Photographic Evidence

I’m floating in warm, opaque blue water; snow is falling on my face; strong, viking hands are massaging my back from below. It looks like another planet, it feels like a dream but I’m awake in a heaven on Earth known as the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. This moment is the embodiment of joy and I can’t help but contemplate how in the world I ended up here.

The journey started 11 years earlier whilst hitching around Alaska with the love of my life. With barely a cent in our pockets we managed to get as far at Chena Hot Springs, a couple of hours out of Fairbanks. We set up our flimsy second-hand tent in sub-zero temperatures before soaking away the weight of our backpacks in the scolding thermal water. When night fell, the sky burst open with shimmering green curtains of light that suggested worlds beyond them. This was our first experience of the Northern Lights. We’d inadvertently arrived during peak viewing season and were told the next peak would be in 11 years time. We vowed to come back then and do it all again.

In the years that followed, we continued to travel the globe until one sad and unexpected day, our journey together ended. For a time it felt like the world had ended too but it kept spinning and the 11-year mark fast approached. I refused to accept that being alone meant living a smaller life and so determined to honour my vow even though I had nothing but a handful of frequent flyer points to my name. I didn’t know how I would do it, only that I had to.

With the goodwill of my international network of friends, I somehow cobbled together a 6 week solo trip taking in 6 countries: Cambodia, Italy, UK, USA, Canada and Iceland. I took off in a whirlwind almost too fast to keep up with and before I knew it, I was again starring up in awe at a frozen night sky that seemed to be dancing just for me.

The next day, elated from having achieved my mission, I made my way under clear blue skies to my favourite spot on the planet – the Blue Lagoon – with a wish for snow as earnest as it had been for the Northern Lights. No sooner was I immersed in the warm, milky water than the clouds rolled in and let loose a mini-blizzard. I decided to indulge in an in-water massage and found my masseuse bewildered by the sudden turn in weather. I had to confess that it was likely my fault from wishing it so. Without a trace of sarcasm, he replied, “That would explain it. That’s how magic works in Iceland”. After the experience of this trip, I tend to agree.