(Post 3 of 3)

Meet Jan Mayen’s nurse, Siw Landro. She arrived in March of 2015 after years of dreaming about this place.
Siw was born and raised in #longyearbyen, #svalbard. Her father worked for the coal mine there, and her mother had a laundry.

Siw has a partner and family back home, but Jan Mayen is heaven to her.

She’s particularly fond of the volcano, which she calls Mr. Beerenberg. He’s moody, she says, but “he almost makes my husband jealous. I get goosebumps just looking at him.” “Mr. Beerenberg is the most handsome man I ever saw.” As the nurse tending to 17 healthy people, Siw has a wide range of other duties. She looks after the library, wine cellar, gift shop, medicines, and dentist equipment (a dentist flies in periodically). She also takes care of tourist ships (there have been five in the last four months) and cleans the bathrooms.

Finally, she is the person everyone turns to when they need to talk. She is easy to open up to, and she guarantees confidentiality. What does she talk about with people? “If you have ever been to a family dinner and Chrsitmas or Easter, you get the picture.” If you ever get to Jan Mayen, look for Siw out walking the hills.