July 19, 2014
Prince Edward Island, and Charlottetown in particular, is celebrating 150 years since the first conference that lead to the formation of the Dominion of Canada. What happened is an interesting story and it’s also ironic that PEI is throwing this 70 day festival so I will tell it.
July 18, 2014
Prince Edward Island is a wonderful mixture of agriculture and tourism with some fisheries around the edges. The island is known as a tourist destination for good reason. The coasts and villages leave you awing at every turn. Instead of taking the shortest route across the island to Nova Scotia, I decided to take a day’s jaunt exploring some of the coastlines. With the sun shinning, neither the rolling hills nor winds could get me down. My only complaint is that the most scenic coastal roads have no shoulder. Since all the other tourists are also rolling along here in their tin boxes, it makes for a mentally exhausting day but people were patient and generally allowed me a wide berth. I’ll let the pictures describe the views for me. You may have noticed the number of pictures I post, how many I take even more so, is a good indicator of my mood and how anxious I am about getting to my destination.
July 17, 2014
Approaching Confederation Bridge today, I couldn’t help but feel excited. Even though the trip is far from over, it seems like an auspicious moment to cross onto Prince Edward Island, almost as if all that’s left is to cross some t’s and dot some i’s. Now they are some hefty remainders but the anticipation grows. And then as if to welcome me, a vibrant double rainbow appeared on the island while I cross the bridge by shuttle. (You can’t walk or bike the 12.9km bridge). The rainbow over the red cliffs on the shore certainly made an impression. I don’t know if it was the red dirt so much like that in Paraguay or just my exhilaration at having made it this far but I could almost sense the feeling of coming home that islander often talk about it. With frequency, it may become routine but the crossing is an event not unlike landing at the airport though thankfully without the intrusive security. PEI in fact offers free passage to all onto the island but charges to leave: a reluctant good-bye or honey trap of sorts?
