Windswept Beauty – Prince Edward Island

Part 1

Cabot Beach Cliffs, PEI, Canada © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

I have traveled to a few places in my time, and my husband to far many more in North America, Africa and Europe. Of all of those places, there are only a few that strike the chords of the heart in such a way that earth and water are transcended and become Paradise.

Prince Edward Island is one such place.

Malpeque Bay, PEI, Canada © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

We arrived on Sunday night, crossing the Confederation Bridge only minutes before the last of the light faded. We headed to a campground called Crystal Beach on Malpeque Bay in the dark. Fortunately, the host’s directions were outstanding and we made it without a single wrong turn. The wind was phenomenal. They say the North Shore is windy, but, we thought the RV was going to get tossed at times! We found out later that this was, in fact, not the norm. One did not need to go far from shore to find tranquil air. We spent all of Monday there. You see, I must confess something that a handful of you might already know….

I am not a good traveler. I get sick easily and very tired. I try to avoid eating out, but that first night on the road to Quebec, we were tired and hungry. We stopped to pick something up. Needless to say I was sick all day the next day, which prevented us from traveling at all on Friday. It is about 12 hours in the RV from Quebec City to the Island – and trying to squeeze in a little of QC I ran a little too hard and needed to rest again.

We could not have chosen a better place in spite of the wind. The sun rose bright orange over the ruddy soil of a neighbouring farm. It didn’t take long for the clouds to gather with the wind howling as it was and a horizontal rain fell for the rest of the morning. But the view over the water was incredible. We watched the tide go out and come in again.

Cabot Beach, PEI, Canada © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

In spite of the fierce weather, there were trucks on the beach and men in hip waders in the water from early in the morning to after 6 pm. I am fairly certain they were seeking their world famous oysters. The water was red in colour and cresting waves brought turmoil to the shore. I sat for hours looking out at that place.

Cabot Beach, PEI, Canada © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

The following morning we set our sites easterly toward the central section of the Island. We were technically in the North Cape region and our goal was to do Prince Edward Island National Park over the next couple of days.

Cabot Beach, PEI, Canada © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

Our first stop was Cabot Beach Provincial Park. This park had a huge campground situated at the top of steep red cliffs and trails that ran the length of them and ended in a long sweeping spit of reddish and white sand dunes.

Cabot Beach Harbour, PEI, Canada © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

The campground was still closed, as much of PEI seemed to be. Their season doesn’t really begin until June and for some, the end of June at that. About one in four places was even open. Being the nature seekers that we are, this was far from disappointing. In fact, it gave us almost exclusive use of a couple of the beaches and tourist sites that we did visit.

Still a little tired, the views and the cool sand soothed my tired mind and body and I began to relax in a manner I never thought possible. The dunes were Nature’s sculpture studio, shifting and sweeping.

Cabot Beach, PEI, Canada © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

Next time… LM Montgomery’s favourite place, Green Gables and more of PEI National Park