Why Fogo Island Belongs on Your Bucket List This Fall

A romantically remote location. A rugged coastline. A wind-ravished setting. I am writing about the one-of-a-kind destination that is Fogo Island Inn. Perched at one of the four corners of the earth, this property is hyper-contemporary yet utterly serene. Prepare to be impressed – each of its 29 rooms has floor-to-ceiling windows for panoramic views of the powerful Atlantic, which is especially beguiling in the fall.

Newfoundland-born architect Todd Saunders designed the Inn to complement Fogo’s unspoiled terrain and fishing traditions. It stands on pilotis, or piers, similar to those found in local fisherman’s huts. I love how Saunders positioned them crookedly both for the artful effect and the intimation that, like the local huts, they’re rustically imperfect and have shifted with time.

This is the view that greeted me as I walked into the Inn’s lobby. I wish I could have bottled the warm woodland smell of the fire, a hospitable welcome on a cool fall day. The effect is continued throughout the Inn as most rooms, and all public areas, have wood-burning fireplaces (the one in the library was especially hard to resist).

The lobby is also an inviting place to watch the sunset. It’s a wonderful sensory overload, and I was torn between which visual to focus on: the fading light of the autumnal sky, the endless expanse of water or the roaring fire – a favourable dilemma made even nicer by the local sips on offer, whether juice made with fall partridgeberries or a cold Iceberg beer made with, you guessed it, iceberg water.

Yes, this was just as cozy as it looks. Named after a local scholar (Dr. Leslie Harris, who was president of St. John’s Memorial University), the Inn’s library stocks only Canadian books with a special focus on the province’s Northeast Coast. Even though the Inn was fully booked during my stay, I was lucky enough to have the library to myself so it felt more like a home than a hotel.

While the Inn features contemporary handmade furniture, these two beauties, set between the lobby and the library, are authentic antiques. The chair’s patina could never be recreated, and I love how the Inn acknowledges the season with little touches like this arrangement of local dogberries. The berries come to life in autumn, deepening to an even more brilliant red. You can see them growing on shrubs all over the island.

Every room is decorated with bespoke, handmade furniture. The Bertha Chair in my room was named after Bertha Wilson, the country’s first female Supreme Court Justice. Impressive inspiration aside, it was super comfy (a warm spot to bird watch) and its scalloped pattern is a nod to local hand-carved roof shingles. The fabric is lambs’ wool, especially warm in the fall, and plays off the retro-style wallpaper.

I crave cozy, so fell in love with the juxtaposition of my room’s warm golden light against the icy blue of the fall sky and the dramatic Atlantic. There are drapes and hidden blinds, but I never considered using them, preferring this view day and night. The rocker, designed by Ineke Hans, features classic wooden spindles and it, like all of the Inn’s furniture, can be purchased so you can take a little Fogo home with you.

Patchwork quilts are the norm in Fogo (when I went cycling, I saw these charming hand-stitched works of art on clotheslines all over the island). The Inn has adopted the tradition, and each quilt bears the name of the person who made it along with the date. The workmanship is flawless and the quilt is incredibly warm – so warm that, even though it was fall, I slept with the window open to the salt air and sounds of the ocean.

The Inn isn’t short on activities and also augments what’s always on offer with daily and special events. I picked berries, listened to Top Chef Hugh Acheson who made guests an amazing seven-course meal (not a typo – he was so inspired he added two more courses than the blackboard originally offered!) then indulged in the boil-up, as the next slide will deliciously attest.

My boil-up! So much fun tucking into this messy, hands-on feast in the rather formal setting of the double-vaulted dining room. A traditional boil-up is normally outdoors, but Fogo’s windy fall weather wasn’t “permitting” so a change of plans was required (and with crab this fresh, salty and sweet, I didn’t mind a bit).

There are over 20 different types of berries on the island. I picked wild blueberries, which were so flavourful and worlds away from store-bought. Autumn is the season for picking and also the time of the annual Partridgeberry Harvest Festival, an ode to the harvest of Fogo’s little red berries. Berry bonus: the Inn served fresh partridgeberry juice every morning.

I thought these burnished red leaves were just pretty groundcover, until I met a local man who was knelt beside them with an empty coffee pot. He told me he was picking wild blueberries and planned to fill the pot with them so his wife could make jam. Once he pointed out the berries, I noticed them everywhere. The leaves start out green but turn vibrant red come fall.

The Inn’s complimentary bikes are the best way to see Fogo. There is one main road – smooth, paved and with very little car traffic – with hiking trails that branch off of it. Leave your bike (unlocked!) where the road ends to follow the trails or just cycle the town and take in the local sights: new and beautifully dilapidated fish huts, impeccably kept homes in all sorts of colours and an unspoiled rocky landscape.

This is The Long House, one of the island’s four studios that host artists and thinkers from around the world. It’s along the hike to Joe Batt’s Point, which culminates in “The Great Auk”, a bronze sculpture of the island’s now extinct bird. Fall is the perfect time to explore the almost five-kilometre trail – it’s usually sunny, not too hot or cold and always offers breathtaking views of the North Atlantic.

Fogo is just as beautiful on cloudy days. In fact, it’s almost more mysterious and wild-looking when it’s autumnal grey. Everyone here has a fireplace, and it’s not uncommon to see sheds packed with firewood or find it neatly stacked outdoors. In the fall, the whole island is redolent of wood-smoke. Coupled with the salty air, it was one of the best scents I’ve ever experienced.

Fogo Island is a place like no other and this artist’s studio, charmingly called “Squish”, encapsulates its magic with a ruggedly stunning indigenous landscape, mindful contemporary architecture and design and a device-free feeling that you’re both away from it all and very much a part of nature.