A Girl Told About Living on an Island With 4 Volcanoes, and the Internet Was Amazed

Recently a flash mob called “1 Like — 1 Fact” has been started on Twitter. The point is to inspire the users of social media to tell as many facts about their lives as the number of Likes that their post gets.

The story of Elizaveta Davidova became very popular in the framework of this flash mob. For 17 years, she has lived on Kunashir Island in the Pacific ocean. In her Twitter account, the girl shared what it’s like to live in a seismic zone surrounded by volcanoes. She calls Kunashir Island Narnia and it’s difficult not to agree with her.

With the author’s permission, Bright Side wants to share the story of this amazing place with our readers.

About volcanoes and earthquakes



Tyatya volcano (Kunashir Island)

• There are 4 volcanoes on the island and 3 out of them are active. Look how beautiful they are. This is Tyatya and it is active. My village is located near another — Mendeleev volcano. And it is also active. Help!
• The forests of the island and the Tyatya volcano are a territory of bears. That’s why the phrase “Don’t go there. It’s gonna eat you!” is applicable here more than anywhere else.
• Within many years of living here, you stop reacting to earthquakes. We don’t even stop looking at our smartphones if those are barely perceptible tremors begin. But when the whole house starts to shake and pottery starts to fall to the floor, then we jump out of our homes like scared jackrabbits.
• Weak tremors can’t be felt on the street. At all!
• If there have not been strong tremors for a long time and only the ones with the magnitude of 3-4 points, which nobody is afraid of here, it means that in just a short amount of time, there will be a severe earthquake. It has an accumulation system it seems.

• If you want to visit the Moon but your finances don’t let you do it, you can visit fumaroles. The dense evaporation of volcanic gas mixed with fog let you forget that you are on Earth, while the output of sulfur causes the earth to appear yellow.
• My dear Muggles, in my Narnia, the heating of houses works from volcanoes. If you think that it can’t be switched off because a volcano can’t be switched off, you underestimate Russian people.
• Yesterday, there was a plane that came from Sakhalin to our island. It flew around the island 4 times and went back. All because Mendeleev volcano was feeling cold and decided to put on a foggy hat. The plane was hoping for 30 minutes that the fog will dissolve but it didn’t so the plane had to go back.

About animals

• There are horses roaming freely around our village. They peek into the school windows, cross the roads wherever they choose, and, unfortunately, they don’t let anyone pet them.
• There are no poisonous snakes on the island but there are poisonous tarantulas. Welcome!
• I forgot to say that if you happen to get tangled in the seaweed, you should get out as quick as possible. Whaaaaat? Have you never heard of sea fleas? By the way, tarantulas live right on the seashore. FYI.
• We have very strict road patrol! You need to pay one cookie to foxes that like to come out onto the road and any other place where humans can be met.

Steller’s sea eagle

• We don’t have doves. Instead, we have seagulls sharing the territory with crows. Sometimes a big Steller’s sea eagle (reaching a length of 40 in) can appear and take a small seal with it, showing everyone who’s really the boss here. These creatures are really big!
• Bears don’t always hibernate on the island because the climate is different here and rivers don’t freeze so they can catch fresh fish. If there is not enough fish, bears come to the village. They can walk by kindergartens, playgrounds, or stores but their goal is the fish factory. Scary!
• When local fish are going to spawn, they swim upstream, jumping over small waterfalls. You know it’s not a pleasant feeling when you want to swim in the river and a fish comes flying at your face.
• Sometimes when swimming near the shore, the ground can go straight out from under your feet. Oops! That’s not ground, that’s a flatfish! What an embarrassment!

About Japan

• I think you should know that the island is located close to Japan. Very close. On sunny days, Hokkaido island can be seen.
• Japan is located not only in the south but on the west side too. That’s why Japan is considered to be the country of the setting Sun for those living on Kunashir Island instead of the country of the rising Sun as for the rest of the world.
• We have a Japanese house of friendship. Tourists from the country of the rising Sun stay there during their trips and they also give Japanese language lessons for Russian children. But all I know now is how to count to 10 in Japanese.
• The Japanese culture is perfectly reflected on the island. A glazed peanut with a taste of wasabi is not the strangest thing you can find here.

About the weather

• Our village is located on a little hill and I have always enjoyed standing at the edge of the precipice on foggy days. We have very thick fog when nothing can be seen at a distance of 6 ft, so there is literally nothing when I stand at the edge and look down.
• Speaking about tourists. If you come here, you’ll end up staying for a long time. Not because the scenery is incredibly beautiful but because it’s a foggy island and planes don’t fly often because of this. One or 2 hours delay? Try one or 2 weeks.
• Due to the thick fog, the island looks like an unopened location on a game map from a bird’s-eye view.
• The weather on the island knocks people off their feet — literally. The wind can reach speeds up to 125 ft per second. You can look out the window and see someone’s roof or dog flying. Due to the stormy weather, schools have to cancel classes very often.
• Let’s talk about blizzards. Do you remember our strong winds? Well, that’s the speed at which snow flies into our faces. Going outside is impossible, especially without special protective glasses — you just won’t be able to see anything.
• Sometimes there is too much snow in the winter and when I say too much, I mean that people living on the first floor can go outside through their windows because the ground floor is buried under the snow completely. We had to dig our door out one time.

About sights



Cape Stolbchaty (Kunashir Island)

• Our main sight is hot baths. These are thermal springs of the volcanoes, in which we like to swim a lot (in the springs, not in the volcanoes.) To clarify, it’s a hot pool under the open sky.
• There are also magical baths that can be seen only during low tides. The hot spring is located right in the ocean and becomes a pool at low tides.
• We cool down beer in the ocean and heat up food in the thermal springs.
• We also have Cape Stolbchaty, which means “pillar” or “pole.” Why pillar? Because this location mainly consists of pillars.

Boiling Lake (Kunashir Island)

• We also have a wonderful Boiling Lake. Why boiling? Well, because it boils. Also, we have a Hot Lake. You have probably already guessed why it is called hot.
• It’s not only the climate that is unique on our island. Where else can you see magnolia or bamboo growing near a fir tree?
• There is a beach located 8 miles from our village. It is reversed. You might ask why... Well, because the water level reaches a person’s neck when they enter the ocean. But as they move farther, the level of water gradually decreases. And after some time, at the distance of 250 ft from the shore, the water level will hardly reach a person’s feet.

Dear readers! We are curious about what’s happening in your life. If you have ever volunteered in a nursing home, lived in Bangladesh, worked in a Michelin-star restaurant in Paris, or just want to tell the world why it is so important to pick people up at the airport, write an email to hello@adme.ru with the title “My Story” and let the whole world know about your experiences!


Preview photo credit Octopus-Dumbo / twitter

SOURCE: BRIGHTSIDE