Good News: Dave takes Icelandic trek to seek out the northern lights

Reykjavík, ICELAND (KFDA) - Across the world in Iceland, there is a sight to see.

Most people have a so-called bucket list, something they just have to see or experience before their time on this earth comes to an end. Near the top of my list has been to witness the Aurora Borealis.

When my wife Carol and I came upon the opportunity to join up with a group to travel to Iceland last week in search of the northern lights – we jumped on it.

While the aurora may drift southward on occasion, one must usually travel to the region near the Arctic Circle for the best chance to see the lights making Iceland a prime location.

The northern lights are so common there, in fact, that it is only recently that people in Iceland have realized how special the treasure in their sky is.

“It’s becoming a big deal now, especially with all the tourism. And I would say that we sort of started to realize what we have in our nation through all the tourists that were coming in, because we saw them just in the middle of the night taking pictures,” said Martienn Briem, a resident of Iceland.

But just being in Iceland is not a guarantee to see the northern lights.

“So if anybody who tells you any more than two days, you’re gonna see the northern lights that even the best. But Iceland is a pretty good place to see. Yeah, absolutely,” Greg Hall, a northern lights tour guide.

Witnessing the lights also requires clear skies, and our first night’s viewing opportunity was shot down by clouds.

We were supposed to be go out on a boat to see if we could do a little cruise and catch the northern lights, but it just so happened that the night was overcast and cloudy.

The next day was also cloudy, and then the next. As clouds lingered into our third night, I began to become uneasy, wondering if the skies would ever clear for even a chance to see the aurora.

The scenery of Iceland, created by fire and sculpted by ice, is reason enough to visit the country and very breathtaking with the combination of glaciers, magnificent waterfalls, and geothermal activity creating a very unique and beautiful haven for tourists like myself to absorb.

However, I so badly wanted to see the lights. Then finally, some encouragement.

The skies started clearing out. Later that evening, we caught our first glimpse of the northern lights as bands of shimmering green light appeared and skipped across the Arctic skies.

Then later that night, well after our official tour, I stepped out just to take a peek and experienced the show of a lifetime as the aurora intensified and the sky burst into dancing lights of bright neon colors seen in this timelapse.

Cloud cover disrupted viewing the following night, but on our final evening aboard a boat cruise in search of the lights, the sky erupted into band after band of brilliant light sometimes covering almost the entire sky.

This show lasted for a couple of hours leaving people cold, but completely mesmerized by the breathtaking show.

Scripture tells us the heavens declare His majesty and that even without words their speech goes out to the earth. I was definitely spoken to from the heavenly experience and now able to check a major box on the bucket list.

Now, that’s some good news.

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