An Island Walk..

..seeps slowly into bone

My mom used to say, that  ‘the road to a friend’s house is never long’.

The origins of this proverb are unknown to me but it came to mind often last September when I was wandering around, literally, Prince Edward Island on foot.

Although I had never been to the Island before, each day was oddly familiar and felt itself like the old friend I wanted to visit.

I’m not exactly sure when my infatuation for this far flung Eastern Canadian Island began, but do know for certain, it was in part thanks to the CBC.  

For years, like Sunday evening clockwork, we would plunk ourselves in front of the TV and settle in with Anne Shirley and the rest of the Green Gables colourful cast. For the next hour, we would vicariously explore the fields of friendship, young love and other nooks and crannies this gentle province had to offer.

Of the Island Walk’s mapped out 700 kms we committed to completing 500 kms.

Planning wasn’t straight forward, but it was part of the fun. Where would we stay, how would we get from here to there, to pack a lunch or not? These were the questions.

And of course, we wanted to ensure that we had plenty of time to enjoy each day.

In hindsight I would not have done a thing differently.

One of the best things about a long walk such as this is simply time. Time to breathe, time to grieve, time to laugh…time to just be.

And of course time to connect with other fabulous friends that come to take steps with you 👣👣👣👣

“True friends are always together in spirit” Miss Stacey – Anne of Green Gables

If you have the time and the slightest of notions, I highly encourage you to take a long walk. The PEI Island Walk website claims that upon completion you will ‘come back different’. I think they just might be right.