Maine draws: bay, wine, lazing, lobster

July 06, 2008|Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Globe Correspondents

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Islesboro's landscape embodies a peculiar coastal magic. The deeply leafy woods of the narrow island slump off into old saltwater pastures that lead to dozens of small coves with deep anchorage that made the island home to a big shipping fleet in the days of coastal schooners (and, some say, during the days of Prohibition). The south tip of the island, Town Beach, is one of the few spots where visitors can get access to the water. The rugged rocks here are favorite haul-outs for harbor seals in the summer.

With handsome old houses, luxuriant gardens, a shipyard, and a couple of shops at a crossroads, Dark Harbor is the only one of the island's three official villages to actually look like a village. The main gathering spot is Dark Harbor Shop, where summer folks pick up their reserved copies of The New York Times and year-rounders and visitors rub elbows over sandwiches, cups of coffee, or ice cream floats at the old-fashioned soda fountain with its handful of stools. The front window functions as the community bulletin board, where notices announce everything from a bake sale to a community supper or a guided nature walk. The evening events are for residents: The last ferry leaves before dark.

That's not necessarily a bad thing when the porch is waiting at the Spouter Inn.

Patricia Harris and David Lyon can be reached at harris.lyon@verizon.net.