Blue footed Boobys and Frigates

We stopped at Isla Isabela on our north treck to Mazatlan. The "We" is Maggie and me. Maggie joined me in Puerto Vallarta and will be sailing with me for the next two months in the Sea of Cortez. Maggie is from Sydney, Australia and had sailed with me for seven months in the Caribbean Sea and somehow had found the courage to join me the second time.

Isla Isabela lured Jacques Cousteau here 30 years ago to film the rare frigate nests and a pristine underwater habitat. Today, tiny Isabela (281' volcanic peak, not a mile long) is a National Wildlife Preserve managed by the University of Guadalajara. Volunteers built an unmanned observation shelter SW of the panguero village on the S end. Grad students spend their vacations studying and protecting frigates and booby nests all over the island. The birds are not afraid of we humans and you could walk up to them but you are not allowed to disturb them and further.

Following are photos taken while on the island together with a few comments. We left the island the following day for Mazatlan and have been here since. While here we visited two Spanish Colonial towns inland. Both were having a cultural festival and were preparing for Semana Santa. Semana Santa is holy week before the celebration of Easter. We visited several museums and other sites in Durango and Zacatecas. I will highlight the visits in my next blog. As a reminder, you can double click on a photo to get an expanded view. You return to the normal size after pressing "ESC" on your computer.

This is something you DO NOT want to run into during the night.

Blue Footed Booby

Nesting Boobys

The male Boobys do a dance to attract the girls.

Right out of Star Wars.

Frigate

She is saying "Back off"

Frigates love to pick up the wind currents and soar for hours on end.

Local fishermen netting small fish for bait.

That is it for now. Stay tuned to your computer for the next installment of the "Life on Dolce Vita".

Until then be safe out there.