Isla Isabel

January 14 – 17, 2023

We departed Marina El Cid around 11 AM for the short sail over to the Isla de la Piedra (Stone Island) anchorage. This is just outside the south breakwater for the Mazatlan Harbor. There is a large beach with many palapa restaurants. Once we got the anchor down, we headed into the beach and enjoyed some cold Pacificos and shrimp. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon. We were back on board for sunset. The beach came alive at night complete with music and fireworks. We turned in early as we had an early start the next day.

We were up at midnight and underway by 1 AM for Isla Isabel. We had to leave early in order to arrive there in daylight since we try to avoid entering new places at night. Isla Isabel is known as the Galapagos of Mexico. A small island 32 km off the coast of mainland Mexico, it is known for its remoteness, nesting birds, and reptiles. It was declared and national park in 1980 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.

After an 86 nm passage we arrived just after 3 PM and anchored on the south side of the island with one other boat (SV Kite) in the anchorage. This is a tricky, “fair weather” anchorage because there are many rocks on which to foul the anchor and wrap the chain around. Luckily we had GPS coordinates for an area of sand that turned out to be accurate. After getting a good set on the anchor we enjoyed a nice cold beer while we took in the surroundings. Frigate birds, blue footed and brown footed boobies, and pelicans were flying around everywhere. Whales were breaching just offshore. While checking things on deck, two humpback whales swam between our boat and our neighbor’s boat approximately 100 feet away. By far the closest we’ve ever come to these magnificent creatures.

The following morning we put the dinghy in and went for a hike on the island. Landing along a beach just inside a protected cove in front of the fish camp buildings, we pulled our dinghy up the beach and took off. The trail starts to the right of a small pond behind the fish camp. It took us through a forest with tens of thousands of nesting frigate birds everywhere you looked. Because the island is so isolated the animals have no fear of humans. Iguanas and other lizards just looked at us as we walked past. The frigate birds wouldn’t leave their nests no matter how close you got and never even seemed to be agitated that we were there.

The trail ended on the north side of the island where we saw nesting blue footed boobies and brown footed boobies. These birds also had no fear or concern for humans. The coast was rugged but beautiful with whales breaching just offshore.

On the way back we stopped by an old building that was once a research station. It appears now to cater to local reptiles. We did run into a group of people who were camping on the island as part of an eco-tour group out of San Blas.

After two spectacular but rolly nights at anchor, we departed around 9 AM for Bahia Matachen near San Blas. Lines were in the water soon after and we immediately caught a small Bonita which we released followed 10 minutes later by a good sized Mahi-Mahi which will make 4-5 meals for us. Our freezer is again stocked with fish. The rest of the seven hour trip was uneventful and we had the anchor set in time to enjoy a cold beer while watching the sun set over this tropical bay.