A while back GB posted about our visit to Isla Isabela, a logical waystop between Mazatlan (90 miles to the north) and points further south such as San Blas (about 45 miles south and east) and Puerto Vallarta (errm….further south and east). A cruising couple we know, both marine biologists, had told us that a visit to Isla Isabela is the closest wildlife experience one can get to the Galapagos Islands without actually having to travel there. They sure were right – Thanks, Steve & Pat of "Pacific Voyager" and "Danzante"!
What’s going on at Isabela is a very large concentration of magnificent frigatebirds nesting and feeding their chicks in conveniently eye-level scrub trees; at least two species of booby occupying the lower-rent real estate; iguanas of all sizes (biggest one we saw was about 6 feet including the tail); and assorted sundry other lizards and ocean birds. Heerman’s gulls
are all over the place, and we even spotted red-billed tropicbirds, I’m here to tell ya. The guide books say that if the daytime haze obscures the island itself, you can tell how close you are by looking for the thousands of birds riding the thermals above the island.
The two most usable anchorages are on the eastern and southern portions of Isabela, which was essentially formed by the collapsed craters of one or more ancient volcanoes. Both anchorages are rolly but in good weather anyone traveling past here should really make a stop and go ashore. Current opinion favors the eastern anchorage over the southern, though dinghy landing is made at the very nice, protected beach on the southern shore where the fishing pangas and village are located. 
Trails onshore lead past abandoned buildings and one is instantly among iguanas and frigates. We were there in early February when the frigates were breeding (males puffing up their bright red throat pouches for whatever passing female might be interested); and chicks were just hatching, so we saw lots of fuzzy white frigate and booby fluff.
Check out these guys here:
With all the nesting bird action everywhere – and the larger iguanas in the bush – it’s wise to stay on the marked trails here. People typically spend a few minutes to a few hours ashore here, and might encounter grad students who are camped out on one end of the island doing bird counts and whatnot. Some folks hire a panga in San Blas to take a high-speed day trip out to Isabela and back again; if you don’t have your own boat to get here I would highly recommend adding a day or two to a San Blas vacation to come out to Isabela – it’s that special. One more installment on the glories of Isabela to come – heh.
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