Leaving home

This trip, leaving Prince Edward Island by ferry seemed like the right thing to do.

Even though I knew I’d have more time to do that last-minute packing if we took the bridge, I had to make the effort to get to the boat on time – and feel that prerequisite “ferry panic." After all, I’m going off to study islands – it would be cheating if I left any other way.

We made it to the Wood Islands Ferry with plenty of time to spare, and sat outside at the terminal in the Friday morning sunshine, knowing we were missing the Gold Cup and Saucer Parade… heresy to Charlottetonians, of course, so I hope I’ll be forgiven next time I’m back on Island soil… We stopped to have lunch with friends near Tatamagouche, NS (thanks, Pam and Wayne, for the wonderful curried carrot and zucchini soup, scallops and potato salad, and Icelandic lemon pudding with blueberries they’d grown themselves – well, maybe not the scallops and the lemons! – and the garden tour). We then headed to Cap Pele, to spend the evening with more friends (more fabulous fixins, including home-made cannelloni filled with seafood and veggies and a peach cobbler courtesy of Bill and Gisele; their renovations of the old general store at Baie Verte are on track to become a pub in another year’s time – and then you, too, will be able to experience Bill’s exquisite cooking!). It was fitting, I suppose, spending my last evening in North America looking across the Northumberland Strait to my beloved Island. Because of the light, the Island looked like it was floating. Gisele told us that you even can see the Bridge when the light is right. It wasn’t and we didn’t.

Saying good-bye to everyone has been emotional, as you might imagine. When I first started talking about this adventure last fall, I remember going into Claire’s bathroom and just crying, thinking about it – I was already homesick and I hadn’t even left yet! So these past few weeks I’ve had lots of partings… though it’s been easy to stay humble when many have said, “Oh, I thought you’d left already…” And “Where is it you’re going? New Zealand? Tanzania?” I thought about getting a tape recorder: Friday. Nine months. Tasmania.

Jeanette Walker’s ring, my going-away present from my colleagues at UPEI, members of the writing community and my friends who all contributed to the gift certificate, is an amazing reminder of what I’m doing. Cathy Gillan and Claire Nantes came with me to design it, and we’ve managed to capture the symbolism of my journey: the opal (my birthstone) is home for me, while the two smaller stones are the islands I’m heading off to study. There are lots of waves and ripples, a sand-like finish to the silver, and an edge that’s sculpted like the shoreline. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and I know it’ll help me feel less homesick in the weeks and months ahead.

And now I write this on the leg of my journey from New York to Iceland. I had another surprise, after standing in various line-ups in the noisy, overcrowded, and highly charged JFK for two-and-a-half hours waiting to get my boarding pass and then going through security. (I am so NOT a city girl! Give me a small island anyday!) I couldn’t find any wireless service or electrical outlets to recharge my spiffy new MacBook, but had a great pint of Dos Equis (from Mexico) in a pub – which helped improve my mood. Icelandair started boarding the flight 50 (!) minutes before the scheduled departure time – the opposite of Air Canada, who MIGHT start boarding five minutes AFTER you’re supposed to leave. And when I got to the door of the plane – called Eldborg after one of Iceland’s ancient and most beautiful (and thankfully extinct) volcanic craters - I noticed that my seat – 5A – was to the LEFT of the door – Saga class! So now I sit here in a wide leather chair with champagne at my elbow, complimentary socks on my feet, my laptop being recharged as I type, and my sweetie’s voice in my earbuds, singing “Chinatown” from his Birdhouse CD which I downloaded before leaving home. I smell supper coming – tiger prawns, herbcoated salmon, and chocolate and coco dream for dessert. Sure I’ll have another glass of wine, as I raise my glass and say thanks to Melissa at The Travel Store and good-bye to the lights of North America. For now.