Prince Edward Island
After a delicious brunch at Patty & Andrew's, we drove to Breadalbane on Prince Edward Island (PEI). The Confederation Bridge is the connection from the mainland to this island. The toll you pay when you leave the island is CAD 50.25.
Upon arrival at our boondocking spot, a cheerful man stepped up to us and asked us in Dutch if we were in the mood for coffee, cozy! Frank and his wife Dina happened to have other emigrated Dutch people over for coffee. We are very impressed with Dina & Frank's house. They designed it themselves and it is so well thought out, everything is on one level, beautiful light, beautiful views of the country and the sea, there is a garage/shed and it is very well insulated. For the boondockers there is electricity (220V and 110V with 15 and 30 Amp) and water available. What lovely people! We enjoyed the great conversations, the tips and the tremendous hospitality.
The island
We had beautiful sunny weather and driving along the coasts, you really have an island feeling. There are only a few roads and on most stretches you won't meet anyone. There are also many wild animals here, so it's best not to drive after dark. Upon arrival at the Confederation bridge you will see many warning signs about it. In fact, every year motorists are killed after a collision with a deer.
Nature is doing its best to keep everything blooming, the wind is still fresh and at this time of year it is potato planting time on the island. PEI is the largest supplier of potatoes in all of Canada. We were surprised to encounter hummingbirds, we thought this little bird was only found in the tropics. We also spotted two foxes during our tour!
Spring lasts very short on PEI, summers are mild and winter is about 2.5 weeks at its coldest at -27 degrees Celsius. Dina & Frank had a wind chill of -47 degrees Celsius last year while building their house. If you go outside without snow goggles, your eye water instantly freezes.
There are only a few larger towns, where you see high-rise and row houses. Everything else is detached with large patches of land. There is an Amish community on the island. Their way of life is considered outdated by many people: they have no electricity, no appliances, no cars/tractors, no medicine and don't pay a penny in taxes. When we see how things are in the rest of the world with diseases, autism, poverty, depression, we sometimes wonder who is better off.
Another thing we really enjoyed seeing was Casper & Monique's house in the town of Victoria. A very big house with an even bigger plot of land. Casper is a carpenter who also specializes in heritage restoration. Every part of their large palace has been tackled over the past eight years with impressive results. This summer, among other things, the exterior will also be completely tackled. We have enormous admiration for the drive and the result.
The brightly colored Victoria cottages overlooking the sea have already been fully restored and are being rented out.
There are so many people who feel that they are not happy with their current situation and dream about a different way of life. There are few who realize that they are the creators of their own live and can actually make their dreams come true. When these people crosses our path, we really enjoy listening to how they realized it.
The next stop is Riviere-du-Loup in the province of Quebec. We can set the clock back another hour there, the time difference with Holland will be 6 hours.
