Prince Edward Island featured a lot of lighthouses but we restricted ourselves to only a few

I never dreamed of coming to Prince Edward Island.  In my schoolboy lessons it was always the Canadian province that I forgot and on the spinning global map it was so small it hardly showed up.  Prince Edward Island, or PEI, is modest by most standards but here we were, waking up to perfect clear blue skies, a calm sea and curious anticipation of what we might find on this island.

We had crossed over from the mainland the afternoon before, using the 14 km long Confederation Bridge which featured a massive C$46.50 toll for travellers when they left the island.  As a result we immediately felt we were a bit trapped on the island but would try to get our money’s worth while we were there.

Strange stuff…amongst a grove of wind turbines a misty steam comes off the recently plowed fields

Well, that’s true, we are heading for Alaska but we didn’t expect to pick up signs so early

PEI has only about 145,000 people and the largest town and capital, Charlottetown, has about 36,000.  Most of the island is just a scattering of homes and small communities growing potatoes (PEI produces 25% of Canada’s potatoes!), grains or other crops on their deep dark rusty red soil.  We knew that the island virtually closed down for the winter with very high snow falls and temperatures well below zero.  Most of the campsites and tourist attractions weren’t open as of early June, an indication of both the weather and the very small tourism window.

Not all lunch spots are warm and sunny but Julie is happy to make sandwiches anyway

We immediately sensed that this was a place for people who liked a good honest life, a slow pace and very few frills.  Most of the homes along the secondary roads we travelled were very small and modest with barns and perhaps a shed instead of garages, huge piles of firewood that would be used year round and a general clutter that indicated perhaps aesthetics were secondary to practical and budgetary matters.

We’ve really been taken by all the great rural community churches such as this one on the northern coast of PEI

PEI also features 40 lighthouses on its rugged shorelines and you could spend a long weekend hunting down all of them.  We were a bit more selective, following the coastline, stopping at a few of the lighthouses, taking in cliff views, walking on some cold and windswept beaches.

Okay, time for another charming lighthouse photo

The weather was astounding – beautiful blue skies one minute, thunderous rain the next, thick pea soup fog afterwards followed by a beautiful vapourish misty rise of moisture from the freshly plowed fields when the sun comes back out.  And we knew in the winter it was all about huge piles of deep snow and frigid icy wind.  Lovely.

More of this weird moisture coming out of the plowed field – why doesn’t this happen in other places?

I am told that most school girls – at least of my era – read the famous story of Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  Well, as it happens, Montgomery grew up in the small PEI town of Cavendish and based her endearing stories on her strong childhood memories there.  Julie and I visited the home that the imaginary Anne lived in and briefly toured the museum to gather the general background and storyline.  It might have meant more to others than to us, but hey – we were in the neighbourhood!

The home where the famous story Anne of Green Gables was based – and we went inside!

I don’t think there’s any doubt what the rangers want you to do

We also drove through Prince Edward Island National Park which protects the unique coastline of the central part of the island.  These long beaches, which would no doubt look more appetising in bright sunshine compared to the thick wet fog and drizzle we had, and their delicate sand dunes make up a special eco-environment that is worth saving.  The whole national park was exceptionally understated but since it was officially closed and there were no services available we still enjoyed the drive and exploration.

The beaches in PEI National Park were pretty good except for the miserable weather

Not quite finished with the underperforming PEI National Park, we headed out to the separate Greenwich section of the park further east on the beach.  On a whim we did a 4.8 km (almost 3 mile) walk out to the long secluded beach following a track, then boardwalk, then floating boardwalk across a beautiful lagoon with sand dunes all around and the crashing surf nearby.  This was a stunning walk through some beautiful scenes and totally unique with th4 long pontoon boardwalk.  It was also the pick of the beaches we saw on PEI and made for a totally enjoyable morning.

The floating boardwalk allowed us access to this lake trapped behind the sand dunes

So you have ocean, beach,sand dunes, lake, then wild bushland

Another shot of us sitting in random red Adirondack chairs near the beach

I’m happy to do my bit as a volunteer lifeguard but the beach was a bit quiet

The basilica in Charlottetown – gracious on the outside and beautiful on the inside

We headed further east to the former port and railway head town of Georgetown before tacking back to the capital Charlottetown where we spied the beautiful 100 year old basilica and other historic buildings.  Charlottetown was certainly understated for such a historic place – it was where the founding fathers of Canada signed the deed of Confederation in 1864 – and could have used a bit of sprucing up.

Now for the painful part – crossing the Confederation Bridge to leave PEI and paying the C$46.50 toll, a hefty amount even though the bridge is 14 km long and pretty damn cool.  Eventually we made our way through a corner of New Brunswick – so yesterday – and into Nova Scotia where we free camped in the Five Islands area on the Bay of Fundy.

More wind turbines in PEI – very impressive