The Iceland Scuba Dive

---

A glorious trip to Iceland with a group of friends consisting of 4 South Africans and 4 Aussies. Iceland, it seems, is a brilliant place to go for a swim - Silfra and the blue lagoon. Local food is another story entirely!

The most spectacular moment was the Silfra dive - a dive in a crack between the American and Eurasian continents. The plates are drifting apart, apparently, at 2cm per year and the lake is made of melting water from a glacier so the visibility is unbelievable. It also proved to be useful when we were thirsty. The dive was all in a dry suit - a new experience for all, since the water was around a mere 3 degrees. After diving through the continents, the second dive was in the Silfra Lagoon which was more of a shallow playground but some of us went back to the crack to see how deep we could go - a game of scuba chicken I guess! Word is the drop in parts is so deep and since the water is so clear some divers get vertigo. Its dark and cold down there, with a hint of claustrophobia when the walls are tight - has something for everyone.

So none of us had really dived in a few years and the equipment, especially the dry suit, had us considerably baffled at first. Then getting to the dive site felt like a gym workout but at least for us, there wasn't too much snow on the ground to make the walk too painful. But spare a thought for our South African diver who does this all year round - even in blizzard conditions! The first step into 3 degree water was not as bad as you'd think, anything that is cold goes numb soon enough!

Under the water the clarity and the walls are spectacular. Really an unforgettable experience, it feels like a cave dive at times when the gap is narrow and the deeper you go. Any divers out there, highly recommend - go check it out (sounds like a plug but no, I dont have any stake in this business) -
http://www.dive.is/Diving_Iceland.php?page=Silfra
Haze was our team snorkler which she swears is also worthwhile doing since the visibilty is so clear - the snorkler's experience is equally good (if not much less work!).

The other days in Iceland were mainly about driving around the Golden Circle taking in the Icelandic landscape, the capital Reykjavik and of course the relaxing (yet surely radioactive) blue lagoon.

---

Photos

The Silfra Dive
Haze snorkling above

The boys in their undersuits
or moonsuits as we preferred

Its been a long time since we did our scuba courses!
surely not a surplus tube? worse than putting together ikea furniture

Comments

[Pam]

Wow!
What amazing photos! Thanks so much for continuing to share your adventures!