we see so many birds on the water we go and check it out. It might be a feeding frenzy but it’s not. So we continue our ride now followed by 150 big birds. Back on the Okeanos we see one tuna after another jumping from the water. We also spot some hunting crocodile needle fish. The break is over in no time.
Dive 8: Manualita outside wall
Time: 11.00
Viz: 15-20 meters
Temp: 27 Celsius
Dive time: 65 minutes
Depth: 25 meters
Only a 2 minute zodiac ride. The sun is shining. The sea is calm. We roll on the south side near the channel and descend to 18m. Already 4 hammerheads and a mobula ray pass us. We have trouble finding the cleaning station but all of a sudden the yellow barberfish are right in front of us. Some hammerheads swim by but none goes in for a cleaning. So we move to the next cleaning area. Here some white tips and at the surface some tuna including a big one. A group of 6 hammerheads swims above us and aim for the cleaning station. But they turn away as it is occupied, by divers who positioned themselves on top of the cleaning station! After 30 minutes the guide swims into the blue. We linger behind and follow when they’re almost out of sight. The group stays deep and are looking at something. Lots of hammerheads come toward us. I see them left, I see them on the right. We follow them and end up near the wall. Lost the group of divers but with little current that’s no problem. We can always shoot up our own SMB. But soon we spot bubbles and bottles and are back with the group. We play the game ‘find the hammerhead’ as long as possible.
Loved this dive. The other group is coming back from Baya Alcyone and isn’t very enthusiast. Viz was not to good. They did see about 20 hammerheads but not close to the reef. They had dolphins next to the zodiac and were allowed to go into the water to swim with them but only 2 persons did.
Lunch yet again is fantastic. After soup it’s ‘built your own burrito’. Toped of with chocolate ice cream and caramel sauce for dessert. We move to the first deck to enjoy the magnificent view of Cocos Island. Though cloudy it is still warm. I keep my limbs covered because of the irritating flies. Not enough wind to blow them away. We have the whole bay to ourselves. All other boats have left. The crew members go for a dive at Manualita. The weather changes again and it starts to drizzle.
Dive 9: Pajera Rock
Time: 15.28 
Viz: 10-12 meters
Temp: 27 Celsius
Dive time: 57 minutes
Depth: 25,5 meters
Due to the clouds and the drizzle viz is mediocre, but still slightly better as the 3rd dive yesterday. We circle the island and see some white tips, a few box fishes in different colorations and a whole lot of oceanic trigger fish with circular nests in the sand. Our youngest divers is clearly getting bored and tries the pull the tale of a white tip. The dive guide sees this and he gets a warning. Other than that, it’s a real quiet and peaceful dive. Not the diving we came all the way out to Cocos for!
When we surface it’s dry, wind picked up and we have a double rainbow.
Day 7: Wednesday 19th of June 2019
1st Dive: Dos Amigos Pequinos 
2nd Dive: Manualita Wall
3rd Dive: Manualita Coral Garden
At 6.00 we move from Chatham Bay to Wafer Bay. Drizzle. Today the captain will be our dive guide. He takes us in the zodiac all the way to Dos Amigos Pequinos. We see another stretch of Cocos and again numerous waterfalls. In a shallow area near the coastline there is a tiger shark swimming. We can clearly see it from the zodiac.
Dive 10: Dos Amigos Pequinos
Time: 8.14
Viz: 15 meters
Temp: 26 Celsius
Dive time: 51 minutes
Depth: 30,5 meters
We roll next to the rock and descend down to the barren volcanic slopes and stop at 18m. It’s quiet, few fish and a sole hammerhead. We swim reef left shoulder. Plenty of cleaning fish present but no sharks show. In the deep we see schools of fish. Some trevallies pass by. One marble ray. A few white tips. The unemployed barberfish even start checking us out offering service. We end the dive in the blue were we spot 1 Galapagos shark.
Quite a disappointing dive to start the day with. The other group isn’t cheerful about their dive at dos amigos grandes either. Even though they got to see the magnificent arch. By now its pouring.
Considered the disappointing circumstances the dive plan is changed. We will not swap dive sites.
