Aurora in the Westfjords

When I was in Faroe Islands in March, I saw the Aurora Borealis for the first time – but they were so faint that I wouldn’t even count it as all I could see were white spots that looked like clouds. I have always dreamed of seeing real vibrant Northern Lights and for the journey that I’m currently on, I counted on Iceland to make my dream come true.

At the moment, Steve and I are staying with Thorhallur (aka. Big Demon) in Thingeyri on the Westfjords and we’ve been checking the Aurora forecast every night. Thursday evening and yesterday morning, the sky was almost clear and the chances of seeing the Northern Lights were high.

I can’t think of a better location to see the Northern Lights, as the Westfjords is simply one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It’s easily my favourite place in Iceland with its vast and untouched nature and peaceful villages and there are almost no tourists, especially this time of year, which is a shame for them.

At about 11 PM Thursday evening, Thorhallur went out to the patio and said that he could see the Northern Lights, but I didn’t believe him at first, until I stepped outside and saw it with my own eyes – and I’ve never been more amazed! I started jumping up and down and screaming, not being able to control myself because of all the excitement. Steve and I wanted to get on the road quickly, so we could find a spot with less light pollution in order to snap some great photos of the Northern Lights, but unfortunately, I couldn’t get the settings on my camera right and for the first half an hour, all of my pictures were completely black – but thanks to Steve and Google, I finally figured it out and we were ready to go.

We went to the beach in Thingeyri, which is an absolutely stunning place with mountains in the background and it was the perfect location to take pictures. We were there for about an hour, taking millions of pictures and trying to take it all in. I couldn’t get it in my head that we were actually watching the Northern Lights and it was so vibrant and so beautiful. At one point, the whole sky was completely covered in bright Aurora and seeing it dance around all the way across the sky was such an overwhelming experience.

My experience of the Northern Lights in Iceland was incredible. I never thought that Northern Lights could be that vibrant to the naked eye, but I can tell you now that they truly are – and I want to see them again and again and again. Maybe I’ll become an Aurora Borealis chaser someday!

I can’t believe that my lifelong dream has finally come true and in the best location possible. Far away from light pollution, traffic and crowds of people. Seeing the Northern Lights in the Westfjords was truly magical. An experience that I’ll never forget.