Day 22 Fogo Island

Who knew laundry could be such fun! After David determined that there was not a dentist on Fogo Island for another two weeks (so he is going to have to live with his broken crown), he set to work to repair the water heater. With Home Hardware near at hand he was enjoying his hot shower in no time and we were on our way. Yesterday we had asked Valerie about the location of a laundry here on Fogo. She assured me that our only option was upstairs at their place! Wonderfully generous, but we’re family so I suppose they’re stuck with us! Besides, if we want clean clothes and I don’t want to beat them on a rock, I have little choice but to take them up on their kind offer.

We arrived in Tilting and there was no answer to my knock. We had been told to go right in, the doors here are never locked! I was afraid after our partying last night they may have gone for a nap and as the laundry is on the second floor, we thought we would go for a walk and check back later.

We drove to the other side of the bay, parked the truck and were getting out, when Valerie and George walked by! Chastised for not having, “just gone right in and gotten started on the wash”, I explained my thought about the nap and the possible need for it following last night’s consumption. “Oh go on girl. Sure we’re professionals. We can drink like that all the time. No need to worry there!”

Valarie is hilarious and a perfect sample of Newfoundland humour and perspective at its best. I have been reminded in my time here about the importance of language. How a story is told and how a conversation unfolds has a great deal to do with how you feel! Long before Tony Robbins popularized the idea of neuro-linguistic programming, Newfoundlanders were lacing the darkest stories with humour. Conversations with George and Valerie are lively and entertaining and riddled with examples of a Newfoundlander’s way of dealing with aversion! George was telling a story about a group of difficult people and commented, “And this is the crowd he died for.”  At another point Valerie was telling a story about someone who had been exceptionally nasty to her. For many, it could have been devastating! For Valerie it meant ending the conversation with, “Let me know if they ever finds out what’s wrong with you, will ya? I’ll donate to that!” You can acknowledge the misery, but you certainly don’t have to dwell on it, and sur b’y, ye may as well laugh!

So that’s how my laundry day passed! I went back to the house to get started. George and Valerie continued on their walk. I insisted David stay on the other side of the bay with his camera, because by now he had discovered tilting sheds in Tilting that were just begging to be photographed. Before long we were altogether again on the back porch and the stories continued to flow!

I felt badly for taking up their entire afternoon. I have come to really appreciate our front loading washer! It’s quick and the clothes come out mostly dry with the higher spin rate. But they were gracious and didn’t complain about the fact we had taken up most of their day. When they suggested we head out for supper together, we were happy to join them and hoped we could treat them, as a thank you for their laundry kindness.

Despite the surge in tourism on Fogo Island, there are still plenty of opportunities for someone to develop an industry to support the visitors. Laundry facilities might be one I would suggest, maybe a local dentist, but restaurants would certainly also make the list. There are a lack of places here for tourists to eat. When you stay at the Fogo Island Inn, all your meals are provided. Of course for $1,200 to $5,000/night, they had better feed you! We had tried to get lunch reservations there, but even with three days’ notice there was no room at the Inn! Nicole’s Café is also a spot, but we couldn’t get in there until 8:00. There was a spot back close to where were camped. It wasn’t the kind of place you made reservations, but we decided to drive back there and check out Mudder’s Place. Oh my goodness! We arrived first and went in to be greeted by a rather dishevelled looking woman who was chief, cook and bottle washer! She was the only person there. Well technically that isn’t true. She was also looking after her grandsons, one about 12 the other 2. The 2 year old was in the process of spilling his juice all over the floor and the 12 year old was cleaning it up as only a 12 year old boy can! The woman offered us a menu as we waited and produced a piece of dirty photocopy paper. There was fish on the menu and I asked if it was fresh. She first look puzzled the said, “Oh yes. It was caught this year and froze at the fish plant”??!!

We may be camping, eating out a lot and not had recent access to great grocery stores but I was confident I could do better than Mudder! We cobbled together a BBQ and spent a lovely evening with George and Valerie at the trailer.

The sun set on another glorious day!

A tilting shed in Tilting!

Another beautiful sunset!