TRAVERSE Issue 40 - February 2024 | Page 179

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transpired from the end of the bridge , it seemed difficult that the smallest of the Canadian provinces had suffered a lack of population for so long . After the expulsion of the Acadians , the British Empire divided the island into 67 pieces of land assigned through a lottery to as many English gentlemen who , seized by delusions of speculation , exploited them for their production without doing anything to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants . However , it was on these lands that the Confederation of Canadian States came to light , of which the island did not immediately become part since no one knew how to divide those lands . In 1873 agreements were reached to divide them and today Prince Edward Island agriculture
is among the nation ' s largest contributors to the industry .
We stopped in Greenwich , at a campsite run by a lively gentleman who resembled a Wild West cowboy in every way . We were still in the low season and only a handful of other travellers joined us at the campsite .
A few kilometres and we arrived at the National Park of the same name where a long wooden walkway awaited us which , crossing the lagoons , lead us to the imposing dunes beyond which , the spectacle of the long and deserted beach , red as fire , opened up .
The entire ecosystem has been protected since 1998 to preserve the parabolic-shaped sand giants that move thanks to the action of water and wind . The Gulf Shore Parkway state road continues eastwards , heading towards the Prince Edward Island National Park where we encountered both the Blue Jay , the symbolic bird of this province , as well as the Bald Eagle , the national bird of the United States .
The red and white wooden lighthouse of Covehead guided us towards the sandstone cliffs of McKenzies where the wait to find the famous bridge between the rocks brought disappointment , during one of the winter storms the natural arch that formed the bridge collapsed and now only the two spurs of rock remain , looking at each other melancholic as they no longer touch .
We too were suspended between glimpses of clear sky and the fog that rose from the ocean . It was
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