Chacala, Isla Isabela, Mantanchen Bay

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.

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.

Sunset in Punta de Mita

Sunrise the next morning

Anchored in Chacala

Dinghy on the beach near the panga pier.

The crescent beach and restaurants in Chacala Cove

Circadian from the path to the beach

View of the beach from the cockpit

This is the rather humble town behind the beach.

Dirt roads, a few shops and many hotels for local tourists

Watching the sunset

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.

Even so, when this is about all you can see,

night sailing is always a bit nerve-wracking,

even with full instruments.

There's nothing better than seeing the sunrise at sea!

I saw about a dozen sea turtles on the way to Isla Isabela,

including this beat-up old guy.

About half of the turtles had a passenger.  The birds

get a roost far out to sea; perhaps the turtles get

a look-out.

Approaching Isla Isabela after a 55-mile passage

The anchor set (hopefully) in the southeast cove.

Looking toward Punta Bobos.

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.

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.

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.

This Heerman's gull was my first visitor from Isla Isabela.

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.

I was off early in the dinghy the next morning to explore

the island and take photographs.

I landed the dinghy on the beach at the fish camp in 

Bahia Tiberones.

The fish camp

The fishermen get a lot of unwanted attention from the

local populace when cleaning their catch.

Mending the net

West of the fish camp are the trees where the frigates nest.

Looking toward the anchorage from west of the fish camp.

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.

Playa Iguanas, Bahia Tiberones

Playa Iguanas

You can walk right up to the frigates

roosting in the scrubby trees.

The males have an inflatable red sack under

the neck, although this guy's is a bit faded.

Frigate chick in the nest.

Mom and chick in the nest.

While the frigates in this area are in the trees,
the iguanas are on the ground.

They are brown rather than green like the tree iguanas in

the Nuevo Vallarta jungle.  Much better camouflage

when you are on the ground.

The iguanas are unfazed by approaching humans, so much

so that you have to be careful to avoid accidentally

stepping on one.

Even the many alligator type lizards seemed less

skittish than normal.

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.

The island provides signs that it remains

a wild place, signs like these dry bones.

The path along the lake

Frigate taking advantage of the updraft by the lake.

A blue-footed boobie enjoying the ocean view.

Yes, their feet really are blue!

Boobies nest on the ground.

You can get pretty close, but if you get closer than about

5 feet they start to squawk loudly and...

...give you the stinkeye.  I'm told they will bite if you persist.

These eggs are probably old and/or bad.

The researcher I met on the island

told me the fresh ones are blue.

Mom and chicks

These big rock formations on the east side of the island

are called Las Monas.

Playa Las Monas, with many nesting boobies.

Sooty terns nesting on the ground.

Sooty tern

Sundown at Isla Isabela

Fishing at dawn off Isla Isabela

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!).

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.

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.

The white-collared seedeaters like boat lifelines as

much in Bahia Mantanchen as in Barra de Navidad.

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.

On the beach, tied to a tree.

The famous very gently sloped beach.

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?

This was the gateway to the little roadside commercial area.

The local specialty was fresh-baked banana bread and

empanadas of various kinds.   VERY GOOD!

The little church

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.

The Tovara tours are a large, professionally run business.

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.

The tour starts with a slow passage through mangrove

tunnels.

Things gradually open up, but it's still a swamp.

These huts were built for use in a movie.

When the foliage opened up a bit, the guide speeded up

quite a bit.  It was like a jungle slalom.

The Tovara River Jungle Tour

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.

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.

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.

Tortugas.  Shells about 15 inches long.

The turtles were very shy, and quickly jumped in the 

water and swam away.  They can make themselves

surprisingly hydrodynamic and swim quite quickly.

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.

This is the restaurant at La Tovara Springs.  Had a 

mediocre lunch, but the view was great.

I went for a swim in the fresh spring water.  Fortunately,

there is a fence in the water to (hopefully) keep out the

crocodiles.