RVing to Newfoundland Ep.7 - Exploring Magical Fogo Island - Brimstone Head, The Great Auk & FI Inn!

Oh, it's just, you feel like you're, I don't know, back in the beginning of time. Yeah, you said earlier, it's like being on the moon. Yeah, it's like crazy. On this episode we board another ferry headed for magical Fogo Island. With it's picturesque towns, world famous Fogo Island Inn, amazing hikes to statues and Brimstone Head. We are Terry and Cindy O'Keefe. We've been camping together for more than 40 years and we invite you to join us on a 14 episode adventure as we explore Newfoundland and Labrador. We left Twillingate bright and early headed for Farewell to catch the first ferry to Fogo Island. We arrived an hour and a half before the 8am scheduled crossing and we're 10th in line. Ranger, are you waiting for the ferry? Is it getting boring? Mommy looks bored. About half an hour before sailing, the ticket booth opened and we prepared to board. Good morning, how are you doing? How's it going? Good, thanks. It's just two people, is it? Yes. For Fogo? Yes. $29.75. Okay. Visa okay? My debit machine actually just gave out. Your debit machine, okay. Gave out. We can do it this way, that's fine. No problem. There's line number one, okay, close to the guardrail. And we've got a little dog, does he have to stay in the car? On the outside decks. On the outside decks he's allowed? Yeah, on the outside decks, yeah. Just not in the lounge. Okay. Okay, thanks. Thank you. No problem. Loading was quite different on this smaller ferry. Vehicles were brought around us to park on the sides of the deck where clearance was lower. We were then brought up the middle, where the trailer would fit, but it was going to be tight. Let her out first. She's got to get out first. Oh, you've got to get out. Okay, got it. Fair enough, thanks. And the crew needed Cindy to exit the truck first, otherwise, she wasn't going to be able to open her door and get out. Thank you. Oh boy, oh boy, we are in here like sardines. Okay, Ranger, you be good. That is tight. And just a bit of info here regarding the ferries. In the summer, there's normally two boats operating. One that goes directly between Farewell and Fogo, and another that makes the same run, but with a stop at Change Island. We were on the direct path, and our crossing took about 45 minutes. And when we reached Manawar Cove on Fogo Island, we could see that it was going to be a busy day for the ferries. I don't think those are all going to fit. And we're going to have a bit more information on the Fogo ferries at the end of this episode. Just a couple of minutes from the ferry dock is the Fogo Visitor Center. We were glad we stopped. The ladies working there had prepared complimentary coffee and some home baking. How is it? Very good. And they told us about the Fogo Island app, which had great information about events, hiking, and where to eat and stay. And there was Wi-Fi available to download the app. From the Visitor Center, it was about a half hour drive to the town of Fogo. We were absolutely charmed by the town the second we arrived. We were headed for the Brimstone Head RV Park. Run by the local Lions Club, the campground has 20 sites with electricity and water, and seven more with just power. There's also a large area for tents or dry camping, but there is no dump station here. Now this is the only campground on Fogo Island, and because boondocking is rather limited, we do recommend making a reservation here. Because with the views of Brimstone Head and Ocean, it's kind of special. Accessed right from the campground are two trails, one to the top of Brimstone Head, as well as the Wishing Well walking trail. It's remarkable. And a couple of interesting things about Fogo Island. This is Brimstone Head. We've traveled a lot in our RV, not enough to say that we've been to the four corners of the earth, but we've been to one. Because according to the Flat Earth Society, this is one of the corners of the flat earth, Brimstone Head, on Fogo Island. And it's pretty cool. Where's Cindy going to go get her? The next morning, we set out to explore the northern part of the island. Driving around the town of Fogo itself, we fell in love. Every view was incredible, and the brightly painted homes clinging to the rocky shore, well, you just couldn't take a bad picture. About 20 minutes' drive away is the tiny community of Bard Islands. The colors, the rocks here, and the wood, oh man, it's just beautiful. And right next door is Joe Batt's Arm. With approximately 1,000 residents, Joe Batt's Arm, and yes, that is the real name, is the biggest town on Fogo Island, and it's here you'll find the world-famous Fogo Island Inn. That's the Fogo Island Inn right there. And all the pictures you see of it, it looks like it's, you know, in this moonscape. But what you don't realize, if I just pan a little bit more that way, that's the town of Joe Batt's Arms, or Joe Batt's Arm, I should say. And it's just a five-minute walk to the Fogo Island Inn. Designed by Newfoundland-born Norway-based architect Todd Saunders, the 43,000-square-foot inn is perched on stilts on the rugged North Atlantic coast. There's 29 rooms from 350 to 1,100 square feet, all with floor-to-ceiling views of sea. Everything that we've read says it's spectacular. But I don't think we're going to get to experience it. I've heard that the prices here go up to about $3,000 a night. A little out of our budget? Just a little. The lowest one is, in fact, $2,800, and it goes up, and I think it's beyond $3,000. We're going to keep walking that way. While we wouldn't be lunching in the Fogo Island Inn's dining room, there was a stop we needed to make in Joe Batt's Arm. Yep, there's people in there. Growler's Ice Cream serves hand-crafted ice creams made with local Newfoundland ingredients. What is 10 out of 10? What's in it? I've got to try that. Thank you. Oh, that looks amazing. Thank you. Cheers! About a 10-minute drive further west is the town of Tilting. Welcome to Tilting. Incredibly picturesque, Tilting is a designated National Historic Site, noted for the significant number of traditional Newfoundland fishing structures and houses. The tide is out, so you can actually see the