The wind switched to the north this morning so we decided to move across to the other side of the lagoon where it's more protected from northerlies. As we motored across the lagoon, I stood on the pullpit to spot bommies (coral heads). There were quite a few, but the majority of them were marked by white buoys. We arrived to the anchorage and it was quite peaceful and got settled in between two boats we had met long ago, La Familia and Eagle Wing.

While I was making lunch Chris threw in a hook with some salted bait just for fun and caught a good sized rosy job fish within minutes. We brought it aboard, but were still not sure what is was, so went over to Eagle Wing for a second opinion. They thought it was a blue job fish, but it's all the same. After cleaning the fish we went ashore to explore.

Just up from the beach we found dozens of buildings from when the island was inhabited, which was from about 1775 to 1975. Most distinguishable was a church that was built in 1935 and a lot of other buildings that looked possibly like schools, storage or bath areas. Apparently the inhabitants were French and hence the buildings are European in style. It's just amazing to see a lost civilization like this.

We have heard that the Chagosian inhabitants were sent to Mauritius at the time that the UK and US occupied Diego Garcia, but apparently there was recently a ruling that they were removed unjustly and have the right to return. It will be interesting to see what happens. It is such a wonderful place, one that is only enjoyed by cruising yachties today, but one can only wonder what it was like back in the day.

This evening we went ashore for "sundowners" which begin promptly at 5pm. It was good to catch up with old friends and make some new.