Sunday 4th February 2024

After the full on, and cold day of Saturday, we decided to take it easy on Sunday.

Also for my knee which was showing signs of improvement.

We got up late, and went down for breakfast after nine, so the main rush was over, then back in the room to mess around online.

I looked at NASA's aurora forecast, and it seemed good for Iceland, so that meant we would be out late in the evening, if the trip went ahead.

At half twelve, Jools caught a bus to another thermal pool, while I went to find the Sun Voyager statue down on the waterfront.

To get there I slithered down mostly cleared pavements to the main road, crossed that, then along to the statue, where people were taking selfies.

I waited until most were done, go my shot, and left, walking back along to the Opera House, then up to the main street, and stopping at the Irish bar.

There's always an Irish bar, and they are usually showing football. So I bought a pint of Guinness and settled down to watch the closing half hour of Middlesbrough v Sunderland, then the whole of Man Utd v West Ham.

Nothing exciting, just me reducing the Guinness lake.

Jools came, so we ambled up to the Lebowski Bar, where we had a burger and soda while the first half of the Arsenal v Liverpool was shown for our entertainment.

By that time, we had instructions on how to join the tour for the Northern Lights, so we went back to the hotel to chill before going out at eight.

Turns out there were 11 coaches. Each with at least 50 folks on each, so at least 550 people. Plus drivers, guides, etc.

We drove in convey first to the depot to pick up more people, then back to the National park where there is a coach park with views to the north.

It took an hour, along now mostly cleared roads, but all on a bed of ice and compacted snow, until we arrived at the parking area.

550 people got out, formed a wall along the edge of the car park and waited.

Medium height wispy clouds was obscuring where the lights should have been, but it also seems the forecast was out by an hour, that the peak passed at nine rather than ten, so by the time we had arrived and got out, it was all over, if there had been something to see.

At one point, a guide said there was a path to follow, so a few of us followed her, only I failed to hear the warning about not staying off the path, and when I did so ended up face down in a snow drift, me and the camera on a tripod, buried.

Thanks to a couple of guys, I got back up, but I was covered in snow, my hands bright red and burning with cold. I brushed myself off, and cleared the camera of snow, but it was my feet that we like blocks of ice.

At five to eleven, I gave up and made my way back to the bus, took the camera off the tripod and went to find Jools.

Soon after the trip was called short, so the rest got back on the buses and we left to get back to the hotel.

The bus dropped us off at half midnight, we got a bag of crisps to munch when we got back to the room.

Back inside, we took off our wet and cold clothes, had a beer and a few crisps, then went to bed at one fifteen.

No Northern Lights seen, sadly.