Iceland: Hunt for the Northern Lights

07 Dec 2018
With an optimistic forecast, we headed out on the mini-Titanic-wannabe to chase the Northern Lights. Although the sky was mostly clouded when we left the Old Harbor in Reykjavík, a large window soon opened overhead where we could see dozens of stars shining through. It didn’t take long for cameras to pick up the first glimpses of Northern Lights, but they remained largely invisible to the naked eye. As the clouds continued to close up, hope seemed lost– until the way back, when a green spot of Auroras appeared to the west! It stayed visible for some time, and then faded into oblivion.

08 Dec 2018
The Northern Lights forecast looked promising, so once again we headed out to sea. On a boat. I wouldn’t recommend swimming. Due to freezing water temps. Also, killer whales. Allegedly, they’re not as friendly as Free Willy led us to believe. Since it was the day after new moon, we had high hopes. After about an hour sitting on the top deck, in full snowmobile gear, still frozen like an ice sculpture, the shy Auroras started above the mountain, Hvalfjörður. For the first time evvvvvver- we witnessed the green majestic glow with our naked eye (well, eyes…both of them).