The Hidden Gold Of Cocos Island: A Tale Of Pirates, Legends, and Lost Treasures

Coco's Island

The Hidden Gold of Cocos Island: Pirates, Legends, and the Treasure No One Can Find

There’s an island out there, somewhere off the coast of Costa Rica, wrapped in mist and mystery. Thick jungle. Rocky cliffs. Waters teeming with sharks. And if the stories are true, enough buried treasure to make any pirate weep.

Cocos Island.

For centuries, fortune seekers have chased the legends swirling around this place. The whispers of lost gold, stolen relics, and riches beyond imagination have drawn in explorers, treasure hunters, and the occasional lunatic. Some have spent years searching. Others have gone broke trying. And yet, the treasure? Still missing.

So what’s the deal with Cocos Island? What makes this speck of land so legendary? And more importantly, where’s the gold?

Let’s dive in.

The Legend of Captain Thompson and the Treasure of Lima

The year is 1820, and South America is in full-blown revolution. The Spanish, realizing that their hold on Peru is slipping, scramble to protect their most valuable possessions, the vast wealth of the Catholic Church in Lima. We’re talking gold statues, chests of coins, and enough jewels to make a king blush.

Enter Captain William Thompson and his ship, the Mary Dear. The Spanish load up their treasure, hand it over to Thompson for “safe transport,” and breathe a sigh of relief.

Big mistake.

The moment the Mary Dear hits open water, Thompson and his crew turn pirate. They toss the Spanish guards overboard and set sail for Cocos Island, a remote, jungle-choked hideaway perfect for stashing stolen treasure.

The plan? Bury the gold, lay low, and come back for it when things cool down.

Except, they never got the chance.

Spanish authorities hunted them down, captured Thompson and his crew, and executed most of them. Thompson himself, however, cut a deal. His life in exchange for the treasure’s location.

But when they arrived at Cocos Island? Thompson and his first mate made a run for it, vanishing into the jungle, never to be seen again.

The treasure? Still waiting.

The Blood-Stained Shores of Benito Bonito

Of course, Captain Thompson wasn’t the only pirate to see Cocos Island as a prime hiding spot. Fast forward a few years, and we meet another charming outlaw: Benito Bonito, aka “Bloody Sword.”

Yeah, not exactly the guy you invite over for dinner.

Bonito made a career out of pillaging Spanish ships and accumulating a fortune in stolen gold. And like many before him, he needed a place to stash the loot.

Legend says he hid chests of gold and jewels all over Cocos Island, secluded coves, jungle caves, anywhere a nosy navy wouldn’t think to look.

Unfortunately, Bonito’s career ended the way most pirate stories do, badly. The British navy caught up with him near Panama, and before they could haul him off to the gallows, he supposedly sent a few of his most trusted men back to Cocos Island to secure the hoard.

Then, like clockwork, the British hanged Bonito.

And that treasure? Never recovered.

Chatham beach on Cocos Island

Shipwrecks, Lost Galleons, and Forgotten Fortunes

Here’s the thing about Cocos Island, it wasn’t just pirates using it as a stash spot. Spanish galleons, massive treasure ships ferrying gold, silver, and emeralds from the New World to Europe, often wrecked near its shores.

One particularly juicy legend tells of a galleon that ran aground near Wafer Bay. Survivors, knowing they’d never get off the island with all that treasure, supposedly buried it deep in the jungle.

Did they leave behind a map? Probably. Is it lost? Of course.

That’s just how these things go.

The Treasure Hunters Who Tried and Failed

So if all this treasure is supposedly there, why hasn’t anyone found it?

Well, it’s not for lack of trying.

For 150 years, Cocos Island has been a magnet for treasure hunters. And nearly everyone who’s set foot on it has walked away empty-handed.

The Man Who Spent 20 Years Digging

In the late 19th century, a German adventurer named August Gissler arrived on Cocos Island with maps, theories, and a dream.

For nearly two decades, Gissler hacked through the jungle, dug pits 30 feet deep, and suffered through relentless heat, rain, and mosquito hell.

His reward?

A few rusted tools and a couple of old coins.

That’s it.

Gissler eventually left the island, his spirit broken, his fortune nowhere to be found.

John Keating: The Man Who Bankrupted Himself

Then there was John Keating, a British adventurer who sank his entire fortune into treasure-hunting expeditions to Cocos Island.

After years of failed digs, all he had to show for it was an empty bank account.

Even U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt reportedly expressed interest in Cocos Island’s treasure, but not even a guy with that much influence could get his hands on it.

The Real Problem: The Law Won’t Let You Dig

Here’s the biggest obstacle standing between modern treasure hunters and Cocos Island’s fabled gold:

It’s illegal to dig there.

In 1997, Cocos Island was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That means zero treasure hunting, zero excavation, and absolutely no shovels in the ground.

Costa Rica protects the island’s ecosystem above all else. And unless you get government authorization, you won’t be doing any pirate-style digging anytime soon.

So, How Do You Find the Treasure?

The modern-day treasure hunt doesn’t start on Cocos Island, it starts in archives and historical records. If you’re serious about tracking down this gold, you need a paper trail.

Here’s Where to Start:

1. National Archives of Costa Rica (San José)

• Colonial records, shipping logs, and possible pirate trial documents.

• Requires formal request for access.

2. Spanish Archives in Seville, Spain

• The Spanish kept meticulous records. If a lost galleon was carrying treasure, this is where you’ll find the details.

3. British Admiralty Records

• Pirates like Thompson and Bonito tangled with the British navy. Their naval logs might hold key clues.

4. Historical Treasure Maps

• Many old maps are deliberately cryptic. Learning how to interpret them (and combining them with modern tech) is crucial.

A Call to Adventure

Cocos Island has buried more than just treasure, it’s buried dreams, fortunes, and entire lifetimes of searching.

But here’s the thing: just because no one’s found it yet doesn’t mean it’s not there.

If you’re serious about tracking down Cocos Island’s legendary hoard, you won’t need a shovel, you’ll need patience, research, and a hell of a lot of determination.

The next great treasure discovery? It’s out there. Maybe in a forgotten document, maybe in an old map, maybe in a place no one’s thought to look yet.

And if history has taught us anything, it’s this:

The gold always belongs to the one who’s bold enough to claim it.