Two weeks ago, a friend and I took a short trip to Iceland to find the elusive Northern Lights. Our first night there, the tour (a boat ride away from the city) to find the lights was cancelled. The second night we were able to take our tour. This was a bus ride away from the city, but we had no luck.
The next day we visited the Northern Lights Museum and discovered why we hadn't seen the lights.
They keep them locked up in storage.
That night we had a jeep tour, stopping in three places until we could find the best spot. At one time we rode up a road that had many so turns and bumps that if I hadn't been wearing my seatbelt I probably would have been thrown from the car.
We were successful! The lights were turned on, faintly, but they were on.
These pictures aren't the best, but they are the best my camera can take. I was very fortunate that the tour leader/driver/photographer made some adjustments to my camera so I was able to get these shots.
This is what the lights look like with a good camera taken by the tour leader. Now that I compare the two, mine isn't that bad, but there is a lot of "noise" in the picture.
This next photo is of me and my friend, taken by the tour leader. It wasn't too cold, but maybe it was because we were so bundled up.
While we were waiting, we were treated to a cup of hot chocolate with a little kick. They added a bit of vodka to the hot chocolate. Very nice! Just perfect for a cold winter's day or night.
Iceland is a very rugged country - lava fields, glaciers, geysers. But it is also a very beautiful country. We did a lot of walking in Reykjavik and took a bus tour to see a wonderful waterfall, the geysers and a glacier. My friend who is much braver than I actually walked on the glacier. I had gotten all dressed for it - crampons and ice axe, but decided against it at the last minute. Fortunately, there was another woman in the group who didn't think she could make it, so I generously offered to stay back and keep her company.
This was a wonderful trip and I hope to go again, maybe in the summer.
When we got home, we were greeted by the cold, cold night at JFK. It wasn't this cold in Iceland. I had parked my car in a long term parking lot by the airport and I dreaded getting into it since it had been outside for a few days in the cold. Much to my surprise and delight, the parking lot attendants had my car running with the heater on full blast when we got to the lot. It was so toasty warm. What a wonderful end to a wonderful trip.
1 comment:
Sounds wonderful.
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