Magic Iceland
I woke hoping for a special day. I had anticipated experiencing some wonderful landscapes, visiting a glacier, and perhaps being able to catch the elusive Aurora Borealis into the bargain. The feeling in my bones was that this would be the day, and they were not wrong. Having hired a car to explore a bit further than Reykjavik, the weather started off grey and dull, with little indication as to how it would change throughout the day. It rained as we drove across the land, and seemed like it was down for the day. However, as we reached the town of Vik at around midday, the sun peeked through the clouds and things definitely started looking up. Huge chinks of sunlight burst forth through the dark cloud, illuminating the little church on the hill above the town, as if in glorious welcome.
“For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life - the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value.”
Being from Ireland, I’m very aware of the weather and its moods, which can change in seconds. Constantly lending a different look and atmosphere to any landscape, once dark and brooding, once bright and airy, misty and mysterious, the variations are endless. This day in Iceland was certainly filled with a palette of much light and colour splashed about in abandon for our delight. To top it all off by the end of the day, it had started to snow.
We were due to stay a night at the Ion Adventure Hotel, a brutalist inspired structure situated in an isolated location amongst the lava fields near Mount Hengill. Here in the wilderness, the Aurora Borealis finally showed itself in a snaking dance of hues across the sky. There was great excitement in the air that night as it had snowed quite heavily and we were lucky to be able to get to the hotel before the heavier snow had started falling. Once the snow clouds had parted, and the stars twinkled in the icy air, the possibility seemed almost palpable and everyone at the hotel waited in anticipation. People ate their evening meals in the restaurant area, peeking out the windows like little children, watching for any sign of movement across the sky. The staff too were on the lookout and were prepared to let us know immediately if things kicked off in the skies above us. There was even a wake up call on offer for anyone wishing to nap and be woken should the spectacle get started.
There was another wonderful facility at the hotel in the form of a hot spring outdoor pool. Not wanting to forego the use of this, I got into my swimsuit and bathrobe and went for a delightful dip at around ten thirty, eleven o’clock. Typically, as fate would have it, I was still in the pool (minus my camera) when the light show started. Colour shifted across the sky in ribbons of light. From pinks to greens and whites, the colours shifted and changed for almost half an hour transfixing everyone who witnessed it, and then suddenly, as quickly as it had appeared, it stopped and we were left breathing clouds of white into the cold air surrounded by the sparkling stars in an inky night sky.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. ”
“To be an artist it is not necessary to make a living from our creations. Nor is it necessary to have work hanging in fine museums or the praise of critics . . . To be an artist it is necessary to live with our eyes wide open, to breathe in the colors of mountain and sky, to know the sound of leaves rustling, the smell of snow, the texture of bark . . . To be an artist is to notice every beautiful and tragic thing, to cry freely, to collect experience and shape it into forms that others can share. ”
