Twillingate and Fogo Island: Exploring Newfoundland, Part 5

The view from the lookout near the lighthouse in Twillingate, Newfoundland

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain

The last leg of my time spent in Newfoundland was spent in Twillingate and the surrounding area. We appreciated the different topographies and qualities of the east side of Newfoundland versus the west side. However I had heard that Twillingate was an area not to be missed. 

We departed Gros Morne National Park and drove for about 5 hours to reach Twillingate. This area of Newfoundland is known as the Iceberg Capital Of The World...numerous tours head out during the summer months to spot the icebergs and whales which are both abundant at that time of year. On our way towards our destination we noted with smiles the absence of law enforcement. The roads were narrow and undulating, clean, relatively quiet and boasted miles and miles of undisturbed forests. It brings me great happiness to look at a map of Newfoundland and Labrador and see that the centre of Newfoundland contains virtually no habitation by human beings...apparently it is mostly composed of bogs and forests, realms not very conducive to human settlement.  I have not been to Labrador but from what I hear it is even more remote and undisturbed by development. 

The view from our hosts' backyard in Twillingate

We explored Twillingate for really only one full day but it was enough to get a taste for this gorgeous corner of Newfoundland. When I see those lovely commercials advertising Newfoundland Labrador on television, the ones with the cliffs and clotheslines flapping, that is what Twillingate is to me. We drove up to the lighthouse beyond Crow Head, a truly stunning drive. Near the lighthouse are a web of hiking trails, some very steep, and we meandered along them for a good distance. 

The rather abbreviated sign at one of the small restaurants in Twillingate

The view along the road at Crow's Head on the way up to the lighthouse 

Not surprisingly, I did not get a picture of the lighthouse but preferred to capture the sunset. The quality of light reminded me a bit of Alaska with a similar palette of colours.

While in Wesleyville a new friend had suggested exploring Fogo and/or Change Islands. We researched the two places, knowing that we could not cover both areas in one day. We settled on Fogo Island and preceded to plan our ferry trips to and from this little piece of paradise.

This graffiti that we passed on the way to the ferry was, like all of the other graffiti we saw in Newfoundland, quite tasteful, and even a little artistic!

The small town where the ferry departs from is called Farewell. I adore the names of places in Newfoundland....they range from the charmingly optimistic (Come-By-Chance, Bumble-Bee-Bight, Heart's Content, Heart's Ease, Comfort Cove, Little Paradise) to the melancholic (Famish Gut, Confusion Bay, Misery Point, Empty Basket, Breakheart Point).

When I think of Newfoundland I think of purple-blue water, stalwart rocks, uninterrupted miles of trees and the open expanse of possibility.  We drove on to the little ferry that took us over to Fogo and were met with an area of Newfoundland that was even more unique than we anticipated. There is a strong Irish presence on Fogo. Fogo Island has a faithfully preserved fishing stage on the Dwyer Premises. We visited this piece of history and were greeted by a lovely woman who showed us around and also took us up to Lane House Museum, the oldest house in Tilting. 

At the far side town an Irish cloverleaf stands near a cannon.

The beautifully preserved fishing stage, flakes and wharf of the Dwyer Premises

While touring these historical places I was struck once again with a somber feeling at what a difficult and often short life many Newfoundlanders once lived. Many families had children numbering into the double digits and would have been a challenge to support. They had to subsist on what small amount of money they could earn from their cod fishing. Their lives, sometimes brief, were hopefully full of happiness despite their hardship. 

The beautiful little town of Tilting

The view from the trail just outside of town. The trail continues around the cove after passing by the Old Irish Cemetery which is purportedly the oldest Irish-Catholic cemetery in Newfoundland. 

We approached this interesting little farm near the trail that we were hiking along. I love the supports that ballast the fence. There were sheep who eyed us suspiciously just to the right of the frame here. 

We stopped for a few minutes at Sandy Cove Beach on our way out of Tilting. The colours of the landscape were so vivid, even the lichen seen here on this rock were shouting out their personalities. I loved the blue tinge to the rock compared with the orange of the lichen...a perfect example of the inherent resilience that ALL the inhabitants of this land possess.

Further along the road towards the ferry that would take us to Farewell we spotted this beautiful church, back lit by the sun. Berry-pickers were everywhere, and I ate more jam in two weeks than I have in my whole life. Cloudberry jam was my favorite, followed closely by Partridgeberry jam. All of it was delicious and I happily dined on toast and jam very frequently as Newfoundland has a dearth of vegetarian options! 

The church on the road to the ferry

On our way back to Wesleyville from Twillingate we were told that Pike's Arm, a nearby lookout, was quite stunning and worth a stop. 360 degrees of beauty greeted us at the top of steep flights of stairs. The land seemed to rise effortlessly out of the water like whales breaching and heading back down to the depths below. These strings of little islands formed a beautiful archipelago dotting the horizon. If you are in the area, I highly recommend stopping in Pike's Arm, Twillingate and  Fogo Island....in fact it is hard to recommend just one place to experience as they are all very special. If you wish to see a painting that I recently completed about the return trip to Farewell you can read about it here.

For two weeks we saw no moose...not a one. I had been warned numerous times about them, to avoid driving at night, to avoid driving at dusk and of course to avoid driving early in the morning. Nevertheless I had expected to see moose over our two weeks in Newfoundland and we were beginning to wonder if we would ever see one. I kept saying "you wait, we'll see one before we leave". Sure enough, on our way to the airport in Gander, our wish came true.

