Cape Cod
Where history meets environmental awareness
It was during her flight to Costa Rica earlier that year that Charlie watched a documentary about a place she had not had on her radar as a surf destination before: Cape Cod. Interestingly, the film was about shark attacks and that made the place even more interesting. The documentary showed beautiful landscapes and a lively surf culture and community.
At that time, Charlie knew already that she would be visiting the East Coast later that year, so why not squeeze in a short trip to Cape Cod?
How to get to Cape Cod
As so often in the US, it is best to travel by car. However, it is not impossible to get to Cape Cod if you’re not driving. The easiest to get there by public transport is from Boston. There are two options: bus and ferry. Charlie tried them both. She travelled to Cape Cod by bus and returned by ferry doing a trip around the whole cape.
There are two bus companies to choose from: Peter Pan Bus Lines and Plymouth & Brockton Bus. Charlie took the Peter Pan and she booked her ticket online in advance. There is a ticket booth at Boston South station too. It takes about 2 hours to the transportation centre in Hyannis at the southern end of the cape. There you have enough time for a bathroom stop before changing to another bus that goes to Provincetown. Charlie got off though in Wellfleet, approximately in the middle of the cape.
The connection on Google Maps showed that the coach would go into Wellfleet from where she could take a local bus just 10 minutes later. This information however is a bit outdated and the coaches go no longer into Wellfleet. The stop is along Route 6. Charlie was surprised, but she knew that she would figure it out. The walk was too long to do with all her luggage and Uber seemed to be available. It was almost lunch time and she had spotted a restaurant, Moby Dick’s on the other side of the highway. Crossing the highway was surprisingly easy and she sat down at one of the tables outside and enjoyed a yummy fish burger. Once finished, she called an Uber for which she had to wait 20 minutes. The locals told her that that was a good waiting time for this area. Charlie made it safely to her accommodation, a hotel called Endless Coast.
Where to stay in Cape Cod
There are hotels, hostels, camp sites and even resorts in Cape Cod. Where to stay depends on what you would like to do and whether you come by car or not. The most hotels are in Provincetown at the northern tip of the cape. Camp sites and hotels are all along Route 6. If you want to explore the southern end or get to Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard, you might want to stay in Orleans or even further south.
Charlie was hoping to go surfing and decided to stay in the middle near Wellfleet and, what she thought was close enough to walk to the beach. It turned out to be a good location as it allowed her to explore the cape in both directions.
Surfing in Cape Cod
Although quite unknown among surfers, there are good waves all along Cape Cod and miles and miles of white sandy beaches. Nauset beach was mentioned to Charlie as one of the main surf spots. When she went there though it was too windy and not surfable at all. She explored some other beaches the next day when the weather was better and she saw two surfers at Coast Guard Beach, two at Cahoon Hollow Beach and about 6 surfers at Lecount Hollow Beach. It was not crowded and the waves were forming small barrels. Charlie snapped a few pictures.
She couldn’t go surfing because there are no surf rentals on the beaches in Cape Cod. You would have to hire a board and a wetsuit in Orleans or Wellfleet and drive to the beach. Some hire places deliver to your accommodation but you would still need to drive to the beach. Charlie spotted a few lodges along the Ocean View Drive from where you could potentially walk.
Charlie didn’t see any sharks, but plenty of seals swimming in between the surfers.
Sharks in Cape Cod
The seals are the reason why sharks come to Cape Cod. Historically, seals were hunted and large sums of bounties could be gained. In the 70s a new law was passed that made the seals a protected species. Since then, the population has grown so much that you can see them today sun bathing on the beaches of Cape Cod. That has also made these waters interesting for white sharks who are most likely to be seen in October when the seals seem to be particularly yummy.
There have been shark attacks in recent years and there are now warning systems in place. The beaches are closed upon shark sightings and life guards have been especially trained to treat large wounds. There are also first aid kits well visible on the beaches for the treatment of large bleeds.
Cape Cod has also become a popular place for research and shark protection. If you are interested in learning more about white sharks, the Shark Centre in Provincetown is a good starting point.
Environmental awareness
Next to the sharks, there is one other factor that raises awareness for environmental issues and global warming in particular in Cape Cod. The rising sea levels transform the landscape which consists mostly of beaches, dunes and marsh lands. This makes Cape Cod one of the places on earth where environmental change becomes well visible during the lifetime of a human.
Visiting Wellfleet
Wellfleet used to be a small fishing village with so much abundance in fish that help was brought over from the Azores in the early 20th century. That in return led to overfishing and the fishing industry died off. Today, Wellfleet lives off tourism and it is a place where US-Americans retire. It is also popular among artists and writers.
