vibrating and bobbing the boobies are everywhere

fishing gear at fisherman's camp

food fight among the pelicans

more fishing gear

fisherman's camp on the south side

view of the south anchorage and we're not there among them

this is where we're anchored in front of las monas

we finally made it to isla isabela which is south of mazatlan and north of puerta vallarta. i'm working on a drawing that will show where we are but it's not ready yet. anyway, here are my journal entries...

i'm on the 2-4am watch (dec. 9) the seas are calm and the boat is doing the sideways waddle at 6.52 knots under power. the sail is backlit by a half moon and the big something boat is now passing our stern. air is warm - perfect sailing.

i'm just starting my 6am watch. the sky is opening up into a soft palette of yellows and oranges, like a friendly yawn or smile. we're about 2.5 hours away from isla isabela and the moon is overhead in its half sphere. no boats in sight. oh wait, something large is on the horizon, a freighter or cruise ship i suspect. i see our empty slip (in mazatlan) in my mind - it felt like home.

9:30am and we're at isla isabela. 6 boats sit in the preferred anchoring on the south side so we're over on the east side next to Las Monas. as we approached 4 boobies fought for squatting rights on our weathervane. jim was not happy. mainsail came down and away they went, all 4 of them. the isla has a haze of birds flying over it. from our anchorage i can see birds sitting in the tops of trees. water is a healthy clear turquoise and we can see the fish and sandy bottom 23 ft. down.

it's been a lazy sort of day after anchoring we both slept until early afternoon. i got my kayak blown up and waited for jim. it was an easy landing onto the beach and blue-footed boobies are everywhere, in pairs courting with vibrating throats and bobbing heads. their beaks touching and swaying. frigates sat in the short trees aloof and uninterested in me. the beach was full of coral and a few shells. a saw an odd fish, dead, with blue lips. jim says they're teeth because the fish chew on the coral.