Dive 11: Manualita Wall 
Time: 11.03
Viz: 12-20 meters
Temp: 27 Celsius
Dive time: 60 minutes
Depth: 29,9 meters
We roll almost on top of 2 big hammerheads that cruise over the rocks. We take a brief look at the cleaning station. One hammerhead circles and comes in once for a cleaning job but then vanishes. We start to follow the group and see marble rays, white tips, several hammerheads and 2 big Galapagos sharks. While the rest of the group swims to the corner we go to a school of bigeye jacks that is circling near the surface. The school is half the size of the one in Cabo Pulmo (Baja California, Mexico) but still impressive. We go to the other divers and a monstrous tuna passes and another Galapagos. First we see 2 hammerheads at 5 meter and then 3. Looks like all hammerheads swim at 5 meter today. We end the dive near the fish tornado.
After lunch we do our third dive of the day at Manualita coral garden. I still think coral garden does not give a right description of the place. Rock garden would have suited better in my opinion. I’m happy because I prefer Manualita Garden/Inside to Pajero or Viking.
Dive 12: Manualita Coral Garden 
Time: 15.26
Viz: 15 meters
Dive time: 67 minutes
Depth: 23 meters
Gerard and I are the lucky ones to roll first into the water. We swim over the rock patches to the sand immediately passing schools of yellow fusiliers, white tips, marble rays and a school of jacks. We lay down and wait but no hammers show. It’s chilly. So after a while of effortless waiting we swim to the left and spot the group again. White tips swim in front. Plenty of fish and some marble rays. We go back to the sand and see a huge Galapagos followed by several hammerheads. It’s just the 4 of us. Sea stars, oceanic trigger fish, tuna and more hammerheads. Above us we see a zodiac loading in divers with some silky sharks near. When the zodiac goes the silkies turn their full attention to us and soon we’re surrounded by 6 circling silkies on our safety stop. On the sand beneath us at least 20 hammerheads.
When we surface it takes the zodiac forever to come over. They’re not really fast and efficient here. Higher service level in Egypt for sure. We sail around Manualita island and see several fins. Captain says we can go in and look at the dolphins. But when we do it aren’t dolphins but about 20 silky sharks. Hmm. I know from Socorro that these sharks are very investigative and don’t mind bumping into you. Well, I love sharks but also appreciate my private space so I wouldn’t mind getting back into the zodiac, but they don’t lower the ladder. They’re to busy laughing. Okay, what happened to safety first? A few minutes later we do see dolphins but when we roll in again and all the bubbles are gone, so are the dolphins. Again we’re surrounded by lots of silkies.
Back on the Okeanos Aggressor I we go and sit outside on the first deck sheltered from the drizzle. Mark shows us his Galapagos video’s from 2 or 3 years ago . The footage is amazing. Walls of Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks where the divers swim through. They chartered a boat and dove Darwin and Wolf for several days. At Wolf they saw lots of hammerheads and at Darwin they saw 7 whale sharks. Also fantastic footage. Hmm.
Even though we liked the last dive the rest of the dives are so-so. It’s either some hammerheads or nothing, viz not being the best.
Diner is a colorful sushi buffet.
Outside it’s raining and really uncomfortable. We sit down with the tech divers from Texas for a while and go to bed 20.30.
Day 8: Thursday 20th of June 2019 
1st Dive Dirty Rock
2nd Dive Manualita Wall/Garden
3rd Dive Lobster Rock
Today we change the planning and dive before breakfast. Good idea.
Dive 13: Dirty Rock
Time: 6.48
Viz: 15 meters
Temp: 26 Celsius
Dive time: 59 minutes
Depth: 32 meters
We roll, drop to 25m and cling to the rocks. Well, one diver stays way in front of the rocks. Let me explain some simple diving rules especially useful if you want to see big, skittish sea creatures:
1) Get as close to the rocks as possible so you don’t scare – in this case – the hammerheads away.
2) Do not park yourself on top of a cleaning station but to the side or behind it. Sharks and manta’s will move on if they think the station is occupied.
3) Don’t chase behind anything but let it come close. Even turtles are much faster than humans underwater so don’t even try to compete with sharks, manta’s or dolphins. In Socorro if you ignored them the manta’s went nuts and would swim up to your face so close their wings would touch your head for attention.
4) If you choose a spot on the rock to lay down, look at the position of the other divers and don’t park in their face. Don’t put your reef hook in the same spot as somebody else’s reef hook either.
