FOOD, FOG & FOGO.
Day 59 – It was 41 degrees this morning and not raining. The fog was dense; it was not windy. Not a great day for taking pictures due to the fog, we decided to check out some things on the island (like is there any way we can get a propane tank refilled; where is the dump station; where do we get gasoline; where are the seafood co-ops where we can get local fish to take with us; and most importantly, where is the island’s best restaurant?).
We left the campground at 11:30, and we took the cameras with us, just in case. We’d passed a restaurant that had a full parking lot when we drove by on our way to our campground yesterday. They were a small restaurant not far from where we are camped. We decided to try them out. Bang Belly Bistro was outstanding. So good, in fact, that we have reservations for lunch tomorrow (Father’s Day – they are almost completely booked) and dinner Monday night. They’re only open Thursday thru Monday. Today we had the special homemade Gnocchi. Lots of incredible gnocchi on a small plate, served sitting on a spicy tomato sauce. Around the outside of the plate was a thin ring of herbal-infused extra virgin olive oil dotted with droplets of homemade roasted garlic aioli. So good! Since we had a very hard time deciding which items to try, we’re going back to the restaurant again, and again.
We asked the owner of the Bistro where we could get propane. After checking out the food truck, Punch Belly, just down the street and owned & operated by the Bistro, we bought homemade Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies for the drive and Partridgeberry Lemon Muffins for dessert tonight. Then we continued our drive. The cookies were fantastic!
We drove to the village of Seldom. At Vanessa’s Convenience Store we were able to refill a propane tank and get gas in the Honda. Then we found a dump station nearby, and on the way back to the ferry terminal on Thursday, we can make use of it. We then drove around Fogo Island. We took a few pictures in the fog. We’ll do this drive again when the weather is better.
On the way back to the RV, we stopped again at the Punch Buggy food truck and got some pizza to go for dinner tonight. The fog had thickened at the campground. It was so dense that we could barely see the boulders in front of the RV and the little island in the cove, let alone any of the icebergs.
Later, the pizza was good, reheated in the oven (two slices of cheese pizza and two slices of vegetable pizza, split between us). But the best part was the awesome muffins we had for dessert.
It is a great feeling waking up on an island. Whether it’s a large island like Newfoundland or a smaller island like Fogo Island, it feels special. We love being closely surrounded by the Ocean. Today we heard from a “local” that a Humpback Whale was seen in the Ocean near the campground yesterday. There are four icebergs visible from our campsite, but only visible occasionally so far when the fog and/or rain have momentarily cleared. There are many sea birds flying overhead, too.
The entire island of Fogo can be driven in one day, especially if it’s fogged in and you can’t see much. That was today. If it happened to be sunny, like it was when we were here in late July in 2019, it would’ve been a shame to just drive the island and not stop at any of the museums that depict island life centuries ago. There are so many scenic views, and there are several quaint villages with some buildings still around from a different time, long ago. Fogo Island is not teeny-tiny; it is inhabited by 2,125 people in 11 small villages. The landscape is rocky and there are many hiking trails.