First Day in Fogo June 16
Sometimes it's the place that grabs you, and other times, it's the people and their stories, or sometimes it's both the place, and people. And there's occasional anxiety when you don't know what to expect but that's counter balanced by the joy, when you get so much more than you could have expected. Ok, no great insights here but that's my groove right now.
. (my Fogo Spritz)
. (Michael had the Alfredo pasta)
. (I had the roasted cauliflower)
. (find calico Waldo)
At our place outside Twillingate, there were stories from fellow travellers and from the owners of the BnB.
I had been curious about the 2 km trail we had taken around the pond. Certainly, there wasn't a large enough local population to have covered the cost of building it. I remember the trail in Ramea, had family names etched into many of the wooden planks on the boardwalk. But here, there was only a tiniest population. As it turns out, the provincial government coughs up money for these things to help keep people gainfully employed. The pond trail had 50 people working to clear the land and create the boardwalk. Some of the villagers had the idea to build the trail and had been trying to fund raise. A real community effort.
Meanwhile, the owner of the BnB is in remission from bone cancer treatment. He was in the hospital for 100 days . His wife was telling me this because I had asked about the paintings, that covered the walls.
Her husband has ADHD and needed something to keep him calm and they got him to paint. Something he had never done before in his life.
And he completed 101 paintings in 100 days, while in the hospital, a couple of years ago. And all of them, were scenes of the area, and all, from memory. Wildly impressive.
We only had a 40 minute ride to the ferry. There was one at 8:30 (too early), one at 11:30 (which we were aiming for) and then, the next one at 2:30.
Thankfully, we arrived early but there were about 12 cars left behind from the earlier boat, that didn't get on. Once a week, there is a crossing with "dangerous goods" and they only allow a minimal number of cars and passengers to go on, and that was today's early ferry. And left behind to wait for the next boat, were some fellow travellers from our BnB, who had arrived at 7:45, and who now had to wait for the next ride. They were only going for the day, and had wanted an early start. Bummer. Meanwhile, we'd meet some of the other people in line, throughout the day, in Fogo. And Fogo is a sizable Island.
The ride on the ferry took about an hour.
Not knowing what to expect, I took an extra jacket so that I could sit outside. Which, I didn't need, because it was warm, and not the least bit windy. The sea was like a mirror. As calm as you might hope to see on a lake, but not on the ocean.
(from the ferry dock, to our cottage)
The first thing we did, was stop at a diner for lunch and then, we found our next destination. I was a wee bit anxious about this one, because there had not been any pictures online and the owner had allowed me to easily knock down the price, when I had first arranged the booking. So, was really operating on a lot of faith here.
And when I saw our little cottage, I had the same feeling as when we had arrived at our hotel in Venice. Granted, the main thing that they have in common, is that both are next to the water.. in Venice, I had been so excited to find the hotel at a premium spot, practically next door to San Marcos plaza and overlooking the lagoon. And here, we're staying a little cottage again right next to the water, and we have it all to ourselves. When I had booked, the owner, whose name is Madonna, had told me that there were two bedrooms but we we're only going to have access to one. But once we got here, she gave as access to the entire place. And we have it all to ourselves.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/no6M2zNqHa1qw51x9
We tried to make reservations for a restaurant in Fogo but they had nothing before 7:30 and we don't like to eat that late. We are on the island of Fogo, but the town of Fogo is 20 minutes away. We're staying in Joe Batt's Arm (arm is the newfie word for peninsula). We drove into Fogo, saw the restaurant, and decided to see whether we could do a walk in. Answer was still the same, HOWEVER, they WERE able to accommodate us if we sat outside, which is actually what we preferred. With space, just for us two!
The owners of the restaurant, used to work at the Fogo Inn and the food was excellent.
We actually tried to get into the Fogo Inn, just to look around, or have a drink, but since covid, it's guests only. Check this place out.
"Home | Fogo Island Inn : Fogo Island Inn" https://fogoislandinn.ca
So instead of keeping a look out for moose, now we're watching for caribou (haven't seen any yet). There was one solitary moose that found his way to the island, many years ago, but a tourist hit it with his car . Which is precisely what I'm afraid of . Spoke to someone on the ferry who passed a dead moose on the side of the Trans Canada. If someone does hit a moose, the car and passengers don't normally fare too well.
While we ate, we watched a calico cat stealthily stalking it's prey.
And from there, returned to the cabin for the night.
