We Arrive on Fogo Island

It's been 5 days since our last post, because we didn't have "real" internet service until now. (Our Verizon MyFi gave us very slow service at EXORBITANT roaming rates, so we turned it off.) Because we have so much to tell I'm going to divide this into two blogs.

On a rainy, grey day we lined up to take the ferry over to Fogo Island, a little island off the north coast of Newfoundland. We're heading for the small fishing community of Joe Batt's Arm. (Here an "arm" is a long inlet off the ocean providing a little harbor.) Fogo Island has been pronounced one of the four corners of the earth by something called the Flat Earth Society, and it does feel like we're pretty much heading to the ends of the earth. We're going to visit our friend Zita, who we both used to work with years ago and who grew up here. Fogo Island is what's called an "outport"--a farflung place on the ocean that is centered on fishing. For centuries the hardy folks who cling to this rock in the north Atlantic have supported themselves fully by fishing and sealing. Unfortunately, in the 1970s fishing technology got very productive--high-tech international boats started coming here offshore and taking large quantities of the cod that had been here in great numbers since forever, and pretty soon there were hardly any cod left. Canada then declared a moratorium on cod fishing, and the Fogo Islanders had no way to make a living.

We are first off the ferry to Fogo.

Joe Batt's Arm fishing community.

Zita had left the island to go to college on a scholarship in the 1970s, but her family was still on Fogo and she still considered it "home," as do all the Fogo Islanders, no matter where they happen to be living. (Her father was a fisherman.) She has had a career as a financial manager and made a lot of money in the technology industry, becoming CFO of a major fiber optic company. She retired early and, after sailing around the world for awhile, came back to Fogo Island, only to find it in decline. The population is getting smaller and all the young people leave for greener pastures. After searching for a way to help, she came up with the idea of building a high-end inn here--a sort of "adventure meets luxury" place unlike any other. She started a nonprofit foundation called Shorefast, along with her brothers, and after years of planning and investing huge amounts of her own money, she got the federal and provincial governments to help by kicking in some funds for the project. The inn has now been open for a year and has won all kinds of international awards and gotten fantastic publicity in publications like the New York Times, Forbes and many others of that level. Zita is something of a celebrity in Newfoundland now.

She is off the island giving a presentation in Calgary when we arrive on Fogo, but we will see her later in the week--and we plan to treat ourselves by staying at the Inn for 2 nights at the end of our time on Fogo. For the first several days, we'll be staying at a little two-bedroom beach house called JigLoft--very cute and cozy!

Our home on Joe Batt's Arm, JigLoft.

Inside JigLoft beach house.

Soon after we arrive and get unpacked, Amanda, a lovely friend of Zita's who works at the Inn and lives next door to JigLoft, comes over to see how we're doing. (Zita has asked her to look after us until she gets here.) Amanda has invited us to her parents' house for supper. Pete and Margaret, Amanda's parents, are good friends of Zita's that she went to school with. We drive to their 150-year-old house. Margaret is busy preparing supper when we arrive, so Pete shows us around. The woodstove has the house nice and cozy and the meal smells wonderful. Pete is a fountain of knowledge about the history and culture of the island. He's a fisherman and sealer and recounts all manner of stories about that life. It's fish for supper, of course--turbot baked with potatoes and onions, very yummy! The conversation is fascinating and the company is congenial--a great introduction to this friendly island.

Margaret prepares a delicious fish dinner.

The next day it's still rainy so we have a relaxing morning and then go out to the grocery store nearby for provisions. It gets nicer in the afternoon so Lynne, Marc and I take a walk (Jack goes to check out a fishing pond he's heard about). Our house is next to a little park with a trail that winds along the shore so we follow the trail, which goes by a modern building with a glass front. This is called "Long Studio." It's part of Zita's, and Shorefast's, plan to make Fogo a mecca for artists of all kinds. Several studios have been designed by a famous architect and constructed at different spots around the island, and international artists apply to stay here and work on their projects.

The "Long Studio."

The next day, Wednesday, is supposed to be a beautiful day so Amanda has arranged for us to go on a boat ride in the morning on her uncle's tour boat. We are heading to yet another set of even smaller islands (now we'll be on an island off an island off an island...). These are called the Little Fogo Islands and there are a couple of old fishing communities there as well. No one lives full time anymore (they used to) but some of the little houses have been maintained and people use them as get-aways (as if you would need to get away any further than Fogo Island itself--I guess everything is relative!). We see more puffins and other birds, and more close-up icebergs. (Fogo Island has lots of icebergs all around.) We actually land on one of the little islands where a fishing community used to be. It's very beautiful, peaceful and quiet. There's even a small Catholic church that was built in 1867. It's been well-maintained and a multidenominational service is held there once a year.

More puffins on Little Fogo, this time a much closer photo.

Abandoned fishing village in Little Fogo Islands.

This huge iceberg, which we circled on our boat tour, looked like soft-serve ice cream.

Jack doesn't go on the boat ride--he's decided to go trout fishing instead. Amanda's husband has given him some advice on where to fish for brook trout. Jack drops us off at the boat dock and heads off with waders and fishing rod.

After the boat ride we meet up for lunch. Jack has had a great time as he caught several brook trout (all catch and release--I think the Newfoundlanders are puzzled by someone who doesn't eat the fish they catch).

Amanda called me while we were out on the boat to say that she has someone who will take us around to several of the artist studios and show them to us in the afternoon, so we agree. It's unusual to get to go inside the studios, so we feel lucky for this opportunity. Heather, our guide, comes to JigLoft after lunch to get us. She's a lively young woman, a graduate art major, who works for the artsy side of the Shorefast Foundation, the nonprofit that Zita founded.

Carol on the porch of Long Studio.

It's just a short hike out to each of the 3 studios that we visit. They're all different and all quite stunning in both architecture and setting. We first go back to Long Studio, which we've seen from the outside but not the inside. It has solar power, a composting toilet, and a kitchen that is revealed by sliding back a big wooden door. Quite the place.

Squish Studio is on the outskirts of the community of Tilting, which is full of people of Irish heritage, who speak with a very different accent than the people of Joe Batt's Arm. Squish is a Newfoundland word that means something that's just a little bit off, and when you see the building it's self-explanatory. We agree that the view out the huge window is so distracting we'd never be able to do any work in this studio!

Squish studio.

The last one is Tower Studio, which we get to by walking a long boardwalk over the marsh. A German artist, a photographer with several books to his credit, is working in this one but he's not there when we tour it. We see some of his work in progress.

We return to our little house and have supper at home, soup and salad, and watch the beautiful sunset.

We hit the sack after a busy day of seeing the sights! Next blog, Zita arrives and we move to Fogo Island Inn... (Wait till you see this place!)