Even the most relaxed gets interested in nature when there is little else to do. I think I must have been interested in geology before I came to Jan Mayen, but now it turned into something else. Once I visited a valley called the Alfred Øien Valley. Somebody had told me that I could happen to find large pieces of Olivine, a gem stone, there. I really looked, but I didn't find any large ones. The hike was nice, though. And I managed to take some nice pictures too. May be you will find them here later.
Jan Mayen may give you a cold first impression and you have to look close to find grass and flowers, well I would believe it is easier to find flowers than grass. I have several times visited Søyla at the northern end of Sørlaguna, Southern Lagoon. The reason why it is so extremely green here, is the birds that nests in the rocky walls above, say no more. I must say that it was extremely pleasing for the eye, just to sit there and look at the grass and the flowers. Such and experience does something with you that never disappears even if it might fade.
As you ought to know, Jan Mayen is a volcanic island. The island was created some 500 000 years ago and is situated at the same ridge of the seafloor as Tristan de Cunha, The Canary Islands and Iceland. Last time there was volcanic activity was in 1972, when lava from several fissures at the north east side of the island created some square km new land. During this summer we got a message from Iceland that signs of a large cloud if ashes had been showing up at satellite photos. We never saw anything to verify this, but I saw large quantities of brown foam at the sea in the same periode and in my humble opinion that could indicate a sub sea eruption.
Walking around at Jan Mayen may give your feet a hard time, as much of the volcanic rock is covered by moss and you may stretch your muscles to the limit before you know it, when those rocks roll away under your feet or if you put you foot through a invisible hole as you walks. So, use very good shoes with good support and don't run in the terrain.
During my first stay at Jan Mayen in 1992, I got the opportunity to go to the top of the islands highest mountain, the volcano Beerenberg. There I could see how smoke still came up, so it isn't dead, it's just sleeping.... This summer I visited it again, but this time there was no smoke.