Wanderlust and WWOOFing: Did someone say roadtrip?

Erm this road trip actually happened about 3 weeks ago. Better late than never eh?

Sometimes opportunities arise when you least expect it. A road trip around the maritime provinces wasn't on my agenda when I was planning where to go next. However, about half an hour after meeting Helen, a fellow wwoofer on my first farm, she proposed the idea, and the plan just grew from there.

One of the major problems with the maritime provinces is the almost complete lack of public transport, making it hard to get round and see a lot of the most interesting places. I spent two weeks on a farm on Cape Breton, and despite staying five minutes off the Cabot Trail (one of the most scenic drives in Canada), I didn't get further than 10 minutes up the road. It's also not really possible to hitch round as it's mostly tourist traffic and a lot of the best spots are off the main road, so hiring a car was the only real option. This wasn't something I could have afforded to do on my own, but when split several ways and combined with couchsurfing and eating cheaply (porridge anyone?), it suddenly became a doable option.

In the end, a second wwoofer from the farm (Sarah) also came along for part of the trip. Helen hired a car in Halifax, picked up Sarah and drove up to where I was staying on Cape Breton. We stayed on the farm for two nights, wwoofing during the day (it was awesome to have the chance to show them why I liked the farm and place so much). We then spent two days driving the Cabot Trail, stopping to do a couple of hikes, buy and cook lobster, see a moose, go to waterfalls, eat ice cream, walk along stormy beaches, sample some chowder, amble round harbours, and generally marvel at the amazing scenery. We stayed for one night in Cheticamp at the house of a couchsurfer who I'd stayed with the previous weekend (he was away but his roommate was happy for us to come and stay anyway), and one night in Baddeck at the house of a church minister who had a total of five couchsurfers staying that night! It was a brilliant end to a great couple of weeks on Cape Breton - I really fell in love with the place and the people there, and it's definitely my favourite place I've been so far.

Helen and I left Sarah in Cape Breton (she decided to go and spend a few days on the farm I had stayed at) and headed on to Prince Edward Island for a few days. Soon we were driving through pretty countryside, mesmerised at all the pretty houses and the fields upon fields of potatoes. We spent a night in Charlottetown, couchsurfing with a fellow wwoofer and traveller, then a day driving round a good chunk of PEI, seeing buffalo, stopping at a drive in diner, going to the beach, doing a really pretty hike and ticking a tourist box by going to an Anne of Green Gables place. We couchsurfed for two nights with a really lovely family just outside Charlottetown who live in an amazing eco-home in the woods. They were brilliant hosts, and took us canoeing down the river (where we saw loads of eagles and herons up close) and digging for clams at the beach. We also went to a diversity celebration festival in Charlottetown where I got to eat my first oyster and dance in the street to a lot of live music. An awesome example of maritime hospitality and how great couchsurfing can be.

I then headed to Wolfville (via a pretty cool fossil/geological beach on the Bay of Fundy) to spend a few days with some couchsurfing friends I met on my hitching trip before going to my next farm, and Helen headed back to Halifax, and on to Vancouver from there.

It was probably my favourite week of the adventure so far. Here's to more road trips...