Maggie in Newfoundland Again 2016: Day 19 Fogo Island

Once again, with regret, we move on. David is right when he says every place is my favorite, but it doesn`t make it any easier to leave Twillingate with so much left undone! It`s a short drive to the ferry that will take us about an hour off the north coast of Newfoundland to Fogo Island. We had been told to expect that the ferry schedule was really more of a suggestion. While we didn`t experience significant delay, when David asked the young man in the ticket booth if the ferry was running on schedule he was only given a shoulder shrug!

Having travelled on public transits throughout the world, one of my pet peeves is how costly it is to use public transit in Canada. Now I get that speaking of government subsidies is a complex issue. I enjoy universal health care but don`t have efficient, cheap transit like we have had in Washington or Chicago! I get it! Today I was taken aback though when our return, hour-long ferry trip, including the trailer was $28.00! Not sure who is subsidizing my trip to Fogo Island but I am pretty sure that $28.00 is not covering the cost!

The ferry was exceptionally well run, very comfortable, with friendly staff. We enjoyed a local, Flat Earth coffee and a Bare Buns Bakery treat. Fogo is doing an incredible job of mining local talent and rejuvenating a community that was threatened with extinction along with the cod! Although very much a collection of rural communities that in many ways look much as they always have, there is a resurgence in arts and tourism that provides future promise to the people of Fogo Island.

There is of course the famed Fogo Island Inn. I haven`t made up my mind yet if it appeals aesthetically, but it has certainly provided a boost to the local economy and helped put Fogo on the map. After all when Gwyneth Paltrow called Fogo ``heaven`` while she was here last week, well it can`t hurt! Despite the rooms starting at $1,200/night, the Inn is run as a non-profit and all money goes back into the community. Everything from the menu to the furniture is produced locally and if you like something you see, it can also be purchased locally. We have really just scratched the surface of Fogo in the one day here but I am looking forward to understanding more about the revitalization in the next few days.

Our campground is operated by the local Lions Club and is pretty simple as campground go but our campsite is on the beach, steps from the ocean! What a view! Happy hour tonight was on a rock with my toes in the water – it doesn’t get any happier than that! We keep looking at one another, giggling and acknowledging that it’s unbelievable! We were also thrilled to realize that the Brimstone Head Trail that we had planned to hike is 100 feet from our door!! Considered “challenging” (I would argue, but whatever!) it climbs the side of the cliff to a lookout that is known by the Flat Earth Society to be one of the four corners of the earth. Now those people are c-r-a-z-y, but with a little Newfoundland humour mixed in, you get trail caution signs that warn that one false step could be your last!

Thrilled by the one hike we’ve already taken, we wandered the island to catch a glimpse of what’s in store. The little towns scattered along the coast, each one prettier than the last, hold enormous promise for the next five days!