Page 40 of Ignited in Iceland
‘There is a lot of activity all the time,’ Iris said, trying to reassure Barb. ‘That’s why it’s a great place for me to come. And you don’t need to worry because they have some of the best data anywhere in the world for predicting really big events like volcanos erupting.’
‘You’d tell me if that’s why you’re here,’ Barb said, staring Iris right in the eye.
‘Of course.’
Luckily, at that point, Siggi began talking again, which distracted Barb at just the right moment. This time, he was giving advice on how to take a great photo of the lights. ‘Sometimes the lights are not visible with the naked eye,’ he said. ‘On your phones, set your camera to the longest exposure you can. If you have a camera, you probably know better than me what to do, but I am happy to help if you need it.’
Iris pulled her phone out and began fiddling with the camera settings until she thought she’d found what Siggi was talking about. She was getting pretty excited at the prospect of seeing the aurora. Everyone was looking out of the minibus windows, looking for stars or even a glimpse of the lights themselves.
After a few more minutes, Siggi turned off the main road and pulled up in a small clearing. There were a couple of other vehicles there, so perhaps they were not the only aurora hunters out that night. Maybe that was a good sign.
‘Okay guys. We will spend about twenty minutes here. That will give us time for our eyes to adjust to the darkness and have a good look for the aurora. If they are putting on a good show, we will stay.’
They all piled out of the minibus and ventured in their pairs a little way from the bus. Iris did the same, training her eyes on the sky, looking for stars. There were stars. The longer she looked, the more she could see.
‘Oh, look!’ Someone was exclaiming at a photo they’d taken on their camera. Iris could see the colours on the screen from where she was, and pulled out her own phone.
Siggi came up behind her, and hooked his arm around her waist, then pointed up at the sky. ‘You see that? It looks like a wave of mist, maybe a cloud? Take a picture of it.’
Iris did as he suggested, her breath momentarily taken away by the surprise of his body enveloping hers.
‘Oh my god! Look!’ The wisp of cloud was actually a wave of bright green. ‘But why can’t we see it?’
‘It is not strong enough yet. The camera is building the light in the time your exposure is open.’
‘It’s still amazing, even through the camera.’
‘I’ll be back,’ he whispered into her ear, squeezing her around her waist before he went to check on his guests.
Iris was mesmerised, taking photo after photo of the sky. Some images were better than others but there was something there in all of them. Then after another few minutes, she thought she could see colour in the darkness. She took a photo to see if there was anything there or if she was imagining it. Yes! The photo was the best yet, and the green waves were starting to be more visible. The others were pointing and telling each other where to look. It wasn’t long before they were all treated to the most spectacular show. What had begun as green lights, gradually morphed into purple shades, reaching almost as bright as a neon red.
‘This is a very interesting colour,’ Siggi said to the group as they gathered together again, all the cameras forgotten in favour of watching the lights live in front of them. ‘The red colours are because there is very high altitude oxygen mixing with the solar particles. The green is the normal oxygen in the atmosphere which is why the green lights are more common. The red is wonderful.’
Iris watched Siggi watching the lights, thinking how amazing it was that he could find the wonder in it as much as the rest of the group even though he must have seen them countless times before.
‘Is the red unusual?’ One of the men asked.
‘Very,’ said Siggi. ‘Green and purple are the most common. I have never seen the red as strong as this before.’
It was as if the lights had put on a special show just for them. The guy with the tripod, Pieter, on holiday with his wife, from Germany, took photos of all the couples under the lights, promising to email them to the tour office for Siggi to distribute to everyone. Everyone, without exception had huge grins on their faces.
‘And you?’ he asked Iris.
‘Oh, yes, please, that’d be great.’ She’d seen some of the photos he’d taken and the colours were more vibrant and the waves more defined in his pictures than anyone else’s. ‘And one with Siggi?’
Siggi grinned and put his arm around her shoulders.
‘You make a cute couple,’ said Barb, presumably unaware that they were just that.
‘Would you like to stay for a while?’ Siggi asked them all. Everyone agreed that they’d like to, to make the most of the experience for as long as no one was freezing cold. He opened the back of the minibus and revealed two huge flasks. ‘Hot chocolate for everyone?’
By the red light on his head torch, to preserve everyone’s night vision, Siggi poured cups of hot chocolate for everyone and offered butter cookies. He and Iris stood close to the bus, poised to collect in the empty cups or provide anyone who wanted one with a refill.
‘This was a good night for aurora hunting,’ she said. ‘How often do you go out and not see them?’
‘Not that often. Usually, if the forecast is bad, the trip does not run, and everyone gets bumped to the next night.’
‘So they could end up going home without seeing them?’
