From Ny-Ålesund cemetery to Ny-London steampunk
We crossed Kongsfjord from Ny-Ålesund to Ny-London – a marble quarry that went bust. It is an island of marble, but the marble crumbled and turned to gravel by the time it got to Europe, and so, like so many other dreams, it was abandoned. Leaving the buildings, train tracks, and machinery was easier and cheaper than removing anything. Polar steampunk is born. We landed, and I walked, took photos, and finally swam. Well, I went into the water. I stripped under the cliff out of the wind. Walking in up to my waist, I stood for a long few seconds before dipping in up to my neck. I stayed there for another few long seconds and then walked out. My toes and fingers immediately lost feeling.
The water was amazing. Cold, of course, but also almost sweet in its saltiness. Hard to explain. I dressed right away again, and the clothes didn’t stick the way they sometimes do with salt water, though the beads of water froze on my skin. Yesterday, and the day before, were the coldest days, I think.
Steam engine
Spiraled steam power
The last shoe last
Hook and hut – remnants
Scaling the mast
If you’re still cold from that salt water, I know several hot springs near Denio Junction I could recommend to you …
Cheers …
Oh! How amazing it would be to be there now. In fact, I may have to do that this month. xoxo
Beauty in metal-work is unexpected in icy starkness! Where is that hook attached? I wonder if having water droplets freeze on your skin was psychologically jarring in some sense, in the moment. It seems an, “I am here, doing this thing” moment. It would make my ears ring with risk!
The Arctic brings the moment into focus. You can be nowhere else but doing what you are doing when the margins are that slim.