Home in Australia

Just letting all know we have touched safely down in Melbourne somewhat jet-lagged and deliriously disorientated but thrilled with memories and images and connections that will enrich us for years to come.

We just wanted to say thanks to all who have shared our journey both in person and as fellow travellers on the blog..

There have been 9,455 clicks on the Bluecharm Inn blog to date, from as far away as Finland, France, Afghanistan and from throughout Canada, America and Australia…

So for now our love to all,

Fran and Nettie xx

 

Final Days

How swiftly and richly the time at the Bluecharm Inn has passed. We are now back in St Johns with our Newfie family, having left the cabin in time to dodge the wild wilds of Hurricane Maria. With a strange combination of anticipation and reluctance we are packing our treasures and memories for the long flight home. Three planes over 36 hours, 24 of them airborne.

The dawns and sunsets of our last few weeks coloured by the tinge of the coming Fall have been hypnotic…

The fishing rods were packed away a week or so ago as the season came to a close…though we continued to watch the jumping salmon with great longing it is a fine thing that the fisheries are so protected. After the last of our fresh trout and cod were gone we experimented with salted cod and dried capelin… mmm… the cod wins hands down… but finally we have some idea of what to do with that salted fish we have eyed off in Australian delicatessens. The blueberries continue to ripen all along the shore in our absence. We leave them to the black bears and grey jays.

Sandy joined us for three wonderful days at the cabin, great time had by all. Thanks for the harmonica in the sunset, Sandy.

After our whirlwind introduction of five days last year, a surreal and almost overwhelming experience, the combined total of five weeks at the cabin this year has given us a powerful taste of life on the pond and all that it offers, the experience of winter notwithstanding. It has by far exceeded our expectations and imaginings. Thanks again Craig for creating such a warm, snug and safe surrounds. And to Roxanne and Craig for nurturing our stay and comings and goings with such warmth, caring and unbounded hospitality.

Ahhhhh…..back to the Inn

As wonderful as the people we have met and the sights we have seen on our travels have been, it was with a deep sigh of anticipation and a strong sense of homecoming that we gathered our supplies and traversed the rocky road home to the Bluecharm Inn.

After the wettest summer in the memories of most Newfoundlanders, September opened with sunshine turning the molten greys into sparkling blues. Each time we manage our transition across the water we are quite chuffed with what we are learning about the ways of the water and winds. Lucky for us, Rocky, another New Pond cabin dweller, was at the shore and offered to take the heaviest of our supplies to our jetty, saving us a return trip.

It was the last five days of the fishing season and we were pondering the possibility of landing another salmon when Craig, our friend and ever loyal province guide, appeared unexpectedly out of the woods on his ATV. We had run low on firewood and bless his good heart he had come to stock the woodheap… we are unbelievably cared for here. So we fished and we fished happy with trout but hopeful of salmon until finally there it was…look carefully at the photo following Fran’s taut line and you will see him under the water. Woo hoo!!!! Early in the season they are all female and then later the boys follow to complete the spawning process. Unlike Pacific Salmon they then return to the ocean with many heading to Greenland before another journey upstream.

Roxanne, Stephen and Ian joined us for a wonderful few days before our Newfie family had to return to St Johns for the start of the school year and work. They will return in the Fall for a last weekend before the ice and snows of winter to prepare and seal the cabin… We are so lucky to be able to share the love and care of this special place….

So now we are alone together again, settling in with books and art and writing, the fire is crackling and the rain has returned. Fishing is over till next year but the blueberries are ripe and lush and the endless movement of the pond is just beyond the window as we slip into the last ten days before we begin the long journey back to the southern hemisphere and our precious families… thanks again for sharing…it has made it all the more richer…xxx

Back to Fabulous Fogo

The sky is alight with the fire of our last sunset on Fogo Island as we sit and wonder how to share our three days here with Linda, Glen and Jacqueline. Gazing across the molten sun-struck ocean between their house and the silhouetted Change Islands, we both feel very happy and grateful to be in their Island Harbour home again.  This time without the fog we have been able to appreciate s the island in all its beauty.

