Camino, Hiking, Travel

Postcards from An Island Walk, Day Four

Retirement Reflections

The Original Plan: Walk 21 km from where we left off yesterday in New Zealand (yes, it is an actual place in PEI) to Elmira.

Our Modified Route: A few factors conspired to slightly alter our course today. Sandy, our motel co-owner, suggested we walk the beach to Elmira instead of on the trail. She said that it was roughly the same distance. Beach walk? We were in! Then Richard, aka our studier of all-things-maps, proposed that we walk on the beach directly from our hotel to Bothwell, around 22 km. That sounded good to me.

And Then This Happened:

Notice the Farrah Fawcett flip! When we set out this morning it was 6C, raining, foggy and brutally windy. Still, we soldiered on. To Bothwell or bust!

Our Coastal Views:

Despite the conspiring elements, we were delighted with this walk. Our cameras were in nonstop motion.

East Point Lighthouse: In under three hours, we reached East Point Lighthouse. Built in 1867, it remains an operating lighthouse today. For nature lovers, there is a bird viewing tower as East Point is a favoured spot for migrating pelagic birds.

Canada’s “Confederation Lighthouse” stands proud at 67 feet.

And Then There Was Another Change in Plan: As we were nearing the lighthouse, we were praying that it included a nearby open cafe or restaurant. Heck, we would have settled for an overpriced machine dispensing bad coffee. Sadly, none of those were to be had. As my waterproof trail shoes proved not to be as waterproof as they had claimed, and I literally could have wrung out my socks and caused a small flood, we waved the white flag and dialed 911-Sandy! Her shuttle service (operated by the lovely Kaylee) arrived quickly. We were soon back in front of our motel room’s fireplace warm, dry and munching on our packed-lunches from Valerie, owner of The Boat House Cafe).

The Boat House Cafe is located next door to our motel and offers delicious breakfast, lunch, dinner and room service
Today’s Breakfast from The Boathouse was also fabulous!

Noteworthy: Eastern Kings Wind is located in this area. It is owned and operated by PEI Energy Corporation. This Wind Farm is projected to supply 7.5% of PEIs electricity and displace 75,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year.

See you tomorrow when we head out to Elmira, Bothwell or Souris (still to be decided). Stay tuned!

Today’s Distance Hiked: 12.36 km (slackers, we know)!

This just in from the dryer – all the clothes that I wore at one time on our walk today: 2 pairs of socks, yoga pants, trail pants, 2 long sleeved shirts, 1 light fleece, 2 light rain jackets, underwear, toque and gloves! (Yup, pretty much all of the clothes that I have with me!)

Published by Retirement Reflections

Prior to retirement, I lived and worked in Beijing China for fourteen years (Middle School Principal/Deputy Director at The Western Academy of Beijing). Leaving international life behind, my husband and I retired to Vancouver Island in June 2015. To document both this transition and our new adventures, ā€˜Retirement Reflectionsā€™ was born. I hope that you enjoy reading these reflections, and will be willing to share your own.

20 thoughts on “Postcards from An Island Walk, Day Four”

  3. Well done! Very windy between North Lake and East Point I bet! I expect to be feeling your pain tomorrow. I’m walking 24 – 26 km from near Stanley Bridge to Rustico with a writer from Travel + Leisure magazine. Day 2 for her – Day 1 for me. šŸ™‚

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  9. Hi Donna, Good call to return to the motel. A load of clean and dry laundry is worth weight of gold on hiking trips. I love the lighthouse and the red sandy beach. I hope the weather improves for your walk tomorrow.

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  11. Well this one took a bit more commitment – but your enjoyment of it all still shone through (and I’m glad there was a dryer at the end of it all – and some delicious looking food!)

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  13. How great to have a 911 Sandy. The views looked incredible, but I know what it’s like when it seems impossible to be any wetter, yet, it’s wetter still. Yay to flexible plans…

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  15. Hi Donna – I think I might have just gone back to bed!! … seeing that weather – so well done for going on. Beautiful photos and it seems ‘getting home’ was very well worth it – lovely looking pick me ups … also nice to know about the birding. Cheers Hilary

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