26th
May 2016
Foxes, hikes, and
icebergs galore !
It ended up that
we didn’t land in Fogo until after midnight, and it was POURING with rain. As
soon as I got off I started looking for somewhere to pull over and sleep, but
it was really hard to see anything in the rain. Eventually I turned onto a side
road, and found a tarmac area with a building, so stopped there and hoped the
people wouldn’t mind when they came to work in the morning ! I had already eaten so just climbed in the
back and went to sleep.
I woke up at
about 6 am and it was still raining,
When I looked outside I found I was actually right beside the airport
runway, at an access entrance !! Good job there was a fence there or I may have
ended up parked in the middle of the runway !
No planes had landed during the night so I hadn’t been disturbed, but I
decided to head into Fogo itself to see if I could find a proper camp
site. The weather was still bitterly
cold (like 2 deg C) and trying to rain, so I wasn’t sure what I was going to
do.
As I drove into
Fogo township, I was immediately impressed by its beauty. A little fishing village with its colourful
wooden houses and boat sheds clustered around the water’s edge, while, even
through the thick mist and rain, I could see huge icebergs floating along in
the ocean. Magical ! Driving to the very end of the road, I
suddenly saw a sign to an RV park, so went down and there, all by itself,
spread along the beach in this little rocky bay, was an RV park which was not
only open, but at this hour, also unmanned ! One other RV was tucked away in a
corner. As I was tired I drove down to the beach, set up camp, and promptly
went back to sleep again, covered in my sleeping bag to keep me warm.
Sometime after 9
I woke up again, and although it wasn’t raining, it was still very cold – 3 or
4 deg C, and the strong wind didn’t help much either, so with the wind chill it
was probably somewhere below 0. Right
beside the camp site was a hill, and at the top of it I could see a wooden
lookout platform, so it was obviously meant to be climbed ! (I found out later that just a few days ago
the wind had been so strong that no-one could make it to the top !). Half way
up was a warning that, since this point formed one of the 4 points that mark
the corners of the Flat Earth, (Papua
New Guinea, The Bermuda Triangle, and Hydra in Greece forming the other 3),
there was a danger that climbers could fall off the edge here – Although so far
none have yet done so ! 17,408 kms to
Sydney though – There’s a thought, since I have to get to within about 1000 kms
of Sydney in due course !
The climb on to
the top of Brimstone Head in Fogo was made in mist, rain, and cold winds – I
had put on copious layers of clothing before setting off, and was glad of every
one of them by the time I got to the top. Unfortunately the view from the top
wasn’t too good due to the fog, but I could see the outline of several big
icebergs not far out to see. Heading
down again, when I neared the bottom, I suddenly saw movement, and a very dark,
almost black, fox ran out of the bushes to the top of the wooden walkway,
turned round to check me out, then trotted on down the walkway as if he owned
it. I
I then decided
that while I was all rugged up in these warm clothes I may as well keep
walking. With the weather staying drab and overcast today, I knew that blue sky was possible tomorrow, so I decided
to just explore Fogo township today. On
the way out I found that the Lions Club runs the camp site, and they were now
there. I popped in for a chat and to
find out the lay of the land, and found a whole lot of Irish and Dorset accents
in there ! This area is predominantly
Irish, but there are a lot of people descended from settlers from Poole area,
and it was really funny to be sitting in Newfoundland hearing all these accents
– Just like being in the pub in Dorset !
Friendly bunch though, and after paying my dues for a night, I set off
into town.
Fogo is only recently
trying to assert its position on the Newfoundland tourist trail, and they are
trying very hard to change from being just a sleepy little fishing village into
a fishing village with tourist friendly facilities. A new hotel, some boarding houses, and a
couple of restaurants, as well as the camp site, attest to this, although many
things are shut down for another week or so until the beginning of June. But around the scenic little township are
information boards that tell of the past use of buildings and areas, and the details on how the fishing
business has suffered over the years, only to be revived recently with a
CO-OPerative fishing plant. As you walk
through town you can read all these boards and learn a lot about the history
and make up of the township. Very
impressed by the efforts they are making.
And as one walks
around the town, everywhere you see the wooden huts they build out over the
water for storing their fishing gear – In the past this was where they would
dry the cod for shipment, but now many are sadly falling into disrepair. But they remain every typical of
Newfoundland, and one can’t help but spend a lot of time taking photos of them
all. And amongst all the rubbish that
you see piled up for collection at the end of a hard winter is everything from
old washing machines to old wooden sledges that have obviously had a hard life
over the years.
I eventually got
back to the car in time for some lunch, and then another snooze as I was still
pretty tired after the long ferry ride and short sleep last night. But at 4 pm I set off again, this time to do
a different hike to Fogo head, some 338 ft ASL.
All the trails are very clearly signposted, and once you are on them
they are marked with stones along the side of the track, and wooden walkways
over boggy sections or stairs up steeper rocky sections. This walk was a much longer one than the one
up to the top of Brimstone Head this morning, but the cloud and mist seemed to
be lifting slightly which made me keen to get to the top to see what was on the
other side.
And I was not to
be disappointed. Before even reaching
the top I could now see a number of very large icebergs floating down the coast
not far offshore – No wonder they call this stretch of coast “Iceberg Alley”,
starting in Greenland. I overlooked the
whole of Fogo from up here, and looking back I could see the little bay where I
was camped. Then, near the top, I
suddenly saw a big iceberg right down below me at the bottom of the cliffs – It
appeared that one had got blown off course and was now “caught” in the rocks on
the coast.
I was still
heading up, and the scrub in the unsheltered areas where the wind howls though
is so close to the ground – There is one plant that is actually a type of
horizontal fir tree, with tiny needles, and some of the “trunks” are obviously
old because they are so wizened and twisted, but are still so small you would
almost think they are only a year or so old.
And as soon as there is a bit of shelter, then everything grows higher
and lusher – In some places the change takes place over only a few feet.
From the top of
the hill I started to see the “stuck” iceberg more clearly, and it was a long
climb down to the beach on the other side.
When I saw all the wooden steps I had to go down, I was very glad I was
going this way, and hoped that I didn’t have to come back up them ! After the Brimstone climb, and 2 hours
wandering round town this morning, I was starting to feel a bit sore !! Finally made it to the bottom, and it is only
when you see the iceberg from ground level that you realize how big it is. There are much bigger ones offshore – They
look like big white container ships sailing down the coast – But this one is
not a baby “growler”, by any means.
At the bottom I
came into another end of Fogo village I hadn’t seen this morning, and there are
several old cannon there left over from 1779 when this was a fortified defense
of Fogo harbour. All to do with keeping
the French out, I believe ! It was tricky
enough entering Fogo harbour even without guns firing at you – A number of shipwrecks
over the years bear evidence of just how rough it can be, especially in winter
time. Locals tell of the high winds that just blow incessantly, and one can see
from the little townships that they are all built on very sheltered natural
bays and harbours, otherwise it would be impossible around here.
I then headed
back around the streets to the camp site, getting back at 6 pm and ready for
some supper. It was 2.5 deg C air temp
at the car, but by staying rugged up I managed to cook some sausages and mash
for supper which was good at the end of a long day, and not long after that I
was fast asleep in bed. Weather supposed
to be sunny tomorrow !!!
Pics are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/6290176498535282097?authkey=Gv1sRgCMjl5tSYrZHgswE
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