The drive from
Saint John was uneventful until the Confederation Bridge which spans New
Brunswick with PEI. It is 13 kilometers long and brings you to the very
charming Port of Borden with its welcoming tourist center and colorful
little houses - all tourist traps. Charlottetown was only a short distance.
The next day,
after a great cup of coffee complete with scrumptious goodies, the first
exploration of our two day stay was to seek out the northern shore by car by
way of mostly remote dirt roads lined with colorful foliage. Long
red sandy beaches void of people, beckoned us to stroll and take pictures
of birds going about their business and a lone fishing boat off the coast
exchanging the lobster crates. On the drive back to Charlottetown, we
sometimes threaded between small fisherman's huts and magnificent summer
homes, often advertising B & B's. Inland we passed dairy farms and
potato fields (PEI supplies Canada with one third of it's potato
needs), apple orchards and fall roadside stands displaying big orange
pumpkins and the harvest of the season. Once back at the motel, we caught
our breath for a half hour and then went to dinner at one of the highly
recommended restaurants. It was good, not great.
First thing
next morning was once again, another cup of that great coffee to kick start
the day. Now on the way to the laundromat, or so we thought, when Ueli
spotted a seaplane starting it's descent into the harbor. We ran to meet it
and asked the pilot if he had any time left in the day for a few hours - he
did! Not only that, but he let both of us fly the plane and he became the
tour guide. We took off and snaked along the southern coast. Along the way,
we saw huge vertical red cliffs getting pounded with waves from the
Northumberland Strait. Heading north were beaches of seals frolicking in the
water, beautiful winding coastlines, inland rivers which fed into the sea
(one of which we followed was the Murray River where we landed for gas),
homes of various sizes and fishing villages protected with mammoth sand
dunes from the turbulent seas. Our pilot, Mark, pointed out the lighthouse
which was the first to receive the distress radio signal of the Titanic.
Then heading
east, were more beautiful red beaches, red rocks and sand dunes
barricading the beaches from the inland territory. From the north shore on
the way back to Charlottetown, we picked up the Hillsborough River, followed
it right into the Town and watched the River feed into the Hillsborough Bay.
Along the way were blueberry fields already harvested, a popular marshy lake
with wild cranberry bushes, potato fields, a winery, and a multitude of
farms. As we came closer to Charlottetown the voice of the air traffic
controller came over the radio reporting to a newly arriving plane each
position of the various aircraft in the area. Flying at 600 ft above the
water none of them was of concern. What was more important was the wind
coming from 360degrees at 4 knots, which meant we were already on downwind
for our approach for landing in the harbor. We could expect a very calm
landing and do a lively step taxi right up to the peer. We took our
pictures, paid up on the planks of the dock and bid our very nice
pilot/guide, Mark Coffin, owner of Tartan Air, a fond goodbye until next
time! He has the only seaplane operation in all of Prince Edward Island. We
highly recommend you make a special visit to go on a spectacular flying tour
of this island.
The day ended
in a splendid little restaurant with a light dinner and a glass of wine. We
went back to the room and dreamed of seaplane flying all night. We had our
flying fix and were ready to move on to the next destination. It has been
our favorite place to date. We will come back! It is one of the jewels of
the world.
|
Bridge
Across Troubled Waters
Was built for 900 million - as the sea
often froze and ferries were troubled by storms. |
Bridge
Element In
background, tourist Village with Information for PEI. |
Lobster
Fest They
cannot be more fresh straight from the ocean. |
Road
to the Horizon
Roads in the interiors are often left to
nature's will. |
Steep
Grades Before
you take this ride, make sure there is no water flowing down there.
|
Robin
Hood Country
Peaceful, tranquil roads laid out through the progress of time. |
Farmers
Market It is
pumpkin time - a competition for the largest is often a
town event. |
Getting
Ready Farmers
are busy in the field while people in town weatherproof their houses. |
Cauliflower
Harvest Keep
up the pace, there's still much that needs to be done. |
Light
Houses Everywhere
Many river inlets are home for fishermen.
Often a light house is nearby. |
Ready
to go We
finally found the only floatplane operator on PEI and he had time. |
Who
has Right of Way?
The waters in the harbor are calm and the
wind steady. Large ships move slowly not to run aground. |
Charlottetown
Nice little town protected from the
storms. Still, large ships can visit. |
Tallest
Lighthouse on Is.
On the south tip of the peninsula guiding
ships to the Charlottetown Harbor. |
Fall
Colors at the Shore
Not only trees change their colors. This
seaweed displays it's fall red. |
Fueling
Stop Modest
arrangement of service facilities. Just pull up the truck. |
Mussel
Farm Long hard work
for harvesting that little piece of delicacy. |
Fishermen's
Home-Base A
small river serves as a harbor that is open only part of the year. Winters
are long and lonesome. |
Sandbanks
are Traps What
looks like a convenient harbor from the water can be a trap. Fun for the
summer swimming guests though. |
Guesthouses
Prominent shore locations in remote
areas. Golf courses are some of the finest. |
Easternmost
Lighthouse
East tip of the island pointing out to the occasionally rough Atlantic
weather. |