We flew to Oslo and stayed a couple of nights before flying to Iceland. And upon arrival we made our way straight to the Blue Lagoon. A man made thermal bath which was supposed to be good for the skin and general health. Its not the bath that got me excited though, its the sight all the way from the airport to the destination. We were told that it snowed the night before and with the sun shining on that day the view from the bus was very much foreign yet fascinating to my eyes.
The next couple of days were spent sight seeing. We went to see a couple of famous waterfall namely Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss as well as Reynisfjara Beach also known as the black sand beach. Yes, that's right. They are the famous locations used in a popular Bollywood movie.
Later in the day we had just enough time before nightfall to visit Jokulsalon Glacial Lagoon. This is the place that I have been so looking forward to. And Subhanallah, it was immensely spectacular. My heart felt like it was going to burst. It is even more amazingly fascinating when we learnt the scientific explanations on how nature runs its course and made such a beautiful place. One cannot help but feel close to nature and even closer to Allah, the Creator of heaven and earth.
I wish that I could just stay there a little longer to absorb the sight and use the time to reflect but we had to rush to the beach to see the end of the journey of the melting glacier and ice. It's an unbelievable sight. Blocks of ice of different shapes and sizes were scattered all over the beach and the sea. Its something that one has to see with ones own eyes to really appreciate how beautiful and awesome it is. Everyone was simply awestruck with the experience.
We had a 3 hour bus ride back the hotel and we were hoping that we would get lucky with an aurora sighting on the way. But alas it was to no avail. Upon checking in at the hotel we were informed that the reception would call our room if there is a high chance of the aurora appearing. And that he did! We were just about to get ready for bed when we got the call, and we quickly put our jumpers and coat on and rushed outside. It was very faint initially and our eyes were not trained to identify the light immediately. On top of that the surrounding area of the hotel were brightly lit which did not help to highlight the aurora in its true form. Unfortunately I only managed to get a couple of shots before giving in to the freezing weather. The next morning when I checked my camera, I wished that I had stayed longer and take more shots. What I should have done was put on more jumpers and got back out. Oh well, this would give me the excuse to check out the northern light in Finland some other time. 😉
The schedule for next day was a little more adventurous. It included a steep climb on a large truck with huge tyres all the way up one glacial mountain and we were also given the option to try the snow mobile. Which I declined politely. Hee.... Instead I spent the time absorbing the beautiful ambiance of the sun and snow. It another out-of-the-world experience for me. Its eerily quiet and you only see endless field of white snow right to the end of the horizon. It really can humble you to nothingness. If you know what I mean. Honestly, the photos below does not do justice to the real thing. So I suggest that you go there and see it for yourself! 😁
On our way down we stopped at Langjokull Geysir and Gullfoss Golden Waterfall.
And after lunch we made our way to Keflavik, a little town in southwest of Iceland near the airport. Before going to bed we wondered if we would get lucky a second time with the northen light but I guess it was not meant to be.
We left Iceland the next morning with a heavy heart but with plenty of fond memories and new experience. I even sat by the window on the plane for a change to catch the last sight of Iceland.
Thank you Allah for making another of my wish come true.
Alhamdulillah.
Travel date: 2-5 March 2017
wow... cold and beautiful
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