Distance: 86km
Elevation: 497m
I got up early and packed up since Lindsay had to get to work around 8am.
We chatted a little bit more about conspiracy theories and the possible link to cannabis consumption. I was obviously still processing my encounter with Jerry and Jacquelyn in Andover-Perth a couple of days ago. There certainly was a link between regularly smoking joints and a tendency for delusional thinking and paranoia as recent studies suggested.
Also, we talked about the Canadian immigration program that obviously scared many people that saw themselves as potential losers in this development. She mentioned “In Canada, if you are not indigenous you are automatically an immigrant and most likely your family came less than 8 generations ago. So, why all the fuss about more immigrants?”
We said farewell and I headed towards the ferry to Caribou, Nova Scotia. But before that I went to my favorite breakfast place, Tim Hortons.
Even though Charlottetown was nice and looked tidy, the drug crisis in Canada is visible in every city.
In the entrance of Tim Hortons a girl had passed out on drugs. She was unconscious (I hoped) and people were basically stepping over her. Very irritating and sad.
For the 75km to the ferry I took the flat and peaceful confederation trail again through forests and alongside lakes and fields. I cycled it in one shot. It was delightful.
Whenever I met somebody along the way, the would seek eye contact, give me a nod, a wave and a smile. This requires a lot of different muscle groups. This characteristic friendliness to perfect strangers is a conscious decision that is culturally shared. It really fascinates me. And it creates a lot of lightness.
I imagine though if you did this in downtown New York, London or Frankfurt you would end up in a psychiatry before the day was over.
3km before the ferry, I ran into Shannon and Marco who came via some backroads. It was great to see them again.
Shannon, the planner, had aimed for the ferry at 3:30. Me, the recovering structure guy who was learning to let go, had neither any idea about the schedule nor was wearing a watch.
In the end, we boarded a ferry around 1pm and had lunch aboard.
We agreed to do some grocery shopping in nearby Pictou and then go to a campsite that was run by a Korean family. Allegedly. there was a Korean restaurant as well. Obviously, Shannon had contacted them before.
Shannon and Marco had lived and worked in Korea for a year right after their time in the military to teach English there. They had very fond memories of that time and were eager for some Korean food.
Along the way, Marco showed me an Osprey (Fischadler) with his loud and characteristic call. I had heard this call before during the last days on PEI but had never seen the bird.
When we arrived at the site, which was rather a trailer park than a campground, we found out that the restaurant was closed since long. Shannon felt guilty and I cracked up laughing.
“Planning replaces coincidence with error” was a proverb that came to my mind. It was really funny.
We set up camp and had a beer to celebrate our reunion. Marco and Shannon were almost at their destination. From here it was less than 200km to Halifax.
Shannon improvised a Korean meal with marinated tofu strips, noodles and a hot sauce with green peppers. We ate together and I learned more about their time Korea. It was both fascinating and delightful.
Later we made a campfire and enjoyed dusk and the upcoming stars in the sky.
I guess it was around 10pm when we went into our tents.
What a beautiful day.