Iceberg Alley

While at the Fogo Island Inn, we hiked, toured, met with craftspeople and fishermen, and even did a little foraging along the shoreline. But without question, the most exciting activity of our stay was heading into the open sea to view the icebergs that drift by the island, carried on the Labrador Current. Most 
of them break off from 
the enormous Greenland ice sheet. Once caught 
by the current, they form 
a steady procession 
along a route known as “Iceberg Alley,” with the prime season being late May through June.

From the floor-to-ceiling windows of our room, we could spot icebergs in the distance, floating like phantom ships. Out in a small boat, however, we could quickly see that white ice was infused with streaks and dashes of blue and blue-green, which glowed with a neon-like intensity as a result of the refraction of light. Our captain brought us close enough to confirm that the majority of an iceberg — about 90 percent of it — does indeed lie beneath the surface. Back at the inn, we made sure to order our cocktails with iceberg ice, which gives off a distinctive crackly pop as it melts.