Good bye New Brunswick, Hello Prince Edward Island!
- Molly Goldstein
- Jun 3, 2025
- 2 min read
We took a day off in Moncton, New Brunswick, to rest our legs, and it was a good thing, too, as the wind was still blowing strongly all day. We were able to watch the tide coming in and the tidal bore moving up the river. I updated the photos and videos of this phenomenon on my previous blog, Of Wind and Water...
We enjoyed our last days in New Brunswick, finding it fascinating that as we traveled further south in the province, there were definitely more English speakers and self-proclaimed Loyalists (remnants from the time of the American Revolution). As we biked back north, the French Canadian population became much more predominant. The province itself has two versions of its flag: one featuring the British lion for the Loyalists and the other a French flag with a star. The amazing thing is that the people of the city of Moncton can hold full conversations, seamlessly switching back and forth between French and English—it's like they speak a new language: Frenglish!
Today, we rode through our last section of New Brunswick on this trip. It was on the northern side of a stretch of land sandwiched between the Bay of Fundy and the Northumberland Strait, which lies between Prince Edward Island and the rest of Canada. This area is all moose country. I kept looking, but to no avail. Someone mentioned that the best time to see moose is around 2:00 AM. Ugh, I'm not going to ride my bike then! However, we are truly in lobster country! I foresee a few of those lovely crustaceans making their way to my plate or roll soon. :-)
The last part of our journey today required us to cross the Northumberland Strait over the Confederation Bridge. Bicycles are not allowed on the bridge, so we needed to be transported across the Strait - a service provided by the Canadian government! The bridge is nearly 13 km (8 miles) long and is an architectural feat! It is the longest bridge in Canada and one of the longest in the world over ice-covered waters. The design accounts for ice flows, waves, and shifting tides. It is only shut down if the winds are too strong.
We are now on Prince Edward Island, staying the night in the town of Carleton just off the bridge. I must admit I was a bit stunned to discover that PEI is actually quite flat! I had imagined hilly forests and farmland, but it's mostly flat with very few forested areas at all. Tomorrow, we will head to the capital city of Charlottetown and take another day off to see the sights.
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