Cabuya Island Cemetery
Cabuya, Costa Rica
A little island in the Gulf of Nicoya has no human occupants.
The only way to get to Cabuya Island's cemetery, sometimes called "Cemetery Island," is to walk across the sea floor at low tide. The ocean will separate twice daily, allowing guests to take the 15-minute trek from Cabuya's mainland beach to the island. A designated entryway is on the right, where the rocky seafloor trail reaches the island. Those who pass through it will be met by a woodland road leading to the tombs and gravestones of those buried there.
It genuinely resembles the opening segment of a horror film. As you walk down the tiny route, you may be approached by a pair of stray dogs who live on the island, or hovering buzzards may surround you. The residents believe the island is haunted, as several claims to have heard voices from it in the middle of the night.
Most of Cemetery Island's dead are interred, although two notable gravesites exist. The first is the story of Frank Jaeger. His unusual tombstone features a sculpture of a fist on one side and a plane propeller on the other. There's also a tombstone that's nothing more than an enigmatic sculpture of two incomprehensible heads facing opposite directions. Aside from local legend, little is known about either of these burial stones. Visitors will see, however, that the burial grounds are beautifully maintained and attended to. Numerous exhibit the artefacts and care of recent visitors; numerous tombs are decorated with fresh flowers, stones, and shell arrangements.
While Cabuya's indigenous peoples have used the island as a burial ground since the 1700s, foreigners have only been buried there in the last 100 years. According to folklore, local fishermen discovered a drowned body in the sea near Cabuya Island 100 years ago. They opted to bury him on the island where they found him because they had no idea who he was. This started a practice of burying the dead there, which is still ongoing today.
Anyone planning a trip to the island should know the tide charts. Once the sea covers the pathway, there is no way to return to the mainland until the following low tide. On the island, there are no facilities.
