Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.01.2018, Side 48

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It had been a long day when we
boarded the minibus to venture
out into the darkness of the Icelan-
dic winter in search of the north-
ern lights. Indeed, the prospect of
gorging ourselves at the Laugar-
vatn Fontana’s restaurant, before
baking in their geothermal mineral
pools to the point of delirium under
the dancing aurora, seemed like the
perfect antidote to adult life.
Our guide for the evening was
Helgi Gunnarsson, a veteran of
Iceland’s tourism industry with
around 40 years’ experience. His
ideal aurora viewing conditions
would be “sitting by a lake at the
base of a snow-capped mountain,
with the lights dancing around the
peak and reflecting in the water,
with someone you really care for,
sipping a single malt.”

Cloud blanket
Of course, some elements of this
dream are far from guaranteed,
and during the journey into the
countryside, the sky was blan-
keted by clouds, without so much
as a flicker of aurora activity. We
stepped out of the minibus a couple
of times en route, hoping for some
kind of flirtation with the north-
ern lights, but the night remained
deadly still and our luck, for now,
was out.
Fortunately, our frustration
was quelled almost immediately,
thanks to three courses of food
so excessive they were borderline
taboo. After several minutes of
introspection, we conjured up the
desire to fight off our food comas,
eventually lumbering out of the
geothermal pool changing rooms
into the frosty night.

Heat-induced zen
It was a chilly night, and we took
refuge in the first sight of warmth,
which happened to be the chil-
dren’s pool. Next, with the peer-
pressure mounting to intolerable
levels, we deserted our lukewarm
outpost for warmer climes, work-
ing our way through the various
bathing pools and hot pots that
Fontana has to offer.
Exiting the water looking like
Benjamin Button, it was time
to get a sweat on in the
sauna, before return-
ing to the baths
once more for a
quick stargaze.
B y now, t he
sky was clear-
ing, and our
hop es of a n
aurora sight-
ing were rising,
due in part to our
new-found, heat-
induced sense of zen.

Merry dancers
We re-entered our ride titillated
by the renewed possibility of see-
ing the famed natural phenom-
ena. Our tour guide, Helgi, was
ready for the big showdown, as
were we. Mutterings of aurora ac-
tivity filtered through his radio as
we passed through the Þingvel-
lir National Park on the way back
to Reykjavík. And then, outside of
the van’s right-hand windows, the
flickers began.
We quickly rushed out of our
minibus and caught a glimpse of
the vast green aurora through the
clouds. “There is no one holding a
lamp out there!” Helgi assured us.
Unfortunately, our prayers to the
Norse Gods to remove
the obscuring haze
w e n t u n h e a r d ,
and the subtle
glow soon dis-
appeared back
into the night.
W h i l e
the northern
lights’ cameo
was short and
reluctant, it still
went some way to-
ward capping off the
evening, which had suc-
cessfully transported us away
from the travails of everyday life.
Nevertheless, as we experienced,
natural phenomena are unreli-
able. The tour operator knows it,
so if you book the “Warm Baths
and Cool Lights” tour and don’t
see the aurora, you’ll be offered a
free trip out into night later to try
your luck one more time.
Trip provided by:
Reykjavik Excursions, re.is
How to get there
Route 37 towards Geysir and Gulfoss
Distance from
Reykjavík: 77 km
Clouds Vs. Zen
Escaping reality in search of the aurora
Words: Greig Robertson Photos: Art Bicnick
48The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 01 — 2018
“Mutter-
ings of au-
rora activity fil-
tered through the
radio... and then,
the flickers
began.”
Keep watching the skies
Fontana's hot poolsAurora hunters gotta eat