Have you ever been to Heaven on Earth?  I am fortunate to have had that experience many times and the latest is Fogo Island.  

Glassy Beach was deep in beach glass. 

June 9 - Rocky Harbour to Springdale, NL

Today we drove from Rocky Harbour to Springdale.  Take note, whenever you are in a National Park the roads will be fair to good.  As soon as you leave the park they are fair to awful.  Potholes!

When we left Rocky Harbour we were not sure how far we would get.  We decided to fly by the seat of our pants and end up where we ended up.  

Fortunately Karen can research while I drive.  Plus, while I was driving, Karen 

Karen and Morgan enjoying the glass beach.

had a fantastic idea.  So, we had two great reasons to stop where we did.  

We drove through Deer Lake and neither of us were motivated to stop so we kept going.  In one of our books Karen had read about a ‘glassy beach’ that was chock-a-block full of beach glass.  I was very eager to go there.  That was 

Our Fogo Island campsite.

one good reason to head to Springdale.  

I was dealing with a neck full of muscles that were getting tighter by the day.  I had rubbed them, stretched them, rubbed good stuff into them and nothing was working.  Karen had suggested a massage.  I was all over that idea.  The question was where could be get a massage on such short notice.  

Thanks goodness for cell phones.  We managed to get appointments the 

Yep, you read that right.  FU Trading Co.

next day with Brianna in Springdale.  

Once in Springdale we got settled in the campground then headed to Glassy Beach.  We were excited to see the beach.  I was happy that Morgan could have a swim and get some exercise.  It turned out to be such a hot day and with little wind we were not prepared for the flies at the beach, nor were we prepared for 

Seldom Come By has its own post office.

the beach to be soooo small.  It all turned out well.  We were thrilled at all the beach glass, Morgan got her swim and we had a tiny sit on the tiny beach.  

Oh, gads!  The flies were bad with no wind.  I am not sure how I will handle it when it gets warmer and buggier.  I have mosquito repellent,  I have after bite, but I do not have good mozzie clothing.  Anything that helps me cope with the bugs when the time comes 

Brimstone Head RV campsite.

will be appreciated.  I am only hoping that we can find a decent store to find the items I may need.  All I have is a hat and mosquito netting.  There are actual clothes that repell the bugs.  I’m investing in those.  Hahahaha.  Have you noticed that I will be intolerant of the flies?

June 10 - Massage Day

Brimstone Head, one of the four corners.

I am so excited. Today is massage day and I am going first at 09:30.  I got there early enough to fill out the usual forms.  My experience at this massage place was so different than any other place I have been.  My first impression comes with no words.  I quietly sat and filled out my forms knowing that an RMT was going to take care of me.  

Brianna was a very nice young lady of very few words upon introduction.  As 

Eastern Tickle, a past settlement.

I type, I am still trying to figure out the feel for the place.  Instead let me tell you what it was not - it did not have a calm soothing Zen ambiance.  When I went into the room it was stark.  There was no aromatherapy happening to relax the senses.  Brianna, once in the room opened up a bit and acknowledged the areas of my neck and back that I wanted to work on.  

I was told to strip down to my comfort level and lie face down on the table.  The table had two  thread-bare sheets on it. One for me to lay on and the 

Walking the Lion’s Den trail.

other for me to lay under.  I was to put my face into the ‘donut hole that the sheet covered.  So, now I am laying face down with a sheet pulled tight across my face.  I knew immediately that was not going to work for me.  I had to lift my face and push the sheet through the hole to give me some breathing room.  There were no warm blankets.  There were no blankets period.  Brianna knocked to come in.  

There was one choice of massage oil.  No-name I am sure.  Hahahaha.  I will tell you though that Brianna got through to my muscles.  I felt every muscle she touched and pressed and rubbed.  It felt good.  I was bruised the next day but felt I was on the mend.  It was another Newfoundland experience to add to my memories.  

