Around Jan Mayen

As a lot of people have asked for more pictures from Jan Mayen, I thought I'd make a post showing the amazing nature on the island. Enjoy! :-)



Our boat at anchor by Eggøya, the middle of the Jan Mayen island.




Eggøya seen from the ocean.




Crazy rock formations created by constant wind and sand - this is from the top of Eggøya.




Enjoying the view from the top of Eggøya.




Siberian timber (and other trash) that is constantly floating on shore. Unfortunately, it is not usable as it has been soaking too long in the ocean before it drifts ashore.




The moonlandscape. The weirdest thing I have ever hiked in!




My three crew members hiking in the dry sand in the moonlandscape.




The Olonkin city.

 All the 18 people living at Jan Mayen are staying at the military base call Olonkinbyen (the Olonkin city). To call this a "city" is the overstatement of the century! When we sailed by the base when we arrived at the island, we were joking that we were going to go shopping and to the local pub when we arrived. Well, it actually turned out that they had a tiny little shop (Krambua) and in fact, they had a bar that was open Saturdays and Wednesdays. Lucky for us, we arrived on a Friday and got to join the friendly people for a party at the bar the following day!




A few plants are struggling to survive in the artic climate.




A whale posing for us when we were sailing outside the northern part of Jan Mayen.




A puffin flapping its wings and posing for the photografer.




Arch de Triomphe go home!
There are actually several of these along the north east coast of Jan Mayen. When I took this picture, a whale suddenly appeared just to the right (it did unfortunately not make a good picture).





I was lucky to join two bird watchers one afternoon and helping them marking baby polar seagulls and taking blood samples. This little fellow just stood there looking at me after we released him, I guess he was a bit confused and not sure where to go or something?!

 



Check out my new ankle bracelet! :-)



There was actually an earthquake northwest of the Jan Mayen last week, the strongest one in years. Fortunately, no one got hurt, but things had fallen off shelves, loosened from walls etc. Good thing that it did not happen while we were on the top of Beerenberg, as I would have thought it was a volcano eruption or something! :-)