A PLACE TO LET YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE DROP
Long quiet beaches, great sunsets and interesting characters abound in P.E.I.
I’m touring the gardens outside a series of buildings made of tens of thousands of old bottles. It’s a wondrous, crazy, inspiring spot in Cape Egmont, an area west of Summerside with a strong Acadian influence, and I’m enjoying it immensely.
The buildings are said to have 25,000-plus bottles embedded in the walls and ceilings. There’s a small chapel made of bottles, with green and white light (and a wee bit of blue) shining through.
But on a beautiful summer’s day I want to smell the ocean air and check out the lush gardens that surround the structures, so that’s where I go. A woman is on her knees in the sun, pulling at offending weeds in a thick bed of flowers. She sees me out of the corner of her eye.
“Take a load off,” she says, gesturing to a wooden swing big enough for a couple adults. “Let your blood pressure drop a little.”
Prince Edward Island is good for that. Over the course of two days and a bit, I enjoy a sunset that would put Hawaii to shame, hear mysterious winds whistling over the deep red rocks at lonely North Point, and check out long, quiet beaches with nary a trace of Anne of Green Gables. Or anyone else for that matter.
I also sip wonderful local beers, dine on clam chowder while resting on a Muskoka chair and gazing at the sea, and check out the school where legendary Canadian singer Stompin’ Tom Connors learned to read and write.
In Summerside, I meet up with Nicaraguan-born chef Norman Zeledon at his food truck, The Galley. In summer, you’ll find it across from the colourful Spinnakers’ Village shopping area on the Summerside waterfront.
The talented and outgoing Zeledon makes everything from porchetta sandwiches on homemade bread to a fantastic salad with poached figs, roasted red onions, pumpkin seeds and a pickle slaw from El Salvador. Probably not what the average tourist expects from the land of lobster rolls.
Zeledon recommends I try the ice cream at Holman’s, a lovely shop inside a historic home in central Summerside. I opt for the blueberry-lemon and take it into the shady garden next door before walking around the old homes in the centre of town, where I find glorious, deep green lawns and porches big enough for a game of tennis.
The west end of the island is home to the beautiful church at Mount Carmel. Blue, white and red Acadian flags with a gold star fly proudly alongside the red and white maple leaf.
That night I take in the sunset on the patio of my room at the West Point Lighthouse Inn. Plaques along the beach boardwalk talk of natives who told stories of sea monsters in the area.
I don’t see any odd creatures, but I find interesting characters on the north part of the island at Back Road Folk Art, where Kerras Jeffery carves all sorts of odd bits from wood; everything from Santa Claus to the Statue of Liberty. One of his carvings shows a hockey player wearing a red shirt that says “Toronto Oak Leafs.” Naturally, I ask about that.
“I once sold a carving to someone with a Hells Angels logo on it. They called me and suggested I not do that any more, so I’m kinda careful.”
Down near Wood Island, where the ferries for Nova Scotia depart, I drive to the Point Prim Chowder House. I sit outside and watch the water lap the shore as I dine on superb clam chowder with chorizo and the most tender clams a mouth ever laid teeth on.
A guy could learn to breathe in a place like this.
Blue, white and red Acadian flags with a gold star fly proudly alongside the red and white maple leaf.