Isla Isabel is 18 miles off the Pacific coast of Mexico about halfway between Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan. We and Firefly spent two nights at this World Heritage site that is called the “Galapagos of Mexico.”
The island is known for its large breeding populations of frigate and booby birds (plus plenty of pelicans, other seabirds and iguanas). You can get quite close to the creatures as they are safe from predators here. (CHECK OUT THE VIDEO PAGE!)
In spite of its national park status, the island has a considerable encampment of fishermen who were setting nets morning and night in and around both the south and east anchorages when we were there. Fortunately we did not become entangled in any nets and the rocky bottom here did not catch on our anchor or chain.
It’s a pretty desolate spot for humans. We could see a few (biologists?) camped out on the eastern side who had a couple of solar panels out on the beach to make power. The “facilities” are a row of outhouses. No cellular or broadband reception here as you might imagine. A large (concrete-built) research station was built there but is now pretty decrepit and virtually abandoned now (might be a place for the fishermen to hide out during a big storm).
