So many Northern Lights last night – mind blowingly brilliant
What a treat we had last night. The most amazing display of Northern Lights … the aurora danced above us for hours. It was spellbindingly wonderful and it included a rare display of a corona aurora directly above us.
First activity of the day was a brisk walk around the Skutustadagigar pseudo-craters, rare formations that look like mini-volcano caldera but are vent holes from lava and water interactions. We hiked in lovely sunshine and a bitter howling gale. The morning was so cold, paths had frozen over and crampons were required. It was a good way to wake up after last night’s lateness. Can’t be said that we are not hardy expeditioners.
Next stop was to Godafoss, a waterfall (yes, another one!) with an interesting story attached. Its name means ‘Waterfall of the Gods’, and it is said that the lawspeaker who decided Iceland would become Christian threw his pagan god statues into falls. The cascades are beautiful, regardless of the story’s veracity.
A long trip through the Highlands and narrow tunnels (in some cases single lane, which makes for interesting passing if encountering on-coming vehicles!) delivered us to Akureyri, the ‘capital of the north’. It is a small, fjord-side town with many quaint corrugated iron buildings. We avoided visiting their ‘famous’ botanic gardens, mainly because all the plants were ‘still sleeping’ as it was Winter. Our gentle stroll around the historic and harbour areas was pleasant. Akureyri was also the place where we had our first Icelandic hot dog experience. Much better than our NYC one.
An attempted museum mutiny failed, and it was good that it did. The idea of visiting a museum about herring (the fish) did not appeal to most of the group. We were persuaded by BG to visit and leave after the guide had done the introduction. Her passion for the now-ceased industry (overfishing and ocean current changes depleted the area’s stocks) was infectious and we thoroughly enjoyed the exhibitions. The small town of Siglufjordur is another pretty town, nestled on the edges of a stunning fjord on Iceland’s northern coast. The snow-capped mountains reach down to the water and the harbour is still active, with trawlers heading out to fish.
A long road trip along winding coastal roads hanging above the North Atlantic, through long tunnels and across wind-swept fields of tussock grass delivered us to the isolated Hofsstadir Guesthouse at the land end of the Skagafjoður fjord. The view was spectacular (I am running out of adjectives to describe the scenery!) Glacial streams weave their way through grasslands that a just beginning to show Spring colour. The ocean’s expanse in the middle distance is slate grey and there are dramatic charcoal-black islands (Drangey, Malmey and Thordarhofoi) rising out of the sea. The steep-sided mountains are still dusted with snow and when the sunlight breaks through the clouds, it adds golden splashes to the monochrome faces.
Another delicious dinner, cooked by the farmer (he is a busy person!), ended the day. We retired to our room, sat by the picture window and enjoyed watching night fall over the fjord. It was too cloudy to expect to see Northern Lights, but who knows? We could get lucky.
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