Fogo Island, population 2,700 spread across about 10 villages/outports, is north of the island of Newfoundland and has the hottest summer in the province. One day actually reached 28 degrees with 95% humidity. We walked two trails – the first being a loop around the now vacated outports of Eastern Tickle and Lion’s Den, whose dwellings were either dismantled or floated on barrels around to another more accessible cove. Each turn of the trail offered yet another great view across the sparkling ocean with icebergs in the distance. The wild blueberries growing alongside the trail were a constant delight, small but rich in flavour and refreshment. Each now deserted little bay, sanctuary from the fierce Atlantic ocean ,had us pondering the lives lived and gone in this most remote corner over hundreds of years – those hardy immigrants from Britain with surnames such as Lewis, Leyte, Osmond and Best. On the beautiful sunny day we were there it looked like paradise but still the winters are mighty harsh.

The second trail we took was Turpin’s Trail where legend has it an early settler by the name of Turpin was decapitated by the local Aboriginals – the Archaic Maritimes, maybe pay back for some hideous crime or maybe they just wanted the iron nails from his boat. This trail was more wild and adventurous and was close to the World Heritage listed town of Tilting where people still speak with an Irish accent.

We have noticed some changes even since our last visit 15 months ago.  Houses are being renovated and new ones built as the island is slowly being rediscovered. We hope the island’s remote and solitary nature doesn’t change too much….

The photos on this post were taken with our new Sony DSLR that was kindly purchased on our behalf by Glen. We are very excited to have this new tool and look forward to getting to know all its capacities.

Thanks Glen, Linda and Jacqueline (and Chrissy grrrrowl!) for an absolutely wonderful visit and your warm hospitality. We feel well refreshed to head back to our wilderness hideaway…

Next year we will time our visit with Glen’s annual exhibition – here is the link for his fabulous photos of Fogo:

http://www.focusonnewfoundland.com

Along the Viking Trail

The sub arctic tundra of Newfoundland’s northern peninsular has a mood all its own. With over a hundred plant varieties, thirty-three rare and three that only occur here you can imagine the richness of the marshy tundra. What looked like oil slick in the puddles was the seeping of what they called bog iron. They now believe the Viking settlers actually smelted over two kilograms of iron from the material they lifted from under the sodden sods to make nails to repair their boats.

It seems Leif Eriksson made landing here some 1000 years ago, built up a sod and beam settlement, inhabited it for a few years then moved on after being chased off by the Aboriginal people of which there seems to be almost no physical evidence remaining. The site was rediscovered by Norsemen in the 1960’s in a stunning position, alongside a running brook, in grassy meadows, facing the Atlantic and Greenland. The sod houses have been reconstructed as an interactive, very low key museum, and as you can see we were welcome to play with the Viking lifestyle. It was well done and certainly gave us the feeling of what it would be to hunker down there on the very tip of the land.

We walked for some miles and finally came face to face with a mother moose and her calf! Great place to come eye to eye with one rather than on the highway. They are considered such a road pest here that there are signs constantly reminding you to be careful and noting how many accidents there have been lately. Imagine something as big as a camel.. We also saw a magnificent stag with his mighty rack of horn.

Coming into a little cove we almost bypassed another treat thinking it was a piece of flotsam amongst the rocks. A closer look revealed this shape as a white seal basking in the sun. It was a Harp seal, alone. She waved her flipper at us as we watched.

We leave this treasure trove with a little reluctance…perhaps we will return another day…

Floating Symbols of Climate Change

We have started this post by showing the setting and location of the Fishing Point B&B where we are spending three nights. Last nights post included the iceberg visible from our bedroom window (we shifted the bed so we could lay and watch it drift!)

Today we went out by boat further into the Atlantic Ocean towards Greenland, unable to resist the opportunity to come closer to these ice sculptured wonders. The shades of blues and greens held an inner light of their own often almost vibrating with a shimmering aura. Checkout the colours as we were able to view the underside cavelike realms

Out of season they are melting quickly and we could see the rivulets of ancient water running from their hosts. Highly oxygenated it fizzes as it melts. Floating down from Greenland over the last twelve months some of this water was frozen over 100,000 years ago. It was as frightening as it was beautiful…

Icebergs in the coves of St Anthony

After the flat and near barren shores of the coastal drive it is hard to convey the thrill of cresting a rocky rise to a vision of shimmering ice made even more startling by the contrast of the greygreenblue ocean.

We have come to the edge of the world to witness a display of the end of the world as we know it, as Ghia evolves and adapts to the effects of climate change. Of this the locals have no doubt, having not witnessed anything resembling this at this time of year in remembered history. Even the locals sit with us and watch in awe as the icebergs calve and roll. It does bring a strange poignancy to the viewing.

But what a sight to behold this ocean sculpted panorama… more to come!!