Welcome to the Prince Edward Islands

How lovely to finally arrive. I was almost worried; I had a bad feeling when we connected in Cape Town. And then when we got on the prop plane. And then when we water-landed and took a raft the rest of the way. Oh, are you leaving? Thank you! What a lovely day we had. I’ll be fine, thank you! Quite fine.

It’s more reef-y than I expected? Aren’t the dunes supposed to be red? Wait, where ARE the dunes? It’s such a lovely view, though. What would Lucy Maud Montgomery say? Oh, of course! “Look at that sea, girls — all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn’t enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds.”

Excuse me? Excuse me? Could you…could you direct me to the tourism information center? Oh. You are a mass of lichen. My mistake.

I see a building. Let me just…I think I dressed inappropriately. I’m not getting quite enough friction on these slippery rocks. Ow. Ow. Ow.

I’ve fashioned a rudimentary tourniquet out of my one dress-up dress. Haha, doesn’t that just remind me of Anne herself! “It is ever so much easier to be good if your clothes are fashionable.” That helped. They probably have some Bactine at the tourist office. OH, let’s not fret, let’s not even think about fretting for one moment. “It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.” Excelsior!

Maybe this was not the best month to visit, but, as always, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” I did think there would be fewer cat skeletons everywhere, to be brutally, brutally frank.

Dear me, my feet really are quite painful. “It’s all very well to read about sorrows and imagine yourself living through them heroically, but it’s not so nice when you really come to have them, is it?”

Oh, hello, Mr. Seal. I think we shall become dear, dear friends. After all, “Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”

It’s such a shame the tourism office appears to be locked. And how odd that it’s run by the South African National Antarctic Programme. Such a tribute to L.M. Montgomery’s international acclaim, I guess!

Time sure does pass slowly here, on the Island, doesn’t it, Mr. Other Seal? “It was November — the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines.”

Oh, here I am on the ground again. I do, I mean, I shouldn’t complain, but I DO think they might work on these footpaths. “It’s so hard to get up again — although of course the harder it is the more satisfaction you have when you do get up, haven’t you?”

I think I’m getting rather thin. Perhaps too thin? Tee-hee, “I’m not a bit changed — not really. I’m only just pruned down and branched out. The real ME — back here — is just the same.”

Perhaps next year, it might be better, just a teensy-weensy bit better, to go to Walden Pond instead. “But have you ever noticed one encouraging thing about me, Marilla? I never make the same mistake twice.” OH, so true. So trueeeee. True. This lichen gets better all the time.

“But really, Marilla, one can’t stay sad very long in such an interesting world, can one?”

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