5) See something interesting on the sand, than don’t swirl up the sand with your fins so everybody gets to have a glance and maybe take a (sediment free) picture. Sharing a picture is also a fantastic option instead of 10 people taking the same one. Just imagine you being a see horse or frogfish and being photographed by 10 people with big flash lights.
Back to the dive. This time we don’t go to the right where the channel is but we turn left. We lay on a large rock and see some hammerheads swim by. Around the corner lots of white tips, a marble ray and a munching eagle ray. A huge ball of fish swims by. In the blue 3 hammers and 1 silky.
After breakfast we’re taken to the island. The crew goes to play soccer. It’s team Aggressor 1 against team Aggressor 2. The Okeanos Aggressor 2 arrived yesterday evening to drop of supplies for the ranger station. Most of the divers walk up to the viewing point. The track is pretty bad but the view is amazing. On top is the border between Ecuador and Costa Rica. We slide down without breaking any bones. We watch the last game minutes in the pouring rain and head back to the boat to get ready for the 2nd dive.
Dive 14: Manualita Wall/Channel
Time: 11.31
Viz: 20 meters
Temp: 27 Celsius
Dive time: 62 minutes
Depth: 23 meters 
Sun’s out. We dive Manualita Wall near the corner. At the cleaning station is some hammerhead action. 5 hammerheads get themselves cleaned until one diver decides that on the cleaning station is the best place to lay down. So that’s that, we go and look around the corner and see some more hammerheads about 5 to 6. One of the divers is entangled in his flashlight wire. He’s so busy untangling he doesn’t even see the 2 hammerheads passing right over his head. The dive guide takes us into the channel. Little current. Perfect viz but no fish. A few sea stars, a white tip, a marble ray and finally one hammerhead shark.
After lunch we can go on a zodiac tour. We’re only 4 of us. We’re taken to a hole in the rocks and 2 waterfalls. By then it starts to drizzle and we speed back to the big vessel. We have only little time to pass before the 3rd dive. This dive will be made at Lobster rock. I’m starting to become skeptical. Last dives of the day were usually so-so (Viking, Pajero). But this should be 2 dive sites combined.
Dive 15: Lobster Rock 
Time: 15.15
Viz: variable: 20-15-5-25 meters
Temp: 23-28 Celsius
Dive time: 60 minutes
Depth: 28 meters
I roll behind the guide and we hang above a sandy bottom. A school of big trevallies circles. Nice. Than the guide goes off to film 2 lobsters under a rock and next he takes his time to film a trumpet fish. This filming takes up a lot of dive time and starts to get annoying. I spot 7 white tips around the corner and take off. Big schools of fish here too. Feels like swimming in an aquarium again. I gently slide thru the school of fish not to disturb them. When I turn around the group arrives all spread out pushing thru the school of fish. Gone peace and quiet. Gone fish too. We let the group pass and linger behind. On the sand 2 marble rays and a hammerhead in the distance. Lots of garden eels. We come across a wall of rocks and a underwater buoy. Here a hammerhead and a few white tips. We follow the wall and all of a sudden we see and feel a super cold current rise up from the deep. It actually pushes us 5 meter upwards against the rock. Because of the thermocline the viz drops fast and it gets really dark. We stay on top of the rock and enter a coral/rock garden with yellow fusiliers, white tips, different puffer fish, a lobster, a marble ray and a large tuna. A school of trevallies is interested in Gerard. The elusive tiger shark is not home today
After dinner we spent some time on the top deck looking at falling stars.
Day 9: Friday 21st June 2019
1st Dive: Manualita Wall
2nd Dive: Baya Alcyone
3rd Dive: Manualita Garden
Cloudy and very windy this morning. I have a chat this morning with dive guide Warren. There are many dive sites on the map but we don’t visit them. Warren explains these sites haven’t been dived for years because nothing has been seen there. Manta Point for example is still on the map but no manta have been seen over the last 15 years. Guess global warming and overfishing is a problem here too.
For the first dive of the day the captain takes us to Manualita Wall. On the way over we spot 2 dolphins. We go in the water and the dolphins come round 3 times. What a treat.
