In search of the Northern Lights – Iceland Day 1

Bob and I flew from Fort Myers to Boston with no problems. We met up with Jennifer and family at the airport to fly on to Reykjavik. We had a short 4.5 hour flight with little sleep and landed in Reykjavik around 5:30 AM.

After clearing customs, getting our luggage and having a bite to eat we went out to our rental car. It is a 7 passenger SUV but with 6 people and luggage it is a tight fit. To add to the adventure our car was the last one in the Hertz lot, it was raining gallons and the winds were 25+mph. We had to hold on to the doors so they did not slam on anyone or blow off. Bob’s favorite hat blew away and since it was black and the sun was not anywhere to be seen and the rain was wicked we had our first mishap.

Not to be deterred we left the airport around 7:30 and headed for the Blue Lagoon. Because of the weather Bette bailed and Bob had said no even before we got there. Jen and crew persevered and went in. I kid you not, there were white caps in the water. The rain was still falling and the wind was still blowing. The sun had not yet risen.

We arrived in Reykjavik!

We took the coastal road skirting Reykjavik totally. The drive was pretty. At first it was rainy, the it cleared, then we went through an area totally covered in snow and then we were back in the rain. We stopped in an area that had around 5 different waterfalls. The kids and Bob walked into a canyon type area and saw the waterfall up close.

We then went to our hotel, Hotel Ranga. There is a hot tub outside our rooms, so the Srivastava’s used it, despite the rain and wind.

We had a lovely dinner in the hotel restaurant and then it was off to rest. We turned in around 9 – it had been a very long day.

We pushed the Aurora Wake Me Up button on our phones and went to bed. If the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) appear the hotel will ring your room if you have pushed the magic button.

Night One – no northern lights.