Prince Edward Island - Nova Scotia Ferry

Caribou, NS to Wood Islands, PEI ferry



Panning around Caribou Harbour (that's how they spell it in Canada) as I leave Caribou, NS. Rotating from west to east (left to right), I pass Caribou Island (enough with the Cervidae!) and come to Munroes Island, behind which is Pictou Island, the only stepping stone to Prince Edward Island. A lot of islands, all in all. Looking east in the last photo, there are two ways out of Caribou Harbor, the Inside Channel to the left and the Main Channel. They converge in the background to get through that gap, and I would guess from their names that they're the only two navigable routes through the water.


Another look west, another look east, and back south at Caribou. Maybe I'm a little photo-hungry.


Don't let your kids look at Munroes Island from this angle.


Same as last time - west, east, south. You can see the Caribou Lighthouse on Caribou Island in Caribou Harbor in Caribou. Go during hunting season, and...


Varying my angle, two southeast views of Munroes Island.


And wave goodbye to all things named Caribou once and for all.


One last look at Pictou Island before I go inside. Not the warmest on the open water in Canada, even though it's summer.


Aboard the ferry, making the ride much more exciting. Once you've lived through the Eighties, they just can't seem to die no matter how hard they try. This one woman rocked out the Galaga game, occupying my attention for about 15 minutes and her husband for about 3 minutes longer than that (that's how long he lasted at it). The Golden Axe game has seen better days - I wonder if it's even playable with the Green Screen of Death washing everything out. Or if anyone knows how to play it.


It's really difficult to photograph a whale - they're up and back in a fraction of a second, and you don't know where the next one will be, and it's usually far from the ship so you need zoom, which makes it even harder to pick the right spot. In several attempts, I got this water trail from the rear fin (or blowhole? can't tell from this distance) and, in the lower left corner, the dorsal fin just about touching the surface. It's no National Geographic cover.


Prince Edward Island comes into view, as I pan from west to east. We're not as close to shore as the photos might suggest, especially the zoomed center photo. Even from this distance, the characteristic iron-rich deep red soil plainly distinguishes the island from everywhere else in the world. The soil creates the island's famous potatoes, which feed the people, who tend the many lighthouses, and that's about all that goes on there. If you're not a farmer or a lighthouse tender, you're supporting them by cutting their hair, operating their markets, and so on.


There's one actual Wood Islands lighthouse, the one in the first photo that lights up in the third photo, and then there are weird fake ones. I bet the island has the most lighthouses per capita of any province or state - there are at least 60 lighthouses and fewer than 150,000 people, so it's around 1:2,400.

Leave the ferry on PEI Trans-Canada Highway 1
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