Northern Lights
One of the main reasons Jenya and I went to Iceland in February 2018 was to catch the northern lights. The snow storms, cloudy skies, and finicky timing of the aurora conspired to make this difficult. On the second night of our trip we were on the Snaefellsnes peninsula and could almost see a green hue over the horizon but only if we squinted (or Jenya used a very long exposure time on her camera). Cool, but the next night we headed south into a snow storm - and everybody who remained on Snaefellsnes were rewarded with good weather and a spectacular show, happily posting to reddit top-notch photos of the green lights dancing with the stars above. It felt like we were actively avoiding this natural phenomenon. Very frustrating.
This sort of thing continued for the entire first week of our vacation. Amazing sight seeing during the days, but clouds above us a night. With only two days left we were all the way near Jökulsárlón. The plan was to wend our way back to Reykjavik (about 400 km) over the next 48 hours. The forecast on the south side of the island was overcast skies. Bummer.
We checked the road conditions and couldn't help but notice the northern route back on the ring road (about 1000 km) was showing somewhat passable routes (as opposed to nothing but icy wasteland up until now). And the weather sites predicted clear skies up there around Lake Mývatn. We hadn't really considered the north half of Iceland as ever being part of this adventure given the distance and arctic danger, but fuck it let's go for it. This was our hail mary pass attempt to try to get our borealis on!
After a quick breakfast of smjör, coffee, meats, and muesli we packed and hit the road by 8am (still dark outside). I turned left onto the highway and headed to the fjords. Long story short, the roads were far worse and far longer than I expected. Ugh. The reports we relied upon were seemingly a bit outdated. However stressed and nervous we were about the conditions the ice didn't really slow us down too much. We did take a few stops to look around, breathe the air, and take pix. Amazing place this Iceland.
The road continued to suck but luckily there were very few other automobiles to avoid. Finally stopped in a small town for gas. They didn't have a WC at the station but there were vague signs pointing to one elsewhere in town. By some miracle we found this oddly modern and pristine rest room on the side of some random empty building near the dock. Felt like playing Myst and discovering a secret chamber.
Back on the road. More snow and crazy landscapes. And reindeer! At one lookout over the waves we thought we may have seen a whale out in the distance, but upon further observation it was likely just a rock out there. We finally pulled away from the switchbacky roads on the coast but the weather didn't really get much better. Around 2pm we got signal again and Jenya booked a room at a place around Mývatn.
This final long push inland toward our destination took us up to higher altitudes and into dense fog which merged with the white sky and white landscape. It was like we were on Venus. We were super enthralled by these alien vistas. Many pictures taken from the moving car. Sometimes I flat out stopped on the road (since there were no other humans for miles) just to go "wow." Kept pushing, and the road never really improved that much. Fine. I continued to enjoy the crazy ass landscape, and more so the fucking falling meteor that burned up right in the sky ahead of me. Holy shit!
Finally near Mývatn around 4pm or so. We made great time, which afforded us a moment to check out a nearby complex of geysers and underground caves where that John/Ygritte love scene in Game of Thrones was filmed. We turned off the main road and spotted a few other cars who were probably there to find the same. Given the meters of snow on the ground it was unclear the layout of this place. We encountered a young American couple also snooping about. They said entrances were largely buried so there's not much exploring to be done.
But while continuing to scan for holes in the ground we encountered some euro-bros emerging from one precarious vent after soaking in the hot waters below for a while. Jenya and I started to inspect this entrance but the rocks were jagged and icy. It was also dark as fuck in there and the headlamp was useless due to the rising steam which also fogged up my glasses. I did descend about 15 feet just to look but I couldn't tell how much further it went. 5 feet? 500 feet? Creeped out, we bailed.
To our hotel (Dimmuborgir Guesthouse) right by the lake. Jenya selected this establishment partly because reviewers commented on the friendly dogs. And one such dog was there snoozing by the reception desk. Our room was in a 6-plex cabin. Due to limited parking I left the car in front of the small structure but a grumpy man complained we were blocking his view of the lake. Fair enough. I moved it further down.
Jenya and I loaded into our tiny but ample quarters and settled in for a second before checking out the grounds and scouting for potential aurora viewing. That aforementioned dog popped outside and followed us around which was totes adorbs. The lake and landscape were quite beautiful but I was getting super cold and in need of food.
