After our night at Red Point PP, we made the short trip to Basin Head a Marine Protected area with three different zones and was established in 2005. Zone 1 is the Northeast arm where the Giant Irish Moss grows, and it is the only place in the world where it grows. Zone 2 is the lagoon that connects Zone 1 to Zone 3 which is the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. Zone 3 is the outer coast and established to protect the dunes. The beach is called the Singing Sands because it is made up of high purity quartz grains that are round and uniform, so they make a squeaky sound when you walk on it. We actually heard this at several other beaches along the PEI coastline.

When we arrived, we found out that they had a guided tour leaving shortly so we decided to sign up. As it turned out we were the only 2 people on the tour with the young guide. Again, we were only the second tour he had ever done but he had done a huge amount of work to memorize all the facts that he wanted to convey. He first explained about the Marine Protected area zones and then about the Giant Irish Moss. Irish Moss was harvested for the Carrageenan which is used to thicken things like Ice Cream, Medicines, and Cosmetics. Giant Irish Moss has 7 times more carrageenan than Irish Moss and that’s why it was harvested so heavily in the past. Since it only grows in Zone 3 and there are other sources of Irish Moss elsewhere, they have banned harvesting the Giant Irish Moss now.

Next, he toured us down to the beach to hear the singing sands and see where the lagoon flows out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and then took us inside the Fish cannery to explain all the history. In 1941 the government built the fish cannery, and they took haddock and hake fish and canned them into something called “chicken haddie”, and they also did canned herring. Now inside they show many historic boats (including sneak boats that look like coffins but were used to get waterfowl) and fishing antiques, and they even had the jawbone of a Blue Whale (my favourite creature).

After we finished the guided tour, we went back up to the museum where they gave us our free ice cream cone (came with the tour due to the connection to Irish Moss) and our free container of singing sands😉 Then we could tour through the museum and learn more about the various seafood fisheries in PEI. Most people coming to Basin Head were just there to relax on the beach, but we had spent more than 3 hours learning all we could about the area, very fascinating.

Our next stop was East Point Lighthouse which was built in 1867 and is the second tallest PEI lighthouse at 64’. Often times the reef off East Point can have turbulent waters as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Northumberland Strait, and Atlantic Ocean meet here but we were there on a very calm day (much different than when we went to the North Cape). We went through the museum displays and climbed to the top of the lighthouse for the view.

As we carried on along the north shore of PEI there was a fishing village called Naufrage so we decided to detour to see it and the Shipwreck Point lighthouse. However, as we approached there was a narrow one lane bridge over the harbour entrance and it said maximum weight 4500 kg per axle and 5500 kg gross. The per axle number was fine but the gross weight was a concern for us so we stopped looked at it and then decided we could drive around and come into the town from the other direction. Shipwreck Point Lighthouse was pretty plain, and we couldn’t climb it so we took a look and then wandered around the town. There was a sign board about Tuna Fishing, and I remembered when I was 15 years old and we came to PEI with my family that my Dad took me deep sea fishing and unfortunately, he got so seasick that the captain had to turn around and go back to shore. In the harbour we could see all the lobster traps had been brought in since the season was over.

PEI National Park is broken into 3 separate sections and the first we came across was Greenwich as it is the easterly section. It is home to the parabolic dunes, the floating boardwalk, and Greenwich Beach. Our first stop in this section was the visitor centre so we could see the displays and find out about the hiking trails. They had displays on aquatic species at risk in this area including Great White Sharks, Leatherback Turtles, Skates, Wolffish, and Blue Whales. They explained about the sandstone nature of PEI and how the dunes were unique and important to protect. There were also displays about the Mi’kmaq people that had their home in PEI for centuries.

The park rangers recommended we do the Greenwich Dunes trail which was 4.5 kms and it took you past old farmland, through a forest, across a floating boardwalk, and up and over the dunes to the beach. What a truly unique set of environments so close to each other. We’re so glad the National Park system helps to protect these types of areas.

Our destination that evening was Stanhope campground in the second PEI National Park section but since it was late in the day we decided to go out for dinner to a popular restaurant called Fin Folk Food. We could not believe how full the parking lot was when we arrived! We had to wait 50 minutes to get a table, then we waited 30 minutes to get our drink order, and later we got our food. They really could use a time and motion study to figure out how to better handle the flow of people. I had the Fin Sampler which had a ½ lobster roll, a fish taco, and crispy fried fish and Sharon had the large lobster roll. The food was reasonable but not really worth the wait, especially when I get to tomorrow’s dinner out.

