Island Travel Nurse

  We didn't wake up this morning, we came to. Set in the middle of the North Atlantic, 38km (23mi) from Shetland and 43km (27mi) from Orkney, Fair Isle is as far away from civilization as it’s possible to get in the British Isles. Measuring barely five kilometers across and two kilometers wide, the island is home to a tiny permanent population of just 45 people. In fact, it’s the most remote inhabited place in the UK. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif)

  Wild Swimming At North Haven Tractor Training View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif)  Sheep Roundup:

Chilling Welcome After greeting Sarah and Pam at the airport, I had time to jump in the ice pool — spectacular waves crashing over the sea walls made for some icy H2OMG! Let’s Go Island Hopping The only true way to “Island Hop” in Shetland is by plane. Sure, there's a ferry — but a 25-minute flight beats 2.5 hours of choppy seas. Shetland Views Rugged cliffs and sea-spray – the coast here is raw beauty, every angle worth capturing. One Last Look Before leaving, we took one last gaze at the wild coastline. It's not just a trip — it's a feeling.

   "Burning body fat without exercising! Put me in coach." The Primal Blueprint Conditioning  my brain and my body to accept, endure and embrace cold water immersion may be challenging, but the health benefits in both the short- and long-run are well worth it.  Here is my story: I was thinking  how our overheated Scottie dog Skyelark extended  her tongue to generate an evaporative cooling effect in the South Carolina Summer heat. Then, Bam:I goggled it---that's how they stay cool. It's called cold thermogenesis. So here I am in the sub Arctic circle, on Britian's most remote inhabited island, Fair Isle, with all this cold water. Suddenly Wim Hoff, The Iceman gets pushed to  my news feed and I read: A few minutes of COLD Water Therapy can dramatically accelerate the natural, homeostatic cooling process. Hmmm. tell me more....I went to his website . There it was written in ALL CAPS GRANDPA STYLE: OVER TIME, WE AS HUMANS HAVE DEVELOPED A DIFFERENT ATTITUD...

Full Speed Ahead- Planning is everything but the plan means nothing. Flights on weather hold this week- so made another plan- Ferry transit to Shetland

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif)

  I was asked today, "Who is the most important person I ever met?" I answered: "That mountain." Paying attention  to life here at all scales, I obviously can see these big mountians but it is the little moss that grows on them that fascinates too.  Mosses, to be sure, are scientifically impressive beyond measure — the amphibians of vegetation, they were among the first plants to emerge from the ocean and conquer the land. But beyond their scientific notoriety, mosses possess a kind of lyrical splendor that  Fair Isle unravels with enchanting elegance — splendor that has to do with what these tiny organisms teach us about the art of seeing.  Gathering Moss Mosses  number some 22,000 species and  they inhabit nearly every ecosystem on earth and grow in places as diverse as the branch of an oak and the back of a beetle.  I look at all this vastness and return to all this smallness, the magic of moss-an extraordinary celebration of smallness and the ...