This morning when I woke up, it was raining, as forecast, so I was pretty happy I had pitched my tent in the food cover area to be able to pack up a dry tent. Heather and Joe had gotten up just before me, so we made breakfast together and chatted while we packed up. Heather offered me some coffee which was amazing, since I was all out, and Joe gave me a map of PEI since they had just left there. Also, Heather if you’re reading this—when I gave you my blog, I meant to get your Instagram handle but forgot to, so shoot me a message and let me know what it is!
From Murray Beach to the Confederation Bridge was a super easy ride—it was only about 15 km, so I got there in under an hour. Bikes are not allowed on the 13 km bridge, but they have a shuttle service for cyclists and pedestrians that runs 24/7. There was an interpretation centre at the foot of the bridge that I biked to, and inside I just picked up a phone that called bridge patrol and let them know that I was there. The shuttle was on the other side of the bridge, so it was about a 20 minute wait—just long enough to climb up to the lookout to see the Confederatiom Bridge spanning across towards PEI.
I got to the other side around 11:30, so still had almost the whole day to explore the island. First I headed west and stopped for lunch at a cafe in Summerside. From there I went north upto Kensington, which didn’t have much in it, but had a few nice murals. I really lucked out, because it was supposed to rain all day, but by the time I got to Summerside, the sun had come out, and I had really nice weather to bike in for the rest of the day.
I headed upto the north coast after that to Green Gables, but damn, there are some hills in PEI! Heather and Joe had warned me about the hills a bit, but I wasn’t expecting this. The Confederation Trail in PEI is a bike trail that runs all throughout the island and goes along the old train tracks, and that is super flat. But I had heard from a few people that it’s nicer to bike on the road in PEI, because on the Confederation Trail you’re just surrounded by trees the whole time, whereas on the road you actually get to see more of the coastline and the island in general. So I took the road upto Green Gables, but was thinking maybe I should’ve just stuck to the trail as I was climbing a few of those hills.
Green Gables was packed, I couldn’t believe how many tourists were there—I think there were about 6 tour buses in the parking lot, on top of all the cars. I saw the house that inspired Anne of Green Gables, but I felt like a bit of a sheep walking through the house and peeking in each room that has been decorated to look as it would’ve in that time. What was cool though about Green Gables is that they had a few walking trails that would have been Lovers Lane and the Haunted Forest. Also, apparently a lot of the places that Montgomery mentioned in her works have since become protected sites by Parks Canada because their beauty became so well known through her writing.
From Green Gables, I headed upto Cavendish Beach, also part of Parks Canada, which was really pretty. The town of Cavendish itself seemed completely built for tourists, with mini putts, and fun houses, and a ton of accommodations. But once I saw the beach, I could understand why it was such a draw for tourists. I was reading there that because the wind is constantly shifting the sand dunes along the coast, the Cavendish coast of PEI recedes about a metre every year. But other beaches are growing because of the shifting sands too.
That whole coastal area east of Cavendish is part of the national park as well, and they had a great separated bike path that ran along the coast all the way to North Rustico, where I stopped for dinner. The views along the way were spectacular, with the red cliffs contrasting with the light sand. Heather had recommended a restaurant called Blue Museel Cafe in North Rustico, so I headed there for dinner. Every year there’s a seafood competition across the island, and about 30 restaurants enter a seafood appetizer and a seafood entree into the competition. This restaurant had won in both categories the last 2 years, and they were trying for their third year in a row. I got the salmon and tuna tartar which they had entered in the appetizer category, and it was so delicious. What a great recommendation.
After dinner, I still had about 10 km to go to get to New Glasgow. A friend of mine who is originally from PEI, but no longer lives here, had put me in touch with her friend in New Glasgow, Nathan, who said I could camp out on his property. He’s got this gorgeous house on 2 acres of property that he’s rented out for the summer, so he is currently living in his barn house. He wasn’t there when I arrived (he was on the last day of a 4 day sailing race from Charlottetown to Shédiac, NB and back!), but I pitched my tent in the back. One of the people that is renting the house for the summer came by to chat with me for a bit with her son, and it turns out that they’re from Toronto as well. They rent out the house each summer to run an artist in residency program and an arts festival. It seems as though there are a ton of festivals in PEI each summer, I’m just here a bit too early to catch any.
My first impressions of PEI are all great—the island is so picturesque and cute, and it seems you’re never too far from the water or another great view. And everyone I’ve met so far has been so friendly!
Total distance: 105 km
Total elevation: 785 m
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