She Says: To Fogo We Gogo
Fogo Island has been relatively (for Newfoundland, anyway) “in-vogue” as a destination since the Fogo Island Inn opened in 2013. A luxury hotel with 38 rooms, it is a non-profit operation which exists to provide economic and cultural resiliency to the island. It’s created nearly 100 full-time, year round jobs for locals (source unknown, but I read it somewhere) which has done wonders for the economic and social well-being of the residents.
We really enjoyed the effects of that. Despite not nearly being able to afford to stay at the inn (it will set you back $1,800 per night… no big deal!), there were other restaurants and cafes that have popped up in recent years that are more than happy to accept our tourist dollars. We highly recommend Scoff (the seafood benny caused multiple orgasms around the table), and Bang Belly (“probably the best burger I have ever had” – Andy, 2019). Oh, and the partridgeberry jam tart flavour icecream at Growlers was an absolute treat!
The Inn story is a great example of how tourism can be used for good, and has restored a sense of pride in the community that was sorely missing a decade ago.
Despite the businesses that have popped up in recent years, Fogo is certainly a place where you make your own fun. For us, this involved a lot of hiking, eating and drinking. Luckily cousin Richie and his wife Amanda had caught up to us coz we were gonna need their support. Together we stayed in a small cottage right on the water at Joe Batt’s Arm (across the harbour from the Inn).
We were staying near a seafood processing plant, and our host said if we mentioned her name they’d be more than happy to serve us. For just $101 we walked away with 6 live lobster, 5lb cod fillets, 3lb snowcrab and 3lb shrimp. Not only were we entertained for an afternoon cooking and preparing this insane amount of seafood, but Chef Richie worked his magic and created some of the best home-cooked food of my life.
Lobster Rolls with brown butter drizzle. Didn’t get a pic of Seafood Orgy Pasta (linguine with delightful cream sauce, loaded with seafood) coz I ate the whole thing. Sorry, not sorry.
Fogo is renowned for its moon-like landscapes, so getting out and amongst it was truly amazing. As such, the hikes were the best part of our time on the island. Other than the company, of course...
Andy and Richie took a romantic sunset walk along the coast to find the Bronze Auk, a wee statue of a now-extinct bird. Meanwhile the Amandas were at the cottage, tucking into beers and having a good old natter. The boys hurried back because they’d been gone for a while, and didn’t want us to worry… turns out zero f*cks were given about the boys’ whereabouts, but on your way in can you grab another beer?!
The full fellowship of Fogo ventured out to walk to the Lion’s Den, ruins of an old fishing village about an hours walk from the town of Fogo. It was a beautiful loop track that took in the many ups-and-downs of the coastline, but the views were so worth it. We even saw the backside of a caribou as it ran away over the hillside.
The final hike was to Brimstone Head, a short-but-steep trek to a lookout. According to the Canadian Flat Earth Society, this is one of the four corners of the Earth. Cool story bro.
It has been said that Fogo Island is not so much a place as a state of mind. I would argue that it’s like crossing into another dimension. It is 100% worth the effort to get there, from anywhere in the world. We will certainly be back, perhaps a little later in the season so we can get temperatures above 10*, and maybe when we can afford a night or two at the Inn.
