The Magic of the Northern Lights in Iceland

You know I like to do things in chronological order, but I'm just going to cut to the chase here.  

On our last night in Iceland, we saw the Northern Lights!!! Pinch me.  I can't even believe it.  

I planned our trip down to every detail and everything worked to plan.
However, I knew that seeing the Northern Lights was completely up to chance
and I didn't want to get my hopes up.  If we saw them, great!  If not, then maybe next time.

So, I didn't really think much about them.  Right before we left I took a peak at a forecast website and saw that we might have a slim chance while we were there.  I printed out some instructions on how to photograph them.
I packed my tripod and my remote for the camera.  Still, I didn't want to get my hopes up.

Each day we would walk by the hotel reception and see the signs for the Northern Lights Tours.
We knew that we had a ridiculously early flight in the morning and should get to bed early.  We knew that chances were we wouldn't even see anything.  It was extra money that we hadn't really budgeted.
It meant 3-4 hours of standing in a freezing field in the dark. 
Do we take a chance?

We're in Iceland.  We'd be crazy not to.

Wow!   Where do I even start?  It was the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed.

We opted for the 7:30 tour with Reykjakic Excursions.
The tour was 5,400 ISK or about £30 per person. They picked us up at our hotel.
We boarded a small bus and headed South towards the airport to see what we could see.

Our guide was the very exhuberant and wonderful Ragga.  She told us that the previous night had been pretty amazing and she was hoping for another great night.  She explained the phenomenon of the Northern Lights and told us what to look out for.  We were instructed to shout out if we saw anything.

Aurora Borealis don't usually look like the bright green ribbons that you see in photographs.

The color shows up after a 20 second exposure of a camera lens.  To the naked eye, it often just looks white or greyish.  A few of us pointed out a spot over the horizon to our right and Ragga confirmed our sighting.
That was indeed the Northern Lights making an initial appearance.  This was a good sign.

Our driver turned off the main road and headed away from the city lights.  We parked in a field and all piled out of the van with our camera gear.  I basically handed Matt the instructions and the camera and said "You do it."
(When the camera is on Manual, I might as well have a cantaloupe in my hand.  I just can't get it.) 

And here's an important tip.  Figure out how to use your new tripod before you are in a dark field with frozen fingers.  One of the locals came over to offer us assistance.   He was adorable and even tried to get into the van.

 
Once we knew what we were looking for, the lights were pretty easy to spot.
They were mostly greyish but when they really got going you could see the tinge of green.
The colors that appear are based on how high up in the atmosphere whatever is happening happens.
(Do you like that technical explanation?)

The most common color is green, but Ragga teased us with the possible sightings of more elusive colors.
Pink, purple, yellow, blue and red.  Things were looking promising for something other than green.
As the lights show slowed down in this spot, we loaded back up into the van to get warm and head to another spot.

At the second location, the clouds were clearing and you could really see the lights all around us.
A streak across the sky in one direction.  Wide bands of greenish light extending across the sky directly overhead.
In another direction, a line of vertical lights marching across the sky like soldiers.

By now Matt and I were getting the hang of the camera.  These photos aren't great
but I'm just thrilled that we even got them!  It was so exciting to see them on the camera display. 
And the green color was now definitely visible to the naked eye.

 We were on the early tour on a small bus, the later tours were about an hour behind us.
Word must have gotten out as to the views we were getting, because soon two big, honkin' buses showed up.
A hundred people piled out of the buses and into the field, eagerly setting up their tripods to capture the show.

By this time we had some great shots and were pretty smug happy with how lucky we had been.
Plus, body parts were starting to go numb from the freezing temperature.
We got back into our van and left the buses as the light show started to die down.
I could not have been happier with what I'd seen.  Little did I know, Iceland had a little finale planned for us.

We were back on the main road heading to Reykjavik and a warm bed.
I couldn't help but notice a very bright band of activity off to our right that seemed to extend forever.
The radio on the bus started to buzz with activity.

Ragga said "I think we should pull over.  Something is definitely happening over here."
We pulled off onto a very well-lit roundabout right off of the highway.
Even with all of the street lights, the activity was so visible.  We just put the camera on auto and clicked away.

Things slowed down again so we packed up all of our camera gear and were getting ready to leave.

Suddenly, the lights kicked off again directly above us.  We were fumbling to get everything back out.

About that time, three buses pulled up next to us just in time for the crescendo.

 We forgot about getting a photograph and just experienced the moment.

It was like a scene out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

People standing about, staring up into the sky with mouths agape, voices exclaiming in wonder.

It's so hard to describe but I'll try.  It was like a curtain spread out before us.  The curtain  was made of little mirrors and pieces of glass reflecting bright colors.  The green that we expected but also some pinks and purples.  Everything was moving and changing.  It seemed as if a wind was blowing across the curtain and setting everything ashimmer.  Now I know why they say that the lights dance.  They were definitely dancing and i wanted to dance with them.

Without looking away, I kept touching Matt's arm and saying "Oh my God.  Do you see them?  Do  you see them?"

In classic Matt, he said "I'm standing right here."  Most of us were in tears and breaking out in goosebumps.

It was pure magic.  I sound so dramatic, don't I?

Reading this back, I feel a bit silly and inadequate in my recollection.

But, I don't ever want to forget what it looked like and felt like.

This is now my top Travel Moment!

Ragga was kind enough to send me some photos that she took that night.

The one of the goat and this one.  I wish our photos were as good as hers.

Everything is sharp and she captured the twinkling stars.

She was absolutely giddy that night and it was so contagious.

She declared it one of the best nights she's experienced in the two years that she's been guiding these tours.

She happily claimed tears and goosebumps, too.

Travel in Iceland isn't about historical buildings and man made wonders.

It's all about the earth and nature.  It's about  geysirs and waterfalls.

Bubbling earth and lava flows. Glaciers and mountains.  Ice and snow.

Black sand and green moss.  And magical light shows against a black sky.

I know I sound like I'm being dramatic.  But, I've never seen a more dramatic place than Iceland.

I can't wait to tell you more about our time there.

Have you experienced the Northern Lights?  I'd love to hear about it.

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