The Four Diamond Corners of NB: Grand Manan Island (SW corner)

Discovering my own back yard. 

This is the first of a four part series on my personal challenge/adventure to travel to all four corners of New Brunswick, the Province where I was born and raised and currently reside.

As part of the ongoing rediscovery of myself, I realized that even though I spent 40+ years in this place, I'd never actually been purposefully anywhere local since I was a kid taken on family vacations. Even then, we always went outside of the Province rather than travelling within it. I figured since I'm exploring my own consciousness by going within, perhaps I could uncover even more insights by applying that same principal to where I live! 

Having finally gotten over my fears last year of bugs, camping and being outside in general, I saw an opportunity to have brief, unplanned one night trips to the four corners that would cost more time than money. Win/win. The most expensive part of this trip was $50 for the ferry. All in, the trip cost us less than $200 including the site fee, eating, gas and the ferry ride. The experience itself was priceless.

(That's a screenie from my phone after we set up the tent)

The first corner was Grand Manan Island. I'd heard many people talk about going there and I loved going on the Ferry to PEI when I was a kid so nostalgia kicked in a little too. I googled the basics, like the timings of ferry crossings, locations of various campsites on the island, etc. But for the most part, we just got up on a Saturday morning and left, allowing the Universe to guide us. It was Canada Day weekend so there was an element of added risk that we might get there and not have a place to stay. I like those kinds of risks, all the better. (My husband wasn't so convinced LOL)

After a two hour drive, we arrived at the ferry terminal about 10 minutes before boarding. I had time to snap a picture of the boat while we waited.

The crossing took an hour and a half and it was a beautiful... truly. I hadn't been on a boat in years and the gentle movement under the feet as you walked was both disorienting and magical. The vastness of the sea underneath us felt no different to me than looking up at a starry night. We don't know what we don't know and there is a lot we don't know. It feels strangely exciting when you notice and appreciate the little big things like that for the first time.

We got to the island and drove off the ferry. We decided to just drive around the island to see what might pique our interest and I desperately wanted to go to the far corner, the furthest south-westerly corner of the Province. It's a small island, in a car you can get from one end to the other in about half an hour so we had lots of time to find a place to stay for the night.

We finally ended up at a place called the Southwest Head Lighthouse. The rock face cliffs there were truly extraordinary! I also enjoyed the history of the place and snapped a couple of pictures of the sign describing the spot.

I also was reminded of my fear of heights as I watched my husband lean over the edge of the cliff to snap a picture.

I decided it would be a good time to face that fear... So I got down on my hands and knees, crawled over to the edge, rolled onto my back and took a picture as proof for myself that I did it. :) (That's me)

Looking down on the rock face, I was amazed at the stones. They were so perfectly shear, it reminded me of the ancient constructions of stone like the Pyramids. I know there is a geological explanation but at that moment, I really didn't care about the science, I was too fascinated by the beauty.

There was a narrow path to the side leading down so you could turn and face the rock face to get a full on view. Hubby and I started down and I kept my head down so I wouldn't get scared of falling off. Good thing I did, that's how I spotted this little gem among the rocks. Purple flowers. Crown chakra anyone??? LOL

I was about halfway down this path and decided that was far enough. I turned back around to look at the rock face and the most bizarre thing happened, to both of us, as we looked at the cliff. It was way more than vertigo, it literally felt like we got a blast of energy from the rock face itself. It felt like my own internal energy bubble expanded way outside its comfort zone but it was also a supremely pleasant sensation too. It froze me to the spot for a few minutes. It wasn't a fear paralyzing sensation though, but more of an intense awe feeling. The picture just doesn't do the feeling justice, even though it is a stunning picture.

Google Photos did a neat panorama view for me (I took a lot of pictures there), check it out.

We then made our way back and decided to stay at a place called the Hole in the Wall campsite. A co-worker told me about these amazing cliff side tent sites so we decided that would be pretty cool if they had any spots open. We got there and not only did we get a cliff site, we got one of the best ones they had! I don't know if someone cancelled a reservation or what, I just laughed at the synchronicity of it all. It was absolutely amazing.

After setting up, we went back to a local eatery (I don't recall the name unfortunately) and I had a very tasty treat, creamed lobster on toast. Very simple, very satisfying. :)

We explored a bit more and went back to the campsite to enjoy a cliff-side fire before turning in. Unfortunately the fog rolled in and the fog horn blasted every few minutes all night long... Sleep was a challenge. We woke up to rain so we packed up and headed back to the ferry to go home.

As trips go, this was definitely one of the best. I've travelled and lived in many parts of the world in my past life and was so surprised and pleased that beauty like this can be found right under my nose. The grass is just as green wherever you go, the difference is in the lens we view through and that choice is up to us. I never fully appreciated how time and space move through us not the other way around. The perspective shift is an astonishingly beautiful one, to be sure.

Thank you Mother Earth for giving me such a beautiful place to live. I honour and respect your power.