Today we visited Jan Mayen Island, a tiny volcanic island in the North Atlantic that is 600 miles west of Norway and 350 miles north of Iceland. It is a territory of Norway, has no native population, and only has 18 rotational people who run the weather and radio stations. The skyline is dominated by the 7470 foot Mt. Beerenberg, which is the northernmost active volcano in the world. We were very lucky to see the summit as it is typically covered in clouds. We hiked up into the hills and the landscape is fairly barren, but there is a fair amount of green vegetation. We saw both the jaw bone of a fin whale and the skull of a Bowhead whale. They are somewhere between 350 and 500 years old! There were lots of birds around; we even were visited by some puffins (well, sort of…)! We are slowly wending our way southwesterly. Let’s see what adventure we encounter tomorrow!
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
