You all know I have been trying to see the Northern Lights, right? So late Thursday night I got this email alert that there had been a large solar event on 2 April facing away from Earth, but some effects may reach Earth late on the 4 April. The email said to watch the skies for an increase in aurora activity on the nights of 4/5, 5/6 and 6/7.
On Friday morning I checked flights to Iceland and there were two remaining seats, there was also one double room left at our favourite Reykjavik hotel – should I go and try and see the lights, even though April is late for this phenomenon? I rang home to see if my husband was up for the trip and to find out if our adult children would look after our youngest, who is only 10 and, although we would have loved for him to come with us, there were only two seats on the plane left. During the course of the afternoon I swung from thinking this was an outrageous expense and totally ridiculous, to the thought that it was meant to be and that we should go for it. But as this was an early evening flight, at the beginning of half term, would we even make it to the airport in time? I cancelled the seats held. At 5pm my eldest son said he was able to leave work early and would get home for 5:30 to look after our youngest, if the seats were still available I would book it. At 5:29 my colleague handed me my meet & greet ticket for the car park at Gatwick and with my etickets left the office whilst simultaneously texting my husband to pack our bags, grab my camera, ipad and the passports. At 6pm we were headed for the airport – Mums going to Iceland! OK, so I guess this was a little reckless, considering I didn’t even know if we would see the Northern Lights, but we have been to Iceland before and love the city and knew that even if we didn’t catch them, we would have a great break and not only that, we were traveling for the first time in 10 years without children! We arrived at Keflavik and transferred smoothly to Reykjavik by coach (around 50 mins) and after checking into our room, were strolling around the harbour by 11pm. After picking up something to eat (OK it was a kebab) we returned to our room with the bottle of wine we had picked up at the airport.
Saturday morning we woke early and had breakfast, we wanted to make the most of the day so after a stroll around town and a little shopping, we decided on a horse riding excursion to isHestar with Reykjavik Excursions, and the Northern Lights Tour with Iceland Excursions for the evening.
The Icelandic Horse is a pure breed and their history goes back to the 9th century when Iceland was first settled, chosen for their strength and sturdiness they were primarily working animals. Neither of us had ridden for many years and I was a little concerned as I signed the disclaimer and watched the safety video; what if I couldn’t get on, what if I couldn’t stay on, what if I fell off?
We were fitted with our hats and then led through to meet our horses, mine was a lovely copper brown horse and my husbands, a dark brown and white horse worryingly called ‘Gangsta’. We were told to get to know our horses and by the time we had mounted and were being led out in a single file, I already felt comfortable and all fear had dissipated. We broke off into two groups, the experienced riders (all children) and the novices (teenagers and adults).
Our ride took us through the amazing scenery of the area around Hafnarfjordur, where the landscape has been shaped by lava flows. Large craters, caves and black rocks jutting from the earth and covered in moss all with the back drop of the snow covered mountains in the distance, eerily enchanting you are half expecting to see a troll or an elf appear at any moment. During our 2 hour ride it had started to rain and by the time we arrived back at the stables we were wet and cold, but elated and exhilarated by the experience.
Back at the hotel the receptionist informed us that due to the bad weather, the Northern Lights Tour had been cancelled. It was no surprise, considering the rain and we had already resigned ourselves that we would not see the lights this time.
Instead we decided to console ourselves with a blowout dinner at one of the many great places to eat in town. We decided on The Fish Company, located in one of the oldest houses in Reykjavik and known as one of the best seafood restaurants. After a long hot shower to warm up we set off for dinner and as we passed through reception were told that the Northern Lights Tours was back on! We had plenty of time and enjoyed our dinner all the more thinking that we still may have a chance to see the lights. So, the time had come. Would we, or would we not catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis? The coach left Reykjavik at 9pm and our excitement started to build. The wet and windy day seemed to have settled into a mild evening and the moon was just about visible through a light cloud cover .
As the coach slowly made its way, our tour guide explained in his calm and lilting voice about the elusive nature of the northern lights. How ancient people thought they were spirits dancing and trying to communicate with mortals, or that they were a sign from God. Scientifically speaking though, the lights can be explained by the collision of charged particles into the Earth’s atmosphere following a solar event. The guide did not want to raise our hopes, but there were signs that that the lights would be active… As we arrived at our destination we were told we could warm up in the restaurant with a hot drink and cake, but we were too excited and didn’t want to miss any opportunity so headed straight to an area facing north. I must say I wasn’t too hopeful at this point, as it still seemed too cloudy, but the clouds started to separate and the moon and stars became clearer. There was a hush around us as photographers prepared their cameras while we were still trying desperately to work out how to take a long exposure on our digital. I glanced upwards and saw a milky line start to form in the sky, this line started to sharpen and I nudged my husband and asked him if he thought this might be something, as we debated the guides began running up and down and telling us that this was indeed the start of the activity and for us to keep watching as this was a sign that the lights were coming. For the next couple of hours we watched as the Northern Lights intensified and danced before us, it was not a particularly strong display but you could definitely see the green hue of light and the godlight, shards of light emanating from nowhere and reaching towards us, it was magical and the perfect culmination to a crazy weekend break!
We traveled to Iceland this time on WOW Air a low cost airline, better booked in advance. Check our website for ideas on exploring Iceland including Northern Lights, Glacier Walking, Wildlife, Horseriding and Volcanoes or call us on 01932 866565!
