St Peters Bay is a village on the north side of Prince Edward Island, at the head of a narrow inlet, and it has the calm of a place that does little but fish for oysters and mussels. The water of the bay is shallow, pale and still on a quiet day, with boats pulled up at small wharves and long lines of buoys marking the mussel farms. The island's soil is a deep rusty red, from iron in the sandstone, and in early summer the red banks, green fields and blue water make a landscape that looks painted in three colours.
The village sits on the Points East Coastal Drive, the road that loops around the eastern end of the island, and it makes a good stop between Charlottetown and the east. There is a small shop, a cafe or two and a harbour, and the whole district is known for shellfish. Mussels from the bay are famous across Canada, and a plate steamed in white wine and garlic is a fine reward for a day on the road. Oysters from the surrounding waters are also excellent, and many small restaurants serve them.
Just up the coast, Greenwich is a unit of Prince Edward Island National Park, and it protects a rare formation of parabolic sand dunes, which migrate slowly inland under the influence of the wind. A boardwalk crosses a freshwater pond and winds through the dunes, giving a view of the sea, and the area is important for nesting piping plovers, small, endangered shorebirds that nest on the open sand. Stay on the path, because the birds and their eggs are almost invisible. The history of the area includes Mi'kmaq settlement going back thousands of years, and the French and British colonial periods, which left names and old farm patterns.
The riding on the island is gentle and agreeable. Roads roll through fields of potatoes, grain and clover, with low hills and sharp turns where the road follows an inlet. The surface is generally good, but patched in places, and tractors and slow-moving farm vehicles are common. The pace is relaxed, and the speed limits are modest. Weather can be windy, since the island is open to the sea on every side, and fog sometimes lingers on the coast. The summer season is short and sweet, from late June to early September, with warm days and cool nights.
The village has limited services, so do not rely on fuel here. Souris, about twenty-seven kilometres to the east, is the nearest town with a proper range, and Charlottetown is the main city to the west. Take time at the wharf to watch the boats come in, and eat something that was in the water this morning.