We anchored just after noon in the southern bay close by the fishing ‘village’, which was actually just a few huts on the beach and just as soon as we could launched the dinghy and rowed ashore; we did not want to miss making good use of this splendid day! The beach in front of the fishing huts is quite protected and affords an easy place to land, they have positioned a Park Notice Board here and it details the Island and the few restrictions they wish to impose on visitors. I was actually very surprised at the freedom given as we were virtually free to roam anywhere we chose; a little different to most of the Galapagos Islands where movement is much more controlled.
We didn’t have to go more than a few yards from the beach to be practically falling over nesting Boobies and face to face with nesting Frigate Birds that had settled in the low shrubs and bushes which abounded on the island. We spent the rest of the day, until it started to get cool, moving from one nest to another marvelling at this wonderful opportunity to get close up with these animals; they showed no fear, only a mild interest in our presence however they would lean out of their nests to peck at us if we got that close……..
The Boobies nested on the ground and would hiss at us if we did anything they didn’t like, most of the time however they just stared at us in the same way that we stared at them; they made cute little family groups and seemed very proud to display their new family member(s) where available. The Blue Footed Booby was of course the star of the show; these birds are not only photogenic but have a marvellous comical character that can entertain all audiences. When a Booby walks it dances, displaying its big, blue webbed feet and dancing from one foot to the other, it has to be seen to be believed!
Isabela also is home for many other varieties of birds; The Long Tailed Tropic Bird, Pelicans, various Gull’s, Guillemots and Herons start the long list. They have no natural predators on the Island and for a good part of the year receive only limited human visitors, so it’s ‘Bird Paradise’ all round. We walked all the trails that were marked up on the Park Notice Board and a few more that weren’t; the island has an interesting Crater Lake which is a reminder of how these islands were formed so many years ago. The tracks were easy going and there were few insects to bite us along the way; plenty of spiders however, weaving their webs across the track to catch the unwary. At one stage I did see what appeared to be a small snake, about seven inches long and mostly red, it was only a fleeting glimpse as it struggled off the path a rapidly disappeared in the long grass; I wasn’t aware that their were any snakes on the island so I was probably just as surprised as the snake!
We spent two great days at the Island and took hundreds of pictures; the anchorage was fine right through to the morning that we left when a large southerly swell started to set us surging back and forth on the anchor gear. This was a little worrying as there are quite a lot of loose rocks on the bottom and the anchor chain was getting caught up it them at times; after we left we heard that the other boats sharing the cove had to vacate and move around to the Eastern Anchorage close by Las Monas, two very imposing rocks that rise strait up from the sea and offer a more private habitat to many of the islands residents. As Isabela sank slowly into the sea astern of us we vowed to return, we left with many great memories, lots of great photos and a sense of how good it was to be a guest of nature instead of the usual human endeavour of trying to make nature a, usually unwilling, guest.
Our weather guru, Don with ‘Summer Passage Radio’ was promising us some light winds to move north to our next destination, Mazatlan; however there was the promise of some stronger adverse conditions in a few days, thus we felt the need to move on. For a change we were able to make sail and make progress as soon as we were clear of the anchorage however as the day wore on Don’s promised light winds increase to more than what we required; soon after sunset we were going to windward under a deep reefed mainsail and staysail with over twenty three knots of relative wind over the deck. It was a bitingly cool breeze and most unpleasant conditions, between times of peaking out for traffic we huddled inside trying to keep warm; all the oil lights and candles were brought into action in a vain attempt to raise the temperature. The wind eventually died on us at 0600hrs the next morning and we had to motor the last thirty miles into Mazatlan arriving in the Old Harbour a little after noon on a crisp but clear day. Out of the breeze somewhat, we were able to wear shorts and T-shirts whilst cleaning up the boat and stowing the gear; we remained aboard however as we had no energy left to explore in what was left of the day.
Next stop Mazatlan
John & Paula |
