TRAVEL
I Was Ecstatic To See The Northern Lights
Yes, this was in Iceland!
I know you guys love stories about Iceland because you told me so. What’s the best story you can tell about Iceland? Anything about the Northern Lights of course!
What are the Northern Lights?
I’m pretty sure everyone is pretty familiar with the Northern Lights or the Aurora Borealis.
For those of you who don’t know, we can describe it as a spectacular light show. The word “spectacular” probably doesn’t even do it enough justice.
We can thank Mother Nature for this. If you’re lucky enough to spot it, you’ll see colourful lights twirling about in the sky. They seem playful.
If you’d like to get a little more technical, these lights are created by disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind.¹ You can see them in the Northern Hemisphere, hence the name Northern Lights.
When we were in Iceland, we asked locals about it. They told us that the best chance of seeing them is if you meet the right combination of weather conditions. You need it to be crisp, cold, and cloudless. ☁️
Of course, it also needs to be dark and away from light pollution. Let me also add that you might need a bit of luck as well!
Maximize your chances of seeing them by choosing to visit Iceland during certain months. If you’re thinking about September to early April, that would be a good choice.
The lights are at their peak in September, so we picked a great month to go.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew you could see them in Iceland, but was it worth it? I’ll find out soon enough. My friends kept saying they wanted to see it so badly and we spent a night or two outside, trying to spot them.
At times, I felt bored and cold and just wanted to go back to rest. I wondered if we would ever see them. I felt like a true Northern Lights chaser.
Then It Happened
We were so lucky, we spotted them twice! The first time, we were in a hot spring laying down at night and just looking at the sky.
Lo and behold, they suddenly appeared! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. There was magic in the sky. Beautiful green and red swirls of light lit up and started dancing. I was hypnotized.
Nobody spoke because we were all in awe. 😱 To lay in a hot spring and see the lights at the same time?
What kind of experience is that? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, that’s for sure!
The second time, we were outside and they honoured us with their presence again. We were driving and suddenly one of my friends gave an excited shout. We immediately stopped the car and just stood in a random area, staring up at the beautiful lights.
I was completely mesmerized by the dancing lights. Nature surely put on a spectacular light show. This is what the Northern Lights were all about? I can say yes 1000 times, it’s worth the wait.
I can’t even find the words to describe it.
We stood there for as long as the lights magically floated in the sky. The patterns and colours changed and danced.
How can anything be so beautiful?
I thought fairies were going to appear. Maybe they were already dancing.
We saw green and red colours, but I’ve heard you can also see purple, blue and pink. I’m still grateful to see them at all, so I’m not picky about the colours.
Incredible Memories
Here is a photo of what I was able to capture. Sadly, my photography skills and lack of equipment prevented me from taking clear pictures of this wondrous phenomenon.
My trip to Iceland was many years ago and I had so many great memories. To this day, it’s still the best trip I’ve ever taken in my life.
And I would go there again in a heartbeat.
Although Iceland is a great place to see the Northern Lights, keep in mind you can also see them in other parts of the world. Even Canada!
On a separate trip to Edmonton, Alberta, I told my friends about my experience in Iceland and how excited I was. I was so eager to share this story with all my friends and family. Do you know what they said?
They said, “Oh, we see them all the time. We just sit in my bedroom and we can see them from the window”. Well then. 😫
They were bored of them because they saw the Northern Lights so often! I was so jealous. I had no other words for them.
I’m looking forward to seeing the lights again in the future. My friends can be bored of seeing them, but I don’t think I’ll ever cease to be amazed.
Where do you think I should go next?
Because there were a lot of people who were very interested in my stories about Iceland, I’m tagging a few people here! I hope you enjoy this!
Sara Larca, Sufyan Maan, M.Eng, Mike Butler, The Sober Vegan Yogi, Sandy Maximus, Gerald Sturgill, Adrienne Beaumont, Michelle Y. Kwak, Osan Fernando, JoAnn Ryan, Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages, Nishan Fuard, Aarti Tailor, Bernie Pullen, Randy Runtsch
Sources
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