Maggie in Newfoundland Again 2016: Day 20 Fogo Island

We woke this morning to sunny skies and the first job of the day was to extend the slide. For the first time since we have owned the trailer, we thought it a good idea to bring in the slide before we went to bed! The location of this site, right on the beach is incredible but the wind! We wouldn’t even consider extending the awning but the slide has never been a question…until last night. It really isn’t a big deal, literally the push of a button. Given the way we were rocking and rolling, it seemed prudent to slide that sucker in since we really wouldn’t need the space until morning. The less surface area the better!

David had been googling last night and found information on fishing communities on Fogo that had been abandoned in the early part of the last century. Little villages like Pilley’s Head, Lock’s Cove, Eastern Tickle, Shoal Tickle and Lion’s Den are no more. Through part of the effort to highlight Fogo’s history a coastal hiking trail has been marked to lead you through the spots where these communities once stood. Seemed like as good an idea as any so that became the morning plan.

I’ve long claimed that, like having their own time zone, Newfoundlanders also have their own measure of distance! Trails that are purported to be x km are absolutely NOT. Today I had proof that measurements here are random …or estimates …or something other than true measurements. We had a map that claimed the Lion’s Den Trail was 4.2 km. When we hiked into the trail head about 1.5 km, we found a trail sign that claimed the trail was 5.6 km from there! Whatever, since we really don’t care, but we laugh every time we see a trail identified as being a certain length. We look at one another, shrug, and say, “Of course it is!”

In addition to being prepared for hikes of unknown lengths, Newfoundland weather also dictates that you be ready for any kind of weather! I know this. I’ve lived this. The old Newfie joke certainly holds true, “Don’t like the weather? Wait a minute. It’ll change.” Knowing it and experiencing it are two different things! I would say we experienced all four seasons on our hike today, but it didn’t actually snow. Now it felt cold enough at one point that we thought it might – but it didn’t. Newfoundlanders would say, “It’s could enough to freeze the arse off ya” … and they would be right! We had rain and heavy cloud. We had wind that threatened to blow you off the cliffs. We had sun that was so hot we thought we would bake. It all happened on the 4.2 km, or 7.1 km, or however long the trail was!

The hike was worth any (and all!) of those! This coastal trek was spectacular! During the resettlement, houses would have been rolled on logs down to the water’s brink and floated to the next town that held promise in a changing world. All that remains is incredible scenery and a real sense of the resilience of people who survived life on this very remote edge of the North Atlantic. I also imagine there was many the scoff served up on these shores if the abundance of blueberries, raspberries, bakeapples and partridgeberries blanketing the hills is any indication!

By the time we finished this one, it was time for a rest! We went back to the trailer to freshen up. I have a cousin who is Artist in Residence here on Fogo this summer. We have sent messages back and forth and they knew we would be here but we hoped to meet up with Valerie and George while we were here. By the time we arrived back in the trailer and were settled, they arrived! Old friends and family, it doesn’t matter how much time has passed, you pick up where you left off. Maybe a few more tales of woe the older you get, but there is such comfort in familiarity! We had a lovely day, destroyed a bottle of wine and made plans to get together tomorrow for dinner!

Our late day hike was a little less ambitious than our earlier jaunt. We hiked out to one of the four artists retreats associated with the Fogo Island Inn. The Tower Studio is certainly a remote escape to get the juices flowing, but like the mothership (The Fogo Island Inn), I am not sure I love it. It’s funky, but it’s weird, and it doesn’t have windows to appreciate the views! I guess scenery is distracting and stems creative flow? I don’t know, but while I am really trying to give this whole project a fair shake, I think it may be lost on me!

The awesomeness of an incredible sunset however is not lost on me and we sat out in front of our trailer to watch the sun go down over the ocean as the storm clouds rolled in. Another night with the slide in I suspect! A small price to pay for this prime piece of real estate!