By Debi Lander
mail@floridanewsline.com
Both the opening of the musical “Come From Away” and a sign in the airport say “Welcome to the Rock.” A fitting motto for the island of Newfoundland. “The Rock” was once an independent country, but now belongs to Canada.
In early transcontinental aviation, planes flying to or from Europe needed to land and refuel. They stopped in Gander, a little town in Central Newfoundland, making it the world’s busiest airport. Many celebrities passed through, including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, and Fidel Castro, who went sled riding. Gander Airport’s traffic declined over the years and then became the site where 38 jumbo jets landed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
These days, Gander is not the most accessible place; still, I wanted to visit the Canadian province and see the premier of the Broadway show performed in its hometown. The moving production, “Come From Away Gander,” sends the audience into laughter and tears. The play explains how the welcoming regional residents responded to the 7,000 “plane people” who disembarked. They warmly hosted them for four to five days until the airspace reopened.
While in Gander, tour the International Airport Lounge, with mid-modern furniture and décor that looks like it did upon opening in 1959 (and on 9/11, 2001.) The lounge feels like a 1960s time capsule, plus includes an upstairs museum with memorabilia. A display I found incredibly captivating was the video showing the 9/11 air controllers’ radar screen scrambled with circling flights.
Naturally, I had to explore Central Newfoundland’s picturesque scenery. The rocky coastline copies Maine’s, but with steroid-injected boulders. This sparsely populated region remains home to fishermen and loggers. Hare Bay offers boat outings for fishing and bald eagle/whale watching. Climb up the Dover Fault overlook to gaze down on a major break in the earth’s crust.
Barbour Living Heritage Village shows life from the perspective of 19th-century merchant traders. Fishermen brought their catch to the merchants who paid them not in cash but with a barter system. The workers had to buy their goods from merchant-owned stores.
You’ll find the region’s sandy beach and strong surf at Lumsden Beach. I took a fun ATV ride along the shoreline and through the rocky terrain bordering the beach.
A two-night outing required a ferry boat crossing to another island called Fogo. Drive along and see Fogo’s little-changed history unfold. Brightly painted houses in tiny fishing communities like Tilting, founded by the Irish, still look much as they did 200 years ago. Many residents, now fourth and fifth-generation descendants, willingly offer captivating stories — with an Irish accent. Fishing co-ops developed in 1967 helped raise the struggling fishing trade.
The 29-room Fogo Island Inn transports the isle into the future. The stunning building, seemingly out of place, won numerous architectural awards. The structure may look futuristic, but it takes its shape from the cod fishing families’ traditional fishing sheds and saltbox houses. The Inn’s furniture is handmade on the island, signed hand-sewn quilts top the beds. Local fresh fish dominates the menu, and the hotel hires foragers to source the island’s herbs, seaweed, berries, and greens. Rates are steep, but the profits return to the island through a charitable foundation benefiting the residents.
To get a prime view of Iceberg Alley, hike up Fogo’s Brimstone Head, a rocky 160-foot outcropping. The bergs break off glaciers in Greenland and make a two-year slow journey southward. What a sight to see giant icebergs floating by in July.
Since roads are few and driving between locations takes longer than expected, I missed seeing the Viking settlement and the capital city, St. Johns.
If you go: AdventureCentralNewfoundland.ca
Visit www.bylandersea.com to read more of local travel writer Debi Lander’s stories and travel tips.
Photo courtesy Debi Lander
Gander International Lounge at the Gander Airport.
