Panmure Island Provincial Park and Lighthouse, Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead, Point Prim Lighthouse, Cape Bear Lighthouse, Murray Harbour, and Guernsey Cove

I still have posts to write about the exceptionally beautiful Les Îles de la Madeleine.  I loved, loved, loved it there.  I spent six nights, and was planning to add additional nights, but on my second-to-last day a crown fell off of my tooth, and the closest dental appointment I could get was in Charlottetown PEI.  I was sad to leave Les Îles without having seen all that I wanted to see, but I also felt happy to return to PEI.  Something about this island really calls to me, and it feels like it could be home.  I occasionally stop to photograph houses with “For Sale” signs!  I was excited when my ferry from Les Îles began to sail along the eastern coast of PEI, and from the deck of the ship I was able to recognize the beaches and red cliffs of Basin Head, and then Red Point where I had camped, and then the lighthouse at Souris.  

Once off the ferry, I drove directly south to Panmure Island Provincial Park in order to secure a good campsite, and I got a great one, large and nicely shaded.  I am loving being outside so much (except for the mosquitoes, which thankfully aren’t too bad), and everything camp-wise tends to go very smoothly.  I’m a pro now at this nomadic existence!

After settling in, and a quick lunch, I headed off to visit the beautiful Panmure Island Lighthouse which is the oldest wooden lighthouse on PEI.

Built in 1853, it has gabled windows and is four stories high.  I toured the inside, and enjoyed the lines and angles created by the steep ladders and the lighthouse’s octagonal shape.

At the top there was a great view out to the causeway which connects Panmure Island to the rest of PEI .  A long sand beach, backed by dunes, faces the open sea, and a red silty and sand beach is on the side facing St. Mary’s Bay.

I next headed to the beach for these views towards the lighthouse, 

and later towards the red cliffs at the far south end of the beach.  

Then, I had a wonderful afternoon at Panmure that I would repeat on each of my three days here:  first, a long walk on the beach, then a swim in the sea (with its perfect temperature and rolling waves), then a peaceful dinner in a very quiet campground, and finally an evening walk.  It was a good, slow-down kind of place to be.

The following day, I made the hour-long drive into Charlottetown and did not receive good news at the dentist.  Afterwards, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with traffic and tour Charlottetown, so I decided to make my way back to Panmure by the secondary roads, following the coast as much as possible.  I was waylaid, for a time, by a long call with a friend, next to this beautiful bay, which cheered me,

and then I carried on, thinking that I might visit the Orwell Historic Village, but I was diverted by a “Nature Trail” sign on the same road.  I ended up at the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead, the beautiful home of an influential, early twentieth-century PEI doctor, professor, and author.  I toured the interior of the home, decorated with period-pieces, photographs, and art, but mostly I enjoyed the gardens, and the nature trail that lead down grassy paths to a forest walk along a brook.  The yellow cut-leafed cone flowers were taller than me!

I continued on to visit the round lighthouse at Point Prim, 

and along the way stopped to photograph lazy rivers, curving roads, and a field where the wheat was an electric mix of yellow and green.

Then, at camp, I had my beach walk, swim, dinner, and then an evening walk, this time along the beach of St. Mary’s Bay, near sunset. 

The finale to the day was this brush stroke of pink cloud in the sky, above the dark trees, viewed from my camp chair.

On my last full day on the southeastern coast of PEI, I drove some new roads, and again stopped often at bridges to view the beautiful rivers.

I visited the Cape Bear Lighthouse, which I didn’t climb, but I enjoyed talking with the young student workers there about its history.

I next drove to the very pretty town of Murray Harbour, with its large and elegant heritage buildings and its riverside harbour.

This cozy shed charmed me and is open to all,

and I also enjoyed a long line of harbour-side storage sheds that were whimsically decorated in a medly of colours and styles.  It seems like a creatively-inclined town!

I wandered slowly along the tree-lined Riverside Drive, looking at the pretty houses. It was peaceful and quiet, and I wanted to stretch out this last day on PEI. On the return to my car, I stopped on the bridge over the Murray River for final views upstream and then down, feeling a little melancholy at having to say goodbye.

I made one more stop, down to Guernsey Cove, where I had this red sand beach all to myself.

I returned to Panmure campground in the afternoon for one last long beach walk, and one last gorgeous and extra-long swim.  The waves were bigger today (so fun!), and the wind was a bit cold but the water was just the right temperature. I met a woman, also playing in the waves, who loves to swim as much as I do.  Originally from Peru, she went back and forth several times between BC and PEI, literally testing the waters.  Though she was brave enough to swim in the very cold Pacific surf at Tofino multiple times, she decided that the PEI swimming suited her best.  I would have to agree! Afterwards, a healthy camp dinner, laundry, a long conversation with my Quebecois neighbours, and a bit of writing. It was a good day, again, on PEI, and I can see why people return here summer after summer for their holidays.  I will miss it, and hope to return.  Thank you, Prince Edward Island, for all that you offered this traveller.

P.S. I still have at least one more PEI post to write, as well as posts from almost every other province (yikes!).  Perhaps they’ll get written, perhaps not.  As I’ve said before, wifi and power and time are limited, but it does feel good to record these memories, and to share these postcards from Canada.

P.P.S. For my family – there was an Acadian singer and musician performing on board my return ferry from Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine and she sang, “Dans ma Belle Petite Maison dans ma Vallée.” ❤️