Dive 16: Manualita Wall 
Time: 7.05
Viz: 15 meters
Temp: 27 Celsius
Dive time: 63 minutes
Depth: 25,7 meters
We roll next to the channel and swim to the first cleaning station. Lots of hammerheads today. We can see perfectly how they are cleaned by the little yellow barberfish. A silky shark swims by with a tail of fish behind it. The fish tornado is circling at the surface. A big and a small eagle ray swim past. On we go to the next cleaning station more north, reef right shoulder. We pass 8 white tips, a tuna, a Galapagos and a marble ray. The second cleaning station is also visited by several hammerheads, but we can’t stay long because we’re running out of no deco time. On the bottom several hammerheads. I’m looking at a huge parade of fusiliers that passes and seems endless while Gerard sees a huge school of hammerheads. As soon as he swims towards them they turn away.
The other zodiac comes back all happy. They saw a whale shark at Baya Alcyone.
We have breakfast, not too much because it’s already 9.00 and the next dive is at 10.00. But it turns out, our bottles aren’t filled properly, 180 bar only. Gives us some extra surface time. The ride over to Baya Alcyone also takes a while. The waves are pretty big, but still only half the size of African waves. Gerard breaks his goggle strap. Fortunately there is spare stuff on the zodiac like goggles and fins.
Dive 17: Baya Alcyone 
Time: 10.26
Viz: 15-20 meters
Temp: 24 Celsius
Dive time: 55 minutes
Depth: 26,7 meters
We roll and descend along the line to the bottom. Viz is not to great. No current but surge. In mid water we see some hammerheads. We swim to the little channel. The other group told me I should pay extra attention here. So I look around and yes, there’s the whale shark. It circles once and then it’s gone. Wow, such luck. We swim past the white tips to the cleaning station. The hammerheads don’t come close. To the other cleaning station. No hammerheads either but the whale shark is back and does another circle. Above a silky with a lots of fish following it. We do not have much bottom time so we level up. We see a fish ball and at 10 meters some more hammerheads max 10. When we surface we’re surrounded by 100 birds. It’s so funny looking up to see their little feet and their head down in the water.
A new boat arrived, the Shark Water Research Boat. I would love to see the films they made but I’m afraid if I see the piles of shark fins and the actual shark finning it’ll make me sick and will put images in my mind I’ll never forget. Sharks finned alive and still alive being thrown back into the ocean to drown. I’m having a hard time coping with this as it is.
Because the Shark Water and the Seahunter are scheduled for Manualita wall we go to the garden. Suns coming out but it’s still very windy. In Wafer Bay is phone reception. So at lunch some people are actually on their phone calling.
Dive 18: Manualita Garden
Time: 15.51 
Viz: 5-20 meters
Temp: 26 Celsius
Dive time: 47 minutes
Depth: 32,7 meters
We’re too early. The zodiacs of the Seahunter are in the bay, still waiting to pick up their divers. So we take a quick tour and look at a little dear on the wall and one of the many waterfalls. Cocos Island is so incredibly beautiful. We see several SMB’s pop up. Our group never used them, they just surface. Even Warren only used the SMB once.
We roll and the captain guides us over the rocks and 3 white tips to the sandy slope. Some fish. We follow the sand and pass a cleaning station for oceanic triggerfish. We start crossing the sand but other than garden eels and sea stars there is very little to see. We keep moving and find ourselves at 30 meters. All of a sudden the sand stops and a rock wall appears. We level up a few meters to look at the fish. Big is our surprise when 2 silky sharks appear. They’re chasing each other full speed. Swimming in between the divers not scared at all of the bubbles. The silkies keep circling so close I sometimes dug my head. One of the divers parks herself in a crevice in the rock. Two divers get entangled in camera wire. This is no relaxed situation anymore. Everybody’s adrenaline is pumping. Air consumption goes thru the roof. Both nitrox and no deco time are running low but nobody wants to surface with the two hyper active silkies around. Finally the silkies disappear and quickly the whole group does it’s safety stop. Before we go back to the Okeanos we need to pick up 1 diver who never made it past the coral garden.
