Isla Isabela

Third time's a charm. We have gone by Isla Isabel twice in the past year. This time we stopped. The weather favored us with calm seas and little wind, so we anchored on the east side near the two spires and shoals off the shore of this crumbling volcanic island. There were rocks and sand and our anchor chain rattled all night long. We were fortunate to drop the hook on a rock shelf...two feet to the right and we'd have had it snagged under a deep ledge. Also fortunate, the water is crystal clear and we can see the 20 feet down to where the anchor lies. Even then, we had to maneuver a bit to get the chain clear when we hoisted it next day.

We snorkeled from the boat, finding amazing schools of fish, a variety we have not seen since the Bahamas. My first Moorish Idols (!!!) and an 6-foot span eagle ray that took our breath away.




A short dinghy ride around the point put us into the southern anchorage area and the lobe where pangas tie up. We beached the boat and went ashore for a hike.




Isla Isabel is a bird refuge, reputedly the largest frigate bird rookery in the Pacific. Arriving as the nestlings are just hatching (we saw one booby egg literally cracking up), we wandered for hours among the birds. They watched us very carefully.




There are blue-footed boobies, yellow-footed boobies, masked boobies, red-footed boobies (we saw only photos of them), and any number of gannets and gulls.



The boobies nest on the ground, and are prey to rats brought to the island by boats. Frigate birds nest in the low shrubs and trees. Guano abounds and the aroma is a pungent reminder of the chicken-coops of my childhood.



There is a concerted effort on the part of Mexicans to eradicate non-native plants and animals from Isla Isabel. Work groups come to the island to clear land and set traps. Besides the restoration efforts, there are panga fisherman on the island, visiting school and tour groups, and scientists engaged in study of birds and geology. We talked with a German geologist who was busy with a drilling project, looking at sediment levels in the Crater Lake. She was very excited about the work they had done and the discoveries underway.