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MONHEGAN ISLAND - There’s no beauty like island beauty.
And there may be no more beautiful island in Maine, in the world, than Monhegan, a square mile of enchantment amid a restless sea.
Whether you’re walking along a meadow bedecked with colorful wildflowers or through a darkened forest at midday, one thing is constant, the dull sound of breakers crashing against the island’s rocky shore.
Here, on this island famed for its breathtaking beauty and the many artists who aspire to put it on canvas, all the senses are rewarded: the scent of an island rose, the sound of crying gulls and crashing waves and the feel of wet sand on bare feet.
The first sight as you enter Monhegan Harbor is a grassy hill leading up to the village on the left and Manana Island, a stark, mostly treeless island to the right that helps form the protected harbor.
On Manana Island can be found a rock said to contain Norse or Phoenician inscriptions.
For a slight fee Monhegan islander Rusty will take you over in his skiff and show you around Manana, which used to be home to a hermit but now is inhabited by only a few goats and hundreds of gulls.
The impressive building near the top of the hill on Monhegan, meanwhile, is the Island Inn, where we stayed. Built in 1907, it retains much of the feel and charm of its turn of the century roots, but has been carefully modernized through the years for guests’ comfort.
We chose a room with a shared bath and a meadow view which at this time of year goes for $150 for two people and included a sumptuous breakfast of lobster scrambled eggs and a full buffet. An oceanview room or one with private bath is slightly more.
When you come to Monhegan, however, you spend scant time in your room. It’s off to view the island's beauty and see the artists who seek to depict it on this one-and-three-quarter mile by three-quarter mile gem.
We headed off to Lobster Cove at the south end of the island to view a shipwreck of long ago and then hike north along a path that travels along moderate cliffs that border the ocean side.
All along the path gorgeous wildflowers like lupine and island roses can be seen. It’s not unusual to come upon one of the island’s many artists who traipse with paint boxes and easels to wherever they spy a good “still life” waiting to be created.
The trails are sometimes rough so make sure you bring a sturdy pair of hiking boots. Also, mosquito repellant and long pants, even in summer, to guard against ticks and poison ivy.
When walking the trails you’re bound to meet up with folks you may have met up with on the boat to the island.
“The island’s so small, it’s not unusual to meet the same people over and over again the same day,” joked an artist we met on the Elizabeth Ann, the boat we took from Port Clyde earlier in the day.
Sure enough we met him several more times that day and that night at dinner at the Island Inn.
Monhegan became popular as an artists’ colony in the mid-1800s. Members of the renowned Wyeth family of artists still reside there.
Artists typically paint during the day and open their studios from 2-4 p.m. during the summer. You can find prints of originals for as little as $14 or spend thousands for an original work.
There are also several galleries on the island that offer selections from many different artists.
During the summer the population on the island swells into the hundreds, but only 30 or so brave the harsh winters here. There’s no medical services on the island, so those who stay learn to help each other, says longtime year-round resident Allison Hill, an accomplished artist who lives toward the south side of the island.
Asked what it’s like “out here” in the winter, she replies, “lots of wind. You have to use crampons to leave the house,” she adds. Crampons attach to hiking or snow boots and are used by ice climbers.
Because it is an island, transportation costs sometimes double the price of things, so if you can pack it, pack it. We saw a six-pack of domestic beer for $10 at one of the stores. Islanders pay a premium for utilities as well. Last August’s electricity bill for the Island Inn was more than $8,000.
All their laundry is taken to the mainland to be cleaned, not only because of the huge drain it would be on the island’s aquifer, but also because of the huge electricity cost.
Meanwhile, all the trash from the island is loaded onto the mail boat Laura B. and taken for disposal to the mainland. The ecology is incredibly delicate. Fire danger is real, and noted on signs you see as soon as you get off the boat.
The Laura B. spent time in the Pacific during World War II and has been in operation with the Monhegan Boat Lines making the Monhegan mail run since the 1950s.
When the Laura B. comes into port in the morning, a half-dozen trucks, island trucks with no plates, often strewn with graffiti, gather at the dock to deliver freight to island homes. A huge crane from the Laura B. lifts merchandise and loads the trucks one by one with acquisitions for local homes: a dishwasher, furniture and other assorted items.
Then one by one the trucks roar up the hill toward the village while another truck takes its place at dock’s end.
Several brochures tell potential visitors there are no pave roads and no vehicles on the island.
“Yeah, there’s no cars, but there’s 65 trucks,” said one lifetime resident with a grin.
The trucks are mostly used by painters, carpenters and other contractors and rumble along narrow, dirt roads throughout the day.
While the days are busy with sightseeing and taking in artists’ studios, the nights are blissfully quiet. The few eateries and shops on the island all close by six at this time of year.
One sign near the entrance of the village lists Monhegan FAQs regarding services such as public restrooms and places to eat. The final FAQ is “Where’s the nearest bar?” and the answer is “I’m still looking.”
There is no hard liquor available on the island, but you can bring your own. There is beer and wine available for sale as well as a few convenience store items like suntan lotion and bug spray, but it’s best to be prepared and bring what you think you’ll need.
There is no smoking on the island except outside and within the village limits.
The island is breathtaking. No one wants to see it go up in smoke.
The closest port to get to Monhegan is Boothbay Harbor, but Port Clyde is only about an extra half hour or less, has three boats a day instead of one and easier parking. The Monhegan Boat Line also has the Laura B., which is a wonderful old boat with a lot of history. It makes three trips a week to Monhegan during the bleak winter months.
A round trip boat ticket is about $35 and parking is just $5 a day.
On our trip we saw scores of seals sunning themselves on rocky outcrops as well as a breaching Minke whale.
You can make a day trip of it by leaving on the Laura B. on her 7 a.m. run and returning on the Elizabeth Ann at 4:30 p.m., but you really should plan on staying at least a night.
And coming back often.
If you go:
Below, in order, seals sun themselves on a rocky outcrop on our outbound trip to Monhegan
If you want to go out to Manana Island, call Rusty on the radio in the box
An island cottage framed by wildflowers, grass and forest.
Look closely and you'll see at the bottom right a mother duck leading her young.
A breathtaking view of the coastline as a seal-watch excursion boat passes.
Driftwood and dwarf pines leading to the ocean.
Judy Schuppien shows her morning's artwork. Schuppien, of Pittston, spends a week every summer in an island cottge with seven other artists who regularly make the annual visit.
A precipitous look down onto craggy rocks.
Choco the dog waits while his master posts notices on a village community board.
Lobster boats moored in Monhegan Harbor.
A view down at the village and the Island Inn from the island's lighthouse.
A large kitchen appliance is moved gingerly from the Laura B. onto a waiting pickup.
Laundry being dried the old-fashioned way.
Some of the gorgeous flowers that are prolfic on the island.
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