Dinner is BBQ. We have it inside because of the rain outside seating is no option. Lights out at 21.00
Day 10: Saturday 22nd of June 2019
0.30 our toilet starts flushing automatically and doesn’t stop. Not possible to sleep with this noise I go out to find the night watch. Unable to find him I turn to the captain’s quarter. He responses quickly in his T-shirt and boxer short, pulls out a fuse and everything goes quiet. Back to bed but up at 5.00 to enjoy our last day at Cocos as long as possible. Heavy clouds again. We’re ready to dive at 7.07 but are planned 7.30. Spirit’s high. The sound system is turned on and we find ourselves dancing to ‘80 music. Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, Europe, and Falco’s ‘Rock me Amadeus’ are on the play list. It’s been a while since I last heard that song.
Dive 19: Dirty Rock
Time: 7.33 
Viz: 15 meters
Temp: 27 Celsius
Dive time: 63 minutes
Depth: 31 meters
We roll and swim to 25m. Around the marker several white tips, two marble rays and finally 5 hammerheads. We keep the reef to our right shoulder and pass the channel to the seamount. One hammerhead gets itself cleaned. It rolls to its sites and lets the barberfish do its work. The beauty workout takes at least 2 full minutes. A fantastic sight. Because there’s not much fish around we swim into the blue. I spot a group of about 25 hammerheads. Gerard who swims about 20 meters in the other directions spots hundreds. The most he’s ever seen. These hammerheads are shy, they don’t stay around. You see them or you don’t. Takes seconds. Beneath us a ball of fishes and above 2 mobula rays.
Breakfast. They ran out of yogurt but there is still Nutella. I try a huevo ranchero.
Dive 20: Manualita Deep to Garden
Time: 10.32
Viz: 5-20 meters
Temp: 27 Celsius
Dive time: 69 minutes
Depth: 21,4 meters
Because there were no active cleaning stations at Dirty Rock Warren takes us to Manualita Deep. Some sun, some clouds, little wind. We roll far from the Channel. Immediately a lot of action. Lots of hammerheads. One is neurotic and swims up and down very fast. The cleaning station is well visited sometimes by 5 hammerheads at the time until one of the divers parks himself right in front of the ‘entry’. We swim to the next cleaning station, reef right shoulder. We stay in the blue and spot more hammers, 3, 5, max 8 at the time. Beneath us on the sand white tips, marble rays, fusiliers and an eagle ray. When we arrive at the channel current is almost non existing. We keep right, jacks above us, lots of rabbit fish on the rocks. Hammerheads on the sands. We see another group of 8. It’s again like swimming in an aquarium. When we level up, viz drops dramatically. Just before we enter the zodiac the bigeye trevally tornado pops up. We get surrounded and over max our dive time. Fantastic dive.
Lunch is different kinds of pizza’s with vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips for dessert. Great comfort food to get us ready for our last dive at Cocos. But first photo session. The dive guides have tasks divided. Captain Mauricio makes pictures while Warren makes videos. By the way, the pictures are shared for free.
Dive 21: Manualita deep to garden
Time: 15.01
Viz: 10-20 meters
Temp: 28 Celsius
Dive time: 66 minutes
Depth: 29 meters
Dive plan is the same as the previous dive. But this is diving. Was there lots of action before, now there is none. One hammerhead. We wait at the 1st cleaning station for 10 minutes but no sharks. Reef left shoulder we swim to the second cleaning station more southerly. We see 1 hammerhead speeding into the blue, white tips and marble rays at the bottom. We go into the channel and swim through a group of fusiliers. Still very little current. We enter into Manualita Coral Garden. A little sole hammerhead swims towards us as to say bye-bye. On the rock garden is plenty of fish. Groups of fusiliers, different puffer fish, several white tips. We swim a record distance on this dive. Need to work of lunch. We don’t want to leave but after 60 minutes we start our safety stop. Than we spot an eagle ray followed by a big trevally. Do you need more reason to dip down again? For the first time we use a SBM.
Back on the Okeanos everybody is cleaning his stuff. The captain is on the crane pulling in the zodiacs. In no time the anchor is pulled and off we go. At 17.30 we start our long journey. We slowly see Cocos and its clouds disappear in the distance.
Although sea is calm the boat is rocking and rolling. At the dinner table glasses keep falling over. Also dessert falls in a passengers lap. It’s going to be a long, long ride back home. 36 hour boat ride, a bus ride from Puntarenas to San Jose Airport, a plane to Panama City (huge thunderstorm), plane to Amsterdam. Arrival in Amsterdam Tuesday 25th of June 2019 at 12.20.