Getting to Fogo Island - long day but worth it

Our first day back in Canada was busy but exciting, moving around.

It started with a visit to Signal Hill, a hill that overlooks the capital city of St. John's.

The weather was very different than London: cloudy and cold - about 15 degrees. 

It already feels like fall here.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_Hill,_St._John%27s

The final battle of the Seven Years' War in North America was fought in 1762 at the Battle of Signal Hill, in which the French surrendered St. John's to a British force under the command of Lt. Colonel William Amherst. Lt. Colonel Amherst renamed what was then known as "The Lookout" as "Signal Hill," because of the signalling that took place upon its summit from its flagmast. Flag communication between land and sea would take place there from the 17th century until 1960.

During Signal Hill's first construction period in the late 18th century, Signal Hill was designated as the citadel for St. John's.During the 19th century, Signal Hill was manned specifically during the Napoleonic Wars and the American Civil War. A second construction period in Signal Hill's history saw the construction of the Queen's Battery Barracks, which has been completely restored to the period of 1862.

Construction on Cabot Tower began in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's landfall in 1497. The building was declared officially open in 1900. The practical uses of the building were flag mast signalling, and a Marconi wireless station which has since been moved to St. John's International Airport.

On 12 December 1901, the first transatlantic wireless transmission was received here by Guglielmo Marconi in an abandoned fever and diphtheria hospital, which has since been destroyed by fire.^[1] The transmission, in Morse code, originated from his Poldhu Wireless Station, Cornwall, UK.

The United States maintained anti-aircraft guns on the hill during World War II.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabot_Tower_(St._John%27s)

Cabot Tower is a tower in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, situated on Signal Hill. Construction of the tower began in 1898 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's discovery of Newfoundland, and Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless message at a position near the tower, the letter "S" in Morse Code sent from Poldhu, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Cabot Tower is now the centre of the Signal Hill National Historic Site of Canada,^[1] with walking trails and an interpretation centre.

This was a quick visit to see a panoramic view St. John. 

Right after we started our journey towards Fogo Island, a place that has been on my mind for years.

What's a road trip without Tim Horton's Timbits?

On the road, the scenery was astonishing.

FOGO ISLAND

When I told people in Toronto - and elsewhere - I was coming to Fogo Island, half of them have never heard of such a place. 

The other half knew about it because of the exclusive Fogo Inn - we'll talk about it later.

I first learned about the island through my friends in Toronto Ed and Craig, more than a decade ago. They are both from Newfoundland, and Craig was born and raised on Fogo Island. 

I was interested to hear about it at first because I am a curious person and I always want to learn more about my new country, Canada. 

But it wasn't until 2010 that I really started taking a special interest in this fascinating place and its history, at one of my classes as a documentary media graduate student at Ryerson university.

I am talking about the Fogo Process, a National Film Board of Canada film project in the 60s that  ended up impacting the community in a positive way resulting in social change.

That was the beginning of participatory documentary, but we'll talk more about that later.

http://shorefast.org/film/the-fogo-process/  

To get to Fogo Island from St. John's by car is a bit of work, through the city of Gander. Gander also has an International airport, so flying straight there is an easier way to get to Fog Island. We drove the 350 km distance between the two cities, through beautiful and calm sceneries.

Our trip took longer due to construction on the road and a couple of bathroom stops, but five hours later we finally arrived in Gander and met up with our friends Ed, Craig and his lovely mom Blanche, who we also met many times in Toronto when she comes for visits. 

Blanche is an adorable woman who was kind enough to invite us into her house and show us this incredible remote community. 

We'll get to meet more of her later.

This photo was taken when we all met up in Gander, at a grocery store where we loaded up on supplies before getting into the ferry boat to Fogo Island.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gander,_Newfoundland_and_Labrador

Gander is a town located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Gander Bay, 100 km (62 mi) south of Twillingate and 90 km (56 mi) east of Grand Falls-Windsor. Located on the northeastern shore of Gander Lake, it is the site of Gander International Airport, once a key important refuelling stop for transatlantic aircraft, and still a preferred emergency landing point for aircraft facing on-board medical or security issues.

From Gander we drove another hour until the end of this quiet road to Farewell, where we finally took the ferry to Fogo Island. 

Line up for the ferry.

The "boys" waiting to get in the ferry.

The Newfies (people from Newfoundland) are trying to be tough, with shorts, but it was colder that I had anticipated, especially with the strong winds.

The ferry left just after 6pm. 

Mike and I were super excited to finally get to Fogo Island. 

We had been dreaming about coming here for years and actually had made plans, but there was always something else and we could never come... Until today.

Family picture on the ferry.

Fun on the ferry with uncle Craig.

Our lovely place on the island, in the aptly named community of Seldom Come By.
This is Blanche's house, a beautiful and cozy house on the ocean.
It could not be better.

A warm welcome.

From the deck behind Blanche's house.

The little church across the street from the living room window.

This long day finished late, past midnight, after we had a special Fogo Island evening drinking and talking about this magical place. We heard so many stories about this community. Nothing like hanging out with incredible nice locals to learn about the place. It has really been a memorable day.