Oddities

Day 139

Have you ever noticed when you travel, you pick out little things that are different compared to where you live. Some of the differences are due to the geographic location, and others are cultural. In PEI there are a few things we have noticed. 

One of these oddities is the high humidity, in Alberta it’s typical to have dry skin, here you don’t. A few weeks ago the humidity reached 87% and you could just feel the moisture in the air when you walked. One day in the truck, the windows began to fog up on the outside of the window. The condensation would begin to appear when the truck was stopped, but the air conditioning was running.

Another interesting oddity is the population of PEI. In Calgary, the population is almost 1.3 million, and has a landmass of 825 square kilometres. The population of PEI is 167,000 with a landmass of 5660 square kilometres. The industry, I would have guessed would be fishing, when in fact it’s agriculture, the iron rich solid is ideal for corn, and potatoes.  

With the size of the population, you get a small town feel at a provincial level. On holidays almost everything is closed, if you need groceries; you better get them the day before. On Sundays, nothing is open until noon. In addition, I thought the unemployment rate was high out here, when in fact businesses are having a labour shortage, help wanted signs are posted everywhere. 

Driving around PEI, we have become accustomed to the large amount of roundabouts in the towns and highways. On one stretch of road through charlottetown, you will pass through four roundabouts in a row (assuming you continued straight). I am a big fan of roundabouts and really like the fact that PEI has implemented them wherever they can. 

One puzzling oddity I have noticed is the amount of fishing boats in front yards. When We first travelled through PEI, I had assumed the local fishermen pulled their boats from the ocean during the winter seasons. Much to my surprise, when we returned, the boats had not moved. I have begun to wonder if this was due to the moratorium on the cod fishing and the owners changing careers. 

The last oddity are the stands in front of peoples houses selling fruit, honey, firewood, eggs, or other goods. The stands are based off the trust system; you just select the items you want, put your money in the slot and move on. 

Humidity was at 80% this day, the window was fogging up on the outside of the window when the A/C was on. 

Some places say they will hire you on the spot.