Day 160, Year 5: Happy 3rd Anniversary to Justin and Jo
Date: Sunday, April 4, 2010
Weather: Another Gorgeous Day
Location: Ile du Coin, Peros Banhos Atoll, Chagos
Miles from Ile Diamant to Ile du Coin: 14 miles

Three years ago on this day we were in New Zealand. On April 1 we had gotten an email from Justin saying that he and Jo were engaged. We wrote back congratulating them and trying to figure out when and where the wedding would be so we could be sure and be there. Then on April 4 we got another email from Justin saying they were married! They got married on Eagle Rock atop Topanga Canyon in California. They were living in Venice Beach at the time. We were a little shocked at the speed from engagement to wedding, but we were so happy for them. Three years later they have a one-year old bundle of joy–Ziggy. He will turn one this week which is hard to believe. Justin and Jo, we wish we could be with you but we send our love and wishes for many more happy anniversaries.

I always equate Easter with the coming of spring. Baby lambs, bunnies, eggs as a sign of fertility, and the coming of warmer weather. I don’t need weather any warmer than we presently have, but I have heard from both of our kids that they are enjoying a warm weekend. Justin wrote that the desert in New Mexico is warming and that they are now able to leave the front door open so Ziggy can go out and play on the porch. After Heather and Jed’s horrendous “passage” from Washington, DC back to Cape Cod mid-week, this weekend they are enjoying weather warm enough to allow a picnic on the beach with friends. So happy spring to family and friends.

The love affair with Chagos continues. We motored the 14 miles from the north of Peros Banhos Atoll to the south this morning. It was a blue sky, sunny day with puffy white clouds around the horizon. Each little isle we passed looked like a pearl with an emerald glistening in its center. I’ve described an atoll before as a pearl necklace with the islands being the pearls. This atoll is an incomplete necklace, however, as the southeast side has lost all its pearls. The atoll is wide open from that direction and the southern winds we are having caused us to have a bit of a bouncy night last night as the swell built as it crossed the long fetch from the southeast to the northwest. So we decided to move and join the other boats already down at Ile du Coin. There is a pass to the outside of the atoll just before Ile du Coin and when we got there, we headed out to sea to try and catch a fish. We were hoping for a mahi mahi or a yellowtail tuna. These guys often hang out just outside the passes, but we weren’t quite so lucky. We did get a nice little Rainbow Runner in the Jack family. We didn’t know what it was, but people here helped identify it once we got here. It had beautiful blue and yellow horizontal stripes, so I guess that is where the “rainbow” name comes from. For the third night in a row we had fresh fish and tomorrow we will make fish cakes with the remainder. And Mark has made one step toward clearing his reputation as a bird catcher rather than a fish catcher! After catching the fish, we headed straight into the southwest corner of the atoll where the swell doesn’t have a chance to build. On the way here we passed Grande Ile Mapou, ile Pierre, Grande Soeur, Petite Soeur Ile Poule, Ile Monpatre, and Ile Anglaise. None of these islands were ever inhabitied, but Ile du Coin, where we are anchored, was the home for the coconut workers for many years. We can see what is left of a concrete loading dock and tomorrow we will explore on the island. Everything is overgrown but there some remnants of the past that can be uncovered. That will be tomorrow’s job.

100404 Day 160 Peros Banhos, Chagos–Ile Diamant to Ile du Coin