Two Sore Backs

When we were planning our trip last winter, we weren’t confident that we could get to Fogo Island because of sketchy EV charging in the area. But everyone we met said it was one of their highlights, and we’ve become more comfortable relying on level 2 chargers, so we charged up in Gander and off we went.

Camping was just outside of Fogo at the Lions Club campsite. $20 per night. Contrast this with minimum $2,875 per night at the Fogo Inn.

As an added bonus, we were set up close to the Lions Club hall where a wedding reception was happening. The music was pretty good! And the patrons were hilarious. It wasn’t long till we knew that the over/under on how long the marriage would last was 3 weeks.

First job after setting up was charging the car. Turns out the charger was a lovely 10 minute walk from the campsite, right in the town of Fogo, outside of the pottery shop. We plugged in for an overnight charge – nice!

Next up was food. The only open restaurant was Kwang Tung, which was totally fine by us. It was a photo of the owner, Huang Fung Zhu, standing outside of her restaurant that inspired Ann Hui to write Chop Suey Nation, the book Val talked about in her earlier post.

Since Covid the restaurant has been takeout only. We ordered Chicken Chop Suey, of course, and Ginger Beef, and waited as she cooked our order along with a bunch of others. We were joined in the lineup by some locals who were picking up a huge order they had called in earlier that day. Listening to their conversation, this restaurant and, especially, the owner are clearly loved.

It will be a long time until I forget about the weight and heat of that food as we carried it back to the campground while the car continued charging. We ate it at the campground picnic table, in the dark, with a sleeping blanket to protect us from the wind, and it was great. Those two dishes fed us that night and most of the next day too.

The wedding reception was still in high gear, but we were both tired and the noise didn’t bother us at all.

The following morning I had a nice walk in to Fogo to get the car.

And after coffee and a quick Chinese food breakfast, we packed up the tent and did the Fogo Head Trail which starts essentially from the campsite.

As we climbed the stairs to the top of Brimstone Head, we watched fishermen in a dory below, and then in came the humpbacks.

Seeing this from above was especially cool because we could see the ball of baitfish, capelin probably, that the whales were corralling. Unfortunate that my long camera lens got broken in a bit of a slip near the suspension bridge a couple days earlier. Otherwise I could have captured it way better.

At the top of Brimstone Head, we found this.

And also this bit of comedy.

Yes, we were at one of the four corners of the flat earth. I suppose we are now honorary members of the Flat Earth Society.

Next it was off to the Lions Den hike.

Then it was a road trip to see the rest of the island. Here are some shots of Tilting.

Then it was off to the ferry and our next stop, Twillingate.