The rest of the day was spent making phone calls and booking reservations

Modern lobster traps. 

 for Fogo Island then Twillingate.  

June 11 - 15  Fogo Island 

We decided to leave Springdale early and we did.  06:00.  We wanted to be at the Farewell Harbour dock early because you cannot make reservations and because I never know what condition the roads to be in.  As it was there were potholes to dodge and a lengthy detour.  We made 

The huge building is Fogo Island Inn.

it in good time.  We were at the ferry two hours before it sailed.  First in line.  And believe it or not it only cost $29 for two adults, truck, and trailer.  Senior rates come in handy.  

No matter what ferry you ride in Newfoundland people are not permitted to stay in their vehicles.  Fortunately, on this ferry we could sit outside and Morgan was welcome to join us.  She did well until the ferry blasted it’s  whistle with no warning.  She was a wee bit nervous the rest of the way.  

The ferry from Farewell Harbour first stops at the Change Islands.  There are 

Walking sticks to walk to the Auk.

few residents there but more importantly there is a group of people breeding Newfoundland Ponies to keep the breed from becoming extinct.  

Our stop, Fogo Island, took about an hour all tolled.  It was exciting to be on an Island that I had heard so much about.  I have to be honest, when I first heard about Fogo Island I thought it was a small island that you could walk around.  Then I heard about the famous Fogo Island Inn that I believed was in a very remote area. Karen and 

The Great Auk facing Iceland.  

I did some research and realized that it was much bigger than expected.  All my perceptions changed.  

Oh my goodness, if I thought there were potholes prior to Fogo Island I was mistaken.  This island takes the Dempster Highway award for being bad.  Honestly, all I can do is laugh and pull over to let everyone go by.  Inside the trailer after a pothole road it looks like a bomb went off.  Hahahahaha

Our camping site for the next four nights was gorgeous.  It is stunning.  We are right on the water and who could ask for anything more.  Morgan loved

The little town of Fogo.

 it.  She went swimming right away and every day we’ve been here.  

The island is covered in ponds.  Ponds everywhere.  The water is brown but drinkable.  Some drink it and some purchase bottled water.  I filter the water before it goes into my tank and we further filter before we drink it.  

The start of a great walk with a brisk wind.  

We are a little ahead of the tourist season and that is fine with us.  It means that the little museums are not open and the hours of some businesses are minimal but that is fine with us.  There are zero crowds.  The RV park is only half full. 

I’ll attempt to condense our experience so you do not have to read for days. But, first, you must read this part.  Karen has a friend who has a friend who was born on Fogo Island but now lives in Ontario.  The friend’s brother still lives on Fogo Island.  Kirk lives in Ontario and his brother, Lorne, lives on Fogo.  Before we arrived on Fogo, Lorne knew we were coming and was standing on his lawn waving to us as we drove past his house.  His house is just a stone’s throw from where we are camping.  Our first night, Lorne came down to visit and as he was visiting, his sister, Carolyn walked 

The Newfoundland version of the Adirondack chair.

past so she had a visit.  We learned from Carolyn that a pharmacist from Vancouver is doing a stint at the local pharmacy so we made a mental note to drop in and say hi to him.  Lorne has 13 siblings and many of them still live here.  

It’s surely a small world.  

For the rest of our first day we visited Stag Harbour, Seldom, Little Seldom, and Seldom Come By.  We finished the day with a stunning sunset just a short walk up the hill from our campsite.  And speaking of the hill, we are 

A typical harbour scene on Fogo Island.

camped at Brimstone Head RV campground that is run by the Lions.  Brimstone Head is one of the four corners of the earth, according the the Flat Earth Society.  We are told people come here just to be in this corner of the world and to check it off their to-do list.  

There are many trails on Fogo Island so we picked a couple we wanted to do.  The other thing on our list was to visit each community - which we did 

Laundry day in Fogo Harbour.

before leaving.  