Charlie took a walking tour and a ghost tour with the Wellfleet Historic Society and she noticed immediately that everybody else was either visiting friends and family or was a regular visitor who returns every year until they’re able to afford a house there. Charlie was the only international tourist who simply wanted to see the place.
Charlie visited at the end of September and the humid air and the breeze offered the perfect setting for a ghost tour. The streets of Wellfleet become very quiet in the evenings and the houses in the style of the Second French Empire as well as the nearby marshes and a coast full of ship wrecks and pirate stories only add to the charm of the tour.
Charlie noticed that the inhabitants of Wellfleet are very proud of their village and its history. They willingly open their doors to show the interior and design or a specific piece of architecture. The stories they tell that gave certain places their name, aren’t even 150 years old. Having grown up in Europe, “historic” has a different meaning for Charlie than for people in the US. Charlie realized one thing though: There is a chance to preserve history. At the moment, the second generation of those that made a difference in Wellfleet is still alive and willing to share. As time passes, it is important to preserve these stories and experiences. When history was made in Europe, the ways to preserve information for the next generation were much more limited than they are today. So before smiling at the notion of history in the New World, let’s think ahead and consider how it will be perceived in 500 years from now.
Cape Cod Rail Trail
The hotel where Charlie stayed was on Route 6 south of the village of Wellfleet. Into the centre, it was a 10-minute bike ride and her hotel had bikes available for guests for no additional cost. That was perfect to get some groceries. Charlie then rented an e-bike from Idle Times who delivered it to the hotel. Another 5 minutes further south, you reach the start point of the Cape Cod Rail Trail, a 26-mile long cycle path. It is mostly flat and wide enough for bike traffic in both directions. There is good signage all along the bike path and you will easily see where to turn to visit a beach or town. Charlie cycled down to Orleans and from there to Nauset beach. She then returned the way she came and took a turn towards the coast and Coast Guard Beach. After a short cycle along the road, she reached another cycle path that led all the way to the beach.
From there, she decided to cycle along the Ocean View Drive to Nauset Lighthouse. There wasn’t much traffic at that time of the year and cycling on the road was easy. However, Charlie enjoyed the part of the Ocean View Drive between Cahoon Hollow Beach and Lecount Hollow Beach more because there you could see the ocean better.
Visiting Provincetown
For the return to Boston, Charlie took the other route, by ferry. That ferry would leave from Provincetown at the tip of the cape. It was the perfect opportunity to visit this place too. Charlie went a little earlier in the morning by bus, dropped her luggage off at a storage place and walked along the marina.
Provincetown is a bit bigger than Wellfleet and the main road had plenty of shops and restaurants, and most of all, tourists. There are also a lot of art galleries and you can admire some beautiful murals at the back of the stalls that are lined up along the MacMillan Pier. Those have been created during an event by the Provincetown Public Art Foundation.
The history of Provincetown is similar to that of Wellfleet in that sense that it used to be one of the biggest whaling ports in the country by the middle of the 19th century. Additional help was brought from the Cape Verdes and the Azores, Portuguese settlers. There is a Portuguese bakery in Provincetown not far from the marina and there is a yearly Portuguese Festival to celebrate that heritage.
Charlie did a tour with the so-called Mayflower Trolley. It drives along Commercial Street, through the oldest part of town, the North End, and towards the saltmarshes. At low tide, you can walk over a rocky pier into the marshes and towards a light house. The tour continued on into the park Cape Cod National Seashore which is also ideal for cycling tours. There is a visitor centre with a viewing platform that offers stunning views over the coast on two sides. In the distance, you can see the mainland and Boston on a clear day.
Why do they call it the Mayflower Trolley? Because Provincetown is the place where the Mayflower first landed in 1620. After a few weeks though, they decided to sail further inland due to water scarcity and the quality of the soil. They eventually settled in Plymouth.
There is a well-visible monument in Provincetown to honour the Pilgrims that came on the Mayflower, the Pilgrim Monument. The 252ft high tower can be seen from anywhere around Provincetown and provides views over the whole town and the surroundings. There is an elevator on Bradford Street, to the right side of the Town Hall. It brings you to the bottom of the monument. From there, you’d have to take the stairs, 116 steps. It sounds a lot worse than it is and it only took Charlie a few minutes. The entrance fee of USD 20 also includes the entrance to the museum next door.
Charlie took the ferry to Boston at 3pm. It took 90 minutes and passed by some light houses and smaller islands from where you could see the skyline of Boston on this gorgeous sunny day. Charlie stayed in Boston for another night and made her way to her accommodation. If you need to catch a flight out of Boston Logan Airport, you can take a water taxi and don’t even have to leave the pier.
