As we were having breakfast, we arrived at the Norwegian
Island of Jan Mayen. The FRAM anchored and we went landed at a black volcanic
sand beach. About a 10 minute walk up the dirt road we found the station
buildings. The main purpose of the station is to maintain the radio-navigation
systems that have transmitters on the Island. In addition ornithologists and
geologists also conduct research on the island.
Inside the main building we found a museum with photographs
and artifacts for the whaling days to current times. The building also
contained a small shop with maps and t-shirts for sale. There were also
postcards and stamps for sale and many of us wrote cards and posted them to
friends and relatives. We were told the next outgoing plane flight, with mail,
would be in early August and most of us will be home before the cards reach
their destination.
During most of our time ashore it was windy with light rain
and low clouds. These conditions made photography challenging. As we returned
to the FRAM the sun began to burn through the clouds a bit and as the FRAM
headed northward along the southeast facing coast the clouds thinned and often
parted. These conditions gave us a clear view of the coastal lava beds and the
glaciers that descend from Beerenberg. This volcanic, glacier covered mountain,
has a crater at its peak and the highest point on the crater is 2277m or 7514ft
high. The Captain kindly motored the FRAM along the coast and around the
northernmost tip and this course allowed Uli our geologist and Olav our
glaciologist to explain the features we were seeing. Olav was particularly
enthused as he had worked on Beerenberg soon after the large eruption in 1970.
Eventually we had to leave the peak and Jan Mayen behind as
the FRAM set course for Spitsbergen and we expect to arrive there in the
afternoon, the day after tomorrow.
