Coal Miner’s Cabins, Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Whew. End of a long day and time to kick back. Here in Svalbard, they have some special guests who belly up to the bar. Photo @eric_guth
Our Journey
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Longyearbyen, Svalbard
There’s a little visitor’s table set up inside the old mine building. It seems people from all over the world have climbed up to sign their names and feel a bit of the history seeping out of the walls. Photo @eric_guth
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You can see part of the coal city in the background here, at the very far end of Longyearbyen, under the shadow of a glacier. We found bits and pieces of coal all over the slope.
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This is Eric Guth. He’s my co-creator for #meetthenorth this week. He’s the kind of guy who will drag you to the top of an icy slope and convince you to climb across a decaying mine complex just to get to the windy side, which has a better angle. It’s fun having him along, and…
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We’ve arrived in Svalbard’s main centre, Longyearbyen, on the island of Spitsbergen. 78.2200° N, 15.6500° E. We went for the long view this morning and hiked to an abandoned mine on the hillside above town. You always get perspective from up high. From the mine, we glimpsed the history of this place, named after an…
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Spitsbergen, Svalbard
Welcome to Svalbard. Come for the ice, stay for the people. I’ll be exploring life in and out of Longyearbyen with @eric_guth this week.
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Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway
Oslo began with a $150 cab ride, but Abdi made it worth the money. He’s been in Norway for fifteen years and speaks five languages. I heard four of them in the first five minutes: he spoke to the airport staff in Norwegian, greeted me in English, answered a call in Somali, then realized I…
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New friend. Bactrian camel. Unexpected.
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North Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
Alan Fawcett (right) is Mr. Golden Eagle Watch in North Uist, Outer Hebrides. He arrives each spring, finds the nest and spends four months watching, every day, until the chicks fledge. He’s been coming for eight years. Alan’s stake out was three weeks old by the time I met him, and he’d already welcomed 900…
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Looking down to the house where I’m staying on North Uist, Outer Hebrides, right before the next squall comes in. People I’ve met are so rooted to the land, and you can see why. It’s breathtaking.
