journeys

Last summer, I drove to the ferry that brought me to Prince Edward Island where I caught another ferry that brought me to The Magdelan Islands and to an adventure I had been waiting to embark on since I was about four years old!

The islands, which are a part of Quebec, had been beckoning me since I was child because my great-grandparents hailed from the islands. That summer I had the time and money to jump in my car and head out into the unknown.

My adventure began within minutes of leaving the ferry when I started looking for a campsite. I was not warned about the extreme winds that pummel the area almost constantly and woke up with my tent toppled on top of me. That first day, I decided to drive the whole length of the islands, which are connected by causeways. At one point, I parked my car along the highway and wandered over the giant sand dunes along the road to see what was on the other side. I have been to Florida, the Caribbean and all over Eastern Canada and never have I seen a sandy beach more beautiful than the one I found on the other side of those dunes! Even better was the fact that there was no one on it, I had it all to myself!

That evening as I was brushing my teeth in the washroom near my campsite, I overheard some other tourists talking about a Zodiac tour they were taking the next day.
I showed up at the docks the next day hoping that there was a space available and that the tour would not be cancelled due to the rain and wind. I guess our captain was used to that type of weather as he showed no concern towards the conditions except to warn us that the seas were a bit high so we would be in for a rough ride!

A rough ride it was. After zooming through caves, watching dozens of seals, dolphins and birds and nearly being tossed into the sea numerous times, we docked on the almost deserted Entry Island. This island is separate from the other ones and is only accessible by boat or plane and the main mode of transportation on the island is all-terrain vehicle. We tackled the island on foot after we had our coffee and lunch at the small diner near the docks. For such a small island, there was much to see and so. There were several museums and dozens of hiking trails that led visitors to scenic diversity on every corner of the island! In one area, you are looking out over horses grazing in a large, grassy meadow. A little ways down, a lighthouse is perched on rocky cliffs. In the center of the island, at the top of a large hill, you can see all of entry island and it’s various and beautiful scenes and you can see the other islands and their beauty in the distance too!