The northern light tour was great!

Initially, we had a few hours where the numbers predicting activity were looking in our favour, but the actual experience was just watching a band of haze and getting extremely cold.

We changed location and ended up back where Luke had taken us earlier today, which was funny. And it was there that the lights started to form.

Certainly long exposure photos are more spectacular, but watching it happen right there is more exciting. The lights are a grey-green band or bands moving up and down, getting thinner and thicker, bright blobs seem to collect together in places, wisps leap up from the band and curl away and horizontal striations form and drop out lower than the band where they started. It moves quickly, and as my eyes adjust even more to the dark (between taking photos) the colour and detail becomes far clearer. Amazing!

These photos are from the tour guide, Rúnar, I will post my own once I get them off my camera

Preview of the northern lights photos. Success!

Luke drove us out to Botnsdalur to walk up to a waterfall. It is at the end of Iceland’s longest fjord, the sun slowly rises as we drive beside the water. The last road towards the walk is very icy and the car sliding around is equal parts exciting and terrifying.

The walk is snowy and beautiful, the smaller waterfalls are frozen and we can’t cross the river to see the larger waterfall. But trekking through the snow and seeing the sun change the colours of the mountains is great.

Then we drive out to our pool of the day, Krauma. When we arrive the snow makes the black buildings stark against the sky and the water vapour rolls down the hill.

On the way back to Reykjavík the setting sun lights up the sky. We pick up the girls from daycare because traffic slowed us down so we get all their day’s stories before getting back to the hotel.

Late tonight we’re heading out on a northern lights tour

Today we set off on a walk to Grótta Island Lighthouse, which is on a peninsula west of Reykjavík. On the way we’re going to another pool, Sundlaug Seltjarnarness.

Along the way we come across the Danish consulate and more colourful houses.

We walk further along the north-facing ocean path which is windy with a view across the water to snowy-icy mountains.

At the pool we move from between the different hot tubs playing Goldilocks and watching the vapour rise into the clear sky.

We start the walk to the lighthouse facing the ocean to the south and watch the sun start to descend back to the horizon

The lighthouse is across a spit, so accessing depends on the tide. As we walk along the spit there are water birds playing right in the shallows.

The lighthouse is extremely windy and the icy ground is slippery, so it’s kind of a cautious shuffle to get up the small rise to sunlit views of the lighthouse.

It’s a bus-ride home and then dinner with Erla and Luke at their place. We even get a portrait of us all – I’ve never looked so good!

Seltjarnarnes, near the Grótta Island Lighthouse. Windy and stunning.