Don’t Go to Iceland for the Northern Lights

adventure travelgroup travelicelandnorthern lightshot springswomen empowermentwomen's trips

Feb 13

I sat on the outskirts, near the wall, watching nine women eat dinner. I was listening to a group who had started the week as strangers but were now more like sisters. They were retelling stories from the past week. Laughter repeatedly rang out. A lull hit the room as they dove into the home cooked salmon, arctic char, and roasted vegetables that the tour guide and I made for our Farewell Dinner. I asked a question to the room. “What was the highlight of your trip?”

The trip was advertised as a Hot Springs and Northern Lights tour of North Iceland. Each day was spent exploring during the morning, soaking in geothermal springs in the afternoon, and watching for northern lights at night. We participated in activities like horseback riding, whale watching, sea kayaking, city tours, shopping, botanical gardens, museums, turf houses, and eating amazing food. Each day was full of both adventure and relaxation.

Some women were on the trip as a healing journey after recent loss, a few were embracing a new stage of life after divorce, others needed a break from the everyday life back home, all were eager to experience something new. A couple were traveling with women they knew but most were traveling solo. When asked at the beginning of the trip what they were most excited for, most answered that they wanted to see the northern lights.

As the women began to answer my question, I was surprised with their answers. I had expected to hear things like watching the northern lights dance across the sky, seeing humpback whales dive deep into the Arctic Ocean, riding the majestic Icelandic horses through the beautiful countryside, or kayaking on the still waters in a fjord hugged by mountains. Instead, I heard stories of change and growth over the thing that we were most afraid of at the beginning of the week, being naked around strangers.

The hot springs require that you shower before entering their swimming pools or geothermal springs. You must shower naked and then put your swimsuit on. The shower area is often one large open room. You place your towel in a cubby along the wall and join in the community shower. The first pool we went to was very uncomfortable for all of us. We had only met less than 24 hours earlier and were now standing in a room together naked. No one made eye contact, no one talked. We stood next to young and old, tall and short, thick and thin. We took our shower, quickly put our suits on, and nervously laughed about the situation. As the week went on, our attitudes began to change. By the end of the week, we were talking to each other and to strangers, laughing at inside jokes, and helping each other, all while showering together naked.

We, as women, are so critical of our bodies. We critique every flaw, focus on every fat roll or gray hair, and can never see the beauty we hold. We have this image in our head as to what a beautiful body looks like. Our Icelandic guide told us that Iceland has one of the highest levels of body positivity among women. She attributed it to the fact that they shower together. They are surrounded by all types of bodies their entire life. They see real bodies and not the media's idea of what a woman’s body should look like.

I began to cry as I listened to women talk about how their mindset had changed over the week. The thing that scared us the most ended up being the thing that we appreciated the most from the trip. We learned that all bodies are beautiful. We saw the other women’s beauty and didn't focus on the flaws. We learned that we need to give that same grace to our own bodies. Sure, they loved seeing all the amazing things we saw while in Iceland but the highlight of their trip was learning to love themselves. Not one person mentioned the northern lights.