By Manuela Cifuentes
Camperstory submission October 2024
The idea of traveling to Iceland was born from our desire to witness the impressive northern lights. After planning our trip and enjoying an unforgettable eight-day experience in this beautiful country, I can say without a doubt that Iceland is a destination that cannot be missed. The beauty of its landscapes, the warmth of its people, the deep connection with nature, and the peace that is felt when traveling through its lands are memories that I treasure with great emotion in my heart.
My husband is passionate about the universe and its wonders, so we were clear that we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the northern lights in Iceland. In this story, I want to share what our adventure was like in the search for these magical lights and how the simple act of contemplating them causes an explosion of joy in the soul. The experience of being under that illuminated sky is something that transcends words and remains engraved in your memory forever.
Renting a motorhome with rent.is was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions we made, since it gave us the freedom to explore at our own pace, visiting the places we wanted at the time we wanted, this is how we discovered magnificent waterfalls, waterfalls, hidden caves, Viking museums, hot springs, geysers, glaciers, beaches, volcanoes, and many incredible places. In particular, when it came to searching for the stunning Northern Lights, our motorhome became our best adventure companion, facilitating every step of our exciting quest.
Our arrival
From the moment we arrived at the airport, the service with rent.is was magnificent, within 5 minutes the shuttle arrived and once at the offices they explained everything perfectly to us, and in less than 10 minutes we already had the keys to our motorhome. It was equipped with everything that we had been informed about, sleeping, pillows, blanket, wifi, stove, mini refrigerator, chairs, table, mattress, heating, pots, and plates. Our motorhome worked perfectly the entire time, absolutely nothing failed, and in addition the communication with rent.is was always superfluid.
Day two
This is how our wonderful days in Iceland and our hunt for the northern lights began. The second night we spent at a campsite in Stokkseyri, the sky was quite cloudy and we decided to wait until midnight, but we couldn’t see anything, so by searching for information on the internet, we discovered how to learn how to use northern lights applications, maps of clouds and real-time maps of the northern lights.
So we became familiar with the value of kp, understanding its meaning and recognizing when these values were high, indicating greater opportunities. We learned to identify the precise place and time we needed to be, making sure the sky was clear and windless. It is essential to be in the ideal place to observe them, and although sometimes this may depend on luck, we choose not to leave it to chance and decide to actively pursue them.
Day three
So we decided for our third night after analyzing the possibilities to go to a campsite in Hella since everything indicated that we could see them there. It being midnight we couldn’t see anything when I found in the application that there was actually a camera in a Hella hotel that was capturing the northern lights. Without further ado, we turned on the motorhome and headed to that camera that was capturing the aurora about 15 minutes from our campsite and that’s how we managed to see our first northern lights in the sky with a low kp of 2.1 but we saw it, it wasn’t there. very bright but the feeling of having achieved it invaded our entire body.
Day five
On the 5th night, we were at a campsite near Geysir at 7 pm the kp was 4.3 and there was a 90% chance of seeing the northern lights, as long as the sky was clear, when we looked at the sky it was very cloudy, however, We couldn’t miss that opportunity since the possibility of seeing them that night was very high. So well, we had our motorhome, there was no problem with moving and driving to another destination, we reviewed maps and looked at the sky and decided to go to Selfoss, it was the best decision, we drove for an hour and along the way we stopped about 7 times to observe the aurora Borealis, we saw a lot as we approached clear skies.
That night we arrived at our camp near Selfoss, and although we had been lucky enough to observe numerous auroras during our journey, this place became the ideal setting to contemplate the sky bathed in the dancing lights of the northern lights. The experience was simply magical; When we looked up, the sky transformed into a spectacle of vibrant colors that illuminated the darkness, causing us a mixture of happiness and amazement at the greatness of the universe.
Day six
The 6th night was the last one we could take advantage of, since the probabilities were very high and the following nights the weather was not going to be good and neither was the kp index. Following our little understanding of solar maps and aurora applications, we decided to head west and camp in Akranes, the landscape was unique and we were able to park our motorhome in a campsite facing the sea, the chances of seeing them were 95% with a kp of 4.8.
As the sun began to set, a spectacular sunset unfolded over the sea, painting the sky a vibrant orange color. We decided to take out our stove, the kitchen set, as well as tables and chairs, to prepare a delicious dinner and enjoy the magical spectacle that the sky was going to offer us.
Afterthoughts
This is how I keep in my memory the moment when holding hands, we screamed with joy and jumped with excitement as we contemplated the most spectacular aurora we have ever seen, a great display of lights that danced in the sky with their vibrant green tones and violets. It was as if the universe was smiling at us, and once again, we found ourselves in the ideal place, enjoying the freedom that our motorhome gave us to explore and live these unforgettable experiences.
We captured images to treasure that magical moment in which, with our hands, we tried to convince ourselves that we could reach them. It was a sublime moment in which, in deep silence, we expressed our gratitude for being there, in Iceland, a country of unmatched beauty.
Iceland will be engraved in our memory and in our hearts forever, showing us that human beings have the capacity to achieve great things: coexist with nature, live in community, and live in tranquility, security, and peace.
Thank you Iceland and Thank you to rent.is for making it easier for us to fulfill our dream. Who knows, you might just fall in love with the country the way we did.
#VANcation #camperstories
