Isla Isabela | Sailing Aphrodite

We had about a 250NM crossing from Los Muertos to Isla Isabela. Pointing this far S put the prevailing NW swell more on the stern than on the beam and gave us a more comfortable ride across the Sea of Cortez than might be typically encountered on a crossing from La Paz or Los Muertos to Mazatlan. As it was, the seas weren’t too dramatic in any case and the winds were as predicted pushing 15 – 20kts on the first day of the crossing and very little on the second day. The crossing was uneventful with the exception of a couple of bites on the lure (but nothing landed), escaping a maze of gill nets laid in our path by the fishermen and trying to prevent Frigates and Boobies landed on our rig wanting to hitch and overnight ride to Isabela.

We arrived at Isla Isabella on the morning of the 1st of December and dropped our hook at our preferred anchorage south of the twin pillars of Las Monas at 21º50.88’N 105º52.76’W. We were helped out by the very friendly skipper and crew of “SeaReach” (from Galway via Vancouver), who helped us spot the right patch of sand to drop our anchor into. After resting up for a short while, we swam ashore, avoiding the overhead of launching the dinghy.

Isla Isabela is stunning and packs a lot of things to see and do, despite being only about 1NM from end to end. Firstly there are the birds. Big frigates and boobies (with brown, blue, green and even red feet) hanging out, sometimes 2-3 on the ~10ft tall trees that cover most of the island and circling in the air from dawn to dusk in huge numbers, like a scene from a dinosaur movie. Like the wildlife in the Galapagos Islands the birds show no fear of people, most will let you walk right up to them. The boobies don’t lay their eggs in nests on the trees, but lay them on flat nests on the hard rock of the cliff tops. Don’t get too close, because they will snap at you with their hooked beaks.
Then there are the lizards and iguanas hanging out in the sun. Then there are the snorkeling sites, with Isabela being so far from the mainland and surrounded by deeper water, that the watering many places is very clear, offering visibility of maybe 100ft or more. The rocks around Los Manos are great places to snorkel as are the reefs in the rocky bay on the south side. We saw many different kinds of fish including several spotted eagle rays. Finally the geography of Isabela is amazing, with rocky islets to the north and east, near vertical cliffs and sea caves, several accessible peaks and yet still finds room to have a volcanic crater lake in the middle!

Las Manos