Travel, Wine & Shoes

Bucket List Alert!  Diving Silfra was one of the most fantastic things I’ve ever done!

Silfra is a fissure between the North American and Eurasian continental plates and is located in Þingvallavatn Lake in the Þingvellir National Park in Iceland.  With about 100 metres visibility and water temperature between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius, there isn’t a comparable place on earth!

There are 4 parts to Silfra:

1. Big Crack:  This is the most narrow section where I had my ‘Dive Between the Continents’ photo taken (I have to have that picture printed on a canvas for my wall!)
2. Silfra Hall:  This is where the fissure widens and you can see snorkellers and local geese and ducks overhead
3. Silfra Cathedral:  This is near to the opening to the lake Þingvallavatn and if there are divers ahead you will see the ‘chandelier effect’ of their rising bubbles
4. Silfra Lagoon:  We finished the dive here in the endless visibility of Silfra Lagoon

You must be a PADI Open Water Diver and have a Dry Suit Certification to dive Silfra.  I did both of my certifications at Northwest Scuba in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  Many thanks to Lionel Whittaker for his endless patience teaching me and taking me on my open water dives.

Northwest Scuba

I booked my Silfra dives with DIVE.IS in Iceland.  These guys were fabulous!

DIVE.IS Diving Silfra Day Tour

We did two dives.  The first time through I was nervous.  I have a lot of work to do on my buoyancy and when it got really deep I panicked a little bit as I do tend to hit bottom.  The guide was aware that I was panicking and held my hand the rest of the way through.  During the 2nd dive, the guide was taking pictures and another Divemaster joined us and trailed me throughout the dive.  I was a lot more relaxed the 2nd time through because I knew what to expect and I knew that an expert was right behind me in case I got into trouble.

I also did a course and am now certified as a PADI Tectonic Plate Awareness Diver.

Do you want to dive Silfra?  Contact DIVE.IS and GO FOR IT!!

I plan to dive as much as I can throughout my travels.  Looking forward to diving in Oman, the Great Barrier Reef and shark cage diving.

 

I am touching both the North American and Eurasian continental plates!  It blows my mind that I can make such a statement.

Somebody has to be the clown!

I’m such an amateur.  I have a lot of work to do working on my buoyancy.  The Divemaster trailing me was probably thinking what is this girl trying to do??

Iceland