Isla Isabella

We left Mazatlan on December 3rd and sailed southeast to Isla Isabella, an island famous as a nesting site for frigate birds and boobies. We had light winds and calm seas the whole way. We left Mazatlan around noon and arrived at the island around 9 the next morning. It was exciting to see the island appear on the horizon in the early morning light--although it was not exactly where it was supposed to be. My new Navionics electronic charts show the island about a mile and half southeast of where it actually is.

We anchored in a beautiful little bay on the south side of the island. This bay is a notorious "anchor eater" so we buoyed our anchor and hoped for the best. When we went ashore we were stunned to see so many nesting birds so close to the beach and hiking trails. The birds seemed completely unafraid of humans--some of them seemed to be posing for pictures, turning their heads one way and then another, as if trying to show me their best side.

The island has no permanent human population, but a group of panganeros (fishermen) were camped in shacks on the beach. We also met members of a diving group from San Blas, who were camped in an abandoned building.

On our second day, we circumnavigated the island in our kayaks. It was a rainy day, with ominous clouds, but the scenery was still spectacular. On the east side of the island are some tall rock spires that rise from the sea called the Monas. We found a HaHa boat named Liberty anchored in the lee of the Monas, but the crew had gone to shore.

The third day we went ashore again with my Nikon camera and walked over the whole island, taking lots of pictures. Some of the best are shown below.