JodockWorldTravel

August 14, 2025

We woke this morning to a string of texts from Ken’s family debating which of the following two sunsets was best – the first one having occurred in Texas as a storm was rolling in; the second in Arizona. We’ll let you decide, since I don’t think they ever did.

Meanwhile, we were greeted with this view…In case you can’t tell, that’s fog on the horizon, There’s a town beyond it somewhere, but you would never know it from this vantage point,

Nevertheless, after two days at sea we are incredibly happy to be in Norway. This Kingdom of 5.6 million people has the singular distinction of continually ranking as one of the happiest countries in the world while also being home to the town of Hell, a small village in the central part of the country. Modern and ancient skiing were invented here (the oldest preserved ski ever found was found in Norway and estimated to be 2,300 years old!), and in 1925 Norway gave the world the cheese slicer . It’s also the country that introduced salmon sushi to Japan! The Japanese invented sushi, but had never used salmon in it until the 1980s, when a Norwegian delegation suggested they do so. Today salmon sushi is one of Japan’s most popular dishes. On a more serious note, Norway is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO and the European Free Trade Association, and it’s capital, Oslo, is home of the Nobel Peace Prize. According to the World Bank, Norway has the fourth highest income per capita. If you don’t believe them you can check it out yourself. The income and wealth of all residents is public record. Every year each individual’s annual income, income tax paid, and total wealth are published and searchable by anyone – no special credentials required. It is thought that doing so makes tax evasion more difficult.

Despite all these bragging rights, Norway is a very humble and grateful nation. Every year the city of Oslo sends Britain a Christmas tree to thank them for their help defeating a Nazi invasion of Norway during WWII. And they don’t send just any ol’ Christmas tree – every year Norway sends the tree that graces Trafalgar square.

We will be in Norway for the remainder of our cruise, starting with a tiny little coal mining town originally founded by an American. In 1906 American John Munro Longyear established the Arctic Coal Company in what was then known as the town of Longyear. Ten years later he would sell the company to a Norwegian mining company, but the town name stuck. Longyearbyen simply means Longyear City. Throughout its history it has primarily been a company town, home to eight prolific coal mines and the families who worked them. All of the mines have since shut down – the final closure happening the end of last month – and the town has turned to other revenue sources, including tourism and scientific research.

The University Center of Svalbard is a hub of scientific research and offers its 300 students Bachelor, Master and Doctorate degrees in all Arctic disciplines, including biology, geology, geophysics, technology/environmental technology and safety. Only half the student body is Norwegian.

Despite being one of the most inhospitable places on earth this town of 2,400 boasts an incredibly diverse population representing more than 53 different countries. But this is not the kind of place people are born and raised and live in until they die. In fact, it’s against the law to be born here or to die here – no kidding! The average person stays here about seven years.

There are no medial facilities to accommodate a live birth so women are required by law to leave the island at the start of their third trimester of pregnancy. As for the prohibition against death, it should really read that it’s illegal to be buried here, but when the law was written in the 1950s it said it is illegal to die, and so it is. This is because in the 1950s researchers discovered that the freezing temperatures had kept the bodies of those who had been buried here from decomposing. Making matters worse, they found that those who had died of tuberculosis still carried the live disease in their non-decomposed bodies, putting those who were still alive at risk of another epidemic.

Here’s another fun fact: cats are completely banned! This is because they are a threat to the birds of the island, who make their nests on the ground because – another fun fact – there are absolutely NO trees on Longyearbyen. The town is far above the arctic tree line. The ground is permanently frozen, making it impossible for tree roots to grow.

This also explains why the entire town is built on stilts. The permafrost is anywhere from thirty to one-hundred-thirty feet deep, with an active layer that melts every summer. The stilts keep the buildings safe from the active layer so buildings don’t sink or flood when temperatures rise.

Today we got to explore the ancient art of dogsledding. Back in the day this was the preferred way to get around in the wintertime. Today everyone and his brother owns a snowmobile – they are EVERYWHERE! A favorite past-time is to load the snowmobiles up after work on Friday night and head out for a weekend adventure with family and friends in the Arctic wilderness. But that wasn’t always the case. Dogsledding originated about 1,000 years ago in what is now the Canadian Arctic, invented by the Inuits who discovered dogs handle cold and snow much better than horses. New France even used dog teams during the Seven Year War in what is now Quebec!

First we got suited up…

Then we headed out to the camp to meet the dogs and learn the fine are of dogsledding. Basecamp explorer is home to 85 dogs, half of which are male and half of which are female. The dogs are divided by gender, with a special area for those girls who are in heat. Basecamp doesn’t spay or neuter their dogs because they believe it affects their personality and can create health issues. Each dog has his/her own house with a wool blanket on the inside and a reindeer antler attached to the outside for them to chew on. The houses are distanced so that each dog has his/her own territory.

Basecamp uses only Alaskan Huskies. They are not purebreds, but sort of the Heinz-57, as Pam’s dad would say, of sledding dogs. They are a combination of a variety of breeds that seems to result in the best dogs for sledding in terms of temperament, strength and stamina. They are very social, love living in groups, easy to train and very loyal. Our first task, before doing anything else, was to say hello to them.

Our guide, Matthew, explained that we would be hooking up and driving our own team of dogs. He introduced us to the basket sleds we would be using, and showed us the importance of hooking their collars first to the front, and then connecting the harness at the rear. He had told us how much the dogs love pulling the sleds, and at one point he had to stop talking as they proved it. They all began howling in unison until Matt could no longer talk over them. It was hilarious, and pretty cool.

Lessons over it was time for us to find, greet and harness our dogs. Each dog’s house has their name on it, and each row of houses is numbered. We were given the name and location of each of our six dogs one by one. We greeted them, put their harness on and attached them to the sled. They were very friendly and excited to be going! ALL of the dogs wanted to be the one chosen to go, and it was hard to tell some of them no.

After harnesses were checked and lines straightened we were off.

It’s a good thing Matt gave us these suits and boots – it turns out dogsledding is not exactly a white glove job! Ken was very grateful Pam agreed to let him drive. Her coat is not zipped up to her nose because it’s cold – it’s to keep mud from flying into her mouth! Ewwww! It’s easy to understand why people here take their shoes off before entering their homes or a restaurant.

We stopped twice to water the dogs. They do not have the same cooling mechanisms as humans, and when they’re working so hard in what are for them such warm temperatures (about 45 degrees) it’s important to keep them hydrated.

Dogsledding is a big past-time here. There are several kennels, and as we mushed our way down the road we could hear dogs howling and barking all along the way. We passed a couple of the kennels where townspeople keep their own teams of dogs. When we reached the halfway point another guide helped turn the dogs around.

We enjoyed our day with the dogs, but neither of us would like to do this on a regular basis. It’s a bit of a desolate existence. The camp is located about six miles outside of town. Matt lives in the hut in the picture below with no electricity or running water, the ground here has an icky smell (Matt says when he visits his mom, he can wash his clothes every day for seven days and she still tells him, “You stink!” 😂), the sun doesn’t rise for four months of the year, it snows for seven and this is a really dirty job. Add to that the scenery on a day like today and it’s hard for people like us to see the draw. But people like Matt love it. He is from the Czech Republic and said he fell in love with the fjords and seven glaciers that surround Longyearbyen. He’d never seen anything like it at home, and he loves the cold. It’s all yours, Matt!

Just as we were preparing to leave the sun began to break through the clouds. If you look closely you can see the outline of the remains of one of the old coal mines overlooking the camp we visited today, and beyond that some of those snow covered peaks we’ve heard so much about. We’ll be here again tomorrow, and are hoping they’ll be in full view.