Isla Isabela was absolutely incredible, and I would say probably a highlight of our time cruising. The anchorages are marginal, deep water, rock bottom, wrap around swells, big surge exploding against the rock cliffs, and the high probability of losing an anchor in a crevice or around a rock pinnacle. Even despite the relative discomfort at anchor, the island itself made the visit worthwhile. Isabela is a breeding ground for Frigates and Boobies (we saw the brown, yellow, and of course blue footed varieties). The trees above are full of the giant Frigates, the males showing off their red necks, the females eyeing us warily from their head-height nests, and the down covered chicks braying at us to regurgitate some food for them. The ground below is covered with Boobies, who scoop out a small indentation to lay their eggs. We spoke to some graduate students from the University of Mexico City who are spending 6 weeks at Isabela camping and studying the birds, and they said that they have tracked a 19 year old Boobie who is still breeding on the island.

We ended up spending one full day at Isabela, and halfway through the second night the increasing roll as well as the forecast for building SE winds (which would make the 'anchorage' completely untenable) helped us decide to head for the mainland. We left the anchorage at 3AM, had a fast sail all day, and made it to outside the entrance to the San Blas Estuary at about 3PM. We knew it was a pretty ripping tidal swing that day, and as we approached the harbor bar we could see the occasional wave breaking across the entrance, add that to the occasional 8 foot depth reading on our depth sounder, and we quickly decided to bail out to Mantachen Bay for the evening. We had a beautiful evening in the large bay that with its palm trees, humidity, and lush jungle seems more like Hawaii than the Baja Mexico we have come to know.

Yesterday we entered the San Blas Estuary on a rising tide, helped along by the flood current, as well as some excellent GPS waypoints put together by the extremely helpful folks on Third Day. By last night we were extremely glad we had come into this tight little river anchorage, as the heavy rain of the day gave way to heavy wind conditions. We took one gust that was reported to be 47 knots, right on the beam, as the swift current was holding our bow South. So, instead of jumping into bed we were up on the foredeck in full foulies, prepping the second bow anchor, putting on an extra snubber, rolling up the dodger, and generally battening down the hatches. It's hard to explain just how thankful we were to be in a good holding anchorage with no fetch and no chop. Even though back at home the giant Rocna we bought seemed like overkill, I would say that already in two months of being back cruising it has easily earned it's keep. Today we hear that a Shrimper dragged onto the beach last night, and the Capitania del Puerto has closed the port, so no boats leaving today.

We haven't yet been ashore, but we are excited to go explore today. San Blas was the first official Pacific port of New Spain, and is the 'San Blas' in Longfellow's �The Bells of San Blas�, these days it is home to a fleet of Shrimpers that for a boat geek are just absolutely incredible in their rusted glory. Today is the fiesta de San Blas, celebrations include the parade of the statue from the church onto a shrimper down the estuary out to the harbor bar for the blessing of the rock and port, a panga parade and waterfight, and a huge 'fireworks tower' in the center square tonight. We're not sure what effect the torrential rain and high winds of the last few days will have on the planned party, but we'll find out and let you know.

Lat 21 32' N, Long 105 18' W