There’s an island just off the coast of Costa Rica where a treasure amounting an approximate $1bn is buried, and the place is heavily guarded by more bloodthirsty sharks than you’d like to imagine.
We are not discussing the plot of the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The story, however, does include some real Pirates of the Caribbean as well as colossal amounts of worldly worth.
The treasure buried here is sourced back to Lima, the Peruvian capital.
It all started when Captain William Thompson of Peru was tasked with moving a huge treasure due to a suspected uprising against the rulers of the place.
Due to some reasons, Captain Thompson had to bury the treasure at the island which is now known as the Island of Cocos.
The lost treasure reportedly consists of handsome amounts of silver coins, diamonds and a gigantic golden statue of the Virgin Mary. The treasure is worth at least one billion dollars.
Captain Thompson and his crew had the instructions of taking the treasure from Lima to Mexico back in 1821 in a ship called the Mary Dear.
However, greed got the better of them, and they executed all the soldiers and priests present on board. To let the fuss die (and in wait of better times), the Captain decided to bury the treasure in the Cocos Island.
Nothing was heard from any of the ship’s passengers after that – which means the treasure might just be buried somewhere in the island, waiting to be uncovered.
After the uprising was put to an end, Captain Thompson and his crew were held accountable for what they had done. Everyone on the team except the Captain and his first mate were executed.
The two of them were spared in return of a promise that they would guide the authorities back to the place where they had hidden the treasure.
The duo upheld half of their promise, i.e. they guided the authorities to the island but once there, they freed themselves and disappeared into the thick jungle. No one ever saw or hear from them again.
But there is more to the story of this island.
In the start of the 19th century, Benito Bonito, a Portuguese pirate hid a sizable hoard of silver, gold, and gems on the same island. Too much of treasures for a small island though!
According to careful estimates, the stash from Bonito alone has a worth more than $300m.
A portion of Bonito’s treasure was discovered by a group of warriors in May 1856 while fleeing from a battle in Nicaragua. They noticed a bronze chain and upon inspection found a chest filled with doubloons.
The island is still a source of attraction for treasure hunters.
Legend has it that Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island were inspired by this island.
UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site because of the wildlife found in it.
This means that now no one can go and hunt for treasures on the island because UNESCO believes that the sharks and tigers native to the place are a bigger treasure worth safeguarding.
Even if you can make it to the island, the exact location of where the treasure is cannot be determined. One tree on the island has a message carved onto it, saying: “The bird has flown.”
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