lobster trap sitting on the bottom. It's also famous for the longevity of its Irish culture and dialect. I'm coming. I'm coming. Okay, go get Cindy. Just outside Tilting, near Turpin's Rock, is a beautiful sand beach. It was here more than 200 years ago, one of Newfoundland's more grisly chapters unfolded, when Michael Turpin, a resident of Sandy Cove, was beheaded by the Beatuk. Hey, go get the waves. Go get them. So we're watching the weather back home. And I'm glad I'm not home. They're talking about humidexes in the 40s, and today here it's going up to 20. Nice breeze. Lovely. Ranger's having a blast on the beach. He is our crazy dog. Yes, we're going. Come on. Your dog is not coming. Normally the most obedient dog in the world, but never wants to leave a beach. Where's she going? You gonna chase her? Oh, you didn't even fall for that, eh? Uh-oh, you got told. We're all being moved to the glacial pace. He's inspired by the icebergs. With Ranger finally wrangled, we headed back to Fogo and the Bang Belly Bistro. The restaurant is run by a former sous-chef from the Fogo Island Inn. The service was excellent and included a complimentary appetizer. Maple, garlic, roasted carrot. You go right ahead. Thank you. Fish and chips. French fries. And look at that burger. The meal here was fabulous and ranked as our second best of the entire trip. And just across the street, the Bang Belly operates an amazing takeout spot, the Punch Buggy Pizza and Coffee Company. The food here is amazing. The smells coming out of that window are incredible. So I was going to try and climb Grimstone Head today, but it is really windy. Winds are gusting over 60. So we're going to try a different hike. Cherry was headed for the Joe Batts Point Trail to see the Great Auk Statue, a sculpture by Todd McGrain that commemorates the now extinct bird species. Sadly, these large flightless seabirds were hunted for their down feathers until the entire population was wiped out. Etheridge's Point Walking Trail. Okay, this is the place. It's a 2.6 kilometer trail out and another 2.6 in. Use caution. Many areas are steep and rocky. Sudden fog and high breaking seas can create dangerous walking. Memory of the Great Auk. We've seen the Great Auk. Similar to this, but nothing exactly like this. This is absolutely stunning. The trail goes this way. It's not exactly a flat trail. There's some scrabbling over rocks and then there's some downs and back ups. You're looking on a movie set here. You have to watch your steps here. So I think that's where we're headed. Where we're going to find the Giant Auk Statue. And you get up to the top of the point. You come around this large rock. So, Fox on the Joe Batts Point Trail to see the Great Auk. Beautiful trail. Today is so warm. I mean it's unbelievable. Thank goodness we've got this very strong sea breeze blowing. Otherwise it would actually be hot. The magazines and books say that it's an easy, moderate trail. I'd say the first half is easy. It's a nice path. And the second half of the trail is definitely moderate. There's some scrabbling. There's some stairs. There's some, I don't want to say rocks to climb, but you know. If you're my vintage and you've got bad ankles or your balance isn't that great. You know, you're looking for hand holds and things like that. Definitely worth it. Fogo Island just continues to blow me away. Well, we're back. It's just after 1 o'clock. Well, that's serendipitous timing. Nope, is it 1 o'clock? Oh, there's ice cream. Partridgeberry. I feel like I earned it. But then it was time to head back to camp and prepare for our departure early next morning. So it's 7 o'clock in the evening. And we're all connected, ready to go, other than the 7-way there. Why are we doing that and sleeping with the truck all hooked up? So we can be out of here bright and early to catch the 7 a.m. ferry, we hope. Yeah, the ferries have been of concern. So with the first ferry scheduled for 7 a.m., we wanted to get there at least 2 hours early. And that meant a very early departure. We were up at 4 and got quite a pleasant surprise when we took Ranger out for his morning constitutional. Ranger, stay. You don't say. Well, you've got quite the story to tell. No, Ranger can't come out and play. Okay, let's talk ferries. When we arrived, there were already 25 vehicles in line. And most looked like they'd been left there the night before. We got here 2 hours early. We still didn't make it for the 7 o'clock ferry. Well, we'll get the next one. We'll get the next one. And there's already a huge line up behind us. But when it was time to load, the drivers for quite a few of those vehicles hadn't shown up. So they were bypassed and we moved up the line. What we didn't know was that both ferries overnighted on Fogo. And the ferry that would stop at Change Islands loaded as soon as the first one left. And we did manage to get aboard that one. Interestingly, the 4 vehicles that were headed to Change Island were loaded last. And when we arrived at Change Island, they backed off the ferry with lots of help from the crew. And one more thing about the ferries to Fogo. They are busy, often running off schedule because of medical, emergency or mechanical issues. In fact, after we got to Fogo Island, the boat that we were on ran into a mechanical issue and was out of service for the day. And now just some final thoughts on Fogo Island. It was amazing. It was definitely one of the highlights of our entire trip. But having said that, there's a couple of things to keep in mind. There's limited camping. So make a reservation. And the ferries are unpredictable. So make sure that you monitor the Newfoundland 511 app and join the Fogo Island Ferry user group. It's a fantastic resource. And make sure your planning allows for extra time just in case to get on and off the island. Oh, my goodness. Isn't that beautiful? If you enjoyed this episode, please hit those like and subscribe buttons. It helps Google to understand that you valued the information and that you'd like to see more. And of course, it does help us to grow our channel. And please join us on our next episode when we visit iconic Trinity, hike the Skirring Trail, and take to the seas in search of sperm whales.