Twillingate Island Coastal Trails, NF

We were delighted to be in the Twillingate Area, located on a northeast peninsula on Notre Dame Bay for four days. We discovered a well-known collage of small, picturesque fishing villages where large icebergs sometimes appear. This was not the time. However, we did not complain, as we had seen plenty of them previously in St. Anthony (see that post for photos). We toured during the day and were entertained and fed in the evenings. When we ran out of things to do, we played evening Joker with our good Virginia friends, Lloyd and Elaine. See their photo at the right.

The first dinner and evening performance were held at the Twillingate Masonic Lodge. Gifted local guitar player and singer, Karren Churchill, had a full repertoire of songs from bluegrass to Newfoundland ballads. She accepted requests and demonstrated her wonderful voice in meeting nearly every preference. She involved her caravanner audience and at one point even enlisted the cooks in a humorous, melodic presentation. In the end she received a standing ovation. During intermission we were privileged to go upstairs and visit the elegant meeting place of the Masons. The building, with its wide plank floors, was constructed by the Masons in the early 1900s and has consistently met their needs since that time. One of the members explained what Masons do and the many good works they support.

We took several drives around the coastline and continued to be enthralled by the beauty of its huge, craggy rocks and hundreds of peaceful little unnamed islands. It truly resembles a large scenic painting by a talented artist. Along the way we stopped to talk with the gracious people who seem to be so happy living on their wonderful, serene island. They pride themselves on being friendly, and they love to share their stories and culture. Most of them are fishermen who come from a long line of angler families. One of our tours was at a fishing stage (small wooden hut), where the owner talked about his fishing, crabbing, and lobster catches. He was entertaining, knowledgeable, and authentic. He demonstrated how to clean and salt a cod and shared many humorous stories. He explained that a commercial fishing license can cost as much as $50,000. His wife runs the attached upscale gift shop and did a hefty business during our tour. As if that were not enough, one of the employees played a guitar and sang as we toured the interesting fishing exhibits.

At the Orange Lodge, a local group of seven ladies (two were missing), the Split Peas, have been providing evening musical performances for 18 years. Our caravan fee covered our tickets, and we were well-entertained once more. At intermission they served huge toutons with various jams and tea. Newfies never indulge in dainty portions. Earlier in the day we visited the charming lighthouse on the outskirts of Twillingate and hiked a long trail up a rocky hillside that included over 100 wooden steps. Both of us were surprised that Gloria could negotiate the climb, but her Parkinson’s seems to allow many good days and others that are less pleasant. On Sunday we were privileged to attend services at historic St. Peter’s Anglican Church, one of the oldest wooden churches in Newfoundland.

Probably the most interesting thing we did in this area was taking Fred and Searcy with us to Fogo Island, a National Historic District. We had a 45-minute early morning drive to the ferry, where our Tundra was quickly and skillfully loaded for the 30 minute ride to the island. After docking we made our way to the small community of Tilting, considered to be the most scenic place on the island. There was little sunshine, but this did not dampen the spirits of our family photographer. The colorful, inviting, little homes and fishing stages were irresistible targets for his lens. Fortunately, we stopped to get a picture of a large fishing house on the dock. Fortuitously, we met Roy Dwyer, a commercial fisherman, published author, and story teller. Gloria purchased an autographed copy of his latest book, A Fisherman’s Legacy. Roy had the biggest catch of cod--two huge tubs full—that we have seen thus far. He demonstrated his ability to quickly clean his catch and extract the “tongue,” actually located on the cod’s “forehead.” It is a Newfie delicacy. Roy also held up two large specimens while posing for a photo with Gloria. Our return to the campground was not as smooth as our getting to Fogo Island. We arrived at the ferry at 1:40 p.m. but we did not get loaded onboard and on the way until after 5:00 p.m. We were on the food committee for the group dinner and were supposed to be at the campground in late afternoon. Fortunately our friends, Chuck and Joyce, had been alerted that we may be late, and they ably filled in for us. The grilled chicken dinner was served at 6:00 p.m. as scheduled; about 20 of us who had been stuck at the ferry didn’t make it until 6:45. By that time, we were famished. Our leaders held a driver’s meeting and did not scold us for being late. Despite the ferry traffic glitch, those of us who made the trip to lovely Fogo Island agreed that it was well worth the inconvenience.