The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: October twentieth, with a visit to Jurassic Island.

Isla de Coco lies 300 miles into the Pacific Ocean off Costa Rica's southwest coast. The world's largest uninhabited island, it's a realm of sea cliffs and steep peaks of volcanic origin. The rough terrain and 250 inches of annual rainfall have spawned lush tropical forests and hundreds of showy waterfalls.

Remoteness and abundant fresh water made the island a perfect hideaway for Pacific pirates. Robert Louis Stevenson drew the inspiration for "Treasure Island" from fabulous tales of pirate booty buried there. The island's literary reputation was re-newed when Michael Crichton created an imaginary dinosaur Disneyland there, in his book and subsequent movies, "Jurassic Park" and "Lost World."

A natural laboratory for studying the evolution of plants and animals, Coco Island and its surrounding waters are now a Costa Rican national park. No pirates or prehistoric monsters are to be found on the island, but there are Holy Ghosts, tiny birds that circle visitors heads. Hiking is the main on-shore activity, even though the island offers no camping or marked trails.

In fact, other than naturalists, most Coco Island visitors are scuba divers attracted by the extraordinarily transparent water, myriad submarine caves and the abundant diversity of undersea life. They stay on float planes or dive boats anchored in two tiny bays.

Though the temperature on Coco Island is fairly constant year round, the drier months are from November through May. That's generally the best time to plan a visit.

FMI For information on the diveboat Okeanos which makes 10 day trips to Coco call 800-348-2628 or www.aggressor.com

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