Iceland - Day Three. The Northern Lights.

The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon which I was lucky enough to see on our first trip to Iceland. However on that trip I have to admit I wasn't all that impressed with my experience of the aurora borealis. To me it was just like watching a pale green cloud float across the sky. This meant I wasn't desperate to hunt for them on our second trip. We were tired and wet from our day at the glacier and lagoon so I almost decided to give the Northern Lights trip a miss. At the last minute though (and after a quick nap) I came to my senses and we ran to catch the coach, and I am sure glad we did!

We drove for a good hour or so away from Vik to try and find the best place to watch the Northern Lights finally stopping in a field in the south west of Iceland. And then we were treated to an amazing show.

In the distance a section of the night sky seemed to come to life with dancing, swaying lights. It was hypnotic, and from this experience I realised the lights can be different each time you see them. The first time they had been dull and quite static, but this time I was watching space give me my own personal light show.

For a good 20 minutes we just stood and watched this spectacle, whilst also trying to photograph the phenomenon. If you have never seen the lights there is one important thing I need to point out. When you see photos of the aurora borealis you must remember that a camera lens can take in far more detail than the human eye. This means any photos of the event are brighter and more dramatic than what you may experience. I don't want to put you off, just the opposite. I think I forgot that photos aren't the same as the real thing the first time I saw the lights, which meant I was disappointed in what I did see. Although the second time was 100 times better, keep in mind photos can be misleading. Pretty, but misleading to what you may experience. As proud as I am of these photos they don't fully represent what I saw, which was more fascinating than I can capture on film. But still they are all I have to try and convey what we saw, which in my mind was pure magic.

And then, without any notice a huge section of fog came and hid the lights from our view. We had driven for over an hour, waited for 20 minutes for something to happen and 20 minutes later it was all hidden. The show was still going on but the curtains had been closed on us. So tired but elated we headed back to the hotel.