Day 12: Reykjavik

Being as it’s my last day before starting the journey home, I had to go out with a bang, right? Well, today was the day to snorkel in the Silfra Fissure. The fissure is set between two tectonic plates, the North American and Eurasian plates. It’s filled from a glacier-fed river coming from the Langjökull Glacier which means it’s a whopping 37° F year round. The water runs through lava rock which acts like a filter, making it super clear and pure. We even got to drink the water while snorkeling!

For the trip, we all got layered up including a base layer of long johns and wool socks, a thermal base layer for diving, a dry suit with full boots, and seals around the wrists and neck, a neoprene hood, neoprene gloves, and of course, fins, a mask, and a snorkel. It was quite a lot of work to get dressed! I was super nervous getting into the water as I was ready for a total shock to the system. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable I was in all of the gear. The only parts of my body that were cold during the excursion were my hands and my face. The less you move your hands and feet, the warmer they stay, but alas, we sort of had to swim a bit. Check out the views we got!

After we returned from the trip, I took it relatively easy for the rest of the day. It’s been an amazing two weeks, so I was content to do some shopping, have some coffee, and finish my book. However, after that I went for a walk by the water, and reaped the rewards of great views, a tiny hot spring, and the jackpot of beach glass!

On my way back to start packing, I did happen to run into some very interesting sites as well…

This first set of pictures is of what used to be a public restroom. It has since been transformed into a Punk Rock Museum.

Then I ran into this group in the middle of the street.

And finally, I found some super cool street art (not surprising on this trip)!

All in all, I can’t say enough about how much fun this trip has been! It’s been filled with amazing experiences, views and memories! I’m definitely coming home fulfilled! However, I’m not ready to come back to the real world quite yet…so, in order to keep reliving this trip, I’ll work on getting together the pictures from all of the photo packages I purchased, from both hikes and my snorkeling trip, and get them posted for you all to see! The ones from the hike turned out awesome, so I’m excited to see the snorkeling too! Stay tuned!