Prince Edward Island 1

The daylight gave a good view of the bridge where I crossed from Quebec Province. The morning was shivering cold. Fortunately the hostel was heated. Crystal clear blue skies. I decided to drive southwards along the coast to Cape Tormentine, where a ferry crossed the 14 km to Borden, Prince Edward Island. (Note from the future: The ferry was replaced by Confederation Bridge in 1997.) The day warmed up gently and I was in good spirits. I didn't even mind waiting 10 minutes for railcars to clear a crossing.

At a farm stand I picked up a few ears of ble d'inde (corn) and a jar of strawberry jam. At a rest stop I decided to find out how tasty fresh corn was. Fired up the propane stove and boiled them on the spot. No salt, no nothing. They were the most delicious corn I had for a while.

The guide books warned about the long queues for the PEI ferry in peak season. That day there was no problem. It must have close to the end of the season.

I arrived at the PEI hostel close to 7 pm. It was a large green barn near the UPEI campus. PEI is Canada's smallest province. The Confederation had its roots here but ironically PEI was a late joiner. When they stick This Week on PEI on your windscreen while you wait for the ferry, you know this is a tourist spot.  Fortunately, Canada is so spacious that you can always avoid the tourists and pretend you aren't part of the problem.

The PEI hostel was unremarkable, but the characters I met were most memorable. An Aussie couple, M and M, were looking for someone to share a ride with around the island tomorrow. I offered to drive them and split fuel costs. They had come from Bar Harbor, Maine (Bear Hebber, as the natives called it, they said). They would be going back to Boston and other destinations in the States before returning to WA.

S was a student from Glasgow who would begin studies at UPEI come fall and was staying at the hostel until the dorm became ready. B was a salty old coot from Canso, Nova Scotia who seemed to like drifting around. P and J were social studies students from Ottawa on a fling before term started. I met them again in Halifax later. M, a German girl, was feeling somewhat homesick. M, a French-Canadian girl, lived in Montreal.