Walking across Europe - 2013: PEI Island Walk - May 24, 2023 Day 8 Anglo Tignish to Alberton

Daily Information

Distance: 23.8 Kms [240.0Kms]

Walking time: 4h 26m [44h 13m]

Doddling time: 31m [232m]

% Doddling time: 10.4% [8.0%]

Avg walking speed: 5.4 Kms/hr [5.4 Kms/hr]

Elevation G/L meters: 52(41) [720:(797)]

Total Daily Steps: 37,584 [376,088]

% of Walking Days Complete (24): 33.3%

% of Total Kms (estimate 703): 34.1%

% of Shuttle Rides (estimate 17): 58.8%

% Come on get a Wiggle on Days (>40 km): 42.9%

Added a new metric…one that is very meaningful as it was my #1 concern prior to the walk…the long days >40 km. So far so good 😊!

Today was another really good day…sun was shining but…the walking was a little tough. Road walking all the way…was pleasant as I often walked by the ocean or whatever I was seeing 😊 out there!

The day’s start

I was told that we would see lobster 🦞 boats so I am assuming that’s what I saw 😄

Walking was challenging for two reasons…primary reason is the d*mn wind…geez felt like a gadzillion kms per hour ALWAYS straight in your face. After a while one ends up muttering…well not me…others 😇…”give me a break!”.

Second reason is the legs thought they could essentially take a day off…early on they were not really pumping properly…whining about “I’m tired 😪”! Well they got a good talking to from me “get your act together…we are NOT taking a taxi/shuttle to get there”. Things eventually became much better.

The injury report is essentially the same as yesterday…more on this later…after the walk may have blister surgery to perform TBD…will see later on today or tomorrow morning. I did stop at a pharmacy and the pharmacist…she was super and led me (always nice when someone recognizes I need help ☺️) to the following patches which look great for the heel area with sticky surface all other the gauze part…may apply later.

Ok time for a little diversion..

Equipment Failures

Every long walk has them…you just hope it’s nothing major and so far the failures are minor but irritating 😠.

Goob Tubes - these are the salt of the earth however I found out the hard way that knockoff Goob Tubes are worthless. I should know better as I normally buy good equipment…it lasts and worth the extra $. I had two tubes for Camp Suds to wash clothes…one to hold the soap and the other to mix a small amount of water with a few drops of Camp Suds.

When I reached into my bag things felt quite slimy…immediately I concluded that this is not good…the tall tube (likely bought at Shoppers where they sell travel items 😢) held the Camp Suds. Very bad move…the real Goob Tube now has Camp Suds…the other tall tube is now resting comfortably in the garbage can!

Scissors

This morning I was inspecting the possible blister on the inside heel area of my left foot. No change from yesterday…thought I would see if moleskin would help protect the area. Well who knows if it would…took out these small foldable scissors and tried to cut the moleskin pad 😂.Not a chance! Paper ok otherwise totally and utterly useless!

The skin in that foot area is really rough…tried to place a bandaid with Nexcare tape…it simply will peel off while walking. Hopefully the patches mentioned earlier will do the trick!

Keeping the scissors for now…will look around for possible replacement.

Prior to heading out…shuttle at 7am back to Anglo Tignish I had breakfast…well sort of…”1/4 Chicken Club Sandwich”…bread and more bread 🤔

As I started walking another Spotify favourite was playing “Long Long Journey” by Enya. Such an apropos song for the long Island Walk! YES I like Enya as well…laugh if you want but if you are not listening to Enya you are missing out big time 😄

Somewhere along the walk I came across this church…note most churches are white with the accompanying sign which states 1867 was the founding year. THAT’s the year of Canada’s Confederation…incredible!

A little while later who do I meet at the Jacques Cartier Park…Ron! Stopped had some of my packed lunch and agreed to meet later at the Petite France B&B in Alberton.

A little more walking and voila..except as is often the case the actual town centre is 2+ kms down the road. Argh…why not place the sign a little closer for walkers please 🙏

Upon arrival had the rest of my packed lunch and checked in just before 1:00 at La Petite France B&B where I met Hubert and Michelle the owners.

So Good!!!

What an incredibly nice place built in the late 1800’s…large lounge area available…spacious area for breakfast…large room. Hubert and Michelle are in their early 70’s having moved from the Alsace area of France 🇫🇷 28 years ago. They moved to Canada because of hockey…Hubert says one son was on a Rotary exchange in Canada and brought back the hockey virus. Two daughters and two sons then played hockey in France with a few years of hockey school in Summerside in PEI.

Toodling around PEI they came across this house and made a decision to open a B&B leaving 3 children in Switzerland 🇨🇭. A daughter lives in Halifax Nova Scotia and a son in Quebec. I immediately started speaking to them in French and they said “you are not from Quebec”…not sure how they know that.

Earlier today they were out driving and saw me walking along “poles swinging” so they hustled back so I could have an early checkin…how kind is that!

A little while later Ron arrived at the door…I briefly considered pulling one of my stunts “svp

ne laisser pas ce type rentrer”’but did not 😇

Ron had not eaten so I agreed to accompany him to a local bakery/restaurant where I had a bowl of delicious clam chowder.

Ron and I had a grand old talk…an interesting fellow. As he was finishing music school…believe he was a clarinet player he was drafted and was off to the Vietnam war unless he had a reason not to go!

He and his buddy…who went on to be a principal (forget instrument) player with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra…applied and were accepted for the US military orchestra in Washington.

As Ron said “I got to play for a number of soldiers returning from Vietnam at their special service” 🥲

On the way back to the B&B we stopped and each bought a beer…both of us may drink a few beers a year…and we swapped more stories. Don’t worry the swapping of stories is a two way street…always a story to tell! 😂

Ron is nursing a very bad blister (Paulo like my Portugal blisters) and taking a day off…maybe two and I am walking tomorrow…in the rain…however will shuttle back to La Petite France B&B tomorrow night. After that I will likely not see Ron again…such is life meeting people while walking. If I am ever in Maine I would not hesitate to look him up.

He is incredulous that I am not taking a rest day or two in the walk…done it before and hopefully it will be right call again. Nevertheless have to be very careful not to let doubts creep in…that’s a recipe for a self fulfilling outcome.

Finally a few pictures from the day…