Punta de Mita to Isla Isabel

We were up well before dawn on Saturday, March 26th, the day the Honcho made its final departure from Punta de Mita. We got underway just in time to see one last spectacular sunrise over the bay, before we headed north to another storied bay, Bahia Mantanchen. Sailing conditions were excellent and we made good time, getting the anchor down in Mantanchen Bay in mid afternoon. This bay is famous for its great surf and its Jejenes, otherwise known as noseeums, nonos,  or sand fleas. All of those appellations are often preceded by a rather forceful adjective because of their ability to inflict an itching, bleeding, scratching kind of misery on everyone they come in contact with. We were well prepared, with fine mesh bug screens on the hatches, DEET laced sunscreen and bug repellent, and a take-no-prisoners attitude. We passed a peaceful and bug free night and got the anchor up early to head for our next destination, Isla Isabel.

Punta de Mita Sunrise

Isla Isabel has been described as the Galapagos of Mexico because of its remoteness and isolation. Consequently it is the nesting and breeding ground for vast numbers of sea birds, particularly blue-footed boobies and the magnificent frigate birds. The island is a Mexican National Park and a World Heritage Site, so its unique flora and fauna are well protected. It was truly a spectacular place to visit.

We anchored on the east side of the island, just south of Isleo Mona Menor, about a hundred yards off the beach. Eager to explore the place, we pumped up the inflatable kayak and paddled ashore. There we were confronted by a couple of Mexican naturalists who informed us that it was illegal to land there and advised us to go around to the south side of the island and land at the fish camp that was located there. It was too far for our flimsy kayak so we went back to the boat and launched the dinghy and motored around to the spot we were supposed to land. Our entire experience there was fascinating, but instead of trying to put it all in words, Ill let the photos do most of the talking.

The Honcho at Anchor, Isleo Mona Menor in the background

Fish camp on the south side of the island, our dinghy is at left. Notice the hundreds of birds above the hill.

Booby chick on the beach. There were thousands of these babies on the beaches of Isla Isabel. Below, an adult blue footed booby

These birds will grow up to be incredible flyers and fishermen. The boobies appeared to nest mostly on the beaches and rocks, while the frigates built their nests in the trees or grassy areas inland.

Frigate nest in a tree. Notice the chick. These birds showed no fear of humans, we were literally within an arms length of this mother and chick. Below, a frigate chick stares back at the camera

Isla Isabel is an extinct volcano and therefore has a crater lake in the middle of it.  With very little impact from man, it looks wild and primitive, and beautiful in an eerie way,

The following day we got the anchor up and, punching into a 15 knot headwind, the Honcho began the long beat to Mazatlan, 85 miles distant.

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Isla Isabel to Mazatlan

The Honcho departed Isla Isabel in the late afternoon heading in a northerly direction toward Mazatlan on starboard tack. Almost as soon as we cleared the island the wind piped up to about 20 knots so we put a reef in the main and had a nice sail for about 40 miles. Around midnight we were about 3 miles off the beach just north of Teacapan and tacked to port.  This put us on on a course of due west and we got a taste of punching into the short, steep waves common to this area... a fairly bumpy ride. By 0100 the wind had settled down a bit and shifted so we were able to tack once again an sail a course nearly directly toward Mazatlan. Just before the moon rose at about 0330, the wind died completely and we motored the last 35 miles to the city, coming to anchor in the lee of Isla Piedra with about ten feet of water under our keel. The distance traveled from Isabel was about 90 miles. This is a well protected anchorage and we secured the boat and slept for a few hours.

Later that day we went ashore in the dinghy and walked down the beach a mile or so, looking at dozens of deserted beachfront palapa restaurants. We finally found one that looked open and wandered in. I asked why all the palapas were deserted and the waiter said this beach used to be very busy until a few weeks ago, when the cruise ships stopped calling at Mazatlan. There has apparently been enough drug cartel related violence to cause them to suspend calling at this port until they get a better handle on security here. Mexicans say its Americas fault, because if the demand for drugs in the US didnt exist, Mexico wouldnt have a drug war on its hands. Either way, the mahi mahi tacos were excellent, the service good and the Pacificos were frosty. Speaking of frosty, weve been in temperatures that ranged from the 70s to 90s day and night for the last three months. Here the highs are in the mid 70s and low last night was 51. Weve had to bundle up in fleece at night for the first time since leaving Long Beach.

The next day we went out to Isla de los Chivos and hiked to the top of the island. The views of the city and surrounding countryside were beautiful. Chivo is Spanish for kid, or young goat, and we got lots of pictures of the feral goats that live on this craggy little island.

After a couple of days in the peaceful tranquility of the anchorage, we got the anchor up and sailed around the west side of the city and took a berth in Marina Mazatlan, where well stay a couple weeks and explore the city and surrounding area.

The volcanic rocks around Isla Isabel. This one is called Isleo Mona Mayor

Looking east from the top of Isla de los Chivos toward Isla Cardones

A deeply laden purse seiner enters the harbor.

It looks like the goat is in the tree but hes not.

A chivo surveys the rocky path below.

This little guy seemed happy to pose for the camera.

Itty bitty chivo hooves

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