My name is Jonene Ficklin, and I'm a full-time wife, mom, writer, and professional artist. I've been drawing since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I use colored pencils, oil paints, and watercolors. I love what I do!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Cocos Island

All right. I’m writing a pirate book. And I’m doing lots of research and learning all kinds of random facts about people, places, and oh, yes, islands.



Have you ever heard of Cocos Island? It’s a tiny island west of Costa Rica. Rumor has it that on three separate occasions, pirates hid their booty there.



It shouldn’t be hard to find it then, right?

Wrong.

A man named August Gissler moved there with a shovel, two maps, and a big dream. Have you read the book or seen the movie “Holes?” Well, that’s exactly what happened here. He dug and dug and dug. The island was pocked with holes. His beard grew down to his knees. And all he ever found were thirty gold pieces and one golden glove.



I know, just enough to keep him digging, and not enough to keep his wife from going insane. The woman was a saint!

Anyway, what about the whole “I’m living on an island” thing? Well, that must have been nice . . . other than the millions of holes.



But, if you look at what is in the water surrounding it, that’s where you’ll find the true treasure. An Imax film called “Island of the Sharks” was made there, and if you have a chance to watch it, you won’t be sorry. Here’s a link to the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X22TCPIVPA

There are schools of hammerhead sharks, a feeding frenzy on a huge bait ball of fish, a leisurely scene with a hungry (and very patient) sea turtle -- one of my favorite creatures, and much more.


So, if you inherit any pirate maps, take it easy. If you live on an island, I'm seriously jealous. If you find out any cool pirate facts, let me know!

Well, I’m off to write and do more research. See you soon, mateys!

4 comments:

  1. I love the pic of the hammerheads. They are the coolest sharks. Keep up the awesome pirate work. :)

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  2. Leisha, I'll try. The problem is, pirating's easy. It's real life that takes effort, ha ha!

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  3. I'd love to go the Galapagos someday. It's one of my dream vacations.

    Hey, btw, I LOVE the Owl City song. My kids love it too!

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  4. Lydia, the Galapagos are so cool! I'd love to go there, too. Yup, we love just about everything Owl City does, but especially "Fireflies." You've got good taste! : )

    ReplyDelete

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