The night is dark, the air is still.
Gone are the grey clouds of the day. Instead the skies are twinkling with stars….
The frozen river is quiet.
Silence surrounds us.
We sit.
We wait
We look.

Nothing
Not a hint
Not a shadow
The computer predictions signify high solar winds and a high ‘5’ measurement.
So -where were they?
We wait some more.
Silence.

Lying back on our sleeping bags on the frozen river and Marc begins to laugh.
‘Darling – look up – they are behind us!”
And turning around, in front of us were the northern lights.

How do I describe this spectacular phenomenon?
How do I define in words what we see dancing before us in the sky?
How do I express what we see as our eyes turn heavenward?
The best way to describe them is to see them…
Truly amazing!

Countless waves of green light shimmer across the heavens.
The green bands are graced with hues of pink, yellow red which fluctuate in intensity as it beckons you to follow its dance across the black stage of night.
Each wave is gliding across the sky folding and bending in front of you in its own pattern.
Each surge of light is floating and rippling to fade gracefully only for another to appear in a different place, to dance its unique style just for you.
Where do you look?
One appears swirling in front of you, another emerges in the distance and grows reaching out its gliding swirl hypnotising you with its majesty and glory. Seemingly gently blown across the sky by the unseen, unfelt wind from our nearest star – the Sun.
You reach out your hand to touch it, it seems so close, so near but belies its true height, glimmering at the edge of space.
Such beauty
Such wonder
And we saw it!

But, we did not come to Finland just to see the northern lights. So, what a bonus!

Let’s go back a little … Marc initially went snow shoeing late one night armed with the camera ‘just in case’. Meanwhile in the cabin waiting, I watched the computer informing me that intensity of these lights could be seen. A few hours later, he arrives back at the cabin and with my questioning look he answers ‘yes’- he saw them.

Pushing down my disappointment, I agreed to settle for the fact that at least one of us had seen them and had the photographic evidence to prove it. But urging me quickly to get dressed we drove to a dark spot and the beauty of this spectacle enfolded me! But this was just the beginning. Because on retuning to our hotel, there they were… but even better. I was in amazement!

Settling on a sleeping bag, on the ice just in front of our cabin, hot chocolate in hand, sleeping bags under and wrapped around us in the subzero conditions (that we dragged all over Scandinavia finally found a use protecting our rear ends from the snow!), we sat for hours to gazing at this magnificence show of brilliant lights in the northern night sky. We were quite prepared to spend the whole night watching this vision that we would probably never see again.
We nearly did – staying until 2am until the lights gracefully faded away.

Of course, we had not come to Finland specifically for this reason, but once having tasted and experienced this natural marvel, I was more than eager to view it again!

Intently, as the second night grew dark, watching the aurora ‘cam’ from our cabin, to my excitement the stars appeared chasing the clouds away and this vision of vivid green hue summoned me outside to the ice and freezing conditions again. Disappointment at first as although the aurora camera said they were there…we could not physically see them. But lying back on the ice to find they had been there all the time, they were right behind us….in all their glory. We stayed. We watched. They only lasted for a few hours, less than the previous night, but bouncing differently and much more intense in colour and expansiveness.

Photos do not adequately reflect nature’s reality. Once the pictographic recollections were taken, it was important to put the digital world of cameras away and view the Northern Lights as nature intended, with the naked eye. Lie or sit still. Watch this green kaleidoscope play out across and around the sky. Your eyes are simply entranced attempting to capture the quivering coloured spirals and waves in the star lit sky.

Whether we saw a soft green glow, shimmering or wavy pink curtains, or flares of yellow and white rays flowing overhead, I will never lose the sense of wonder that accompanied this encounter with one of the most amazing of nature’s phenomena.

But of course, I did not come to Finland for the Northern Lights!
Oh, but I am so thrilled I did!