I added the Northern/Southern Lights to my travel bucket list about 2-3 years ago. The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) can be seen in Norway, Greenland, Iceland, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Scotland, Siberia, Canada and Alaska. The Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) are seen in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. I didn't care about the location, as long as I could witness the naturally occurring phenomenon. In fact, I named my latest car, Aurora, because that's her Roman name and because I aspired to see the Aurora. I started scoping out my options, and found that there were more opportunities in the northern hemisphere versus the southern hemisphere, and they are most visible from late September to early spring. I wanted to plan a trip around my birthday in January, and I looked into various packages. Then, an angel, called Groupon, sent me an alert about a package to Iceland that included hotel, airfare, and the Northern Lights. Bonus: The trip would begin the day after my birthday. Of course, I jumped on that deal. Months later, my friend told me she was interested in going too, so I sent her the Groupon. The price had increased, but it was still inexpensive.
The time came for us to leave, and I was so excited. I packed for the cold weather and I researched how to capture the best images of the Aurora. We arrived in Reykjavik early Monday morning, and we were scheduled for the Northern Lights tour that evening at 8:30. The Customs Officer told us that they were at level orange, and expecting a big storm that day. Iceland has 3 weather alert levels - yellow, orange, and red. That wasn't a good sign, but I remained optimistic. After we checked in the hotel, the reception desk told us to check around 4 or 5pm to confirm that the tour was still happening. We did just that. On night 1, the tour was canceled due to the snow storm. Well, that was disappointing! The tour company included a disclaimer with the package, because we were subject to the elements, so we knew that they would reschedule the tour.
The next day started with hope. Again, there were clouds that prevented us from going. We had 1 more night available before going home. I slept until almost noon. When I finally went downstairs, I saw a sign at the reception desk listing all the tour cancellations. Noooooooo! Not again! The receptionist told me there might be a small chance of seeing the lights at night near the hotel if I walked toward the bay away from the city lights. I went downstairs around 10:30 that night. The receptionist on duty recommended going to the highest floor of the hotel first to catch a glimpse before traipsing outside. I didn't see anything from the hotel, so I walked outside, crossed the street, and arrived at the path around the bay. I saw other people standing there searching for a break in the clouds just like me. I walked back to the hotel disappointed. Another tourist told me that she heard there might be an opportunity early in the morning between 4 and 6 am. I didn't want to leave Iceland without exhausting all possibilities, so I set my alarm for 5:30am. I woke up and dressed for the bitter cold again before walking upstairs. I walked on the outside stairs, and as I approached the 7th floor, my snow boots sank into the fresh snow. That wasn't a good sign. I arrived at the balcony and could barely see the street down below with the wild wind blowing thick white snow all around me. I retreated downstairs and got back into bed.
Next time, Aurora, next time...
 |
| Looking out over the bay |
