The Confederation Bridge linking New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island over the Northumberland Strait is an engineering wonder.
The eight mile structure curves and rises mid-channel then descends gently into Canada’s smallest, and quite possibly, prettiest Province.
Prince Edward Island is an assault of colour at this time of
the year, potatoes as far as the eye can see thriving in the deep red soil,
emerald green vegetation and miles of sapphire ocean.
The drive into Charlottetown, PEI’s capital, was well worth a short detour to the seaside village of Victoria. Colourful wood framed buildings line the
waterfront streets, ebullient with overflowing window boxes, planters and
hanging baskets.
Our hotel in Charlottetown, the Great George, has an
enduring history. A series of renovated
buildings form a charming hotel complex over several city blocks set in attractive gardens. The main building which
today houses the hotel lobby and lounge dates back to 1846 and was the original
hotel that accommodated the Fathers of Confederation.
Charlottetown has a small town feel and is very
walkable. We had arrived on Farmers
Market day and noticed with regret that the stand with the moniker “The Potato
Farmer’s Daughter” and its potato based donuts had sold out for the day. We noticed the local radio station was SPUD
FM. No mistaking we were on Prince
Edward Island.
Down the street, Terre Rouge, a funky restaurant served a
wonderful dinner prepared from local ingredients but the aperitif, a dill
infused martini was pretty spectacular and much enjoyed after a long day’s
drive.
The next day we ventured to the town of Cavendish on PEI’s
north shore.
A little ambivalent about
visiting “Green Gables” it turned out to be very enjoyable. Parks Canada has done a good job of setting
the scene around the homestead that inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery’s “Anne of
Green Gables”.
The home is furnished
with original period furniture and the fictional story is captured so
well. The light in which would have been
Anne’s bedroom shines as a signal to her lifelong friend Diana. Marissa’s room was immaculate, the famous
brooch clearly visible on the dresser.
Matthew’s quarters downstairs simply leapt off the storybook pages.
Our journey through the National Park to North Rustico
harbour was dramatic and scenic in spite of the angry looking clouds moving
towards us. Arriving near the harbour we
passed rows of well tended homes but the harbour itself looked deserted, a few
buildings had fallen into disrepair and rusty lobster pots languished.
The rain was closing in but we were in search
of The Blue Mussel Cafe which had come highly recommended. A parking area was already muddy from earlier
rain but that had not deterred the healthy queue of people waiting patiently to
gain entry into the seasonally run restaurant.
Well worth the wait too, excellent food, a vibrant atmosphere and great
service.
We concluded that Prince Edward Island is a treasure and we
were truly sorry to leave as we made our way to the Northumberland Ferries terminal
and our sail across the Strait to Pictou, Nova Scotia.
Before heading to our accommodation that night we made a
detour to the town of Antigonish to visit the retail store of “Peace by
Chocolate”.
The Hadhad family, refugees from
Syria whose chocolate business was destroyed in Damascus are now resettled in
Nova Scotia, their business thriving.
The small storefront attached to their modest home was stocked with
all sorts of chocolate. The young lady
who served us was a delight and we were impressed by her English, although she
said the first year in Canada had been difficult.
A family from Alberta came into the store as
we were about to leave. One of them said
that if they didn’t do anything else in Nova Scotia they had to visit and
support Peace by Chocolate, which now employs a number of the local
townspeople and has a thriving on line business.
We chatted about second chances and there
were a few wet eyes. Oh Canada!
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