Day 7- Reykjavik: Erro - Klippimyndir Collages

Day 7- Reykjavik: Hallgrimskirkja Church & Symphony Hall

Day 7- Reykjavik: Art Museum

Day 7- Reykjavik: View From Above

Day 6 - Golden Circle Tour & Silfra (again)

Gulffoss Falls
Geysir - Strokkur

Midnight in Iceland

I'm so glad I brought a sleeping mask. That's my hotel window with the shade drawn at midnight, only a few miles from the arctic circle. Today: a one hour flight south, some sightseeing and then one final dive. Tomorrow: a bunch of museums, hanging out relaxing, Icelandic food before flying back on Friday.

Day 5 - Strýtan

The giant submarine smectite cones that rise from the 70 meters deep seafloor at Eyjafjörður. Strýtan is a one of a kind, and one that has recently been discovered and the only one we know of in the world. It was in 1997, Erlendur Bogason and his friend Árni Halldósson captain on the whale watching boat Níels Jónsson found this 55 meters high cone we called Strýtan. The top of the cone is 15 meter under the surface and we estimate it is around 100 litres of 75°C hot water per second coming out of the cone. Strýtan started developing at the end of last ice age 10.000 years ago and they are made from magnesium-silicate from the sea. Cones like these are usually found at 2000-6000 meters deep.

Day 4 - Ásbyrgi, Iceland

Excellent day today. I flew to Ásbyrgi, Iceland, where I was picked up at the airport by Erlendur Bogason, the owner of Strytan Divecenter. We drove through some amazing countryside with snowcapped mountains in the background to a newly discoverd Crack Nesgjá and Lake Lón. Our first dive was through the crack and into the lake. It was not only incredibly clear, visibility was 100 meters or as far as the eye can see, but it was also incredibly colorful - greens, blues, yellow, browns. Crack Nesgjá

Lake Lón.

The next stop was about ten minutes away at 17°c hot river Litla Á where I snorkel. The river is known for its big touts and warm springs. Air was bubbling from the bottom of the river. And most spectacular was hovering at the opening of the stream watch the small fish and sun reflect off the bubbles underwater.

(Hot) River Litla

Silfran, Iceland

Okay this isn't my video, but it's exactly what I saw today. After two days of mediocre dives, today was awesome.

Day 3 - Silfran, Iceland

Prepping for the dive.

Dive entrance. The North America tectonic plate is on the right and the Euro-Asian plate is on the left. Underwater with outstretched arms, one can touch both plates at the same time.

These were my buddies for the past two days, Hans and Greta. Hans is 71 years old and has scuba dived over 3000 times in 90 countries.

Scenery. It's been raining everyday. Not great, but kinda cool to look up from underwater, watch the rain dance on the surface.

My tiny messy room!

Underwater view of Silfa - Between the two Tectonic Plates

Underwater view of Silfa - Towards the end of the dive.

Kleifarvatn in Iceland

This video shows what we were supposed to see today. The geothermal underwater hot springs of Lake Kleifarvatn. However, due to depleting water levels the hot springs are no longer underwater. The water level receded significantly. Not a great dive day, with very poor visibility. Not much to see, but from what I'm told Iceland has two incredible dive sites, both of which I'll dive over the next couple of days. But it also has a bunch of less than stellar dives, this was one of them.

Day 1 - Reykjavík, Iceland

Made it to Iceland safely. Check out some sulfur springs and a fish drying farm today, and completed one dive today. Nothing very thrilling. When I checked into the hotel last night at midnight it was still light out.

6-Day Diving the Highlights of Iceland

Looking forward to this vacation. Not only a well needed break from work, but also looking forward to being out in nature, underwater diving, out of my safety zone, trying something new, the thrill, the adventure. And in a great place to do it. Iceland is covered with spectacular geo-volcanic formations, both on land and underwater.

Itinerary:

1. Day – Hotel pick up in Reykjavik – Ocean Diver Tour

2. Day – Hotel pick up in Reykjavik – Geothermal Hot Spring Dive Tour.

3. Day – Hotel pick up in Reykjavik - Silfra Golden Circle Tour

4. Day – Hotel pick up - Drive to Silfra where we will do 2 dives.

After the dives we will drive up North to our accommodation in Eyjafjorður Accommodation in Guesthouse/Summerhouses in Eyjafjörður

5. Day – We will drive to the recently discovered fresh water fissures near Ásbyrgi, after that we will snorkel in the geothermaly heated river Litlaá. We will visit Europes most powerful waterfall Dettifoss and the area around lake Mývatn.

6. Day - 2 Boat dives in Eyjafjorður – Strýtan the geothermal chimney.

After the dives we will drive back south to Reykjavik

Iceland's Dive Sites

The six day dive tour starts in the lower left (southwest) then proceeds north, with plenty of opportunities to see the country, not only sub-H2O.