Scuba Diving in Cano Island, Costa Rica

Caño Island, with its verdant jungles, towering palm trees and neon blue shallows is, in fact, one of the world's prettiest graveyards. There aren't any tombstones or visible crypts, but there is certainly no shortage of dead bodies (all of them underground, thankfully). For hundreds, if not thousands of years, long before the Spanish arrived in their galleons, the Diquís Indians were ferrying bodies from the mainland on little wooden rafts of their own.Caño Island was a sacred place for the long gone indigenous, possibly because lightning strikes here with more frequency than anywhere else in Costa Rica. And so, perhaps to be closer to their deities after death, the living brought their dead, depositing them into the island's hallowed soil. As a reminder of such times, Caño is littered with ancient artifacts, ranging from giant stone spheres to ornate corn grinding pestles. At one time, there were possibly hundreds of these objects on the tiny island, but alas, that is no longer the case.

Tourists, collectors, thieves and vandals have accounted for the majority. However, the larger pieces still remain partially buried beneath the loamy soils for anyone to sea.While taking a break from the sun, I encounter a variety of carvings and bolas among the towering trees and wonder at the people who sat at these very spot centuries ago, bidding a fond farewell to an in-law or friend. Could they imagine what the future would bring to their burial grounds - a procession of tourists bedecked in flip- flops, smelling of coconut oil? Probably not! I doubt they would be too happy about it. However, trampling tourists are certainly the lesser of two evils when one considers that the entire island, including the ancestral graves, were fated to vanish beneath a European mega- resort.

Thankfully, local outrage and somewhat untidy paperwork helped authorities quash the project, paving the way for national park status.Caño Island and the waters surrounding it are now fully protected by Costa Rican law on paper at least. Today, despite the "protection" and a plethora of eco-minded tourists visiting from afar, Caño waters and wildlife are still under perilous threat. An increase in long-liner fishing activity, combined with commercial shrimp netting, is destroying the ecosystem. Nets drift onto the "protected" corals and rocks, entangling sharks and turtles, killing sport fish and injuring dolphins. It is against the law to practice commercial fishing anywhere near the island, but the park wardens are handicapped by the fact that they are understaffed and do not have a decent boat. The commercial fishermen are laughing, but the tourist industry and concerned conservationists most certainly are not. For the moment, sport fishermen (practicing catch and release) are almost guaranteed a bill fish (or two or three or four) every day they are on the water, but that will change forever if the long-liners continue to catch and kill these species as a by-product.

An increase in the wasteful practice of shark finning (the removal of the shark’s dorsal fin for the Asian market while the rest of the shark is thrown back into the water to die) is directly threatening the diving industry, and upsetting the delicate balance of nature. But it’s not all doom and gloom. A variety of action groups have banded together in order to comber the growing fide of damage, and with luck and hard work they hope to encourage the development of a marine reserve that will extend from the mainland well beyond the limit of Caño Island itself commercial fishing will become a thing of the past, leaving the waters free for sport fishing, divers and snorkelers all important benefactors to the local economy. But most importantly, as far as I am concerned, there will be a special protected place where the gentle giants can drift at ease. Mouths agape, sharks can be as ominous as they like, and humpback whales can leap around like overexcited schoolchildren - for now and forever.

Courtesy of Costa Rica Tourism

Become our Partner!
Have you a dive business in this dive sites area? Click here to find out more about being listed in "Top Dive Sites"

Improve "Top Dive Sites"!
Add a map, image or dive site review. Your name will be listed in this scuba diving site.