After eight months of planning and anticipation, the day was finally here: the start of our 20-day tour of Prince Edward Island using only our legs (and the occasional taxi) to get around. Our flight from Toronto to Charlottetown was on time and we were in Cavendish for lunch at Chez Yvonne’s right on schedule. We ordered a seafood chowder each and a lobster clubhouse to share. Local draft beer provided the remaining fuel for the start of our Island Walk adventure.
From Chez Yvonne’s we walked to Avonlea Village, a cute “town” inspired by Anne of Green Gables where there are many places to eat and drink.
Further down the road is Green Gables Heritage Place, one of the busier attractions on PEI. There are walking trails on the property, including The Haunted Wood. I believe you’re expected to pay a fee to access the property and trails but we didn’t realize this until we were already well into the trail and noticed we were the only people without a sticker proving our paid entrance. Woops!
The next attraction on our walk was the grave site of Lucy Maud Montgomery at Cavendish Community Cemetery.
Moving on, we made our way to the trail connecting Cavendish Beach to Mackenzie’s Brook. The Island Walk site’s documentation of this trail is beautifully detailed and opened our eyes to the difference in some prominent features post-hurricane Fiona.
Once in North Rustico we made our way to the Blue Mussel Cafe for dinner. On arrival there was a wait for dinner, but Jon had the foresight to add our names to the waitlist beforehand and we were able to walk right in and sit down, which was appreciated given the weight of our packs and the distance we had walked!
After dinner we decided we were going to be too late arriving at The Barachois Inn if we walked, so we called Red Sand Tour and Taxi and were able to get a ride to the inn. While we waited for our ride, we enjoyed a glass of rosé on the deck at Blue Mussel Cafe.
On arrival at the Barachois, we checked in, dropped off our (heavy) bags, and went for a walk around the inn. The inn is near a few notable points of interest, like the Farmer’s Bank of Rustico and St. Augustine Catholic Church. There is also an oyster bed right across the street! All of it added up to a very beautiful corner of the island, as evidenced in the following photos
By this time we were very tired (our day started at 4am to catch our flight on time!) so it was an early night in preparation for another full day. Our walking path for Day 1 can be found here.
Looks having great time