Jan Mayen - a glacier covered volcano
Our first views of Jan Mayen were a mostly white mass of snow and ice far in the distance, kind of lost against a grey sky and darker grey ocean. Huge flocks of birds danced in unison just above the horizon far away. It felt kind of surreal.
We’d once again need to zodiac to shore, after just the night before, getting permission from the Norwegian military to visit, so as we approached a protected cove, we got the word that conditions were “workable” and out we went to the island.
We were sort of restricted to a smaller area, but I felt again like I didn’t have enough time. I spent so much time bird watching at the top of a cliff that I didn’t have all the time I wished I could have had to explore other areas. Everything just felt sort of intoxicating, I lost track of time and was obsessively interested in everything. There was just too much to see, too much to photograph, too much to breathe in.
Killer whales cruising the coast of Jan Mayen with us
Whooper swan
At the end of our day on Jan Mayen, I joined the last zodiac back to the ship (because of course I did) with a few others, and we took a little detour cruising up the coast to where some puffins were hanging out on the water and on the cliffs. Our guide was so thoughtful, manouvering us around the puffins so the sun would be at our back for photography, so we’d drift in closer to them. It was just the best, it was so special being so close and at almost eye level with them, watching them disappear between swells. And then it was here we ran out of gas (oh no, how terrible), and it took some time while we switched tanks. Finally we did get fuel flowing from the backup tank and we were back at the ship, all of us even happier for the extra time out, obviously.
Then during dinner, as we continued to sail the coast, gorgeous blue skies opened up over the volcano peaks. It was just like magic, truly. There was an energy you could feel, everyone was so happy and completely amazed.
Northern bottlenose whales
Dinner views
