Newfoundland might not be the first place you’d think of to celebrate your 35th wedding anniversary, but since my wife, Kristi, and I are expecting to become Canadian/U.S. dual citizens, we need to spend two years in Canada. So, it seemed appropriate that this year the anniversary celebrations would be in Canada. You may recall our fun times and adventures last year in Asheville and Great Smoky Mountains NP.
Kristi agreed to this anniversary endeavor with one significant proviso: the last 3 nights must be spent at the ultra, ultra-lux Fogo Island Inn as well as a to visit L’Anse aux Meadows where Leif Erikson’s Norsemen discovered North America around 1000 AD.
We also agreed to spend the first two nights in the provincial capital of St. John’s!
A Weekend in St. John’s (not St John)
Kristi and I caught the early Saturday flight out of Toronto and were in downtown St John’s by 1:30 pm local time. This small capital city is so picturesque – bluffs overlooking a beautiful harbor, cutely painted row houses and a dramatic backdrop of the North Atlantic Sea. You can cover this town in two days, and we did.
We took the 10-minute drive from town up Signal Hill to the site where Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal. We drove 25 minutes out to the Cape Spear Lighthouse, hiked for an hour or so on bluffs above the coast, and stood at the point in North America closest to Europe. Whoa!
FYI, this is one of the “Four Corners” of Canada, and we’ve also visited one of the other three, the southernmost point at Point Pelee National Park.
George Street
We had great dinners of seafood and duck on Saturday at The Merchant Tavern and Sunday at The Adelaide Oyster House. The famous George Street is the place to hang on Saturday evenings, and we did some pub-hopping along its several popular blocks, catching an outstanding quartet of men performing country and Irish music in the Bridie Molloy’s pub. As you may know, there’s a strong Irish influence in these parts with a very rich local music tradition.
Finally, and most importantly, while on George Street, we kissed the cod (and the puffin, too, while we were at it) at Trapper John’s Pub. This is a requirement, along with making a verbal pledge and downing a shot of Screech, to become honorary Newfoundlanders, or Newfies as they’re known. Screech is a Newfoundland thing — rum-based alcohol made from the dregs of the barrel. Fortunately, with a beer chaser, it was not as God-awful as rumor had it.
Tip: St. John is a large seaport city in New Brunswick and the oldest incorporated city of Canada. St. John’s (note the apostrophe) is the capital of Newfoundland. Many a traveller has de-planed in New Brunswick, intending to be in Newfoundland. Don’t be that person!
L’Anse aux Meadows & Leif the Lucky
We got lucky. L’Anse aux Meadows closes for the year on September 30 and was not open to the public. (This was a consistent theme in October across many of the Newfoundland attractions.) I had discovered this in advance and arranged for one of the researchers at the facility to open the doors for us first thing in the morning. And he did!
We learned about the Norse way of life and what brought them from Scandinavia to Iceland, then to Greenland, and finally to Canada. The indoor exhibits were particularly well done and this is the first Canadian site to receive UNESCO World Heritage Status.
The real fun was found at the recreated huts located about a 10-minute walk across the field on the spots where all the Norse artifacts had been discovered. To me, it seemed a cold, lonely locale to hunker down for years, but I suppose this wasn’t that much different from the coast of Norway. Just like home!
A bonus for me was a short drive away: the end of the International Appalachian Trail – an extension of the more famous Appalachian Trail from its terminus atop Mount Katahdin in Maine. I had the opportunity to walk the final mile of this extension to the actual geologic end of the Appalachian Mountain range. Whoa!
Fun Fact: Scandinavians of the medieval period are referred to as Norse, most of whom were farmers or traders. Viking is an Old Norse term for raider or pirate and should only be used to describe those engaged in raiding. It appears that the impetus for the Norse to venture to North America was for lumber – very much needed at their Greenland settlements.
Fogo Island
Now, to the ultra-ultra-lux Fogo Island Inn. The Island delivers an experience that is among the best I’ve ever had. The integration of the Inn and the local community enriches and elevates one’s time here.
This integration of an Inn into its local community has been the vision of its founder, Zita Cobb, a native of Fogo. She made it big in the hi-tech fibre optics industry and decided to share her wealth with the Island through the Inn and a related foundation. We had the opportunity to hear Zita talk about her vision of community in a fascinating presentation one evening.
Notably, upon our arrival, we were treated to the opening of a new exhibition of art and crafts by local artisans. With a complimentary glass of excellent wine, it made for a very auspicious start to our three-night stay.
Other Fogo Island Highlights
- A half-day personal guided tour of the island
- Visits to artisan studios
- Early morning yoga
- Morning and afternoon hikes, such as the Lion’s Den Trail up to the Fogo Wireless Station (the second to receive Titanic’s distress signal)
- Dining on locally sourced ingredients with a Michelin-quality chef at the Fogo Inn
We also noted incredible attention to architecture and detail throughout the Inn. Rooms had pot-bellied stoves for late-night warmth and floor-to-ceiling windows affording breathtaking ocean views. (The shoreline is a stone’s throw away!) Even the key chains for the room keys are beach-found artifacts that had been bronzed. Everyone I’ve met who has stayed at the Inn seems to have come away with the same feeling of having had a profound experience in a dramatic setting.
Tip: Do Not Miss the Ferry to Fogo! It’s not the end of the world if you do. The ferry runs about every three or four hours. But do you want to cool your heels for hours at a remote shore location with nothing to do? So, make sure to arrive at least an hour before departure time, as there are no reservations.
On our return, we reflected on how much fun we had celebrating anniversary week in the far eastern province of Canada. We decided to celebrate next year’s anniversary at the far western shores of southern Canada: Vancouver Island. There are, naturally, two Canadian National Parks there and, of course, another Kristi-style luxury accommodation, The Wickaninnish Inn at Tofino.
