Lewisporte to Fogo to Lewisporte, NL
Traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk
58 km
Very foggy, damp and cold, 1 ºC
“It’s a shame,” Steph said while driving two days ago, “that you aren’t staying another day, because you really should see the islands.”
Ever since I successfully avoided being killed by a subway train in Barcelona, I’ve felt that if there’s anyone’s advice you should listen to, it’s the locals. So we packed light this morning and Steph gave us a ride to the ferry terminal to Change Islands and Fogo Island. We made the ferry in the nick of time, stowed our bikes and promptly got so distracted talking to a local coffee roaster that we missed departing for Change Islands. That turned out just as well because we decided to pedal 25 km across Fogo Island to the town of Fogo, which as it was took up a good portion of our time before the last ferry back.
Almost at Fogo, we sat near the top of a small quarry eating a snack while light drizzle drifted by on the highway. Asad shook his head, water beading on his helmet. “It sure puts the fog in Fogo, I’ll say that.”
Because of the fog we didn’t get the photos or landscapes that we had imagined of the island, but the adventure and the culture was there all the same. We talked to the workers on the ferry, a couple islanders collecting firewood, a couple shopkeepers in Fogo and a family from Saint Pierre. Bicycled as far as the ice, then stopped for a coffee and some molasses bread before riding back to the ferry dock to Farewell on mainland Newfoundland.
Made the ferry in the nick of time.
