Amber really wanted to go snorkeling while we were in Iceland. I was surprised because it would be in 35 degree water, but I was totally game to try it. Well, today was the day for that adventure.
We woke up earlier than we would have liked and drove about an hour to Þingvellir National Park to meet our tour group. After meeting our guide Stefano (from Italy, of course), we got to stand around in the cold for a bit while the other participants arrived. We learned about the gear we would be wearing and started psyching ourselves up for the cold water.
Before getting into the initial gear, we walked over to the entry platform to hear about the path we’d take through the Silfra fissure a.k.a. “the crack.” Stefano explained how the water came to enter this portion of Þingvallavatn lake through miles of lava rocks, filtering out impurities and making the water crystal clear. We would be snorkeling over the gap between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, and this is pretty much the only place in the world where you can do something like that. The water is so pure that there are no fish or other animal life, but there are a handful of different types of plants.
Next it was back to the changing room (a van dedicated solely to this purpose) to get into the initial gear. This included several layers starting with our own thermal underwear and socks followed by a warm full body onesie undergarment, a dry suit, plus neoprene mittens and hoods. It’s a good thing Stefano was there to help us as it was tricky to put on everything after the onesie. Amber ended up with a dry suit that was probably too big while mine was almost too small, but they worked out well enough. A dry suit has to fit tightly around the neck and wrists to keep water out. My suit was plenty tight, but Amber’s required an extra neck collar and some good ol’ electrical tape around the wrists. She was thrilled.
Amber in her larger than necessary dry suit.
Me in my almost too small dry suit with Stefano checking the neck seal.
Back at the entry platform, it was time for the remaining pieces of our ensemble: the face mask, snorkel, and fins. Stefano insisted that spit was the best way to prevent fog in the masks, and the more you used the better. (He was impressed with our group’s spitting prowess.) By the time all gear was on, there was only a small portion of skin left to be directly exposed to the water. At the edge of the platform, each person leaned over and started to float (made easier by the air inside the dry suits), and we were off.
The water was cold, especially on our hands and head which were the only areas not covered by something waterproof. But it was a manageable cold and the views through the water were impressive. There was a natural current which meant we really didn’t have to use our fins much until the very end when we had to swim against the current to get to the exit platform. We paid for some pictures taken with a waterproof camera. We will post a few once we have them.
Getting out of the gear was a bit less of a production than getting in, though it was still a team effort to remove the dry suit layer. When we were back in our own clothes, we got to enjoy cookies and hot chocolate to warm up. We learned a bit more about Stefano’s diving career before the group broke apart.
After snorkeling, we took some time to see a few other sites around Þingvellir. The most interesting was Öxarárfoss where I took my first shot at using one of my new camera filters to get some waterfall shots with the streaming water effect. I was pretty pleased with the results I was able to achieve in about 10 minutes with no prior practice. I don’t have the right gear to transfer photos off of the big camera on the trip, so you’ll have to take my word for it until I can post some of the shots when we get home.
The sheer cliff here is the far edge of the North American tectonic plate. Much of Þingvellir is considered to be in no man’s land floating between plates.
This is shot from on top of the cliff wall looking out over the lower portion of the park. The Eurasian plate starts with the mountains in the distance.
An iPhone shot of me looking triumphant after successfully experimenting with my other camera at the waterfall.