An amazing week. It started with Jim's angry departure and morphed into one of the best weeks ever. Chacala is indeed the archtypical idyllic tropical cove, although it can be a rolly anchorage if you don't put down a stern anchor to keep the boat pointed into the swell. Isla Isabela is a remote, wild, and amazing place. Justly famous as the Galapagos of Mexico, with its blue-footed boobies, frigates and iguanas, all quite unafraid of humans. Not that there are many (humans, that is). I saw only the fishermen in the fishcamp, four other cruisers and an equal number of student researchers. Being about a hundred miles from the nearest port, it doesn't get a lot of tourists. After a couple of days at Isla Isabela, I headed for Mantanchen Bay, a large shallow bay with long gentle waves good for beginning surfers. There was so little swell that there was no surf at all while I was there. However, I walked a mile or two to the Rio Tovara, and went on the famous jungle cruise. Like the jungle ride at Disneyland, but it's all real, takes a couple of hours and only costs about $12. Had lunch and swam at Tovara Springs. Clear spring water, and they have a fence across the river to keep out the crocodiles. Really. From Mantanchen, I headed back to Chacala where I will spend a couple of days resting and cleaning up before I head back to Nuevo Vallarta via Punta de Mita.
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This is the area in which I cruised this week.
The dashed pink line shows my exact route.
From Punta de Mita (bottom) I went north
to Chacala, then all the way up to Isla Isabela (top).
Returning south via Mantanchen Bay and back
to Chacala.
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| Sunset in Punta de Mita |
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| Sunrise the next morning |
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| Anchored in Chacala |
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| Dinghy on the beach near the panga pier. |
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| The crescent beach and restaurants in Chacala Cove |
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| Circadian from the path to the beach |
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| View of the beach from the cockpit |
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| This is the rather humble town behind the beach. |
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| Dirt roads, a few shops and many hotels for local tourists |
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| Watching the sunset |
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I was in bed soon after this so I could be up at oh-dark-
thirty for the long run to Isla Isabela. Better to leave a familiar place in the dark, than enter a strange one. |
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Even so, when this is about all you can see,
night sailing is always a bit nerve-wracking,
even with full instruments.
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| There's nothing better than seeing the sunrise at sea! |
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I saw about a dozen sea turtles on the way to Isla Isabela,
including this beat-up old guy.
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About half of the turtles had a passenger. The birds
get a roost far out to sea; perhaps the turtles get
a look-out.
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| Approaching Isla Isabela after a 55-mile passage |
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The anchor set (hopefully) in the southeast cove.
Looking toward Punta Bobos.
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Anchoring at Isla Isabela can be chancy. The bottom is
rocky, so there is a chance the anchor won't set properly
or it will get jammed in a crevasse and can't be pulled up.
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To mitigate both issues, I let out a LOT of chain, and
buoyed the back of the anchor using heavy line so
I could pull it out backwards if necessary. As long as
the chain didn't wrap around a rock as the boat moved
around, I'd be okay.
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What I hadn't reckoned on was a boat anchoring too close.
It was a small, light Catalina at least. Got within 8 feet,
but we never collided....as far as I know. Other than
that, I had no problems. |
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| This Heerman's gull was my first visitor from Isla Isabela. |
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There must be some secret appeal to this corner of my
solar panel. This little guy chose the same spot when
I arrived at Bahia Mantanchen a couple of days later.
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I was off early in the dinghy the next morning to explore
the island and take photographs.
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I landed the dinghy on the beach at the fish camp in
Bahia Tiberones.
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| The fish camp |
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The fishermen get a lot of unwanted attention from the
local populace when cleaning their catch.
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| Mending the net |
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| West of the fish camp are the trees where the frigates nest. |
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| Looking toward the anchorage from west of the fish camp. |
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Frigates: one in the bush, one in flight. You can see both
of the identifying characteristics of the frigate:
a split tail and extremely large wing span. |
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| Playa Iguanas, Bahia Tiberones |
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| Playa Iguanas |
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You can walk right up to the frigates
roosting in the scrubby trees.
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The males have an inflatable red sack under
the neck, although this guy's is a bit faded.
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| Frigate chick in the nest. |
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| Mom and chick in the nest. |
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While the frigates in this area are in the trees,
the iguanas are on the ground. |
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They are brown rather than green like the tree iguanas in
the Nuevo Vallarta jungle. Much better camouflage
when you are on the ground.