The Stanhope campground was not very attractive with sites jammed together and we just got setup before it turned too dark to see.

Even though we didn’t like the Stanhope campground the next morning (Canada Day) we saw the beach directly in front of the campground and that would be a huge attraction for campers. We decided to do a bike ride (26.5 kms) on the Gulf Shore Way west to Robinson’s Island where there were some MTB trails. Later one of the park rangers explained to us that there used to be a campground on Robinson’s Island but when tropical storm Dorian came through it damaged the asphalt road so the park decided to let the island return to its original state and if another hurricane damages the causeway, they will just let it return to a true island. The MTB trails on the island had features like a pump track, rollers, teeter-totters, and bridges so I tried the ones that I could do. When we got to the first lookout we got absolutely swarmed by mosquitoes, the most we’d seen on the trip!

After finishing our ride, we wanted to celebrate Canada Day, so we decided to walk the 3 kms east along the Gulf Shore Way to the Dalvay by the Sea historic hotel to have cocktails and appetizers. We certainly questioned this decision as we walked because the temperature had climbed to 33C! However, the National Historic site was definitely worth seeing. The Inn was built in 1895 by Alexander Macdonald who was a wealthy Standard Oil executive. It’s a Queen Anne revival style mansion with massive red-sandstone fireplaces, wraparound verandas, antique furnished guest rooms, and views of the lake and the ocean.

It was around 4:30 and the MacMillan Dining room didn’t open for food until 5 so we had drinks on the veranda and booked a table in the dining room for 5 pm. As it turned out the restaurant has a CAA four-diamond rating and serves items with fresh local PEI ingredients, so we had an absolutely spectacular meal with incredible service😉 We decided to share 3 different appetizers with a bottle of wine, but the kitchen first sent out an amuse-bouche of smoked salmon. The 3 appetizers were PEI Oysters, then Crab Cakes, then 1lb of PEI mussels with Chorizo sausage, and we finished with a chocolate rum cake. OMG everything was incredible and the server’s attention to detail was the best we had on the entire trip. We were so glad we had done the 3 km hike to get there, and the 3 km hike back was along the beach as the sun was starting to set. What a phenomenal end to Canada Day.

The next morning there was a park ranger program on the beach, so we decided to check it out. However, it turned out it was really designed for kids, but they said we were welcome to join in. Several parents dropped their kids off and the 2 park rangers took the kids and Sharon and I over to the beach😉 They had a treasure hunt sheet to find shells and creatures on the beach so we did that and the rangers kept coming over to give us more detailed info on the things we were finding and the history of the area.

That day we were driving to the third section of PEI NP to stay at the Cavendish campground for 2 nights, but we made several stops along the way. We had heard about another good restaurant called the Blue Mussel Café in Rustico, so we decided to check it out. It was right at lunch time, and the restaurant was already full, so we had a short wait to get a table. We decide to do the seafood appetizer routine again, so we started with the PEI Oysters, then the Scallops, and 2 lbs of PEI Mussels, followed by a Guiness Chocolate cheesecake for dessert. Another great seafood feast, not quite Dalvay by the Sea level of quality, but still very good.

Before arriving at the campground, we stopped at L.M. Montgomery’s Cavendish National Historic site – Green Gables. It was clear many of the tourists there knew far more about Anne of Green Gables than I did as many of them even came in full costumes. It was free to get in since the National Historic Sites and Parks are free again this summer. We first went through the museum to learn more about the author Lucy Maud Montgomery and the writing of her first novel Anne of Green Gables. The grounds contained Montgomery’s cousin’s farmhouse that inspired the fictional Green Gables and the trail called Lover’s Lane that Lucy thought was the most beautiful place on earth.

It rained after we checked in at Cavendish campground, but the next day was beautiful, so we went for a hike along the beach and on the park trails. There was a sign board that explained what happened to the park when tropical storm Dorian came through and it explained why we were finding the campground so barren. That afternoon the heat had built back up so we went for a swim in the Gulf of St. Lawrence which was refreshing but extremely salty.

Our next blog will be third and final blog for our PEI journey.