It was about 8am and we rounded a bend in the road to come upon these beautiful moose the road. They looked at us rather skeptically and I stopped the car lest they feel threatened and become aggressive. In a moment they had disappeared into the woods as quickly and deftly as they had appeared. 

As I have mentioned before, the lack of air pollution lets you see clearly right to the horizon in Newfoundland. Here the light was refracting off of raindrops in the distance, giving them a pink hue. It was a fittingly moving image as one of the last that left an impression on us as we headed home to Ontario.

"To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong."

~Joseph Chilton Pearce

Here is some information on my solo exhibition in November 2009. If you have any questions please contact Abbozzo Gallery. 

You can read about some of the paintings for this exhibition on my other blog, Heather Horton Artwork. 

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

Have a wonderful day and take good care,

Heather

Glorious Gros Morne: Musings on Newfoundland, Part 4

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." ~Ansel Adams

This is my fourth entry about the powerful and gorgeous province of Newfoundland in Canada. I am not surprised. After taking over 900 pictures in two weeks, after being swept up in its magic, how could I not write about it over the course of a month and a half?

By the way, here is the official Newfoundland and Labrador website. Just like everyone must get to the Grand Canyon once in their lifetime, everyone should experience Newfoundland and Labrador as well.

When I last wrote about Newfoundland, we were exploring Gros Morne National Park. After our hike on the Green Gardens trail in the park we decided to book a boat tour of Western Brook Pond. We had heard that the boat tour of the fjord was breathtaking and thus trekked out to jump on board.

It was cold and foggy as we hiked out along a meandering boardwalk that cut a line through unique marshland and bog, wetland that is ubiquitous in Newfoundland. We soon realized that the low lying clouds would prevent a full view of the splendor of the cliffs in the fjord and decided to abandon our boat tour in hopes that the following day would have clearer skies.

Here is the view from our walk along the 3km trail to the base of the pond where the boats leave from. Each boat holds about 70 people so we knew that we would have to arrive early the next day to assure ourselves a spot on board.

The clouds dissipated as we took another hike along one of the coastal trails of the park. We were impressed with the lack of refuse, lack of people and lack of intrusive, every day thoughts that pervade the mind on a day to day basis. It was as though the wind swept out all of our stress and cares about life back in Ontario for a brief time.

On our return visit we were met with a spectacular view of the fjord beyond the dock where the boats embarked from. While we waited little whiskey jacks landed on my hand as I held out some crumbs for them. They entertained those of us waiting, many Ontarians were there, along with some British Columbians and a smattering of American folk too. We knew we were in for a special experience. The tour we took was via Bon Tours.

The entire tour took about an hour and a half. Our tour guide grew up scaling the hills and cliffs of Western Brook Pond and thus had a particular attachment and knowledge of its unique history. The lake is 16kms long with an average depth of 165 m! Apparently as high as the cliffs tower above the lake they correspondingly sink to that depth below the water level.

One of the handful of waterfalls that we saw as we traveled further down the lake.

This shot gives you a good idea of the scale of the cliffs. That small dot is the sister boat to ours that toured the lake. I had never seen cliffs rise so immediately out of water before. It is a very unique place as well from a geological perspective. These cliffs are estimated to be over 1 billion years old!

Almost at the terminus of the lake at this point. We passed Pissing Mare Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in North America!

At the end of the lake two hikers jumped out quickly with lots of gear, big smiles and waved to us as they quickly left the tiny dock and headed out into the bush. These hikers have special permits given to them as they embark on a 9 day traverse of the peaks and valleys of the park. I was envious!!

On our way back to the dock clouds settled in and provided a very moody atmosphere for the remainder of the voyage.

We were so thankful to have been able to see Western Brook Pond. I will never forget it.

We did another side trip up to Norris Point, another charming little village in Gros Morne. Everywhere we went the rocks seemed to be looming down on us, petrified and forever peering at us.

As we prepared to leave Rocky Harbour I shot this picture of another quirky sign. I loved the signs in Newfoundland..many blank, many with makeshift letters. It was as special as any mountain. It is a part of that place that makes it singularly unforgettable.

I love Wesleyville's sign with its coat of arms. I believe all of the villages in New-Wes-Valley had the same coat of arms.

Back in Wesleyville and before our departure for Twillingate in the Northern area of Newfoundland another storm was rolling in. I loved the threatening clouds that made for some great reference shots.

I plan on doing a self-portrait from my time in Newfoundland. This shot will not be the basis of the painting, but something along the same lines. By this time I was feeling as though the roots of the province were settling into my bones, the quietness everywhere was seeping into my heart and mind, freeing it from worry. I knew that although I paint people usually, that the paintings to come from Newfoundland would be special, each one. I knew that each painting would be a portrait in its own right, whether it be a kind local or the house up the hill. Besides, it is the mood, the message, the impression that one can glean for oneself that makes each painting unique.

I have heard that as an artist you should not spread yourself too thin by painting too many different types of subject matter, that people should recognize your work by what you paint. I disagree. I think it is HOW you paint that distinguishes an artist's work. It is the technique and the original impetus behind the piece, the emotion and composition that frame the subject matter that distinguish it as your own.

Stay tuned. I will be writing about Twillingate and posting pictures from Twillingate and Fogo Island next week. Thank-you for reading and feel free to email me with any questions you might have about my work or anything else for that matter. Be well and have a wonderful day!

"Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind."~Seneca

Here is some information on my solo exhibition in November 2009. If you have any questions please contact Abbozzo Gallery.

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

Have a wonderful day and take good care,

Heather