Joe Batt's Point and Fogo Inn Hotel

Another spectacular sunny but windy and cool day on Fogo Island. Today's hike was to Joe Batt's Point just north of Joe Batt's Arm. It was a beautiful hike along the coast for about 7 km along the brownish rock. Lots of wildflowers and some fenced in potato patches. The rock is very interesting in appearance as it is brownish and very creviced almost looking like weather skin. It catches the light very well. We met more hikers today than on all of the other hikes and after passing them, Cheryl and I would always say to each other after they were out of earshot: "Do you think that they are staying at the Fogo Island Inn? " More on the Fogo Island Inn later. During the hike we came across the 3rd artist studio that we have seen on the island. A squat long black building on posts looking out to the sea. We came across a giant Auk statue. Auks were a large flightless bird hunted to extinction in the 19 century. The statue was a little on the large side. We continued on to the point where there was a maritime navigation light before retracing our steps to the trail head. At the point we could make out 2 icebergs which we had previously seen. There were 2 different lobster fisherman out checking their traps close enough to shore that we could see them emptying their traps.

On the way back to the trailhead we had a panoramic view across the bay which included the Fogo Island Inn. The Fogo Island Inn was built in 2013. It is a world renowned luxury inn visited by the rich and wealthy from all over the world. Nightly accommodations can cost $2500 CDN or higher with a minimum stay of 3 nights. The inn has been built on a very barren promontory of land facing out into the Atlantic. The building looks incongruous for the setting. Almost spaceship like or as Cheryl thought boat like. It looks out of place. There are only 29 rooms. But there is a deeper more interesting story to the hotel.

Zita Cobb a Fogo Islanders left Fogo Island to attend university. She made her fortune in the tech business in Ottawa and wanted to give back to Fogo Island. Initially she started by setting up university scholarships for Fogo Island children. The Islanders observed that these scholarships were encouraging Islanders to leave. After consultation she and the Islanders settled on the idea of a luxury hotel. She had her brothers set up the Shorefest trust to oversee the development of the hotel. The goal of the trust was to initiate a business that would employ and promote tourism to the island. Employees would be paid a sustainable wage. Profits from the hotel would be reinvested in other businesses or to promote other businesses on the island. Monies would be used to promote artists and promote heritage. The trust has been an incredible success. The hotel is busy and 45 percent of revenue goes into the trust for other endeavors. The trust now owns a restaurant outside of the hotel, an ecological fishing company, a design company , two ice cream shops and more. They have paid for the restoration of 23 heritage properties on the island. There are 4 artists studios on the island, the pictures of 3 I have featured in the blog. They have an art gallery at the hotel and have artists in residence. They have apprenticeship programs for high school students.The hiking trails on the island are all in beautiful shape with walking boards over marshy areas and solidly constructed stairs up the steep parts. There are quilt shops and craft and artist shops throughout the island. There are many vacation homes. Al who gave us the tour in Tilting thought that the trust and hotel had really saved the island. The whole story of Fogo Island hotel is a true success story in sustainable development. People come from all over the world to try to figure out how they can duplicate this process.

After another early supper we had energy for one last hike. We headed off to Brimstone Head for a hike up a 250 metre rock formation overlooking the ocean. Lots of steps but the view was worth it. We saw one of the 2 icebergs we have been seeing these last couple days for the last time.Read more