Iceland, the Ultima Thule in Jorge Luís Borges' poetry.

From Jorge Luís Borges, An Island

1.
To Iceland

Of all the areas of the beautiful earth
that my flesh and its shadow exhausted
you are the remotest and most intimate,
Ultima Thule, Iceland of the ships,
of the tough plow and unwavering rudder,
of the sailormen's outstretched nets,
of that curious afternoon motionless light
that the vague heaven pours out at dawn,
and of the wind seeking  for the lost
sails of the Viking. Sacred Earth,
you that fled from the memories of Germany
and rescued its mythology 
from an iron forest and from its wolf
and from the ship that the gods fear
fabricated by the fingernails of the dead,

For long I've dreamed of you Iceland,
since that morning, when my father
to the child who I am and is still alive
gave a version of the 'Völsunga Saga',
that my penumbra is now deciphering

with the help of a slow dictionary.

When the body comes tired of the man,
when the fire is declining to ashes,
welcome is the resigned learning
of an infinite enterprise; I choosed
your language, the Latin of the North
that reached the steppes and the seas
of one hemisphere and echoed in Byzantium
and on America's virgin shores.
I know that I won't know, but in wait
lie the possible gifts of the search,
not the fruit unattainable by knowledge.
Likewise feel those who quest
the stars or the series of numbers ...

Only love, love the ignorant, Iceland.

2.
Nostalgia for the present

At that precise moment the man told himself:
- Oh what would I not give for the joy
of being at your side in Iceland
in the great unmoving daytime
and of sharing this now
the way one shares music
or the taste of fruit.

At that precise moment
the man was with her in Iceland.

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(to be continued, after the '200 000' th  visitor comes to Ultima Thule)

Stromness, a song in the Orkney Islands

The Orkney Islands played an important role in the "Ultima Thule" northwards rush in the Victorian era. They were by the time 'discovered' as an important step in Pytheas's trip to the far north.

Pytheas of Massilia visited Britain probably sometime between 322 and 285 BC; he described then a northern tip called Orcas. Somewhere further north, he found a heavenly land he called Thule. Maybe he only made it to Norway or the Shetland islands, or did he go really far into the Arctic ? Anyway, the Orkneys were an important call in his arctic demand.

Three centuries after,  writing in the 1st century AD, the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela is the first to name the Orcades, which he finally defines and locates correctly.

'Old Man', Hoy, Orkney Islands

Stromness, the second largest town in mainland Orkney, is charming with fine unique architecture and winding streets.

Coordinates:  58.9°N, 2.9°W
Population:  ~ 2 200

A distinctive seafront - piers and a forest of chimneys over terraces of houses, enclosing spaces and sheltering from the wind. Two buildings emerge above the rest - the Town Hall tower and the Parish Church.

Typical houses are rectangular with gables looking towards the sea or the harbour. Many had a private pier, or 'noust' - some still do.

The port's sandstone jetties follow the shoreline:

Houses and shops nestle beside each other as they have for centuries.

The best view is from the ferry, as he approaches Hamnavoe harbour.

Quaint closes and narrow old streets, lanes and alleys huddled between stone buildings - so is Stromness.

The main street changes name as it winds and waves along the shoreline, often just one dwelling off the water’s edge  - Victoria Street, Dundas Street, Alfred Street.

Victoria Street, the Town Hall tower in the distance.

'Northlight Studio' blue art gallery, on meandering Dundas Street.

Melvin place

View from the Royal Hotel, Victoria Street.

House with 'noust'

The old North Church is now the Town Hall.

Stromness Hotel, on pierhead.

On the right side, the Lifeboat Station.

The safe harbour of Hamnavoe

Houses clustered tightly on the shores of Hamnavoe harbour.

By 1590, Stromness had established itself as a seaport. In the 17th cent. most of the people were in some way connected with the ships and the sea.

The 'Hamnavoe' ferry docks at Stromness, his home port (from a window of the Piers Art Centre).

The Piers Art Centre

This was the most important architecture project in Stromness waterfront in recent years. The old Hudson Bay "Haven" outpost was renovated, together with another old gabled house; and both received company of a new building. The Piers Art Centre was born, and changed also Stromness cultural life.

The Centre is housed in two 18th century buildings. Now a contextual building joins these gable ends facing onto the harbour. The complex is a modern and interesting art gallery.

Stromness hosts a number of artists and craftspeople; the now famous Pier Arts Centre offers a substantial gallery for artwork.

This centre displays a permanent art collection, but it is also used for itinerant exhibitions,which change during the seasons.

Some Shopping...

Stromness Books & Prints, 1 Graham Place - just books.

A precious shop: Waterfront Gallery, Dundas street

A Waterfront Gallery window's decoration; at left, a rectangular glasswork pictures the winding main street...

Argo's Bakery, since 1940

Stromness can evidently be a feast for the eyes:

In the warm morning light

Some History

As late as 1642, Stromness still consisted of five or six houses and a few thatched huts. From the earliest habitation of Orkney, the sheltered Hamnavoe would have been a favoured fishing spot for fishermen from the nearby farming communities. Norsemen named the bay Hamnavoe (hamna meaning small islands; voe meaning inlet). The modern name of Stromness reflects the meeting of sea and land: strom meaning tidal stream and ness, being the peninsula of land which protrudes to the south, creating the sheltered bay.

Stromness flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries as a result of increased trade with the New World. From around 1702 the Hudson's Bay Company began recruiting in Stromness, and by 1791 had appointed a Stromness merchant as their local agent. By the end of the 18th century, three-quarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's workforce in Canada was made up of Orcadians.

