AS: ... in the famous Jules Verne novel, the journey to the center of the world begins in Iceland.
While we are speaking of islands, may I point out that the action in another Jules Verne novel, "The Children of Captain Grant" (known on Antiterra as Microgalaxies, by Captain Grant), begins in Auckland, New Zealand. Also, let me add (for the benefit of Jansy Mello) that Karafuto (Sakhalin) means "the Chinese island" in Japanese.
 
JMAs Vivien Darkbloom observed in his appended notes to "Ada":
"Counter-Fogg: Phileas Fogg, Jules Verne's globetrotter, travelled from West to East".
B.Boyd observed that the words "a doubled ocean" could mean, among other things, "the Atlantic and the Pacific, as marking the east and west boundaries of the Americas and the west and east of Russia (18:01)"
 
Speaking of islands... It seems that "Gavaille" is now much in the news? 
Cf. ADA: "Demon[...] was buying an island in the Gavailles
A real Lisianski Urey (deputy commander of Kruzenshtern's expedition) discovered the island that carries his name in the Hawaiian Chain. It's also in Gavaille (Hawaii) where we find the Laysan island (paired to Lisianski island). Lisiansky himself translated into English his book "A Voyage round the World", published in 1814.
 
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