Prince Edward Island

   

We were up at 4:30 a.m.  and out of the campground at 5:25 for the short drive to the ferry terminal. There were not as many vehicles for this crossing so the ferry loaded quickly. We set sail at 6:25, 35 minutes ahead of schedule. It was interesting to see a tugboat helping the ferry leave the wharf. I asked. It was because the current and winds can make the maneuvering tricky.

It was now "high season". This crossing cost $72.66 more and took a little less than 5 hours. The Gulf wasn't as calm. We docked at 11:30 in Souris.

We stopped at an Irving station for gas @ $1.46.2, approximately 17 cents cheaper per litre than on Les Iles. Next stop before we left Souris was at a roadside parkette to have lunch. 

 Our first destination was St. Peters Bay. We checked into St. Peters Community Campground next to the  Confederation Trail. P.E.I. railway  was abandoned in 1989 and in its place a walking and cycling trail was developed.  It runs from "tip to tip" from Tignish to Elmira, a total of  273 km. There are branch trails throughout the island. The trail along Peters Bay is  flat, ideal for us. 

Kathy biked 20 km while I did about 9 km with several photo stops. The   trail has interpretive panels, some historical, some about the flora, bird life. There are rest stops (benches). It was very scenic. Thankfully the trail is sheltered mostly by trees. There was a stiff wind broadsiding us.

We capped off a most pleasant afternoon with bbqed spareribs, mushroom fried rice and carrots for dinner. We left Les Iles under cloudy skies and arrived back in P.E.I. in the sun. It reached 22º. We drove 39 km, 33 of them in P.E.I.

Iles de la Madeleine: Day 4

 

Dune du Sud beach at campground

   It as another beautiful sunny day as we made our turn on Les       Iles and headed south back to Ile du Cap aux  Meules for the        return ferry crossing on Tuesday. It reached 19º, our warmest        day on Les Iles

But first we drove to Sentier du Cap Rouge

 to hike the 2.6 km trail. The trail was  through small shrubs and near a lagoon. Les moustiques were terrible so Shadow and I turned back within the first 10 minutes. Kathy persevered and went farther but also turned back because the trail was not well marked....not a place one would want to get lost! Shadow and |I did find a shorter path down to the shoreline to view Cap Rouge.

  We returned to Pointe Basse where Kathy visited Les Cultures du Large, an interpretation centre  about shellfish farming, aquaculture and lobster fishing which opened in 2018. Kathy said it was most interesting and finished with an oyster tasting. I wish I had gone, for the tour that is!

We stopped for lunch at the same fish market, la Poissonnière. This time kathy had her cooked lobster dinner  while I cooked my seafood crèpes on Harvee Too. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals.

Kathy checked out a couple more boutiques in Cap aux Meules. With our sightseeing done, we had time to stop at  L'Ami du Campeur, a RV repair garage near our chosen campground for our last night on Les Iles.  We were most fortunate . Le monsieur  had time to diagnose our problem, a weak, aging water pump. He replaced the pump. The Fresh water diverter valve was not closing completely which was allowing the water leakage into the water tank. 

He did not have a replacement valve but did remove about  12" of piping behind it and install a shut off valve to supplement the defective one. Voilà! Problem solved in less than two hours. The bill including labour, parts and HST only $388.58 ... very reasonable.

We checked into Camping Le Motel Pleuvier just down the road. We have full hook-ups and no water issues..... hallelujah! 

 

Iles de la Madeleine: Day 3

Dune du Nord Beach

 
Today under sunny skies we continued north on Rte 199 to see the last three islands. Pointe aux Loups is the smallest inhabited island with a fishing port, about 50 homes and the Dune du Nord Beach. 

We stopped at the Dune du Nord Wind Farm.. Surprisingly we could get very close to the two wind turbines that went into operation in 2021. They supply more than 15% of the island's energy needs.

Grosse Ile and Grande Entrée have the best preserved natural environments of Les Iles. Pointe de l'Est National Wildlife Area connects the two islands. Grosse Ile is populated by Anglophones of Scottish descent. They work as fishermen. 

Another point of interest was the Salt Mine.  Huge salt dunes are part of the base of the islands. In 1983 Mines Seleine began excavating the salt which is mined at a  300 metre depth in tunnels.

We were very pleased to find a large enough parking area to accommodate us so we could walk one of the trails in the  684 hectares ecosystem. We chose L'Echouerie   and would have walked more than the 1.2 km if most of the trail was not  deep dune sand which made walking extra difficult. What we did see was very impressive.... so many photo ops for me  as Kathy powered along.

We drove through some very foggy stretches along the highway.

We ate a  delicious seafood lunch at Cap Dauphin's Fish Shack  sitting outside on a deck overlooking the Grosse Ile wharf. The restaurant was very busy; the  long wait was worth it.

Grand Entrée was the last island to be permanently inhabited in approximately 1870. It has a vital fishing port.  In 1994 it was designated Quebec's "Lobster Capital." There are over 100 lobster fishing boats. 

We drove literally to the end of Rte 199 and can now say we drove the entire length of the archipelago, 85 km  southern tip to northern tip. 

On the way back to our campground we stopped in Old- Harry where the Grande Echouerie Beach dominates the shoreline. We walked the short distance over the dune. Unfortunately fog obscured the view.

We arrived back at the campground around 3:30 having motored 121 km. It was another great day of sightseeing,  on Les Iles.