Another hotel nearby (Vogafjós) had a restaurant within that sounded interesting. It had a dairy focus, and upon entering we passed the interior stable of cows from which we're about to consume some of their goods. We got a table in the corner with a view of the sunset. How nice. While we waited to order we were served warm, freshly squeezed milk samples. I brought one lactaid on this trip. This was the night to use it.
Back to our hotel. And now we wait. While forming plans about how to haul ass back toward the airport I impatiently looked out the window every ten minutes. The sun was still setting and no sign of anything. Plus the Kp index, which predicts solar wind activity, was not that high. We almost lost hope but around 9:15pm I popped my head out the window and.. it seemed like I could just barely see something. A very faint green crack in the sky.
"Jenya it's happening!" We suited up quickly - donning all the layers we had because it was cold as fuck. I wore one wool hat on my head and another strapped around my face as a makeshift ski mask. I looked like an elephant seal. We ran outside.
Yup. The lights weren't bright but visible to the naked eye and coming from the east. Which, ironically, was the opposite direction of the view I was supposedly blocking with my car earlier. Nevertheless I waved at that grumpy man inside his room and pointed saying "it's here and it's that way!"
Fumbling with Jenya's camera case and tripod we shuffled out to the road in glee as the aurora finally cracked the whole sky open from horizon to horizon. Like somebody finally flicked the switch. Green lights streamed across the whole sky and started doing its dance. We did it! We were actually seeing this shit! Wow. Amazing. Dizzying. Pics galore were taken from the road side and then we aimed for the lake again.
That hotel dog once again appeared from nowhere and joined us to the edge of that small inlet right behind the reception area. The pup jumped me at one point and then got the zoomies, possible freaked out by the extra hat I was wearing over my face (and only revealing my two big predatory eyes). Cute. Jenya clicked away with her camera, trying every angle and draining batteries. Given the excitement we didn't really notice the cold at first.
We trudged further towards the lake but Jenya kept postholing in the deep snow. She cutely fell over at one point (saving the camera instead of herself).
The slithering green snakes above kept fading in and across the sky and fading out again, showing no sign of letting up. But by 10:30pm the fear of frostbite starting winning over the need to behold this natural wonder. Back to our room to warm up and wipe noses. We could still see the persistent aurora dance through the window in our warm room.
We motivated to go back out once more for 15 more minutes of full sky observing. Still incredible. Given the long drive day tomorrow and the relentless cold outside we called it a night, falling to sleep in the warmth and comfort of our bed while watching through the window the writhing electric eels in the heavens slowly fade out.
I had a restless night due to excitement, indigestion, and general vacation dismount anxiety. It was during this breakfast Jenya discovered the astonishing source of the smoky flavors in the local cheeses, as depicted in a previous Totally True Story Tuesday. We hurried to pack up and hit the road as we had a long way to go. A couple hours later we emerged at Godafoss - another amazing waterfall right off the main road and worth checking out.
However while getting her camera ready Jenya couldn't find her really nice, expensive tripod. We jogged our memories and determined we might have left it on the bumper back at the hotel and drove away without it. After inspecting the wonderful falls Jenya called the hotel and, yes, somebody found it in the road and left it in lost-and-found.
Given incoming weather and wanting to be off the road before dinner we didn't really have time to drive all the way back to get the thing. The person at the hotel sounded reluctant but Jenya left them her address on the chance they'd be willing to ship it back to us in Oakland.
More sights and empty icy roads as we hauled ass back south. Felt like we had the whole north of the island to ourselves and maybe a few dozen other people. But within an hour of the city the weather turned bad, all the humans returned to the road, traffic slowed to a crawl, and even at these reduced speeds I almost skidded out on the frozen slush (but regained control of the car before any disaster).
We survived and made it to our hotel in the little town of Vogar near the airport. We had just enough time to patronize the one open food establishment - a kiosk that made pizzas to go. I miraculously didn't lose the pizza while shimmying on wet ice back to the car while being knocked around by strong gusts of wind. Back at the hotel we came to learn that in Iceland they substitute mozzarella with cottage cheese.
Weeks after returning home Jenya got a package in the mail. It was the tripod shipped back by the kind staff at Dimmuborgir! Jenya opened it up and Iceland's trademark sulphurous geyser air wafted out. Awww. Breathing in the scent immediately brought us back to our magic night beneath the northern lights
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