Page 15 - 2003 SVALBARD, NORWAY

over the mountains and glaciers before reaching Longyearbyen

and its airport completed in l975.

The City of Longyearbyen

Upon landing, completely breathless with the panoramas we had
just seen, we were met by Lindblad folks who loaded us on busses

(after taking our passports from us) to have a “city tour” given by
a 23 year old native of the little outpost. 1700 folks live in this

strange little town, present because of the coal deposits but also
because Norway wants a presence in this protectorate area. The

coal has never been mined for a profit; instead the mines are
always operated at a loss to the government of Norway. The
region’s governor who is an appointee of the Norwegian

government lives in this little town and is the real power here--
over ecology and environment, business practices, all legal

matters public or private and infrastructure.