Two for the Price of One 
CHUM - Houston's SCUBA Club is the sponsor of the 
- First Name
- Simon
It has been a long road waiting for this trip to come to fruition, it did not disappoint. Birddog and I arrived in Reykjavík on a cloudy Monday morning and after the normal airport formalities arrived at our hotel, Iceland Air’s Marina hotel. This would be our base for a few days in the city before the expedition took place. The hotel building was the oldest paint factory in Iceland before it’s conversion into a very nice hotel complete with a small café and bar/restaurant that serves local Icelandic craft beers. The hotel is located by the harbor which has two slips used for ship painting; it’s impressive to see how quickly they can paint the large trawlers.
We had arranged to join a whale watching tour on Monday evening with my parents who had come to Iceland to meet up with us for a few days. Our first sighting was a whale breach followed by a few blows. If you are heading further north In Iceland I would wait until then to do a whale watching tour but more on that later.
Whilst in the capital we also took a visit to the Maritime Museum, a very interesting exhibit dealing with the Icelandic peoples relationship with the surrounding seas and the impact it has had on the local population. It also had a new section on women in fishing in Iceland which was very interesting. The museum also includes the former coast guard vessel Odin which served in the Cod Wars; unfortunately we didn’t have a chance to go aboard. I’d recommend one of the city bus tours, they take about an hour to go round the city and it is a good way to see the city if you are pressed for time, the tickets are valid for 24 hours so you can jump on and off at any sites you like.
On our second day we had signed up for a two tank midnight sun dive at Silfra. We were picked up from our hotel and after a short drive arrived at Thingvellir National Park. One of our guides was from Northern Ireland and Ragnar, our other guide was delighted because after 5 months he actually heard her talking in her 'full' Northern Irish accent!! The park is located across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and covers the land being created as the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are moving apart at around ¾” per year. On the way from the visitor’s center to the dive site you can see the old seat of Icelandic Parliament, the oldest democracy in recorded history. This is a UNESCO world site twice over for the parliament and the Rift Valley. After gearing up and a dive briefing by our guide Ragnar we made the short walk from the parking lot to the entry point. The entry is very easy as there is a fixed set of steps leading down into the crystal clear water. As this was an evening trip we had the lake to ourselves. With everyone in the water we completed our buoyancy checks before our group of four divers and guide, the maximum group size per site rules, descended and made our way through the various sections of the fissure. Each section has its own particular ambiance as a result of the variations in depth, width and bottom composition – check out the gallery for some pictures. The sections are separated by shallow section where over the millennia rocks have fallen in. The fissure is feed by crystal clear water, just above freezing, the result is 200-300 ft viz along with a degree of current making it a drift dive. In the shallows this is fun as the current gets a bit quicker as you glide between the rocks. The dive ends as you make your way up from the Cathedral along the sandy bottom and turn left into the lagoon. The lagoon is only about 15ft deep but you can see the full length, the clear water creating a wonderful blue tint. The exit point is one of easiest I have ever seen, there is platform at about 4ft where you take your fins off and then a flight of steps out – easy! Then it’s a walk back to the parking lot for hot chocolate. The second dive saw our group reduce in numbers, Birddog and I being the only ones partaking in the second dive. Our guide offered me the chance to lead this dive, suffice to say I didn’t need asked twice. Dropping into the Cathedral with no other divers in front was breathtaking, surreal and incredibly humbling, a definite high point for me. A big thanks to Birddog for allowing me this opportunity as I know how much it meant to her to dive Silfra from a geological perspective. We also met another DM from Spain on the trip back in the mini bus who gave us some details of good sites in the Canary Islands.
A rainy Wednesday morning had us board the bus for the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal pool and spa complex feed by the waters leaving one of the geothermal power stations. The pools formation was not intentional but this fortunate accident has become one of the iconic Iceland destinations for both visitors and locals. The water is rich in minerals creating the very opaque blue water. The lagoon was not very busy the day we went with most people staying by the main complex due to the inclement weather. We of course ventured out through the swell being created by the wind and found a lovely quiet spot in the lee of the surrounding rocks and relaxed in the glorious warm water whilst enjoying a nice red wine and some beer.
to be continued....
We had arranged to join a whale watching tour on Monday evening with my parents who had come to Iceland to meet up with us for a few days. Our first sighting was a whale breach followed by a few blows. If you are heading further north In Iceland I would wait until then to do a whale watching tour but more on that later.
Whilst in the capital we also took a visit to the Maritime Museum, a very interesting exhibit dealing with the Icelandic peoples relationship with the surrounding seas and the impact it has had on the local population. It also had a new section on women in fishing in Iceland which was very interesting. The museum also includes the former coast guard vessel Odin which served in the Cod Wars; unfortunately we didn’t have a chance to go aboard. I’d recommend one of the city bus tours, they take about an hour to go round the city and it is a good way to see the city if you are pressed for time, the tickets are valid for 24 hours so you can jump on and off at any sites you like.
On our second day we had signed up for a two tank midnight sun dive at Silfra. We were picked up from our hotel and after a short drive arrived at Thingvellir National Park. One of our guides was from Northern Ireland and Ragnar, our other guide was delighted because after 5 months he actually heard her talking in her 'full' Northern Irish accent!! The park is located across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and covers the land being created as the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are moving apart at around ¾” per year. On the way from the visitor’s center to the dive site you can see the old seat of Icelandic Parliament, the oldest democracy in recorded history. This is a UNESCO world site twice over for the parliament and the Rift Valley. After gearing up and a dive briefing by our guide Ragnar we made the short walk from the parking lot to the entry point. The entry is very easy as there is a fixed set of steps leading down into the crystal clear water. As this was an evening trip we had the lake to ourselves. With everyone in the water we completed our buoyancy checks before our group of four divers and guide, the maximum group size per site rules, descended and made our way through the various sections of the fissure. Each section has its own particular ambiance as a result of the variations in depth, width and bottom composition – check out the gallery for some pictures. The sections are separated by shallow section where over the millennia rocks have fallen in. The fissure is feed by crystal clear water, just above freezing, the result is 200-300 ft viz along with a degree of current making it a drift dive. In the shallows this is fun as the current gets a bit quicker as you glide between the rocks. The dive ends as you make your way up from the Cathedral along the sandy bottom and turn left into the lagoon. The lagoon is only about 15ft deep but you can see the full length, the clear water creating a wonderful blue tint. The exit point is one of easiest I have ever seen, there is platform at about 4ft where you take your fins off and then a flight of steps out – easy! Then it’s a walk back to the parking lot for hot chocolate. The second dive saw our group reduce in numbers, Birddog and I being the only ones partaking in the second dive. Our guide offered me the chance to lead this dive, suffice to say I didn’t need asked twice. Dropping into the Cathedral with no other divers in front was breathtaking, surreal and incredibly humbling, a definite high point for me. A big thanks to Birddog for allowing me this opportunity as I know how much it meant to her to dive Silfra from a geological perspective. We also met another DM from Spain on the trip back in the mini bus who gave us some details of good sites in the Canary Islands.
A rainy Wednesday morning had us board the bus for the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal pool and spa complex feed by the waters leaving one of the geothermal power stations. The pools formation was not intentional but this fortunate accident has become one of the iconic Iceland destinations for both visitors and locals. The water is rich in minerals creating the very opaque blue water. The lagoon was not very busy the day we went with most people staying by the main complex due to the inclement weather. We of course ventured out through the swell being created by the wind and found a lovely quiet spot in the lee of the surrounding rocks and relaxed in the glorious warm water whilst enjoying a nice red wine and some beer.
to be continued....
