Canada’s remote Fogo Island feels like the end of the world. And for some people, it is.
Comedian Dom Joly on his quest to find the end of the earth in Atlantic CanadaMarch 11, 2024We’ve all been on some extreme trips. But how many of us can claim to have travelled to the very edge of the world? I can… sort of. Allow me to explain.
To get to Fogo Island from St John’s involves driving through Gander, where you really must call into the airport. Back in the 1950s, Gander Airport was a big deal as the place transatlantic flights stopped to refuel. Locals hung out at the airport every night hoping to spot The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe or Frank Sinatra sitting at the bar waiting to travel on.
The local economy was saved by a lady called Zita Cobb, an islander who made a lot of money in Toronto during the tech boom. She decided to return to Fogo to set up a charity called Shorefast, which aimed to both revive culture on the island and reinvent the economy. To do this, she built a quite extraordinary hotel, Fogo Island Inn, designed by Canadian architect Todd Saunders. It sits like a vast beached ocean liner on stilts and is one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever visited.