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The iguanas are unfazed by approaching humans, so much
so that you have to be careful to avoid accidentally
stepping on one.
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Even the many alligator type lizards seemed less
skittish than normal.
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To see the blue-footed boobies, I had to climb the caldera
(Isabel is a volcanic island), descend to the lake in the
center, go around it and up the other side to the east side
of the island.
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The island provides signs that it remains
a wild place, signs like these dry bones.
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| The path along the lake |
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| Frigate taking advantage of the updraft by the lake. |
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| A blue-footed boobie enjoying the ocean view. |
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| Yes, their feet really are blue! |
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| Boobies nest on the ground. |
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You can get pretty close, but if you get closer than about
5 feet they start to squawk loudly and...
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| ...give you the stinkeye. I'm told they will bite if you persist. |
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These eggs are probably old and/or bad.
The researcher I met on the island
told me the fresh ones are blue.
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| Mom and chicks |
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These big rock formations on the east side of the island
are called Las Monas.
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| Playa Las Monas, with many nesting boobies. |
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| Sooty terns nesting on the ground. |
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| Sooty tern |
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| Sundown at Isla Isabela |
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| Fishing at dawn off Isla Isabela |
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While the seas were as flat as they ever get on my
passage from Isla Isabel to Bahia Mantanchen, it was not without its hazards. This rock, Piedra Blanca del Mar, did not show on my overall electronic chart. Since it was nearly five miles off shore, my normal safety distance wasn't enough.
Fortunately it was clearly visible, showed on radar,
and was marked on my paper chart (last update: 1910!). |
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Then you can run across these guys, marking one end of
of big fishing nets. Not good to tangle with. The black
flags really help at night.
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After I anchored in Bahia Mantanchen, one
of the local fisherman decided to set his net
very close to me. Fortunately it was gone
by the time I left.
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The white-collared seedeaters like boat lifelines as
much in Bahia Mantanchen as in Barra de Navidad.
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I decided to take the kayak ashore rather than
the dinghy in case I had a long haul across
sand due to tidal changes. That meant
everything went into a large dry bag.
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| On the beach, tied to a tree. |
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| The famous very gently sloped beach. |
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The big highway intersection about a mile from the beach
was the only place I could get even a weak cell signal.
The large complex on the corner is a brewery. What else?
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| This was the gateway to the little roadside commercial area. |
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The local specialty was fresh-baked banana bread and
empanadas of various kinds. VERY GOOD!
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| The little church |
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The goal of my walk was to find the Tovara jungle
tour up the Rio Tovara. Circadian was anchored
right where the anchor symbol is. I found the
tour place with no problem. It's quite an attraction.
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| The Tovara tours are a large, professionally run business. |
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This guy was one of my boat mates. Friendly, and a good
sense of humor, the look not withstanding. We became
friends by the end, and he kidded me by calling me 'gringo.'
I was, after all the only gringo. No one spoke English.
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The tour starts with a slow passage through mangrove
tunnels.
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| Things gradually open up, but it's still a swamp. |
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| These huts were built for use in a movie. |
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When the foliage opened up a bit, the guide speeded up
quite a bit. It was like a jungle slalom.
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The Tovara River Jungle Tour
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Our guide somehow spotted this predatory bird
the tree. It's so perfectly camouflaged that it's
hard to tell where the bird ends and the tree
begins. I think it's a female hen harrier, but
I'm not sure. |
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I saw many of the same birds I've photographed in the
lagoon at Barra de Navidad, but usually couldn't get
good pictures from the fast-moving panga. Here I caught
a green night heron with a couple of turtles.
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The turtles were more skittish than the heron,
so after they jumped into the water, I was able
the get another shot a bit closer. |
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| Tortugas. Shells about 15 inches long. |
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The turtles were very shy, and quickly jumped in the
water and swam away. They can make themselves
surprisingly hydrodynamic and swim quite quickly.
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We stopped at the crocodile preserve, which wasn't as good
as the one in La Manzanilla. It was more like a small zoo
that raised crocodiles.
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This is the restaurant at La Tovara Springs. Had a
mediocre lunch, but the view was great.
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I went for a swim in the fresh spring water. Fortunately,
there is a fence in the water to (hopefully) keep out the
crocodiles.
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