Isla Isabella (The Galapagos Island of Mexico)

The afternoon departure was delayed until the dredging crew dropped the cable which ran across the narrow harbor channel. We progressed slowly toward the dredge and as we approached the workers signaled us forward. The cable which was strung tight was dropped; we motored thru and were on our way south. Winds remained light at 10 – 19 kts until midnight. We decided to motor as the breeze of 3-5 kts was not helping to keep the sail full on the downwind. The rest of the night was uneventful without any traffic until we reached the northern end of Isla Isabel. There were a lot of pangas and fish trawlers working the area. Since snagging a long line inbound to Mazatlan we kept a wary eye out for floats as the sun came up.

The island offers two small anchorages, neither one completely protected. We motored around to evaluate both options and decided to drop the hook on the south side of the island. Our friends on S/V Zoe arrived soon after. Paul and I napped to recover from a short but tiring overnight passage. Paul decided to go ashore mid afternoon to explore the rookeries. I stayed with the boat as I was a little nervous to leave due to the anchorage.

The island is a world famous rookery for the blue footed boobies and the frigates. It is very similar to Heron Island on the Barrier Reef of Australia. The birds have no natural predator here and are approachable while nesting and raising their young. There are masses of them. The boobies nest along the cliffs and the frigates nest in the trees. The island is a blown out volcano caldera so the topography is ideally suited for both species. The abundance of fish allows the birds an unrestricted source of nutrition. There is a deserted field station for researchers which was built in the 70s. Currently there is a manned research station on the SE side of the island which is closest to the larger of the 2 booby rookeries. There is a campground (this is a national park) and a large fish camp as well.

On day two we both went ashore and hiked to the ridge to see the birds. The photos will not do it justice. The birds were everywhere. We hiked off the ridge and went to explore the caldera lake center island. We met some researchers who told us about the other rookery. We ended up hiking out to their research station. The whole morning was really great.

Back on the boat we took a swim to cool off and hunkered down inside to avoid the humidity. The inside cabin salon stays cool with a good breeze blowing thru. Water temps are upper 70s (I wish they were a little warmer…) and the humidity feels like 80 – 90% (Probably not, but it feels like it). Tomorrow we are planning to depart early and sail to Chacala. It will be about a 55 nm passage.

Las Monas (the Mannequins) lie just off shore from Isla Isabela.
Supposedly anchorage can be found on the south side, but
we just did not feel comfortable, so opted to drop our
hook in the southern bay of the island.

There is a small fishing village where you land the dinghy.
Notice all the flying birds, I think mostly frigates.

The frigates nest in the trees.  They are every where and
you have to be careful as you walk around that your
not a target.

Paul on the hike up to the booby  rookery.  Note
Talos IV in the background just above his left shoulder.

Frigates in the tree just above our heads as we walked
down the trail.  The one with the red is a male.

Blue footed boobys.  The spanish name is bobo.  I remember when
I was young that we called my grandmother bobo.  These guys were
every where and so so cute.  The females were sitting in nests with their eggs.

The rookery was full of boobys.

Female booby with her egg underneath her.  You can
just make it out.

The iguanas and lizirds had their day as well.  You had
to watch your step to avoid stepping on one.

Janet with las Monas.

Tia and birds just don't mix, so she stayed well protected
under the dodger during our stay at Isla Isabela.