In the Napoleonic era (19th cent.), Stromness strengthened its position as an international trading and servicing port from a safe harbour to the Americas and mainland Europe. Distilleries, shops and taverns boomed, establishing a thriving main street. The ships of the Hudson's Bay Company watered and took on stores in Stromness until the early 1900s.

The buildings crowded around the harbour. Most of the houses were built gable end on to the street and the sea, with narrow closes in between. The larger houses were built above the town by wealthy merchants and sea captains in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The song:  Farewell to Stromness
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NEXT: hopefully, a celebratory post, as 'Ultima Thule' reaches the 200 000 counted visits !

Soon, a mythical line will be crossed !

Yes, the counter is ticking and this keeps approaching...

 

I 'll make a special post as that moment arrives.

Kotzebue, Alaska:- a mark in the Northwest Passage with a view to the Chukchi Sea

Kotzebue (Qikiqtaġruk in Inupiaq) is a town in Northwest Arctic Alaska, on the shores of the Chukchi Sea, just 53 km north of the arctic circle. 

Kotzebue lies on a gravel spit at the end of the Baldwin Peninsula in the Kotzebue Sound.

The "Kotzebue Sound" was named after Otto von Kotzebue, a baltic german navigator who explored the sound while searching for the Northwest Passage in the service of Russia in 1818. 

Surrounded on three sides by sea water, the town is inserted in a dreamlike waterworld - where lagoons, rivers, and the ocean swirl into one.

Fishing in paradise: the Noatak river

Through the tundra hinterland, the magnificent Noatak river flows in meanders. Kayaking or canoeing is perfect adventure here, from the low coastal tundra up to the Brooks Range, with great mountain scenery.

Although the town is located on a gravel spit encased by small hills and tundra, snow capped mountains can be seen in the background.

Aerial view: the shoreline on the left, the airfield low right, surrounded by the frozen Chukchi Sea. 

Kotzebue is the largest native settlement in Alaska,  53 km north of the Arctic Circle.

Population    3 237, mostly Inupiaq people
Coordinates  66°53′N, 162°35′W

'First street' in rush hour

Front street, or Shoreline Avenue - the Rotman stores ( furs, parkas, crafts).

Front Street has been improved after destruction by sea storms and sea ice; the seafront wall was reinforced and some embellishment was also provided.

The most characteristic waterfront sight of Kotzebue.

Terrace to the Chukchi sea - maybe a view to the far-east siberian coast.

Russia is just over 300 km due west.

Fairly decent NANA owned hotel, the Nullagvik also has been improved. 

The Post Office, in Kotzebue since 1899, also known as Eskimo House

'Bayside' restaurant, the best view in town.

'Otto's Pizza', in a typical 2-stage wooden cabin.

There are two coffee shops, 'Arctic Blues Espresso' and the 'Big Dipper', the place to find the local newspaper.

'The Big Dipper', Espresso

Kotzebue can hardly be anyone's wonderful Ultima Thule ; but there's no denying a certain special charm to this small arctic town: the attractive sensation of "end of the world", following a difficult access, the extraordinary views - west to the Chukchi sea and Russia, east to mountain ranges - the unforgettable sunsets, and some local things unique, all justify a report in this blog of mine. Despite the snowstorms, the frozen ocean, the spring mosquito plague...

A stroll along waterfront Shore Avenue reveals also the old wooden houses laced with caribou antler.

Like an ex-libris

The City Hall entrance

Kotzebue has a subarctic climate , with long, heavy snowed, and very cold winters, and short, mild summers. Monthly daily average temperatures range from −19.7 °C in February to 12.6 °C in July.

The NANA corporation, a native cooperative to coordinate investments in the surrounding region.

Kotzebue High School - arctic classes in dim light

Recently built , the new 'Northwest Arctic Heritage Center' is a museum dedicated to native people and nature heritage.

An art gallery also recently opened - the Sulianich Art Gallery - displays art nd craft from local artists:

'Birch Basket', Sulianich Art Gallery

New residencial area, blue tone dominating.

Sunsets at the Chukchi sea are one of the local wonders.

Bush Pilots

Bush flying means aircraft operations carried out in remote, inhospitable regions of the world. These flights are often the only way of delivering food, medicine and supplies, and the primary method of access to northern Alaska. Planes are equipped with tundra tires, skis or floats in order land without airstrips. To reach the surrounding villages outside of Kotzebue, bush pilots are your only option. The land up here is wide open, no roads, fences, and other signs of civilization.

The small Kotzebue airstrip is the hub for small plane flights to the villages around, and the only regular connection to the southern larger cities.

There are three flights a day in a loop of Anchorage, Kotzebue, and Nome. However, cancellations due to wind are frequent, and they run full passenger planes as needed to make up for the backlog.

http://www.axua.com/TheDefinitiveGuidetoKotzebue.htm
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The fabulous nature around Kotzebue

The Noatak National Preserve and the Brooks Range

Low Noatak river, meandering through the tundra, ends in a large delta at Kotzebue Sound.

Canoeing on the Noatak

The Noatak River basin has been declared National Preserve, to protect a wilderness of moist tundra, boreal forest and alpine mountain that is practically untouched by men: no roads, no industry. It was declared a National Monument in 1978.

Wildlife of the Noatak tundra includes moose, bears, wolves, arctic foxes, loons, geese, hawks, gyrfalcons, eagles, and vast herds of caribou numbering more than 500 000 individuals.

Noatak river valley drains the Brooks Range

Must be one of the most beautiful rivers in the world !

Caribou crossing.

Mountain reflection on the Noatak

During the last glaciation, the area's higher regions were covered by ice, as this splendid glacial valley shows. The Noatak flows the same way an ice cap glacier did before.

Driftwood by the shore of Kotzebue, the sun setting over the russian east coast.

http://kotzpdweb.tripod.com/city/