The day after arriving we did the most beautiful hike, known as Lion’s Den.  It was a circle route that took us through four settlements from the 1800’s to the early 1900’s.  The houses from the communities were floated out and re-established in other communities such as Fogo.  

Morgan getting lovies at Tilting Cup.

It was almost a 10 km hike and it was beautiful.  There were storyboards explaining who the families were and the dates they came and left.  We understood from what we read that they lived a very harsh life with the terrain and the winter weather.  

Afterwards we headed out to explore a couple more smaller communities - Deep Cove and Island Harbour - and to take pictures.  We ended our evening with another spectacular sunset and a visit from Lorne.  

We learned from Lorne that Fogo is fire in Portuguese and in the early centuries, the Portuguese would come to Fogo Island and see fires that the 

It’s a full sized salt box house.  

indigenous were burning.  It has nothing to do with FOG.  

The next morning we were heading to Joe Batt’s Arm but got away a bit later than the 0730 we had planned.  Yesterday we had rescued someone’s tent from blowing up the hill or into the water. We met them in the morning in the parking lot and they thank us profusely for saving their tent. We 

It has seen better days.

finally made it to Joe Batt’s Arm and did the most beautiful hike along the coast in stunning weather.  Morgan was off leash the whole time and thoroughly enjoyed herself.

We walked to the Great Auk.  The Great Auk is an extinct bird that once inhabited shores on the Atlantic.  Artist, Todd McGrain, made a statue and placed it on a rock at Joe Batt’s Arm.  It is facing toward Iceland where another Great Auk is placed and facing Fogo Island. By the time we finished our walk we had done another 10

A little humour in Joe Bart’s Arm.

 kms.  

We headed to Growler’s to have an ice cream because we heard it was the best and be darned!  It was closed and not open again until Thursday.  So we headed into Tilting for a coffee and met Jennifer.  We had a great chat about the Fogo Island Inn, the artists and the artist programs.  It is all very interesting.  She gave us a fresh 

A perfect photography day.

perspective and one that was not so positive.  Still, the Inn brings tourists and creates jobs so there is a bit of good that comes from it.  There is much more to the story, or should I say stories and I do not have all the facts. Suffice it to say that the locals cannot afforded to stay at the Inn, eat at the Inn, or purchase art pieces made by the artists of the Inn.  

Karen and I also had a good laugh because there appears to be only a 

Sandy puppy.

couple places on the island to get coffee and food.  One place is the Tilting Cup and it is closed on Tuesday’s.  Bang Belly is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the ice cream place is closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  We could not find a place on Tuesday to sit and write or have a cup of coffee.  It was so funny.  There is very little retail on Fogo Island.  We have noticed a couple pharmacies, a Foodland, a Home Hardware, an 

The picture says it all.

Automotive shop, a This and That shop that sells lots of nothing and quilting stuff.  Besides the regular kind of shops there seems to be a couple of craft stores.  Quilting, knitting, and preserves are huge on the shelves with a smattering of other items like cutting boards and door mats.  Again, it is not the high tourist season and we think that the hours will increase 

Our last sunset at Fogo.

when the tourist numbers increase.  

Today was spent in Tilting and Joe Batt’s again just focusing on pictures that we didn’t have the time for or the right light yesterday.

We also enjoyed a stop at a  very sandy beach to eat our lunch.  Morgan had a good time and sometimes that is what it is about.  She is so patient with us stopping to take pictures.  

I sure hope the above makes sense.  We have had a packed four days and I will be honest in saying that while typing I am pooped.  It is difficult to sit still when you are surrounded by new experiences, beautiful surroundings, and so much to see.  Tonight I am taking time to write while Karen is out walking.  It is a big job to catch up and I know it is a lot for you folks to read.  Believe me, my intent was to post every night.  Somehow, my energy wanes at the end of exciting days.  

Until next post, breath deeply.  Enjoy those around you.  Hug your loved ones tightly.