The Road to the Isles - "All Around The Circle"
From Gander, we headed north to see more of the Kittiwake Coast with our destination being Twillingate. For the first 40 or so kilometers, we back-tracked our route to Gander yesterday driving north on Route 330. Near Clarke’s Head, we headed west and north on Route 331 in the direction of Twillingate. We passed through Victoria Cove and Gander Bay North to Boyd’s Cove where we stopped to check out the Beothuk Interpretation Centre.
The Boyd’s Cove Beothuk Site was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1995 because it has substantially increased the knowledge of the Beothuks in the early historic period and it makes a major contribution to the revision of the understanding of their demise. The Beothuk were the Indigenous people of the island of Newfoundland. They were Algonkian-speaking hunter-gatherers who probably numbered less than a thousand people at the time of European contact. The Beothuk are the descendants of a Recent Indian culture called the Little Passage Complex. I paid the $4 to go in and look at the exhibit and hear a short talk from the docent before looking at some of the plaques and artifacts that have been found in the nearby archaeological site. It was interesting but sad to think they were an entire people now lost to history.
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| Above and below: Moreton's Harbour and another nearby cove |
Twillingate embodies everything so many Newfoundland and Labrador outports are famous for: stunningly rugged coastline, historical, picturesque streets, and lush countryside roads . In the waters off the coast, look for whales, dolphins, seabirds, and – if the season is right – icebergs. Twillingate is one of the stops along Iceberg Alley, a vast corridor of ocean that runs from the Arctic to Newfoundland. Most icebergs drifting through Iceberg Alley come from the coast of Greenland, when in the spring and summer, chunks of glaciers break off and north-south currents take them along the Baffin Bay and into the Labrador Sea, where they eventually melt. A smaller percentage of these icebergs comes from the Canadian shoreline. Currents transport these behemoths from Baffin Bay through the David Strait into the Labrador Sea, and eventually along the eastern and western shores of Newfoundland. The enormous chunks of ice are approximately 10,000 years old. It’s estimated between 400 and 800 medium and large icebergs flow along Iceberg Alley every year. Their speed depends on their shape and size, winds, currents, and waves, but the average is around 0.4 miles per hour. As for the expression “tip of the iceberg,” it comes from the fact that only about 10 percent of the iceberg is above water. There are six types of icebergs pass through Iceberg Alley.
We had hoped to see some but knew before we got here that it would be very unlikely as they are usually gone by the end of July. I inquired with a boat tour company before leaving home and was surprised to learn that this year there were none - not even at the height of the "season". It was so alarming that CBC did a special on the fact this annual occurrence didn't happen in 2021. These photos are from the Internet. Sadly, I will likely never get to see a sight like this.
A great place to view icebergs and whales from land is Long Point, just outside Twillingate, where
a lighthouse stands atop a high cliff overlooking the bay. That is where we went first before settling in to our hotel. The views from there were amazing but I am sure when, and now if, there are icebergs, it would be even more spectacular.
Because we weren't able to do the boat tour - we had planned to stay two nights here to do that - we decided to make a day trip to Fogo Island. The ferry leaves Farewell every few hours and stops first at the Change Islands before going on to Fogo Island. The entire crossing takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. These two islands are home to 12 communities, each with its own distinctive flair and allure. Fogo has become a haven for artists from around the world, who come to work in incredible, inspiring modern studios.
Because of the ferry schedule, our visit here was a bit rushed. We decided to skip Fogo (the village) as it seemed more important to go to some of the other places. Our first photo stop was Seldom (the village beside it is called Little Seldom – you just can’t make this stuff up!). Then, we continued to make our way north and east through Shoal Bay, Barr d’Islands, Joe Batt’s Arm and Tilting. We found that the villages on this island were some of the prettiest we have seen so far on this trip. The ones that were particularly lovely were Tilting and Shoal Bay. It was too bad the weather wasn’t clear and sunny like it was yesterday.
The renowned Fogo Island Inn is a sleek,
Nordic-style hotel perched on stilts at the Atlantic Ocean’s edge is an
inspiring collaboration between traditional and modern. The restaurant, one of
EnRoute magazine’s best in Canada, brings that combination to your table, with
a gourmet cuisine infused with the bounty of the island and the Inn’s gardens. It is located in Joe Batt’s Arm. The room rates range from just over $2000 to
nearly $5000 a night. Needless to say,
we didn’t stop – except for pictures from afar!
The town of Tilting was first settled by the Irish in the 18th century and is now a National Historic Site of Canada. Here, you can wander through the tall, lush grasses and run your fingers over the red paint of old fishing rooms. Creative traditions of music, dance, and storytelling run strong throughout the island, which is also home to the Fogo Island Partridgeberry Festival. After taking quite a few pictures of this very charming village, we had to head back for the ferry.
However, one essential thing to do on Fogo Island is to stop at Growlers Ice Cream so, of course, we did. Established in 2009, Growlers is a one-of-a-kind ice cream shop located in the community of Joe Batt’s Arm on Fogo Island, Newfoundland. Featuring locally-crafted, regionally-inspired flavours, Growlers’ signature recipes were were developed in collaboration with a local team well-versed in the natural assets of Fogo Island. From partridgeberry jam tart to caramel and jam-jam cookie, the varieties have been refined throughout the last decade and provide a delicious window into the flavours of this remote Island. Although the shop is most famous for its ice creams made with local berries, I couldn’t resist the caramel and it was delicious.
On our way back to Twillingate, we stopped at a restaurant called Sansome's in Hillgrade that had been recommended by several people. It is famous for its lobster dinners which we were looking forward to. However, sadly, none were available that evening. On the road "home" we drove through a massive rain storm (we'd heard thunder and seen lightning earlier) which was one of the worst I've ever driven through. The following morning, it was windy and much cooler. We took a few photos of Twilllingate and said we could only imagine how challenging the weather would be here in winter if it was like that on a summer day in August!
We would now continue our way north to the place where Canada's first UNESCO World Heritage Site is located. First though, we would spend the night in Port au Choix.
Finally, I thought I should finish this blog with the lyrics from the famous song:
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