Similar Stories to Newfoundland’s Fogo Island: Frozen In Time, Full Of Warmth on Bing News

Off the northeast coast of Newfoundland, Fogo Island is a window to the immense North Atlantic. Fogo Island retains a small-town feel in its 11 communities, and it’s easy for visitors to find themselves being invited to dinner in an island home, learning to row one of Fogo’s little wooden boats, investigating old fish stages along the waterfront, or walking the trails throughout the island to forage for berries and catch a glimpse of caribou herds. A beloved ice cream shop, Growlers takes its name from the pieces of ice that calve off larger icebergs as they travel on the way south from the Arctic. While Fogo Island’s remoteness is what draws visitors here, it quickly becomes clear that the best experiences center on the moment when you begin to feel like part of the community, too. Standing at the top of the wild rocky outcrop and overlooking the Atlantic Ocean dotted with icebergs, I understand why it seems an easy choice. There may be cars on the island’s roads, electrical power and cell service, but wherever I look, sea and sky dominate and there’s a presence of something much bigger than the self. The way people fish, make boats, prepare food and tell stories shows a love of the island that stretches across generations. [...] the industrialization of the cod fishery caused the near extinction of the fish near the end of the 20th century, and islanders began to leave Fogo for more prosperous job opportunities. Led by their love of the island, a small group of residents established a foundation to fortify local culture, giving people not only a reason to stay, but also to showcase the Newfoundland lifestyle. Descendants of the island’s first settlers from England and Ireland retained elements of their old dialect, and as we encounter people near his home, it becomes hard for me to remember that I’m in Canada. With more than 125 miles of trails, there are plenty of ways to see much of the island — ancient footpaths steeped in history, jagged cliffs to the edge of the Earth, or paths following animal tracks into the untamed wilderness. Aidan Penton’s shed is cluttered with a treasure of tools, white spruce timbers and a wooden boat that he made himself. In winter, builders find naturally curved wood to dry and shape into the final product, which can take up to eight weeks of work. The punt was once the workhorse of Fogo Island and the other “outports” along the northern coast of Newfoundland, and islanders had punts for fishing, school, market, church and racing. Today, there are no more than 10 punt-builders on the island, but the little wooden boat remains an important symbol of local culture and takes center stage during the annual Great Fogo Island Punt Race to There and Back. Just as Penton and I finish talking about boat-making, members of the race committee stream into his shed to discuss preparations for the July event. The next day before my punt-rowing lesson, I find an envelope of intricate rope creations waiting for me at the inn’s front desk. Dwyer, who trains three to four days a week during the warm season and competes in the punt race, shows me how the punts are rowed — propelled by oars attached to the boat by a woven rope circlet, called a wit. [...] he leans back in the little wooden boat’s stern and observes my paddle strokes. Because I’m a kayaker, the act of adding a second paddle makes me feel uncoordinated, and it’s difficult to keep both arms at the exact same speed. Since being on Fogo Island, I’ve viewed icebergs from shore and tasted them in the form of small bergy bits in my cocktails. [...] the only thing left is to heed the call of the icebergs and head out to sea on the M/V Ketanja to get a close-up view. Once the boat turns away from land, there are only two types of things I can see on the horizon: huge icebergs and the Little Fogo Islands. Clouds of clown-faced Atlantic puffins fly from one island to another, just as humpback and minke whales emerge above the water’s surface. The last sunlight of the day streams in the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting shadows across the room. Defining the new Newfoundland aesthetic across architecture, design, craft, art and food, the inn’s 29 comfortable rooms and public spaces all serve as showcases for beautiful Fogo-made furniture, food and crafts. Room rates start at $696 per night and include full board. Room rates start at $100. Relaxed local spot serves hearty dishes that highlight fishing, foraging and farming.