And so begins our second full day in Iceland and the only day that we actually had anything planned on one of our full seven days. Today was probably the day I was most excited for because it was the strangest thing we could’ve done. Whenever I told people what we had planned, there was always a massive look of surprise usually accompanied with the question, “You can do that in Iceland? What?”

Snorkeling! Along the tectonic ridge line, none-the-less.

I have a thing for earth science. The reason Iceland is so unique is that it is on the mid-Atlantic ridge. Throw in a few earthquakes here or there to really shake things up and you get geysers, hot springs, and lots of other unique natural landscapes and phenomenon. Most of the island is on the Eurasian tectonic plate and the westernmost portion is on the North American plate.

In Thingvellir National Park at Silfra – the first stop on the majority of Golden Circle tours – you can snorkel between the two tectonic plates. The plates are separating (and have been for a short 150 million years), lava cools and solidifies, earthquakes create fissures and canyons, and voila! You have Silfra. It’s extremely frigid at 2˚C or 36˚F since the water flows 30 miles underground from Lángjökull glacier, through the Silfra rift, and into Lake Thingvallavatn. Since the water is essentially forced through an underground volcanic filtration marathon and then some, it is perfectly clear when it reaches the crack in the surface with a visibility of up to 100 meters. Side note: This water is also delicious. Fiji Water or Smartwater has nothing on this.

Thingvellir National Park. All very Game of Thrones-esque.

Thingvellir National Park

Continue reading →