So, diving Silfra at Þingvellir was just about the craziest best dive adventure ever! From 15 minutes before arriving at the site until we left the Þingvellir Hotel, it was an unbelievable experience in seemingly true Viking fashion. On the way to the site, which is located in a national park that has a lot of historical as well as geological importance, the wind was blowing hard, and had been doing so since the night before. It was so windy, the last 15 minutes of the drive had snow whipping across the road at such speed there were times no one could see anything out the windshield. I think we were all wondering, including out guide, Æsgeir (pronounced "Oscar"), if the car would remain on the winding road, or drive off, onto the surrounding lava rocks. Icelanders may never be known for their driving skills, but I was impressed that when we could see out the windshield, the road was still in front of us. Finally we arrived at the site, a simple turn-off from the road. No signs, no buildings, nothing. Mind you, this dive site is world famous, so I was expecting something; even it was just a sign acknowledging we were at Silfra. Nope.
We cracked open the doors, and the wind whipped them open the rest of the way. Marvelous. As we carefully walked around on the hard, very uneven, icy terrain, I think Delaina, Ryan, and I were wondering what the hell we were doing out there, let alone why on earth we were going diving, and finally, how did we end up in Iceland of all places. We walked across the road, and towards what we thought was the dive entrance. Down by the water, it appeared we were going to have to leap outwards quite a ways to reach the water. In my mind, I was wondering where the stairs were (I saw pictures of stairs on the web, but I was assuming I was mistaken). Well, back to the car, and the "fun" of getting ready for diving in the very cold, icy, and windy weather. Eeesh. Delaina had seen enough at that point, and said "ney" (no) to diving. Diving at that point did not fit into any of her descriptors of what "fun diving" was. We were all saddened. Maybe if this was just another run of the mill dive site, we all would have bailed too, but this was Silfra, time to Viking-up, and see this the wonders of this site.
Æsgeir had friends meet us at the dive site. As soon as we got back to the car, first thing we all did was the most important - get into our dry suits. It was very cold, so exposure suits were protection from the elements not only below the surface, but also above the surface today. I put no fog stuff on my mask. Shortly thereafter, the stuff was frozen on the lenses. Looking into the car, I could read Delaina's mind - we were nuts!
Once we were all geared up, the locals suggested we carry our gear to the entrance. A little skeptical of that idea, I reluctantly did as suggested. We very carefully walked over hinterland to the actual dive site entrance, which wasn't what we initially looked at, and which did have stairs. It was a rather treacherous walk. The terrain was super slippery, as well as super uneven.
Just steps from the stairs, I slipped and fell - marvelous. Since I landed on my well-covered posterior, the pointy, icy lava rocks surprisingly didn't hurt, but still, it didn't feel all that great, and it wasn't the best way to start a dive. As I was sitting on the snow trying to figure out how to get into my harness and backplate (there was no obvious place to prop up my rig), I noticed a broken plastic piece lying in the snow. Not initially realizing where it came from, I wasn't worried, but then realized it probably came from me. And yup, sure enough, it did. It was the exhaust port for my primary second stage. Sigh. Apparently the exhaust port is very important to keep the regulator from free-flowing, because that's all the regulator did. Not sure why, since the flappy thing was in place. Hoping the problem was simply the freezing cold weather, I got helped into my rig (thank you Ryan), and carefully walked down the stairs and into the "warm" water. Even though it was 37F, relatively speaking, it was quite warm, and pleasant to be in, away from that wind and slippery terrain. My primary still free-flowed, so that was not good. Ryan trudged back across the icy trail to the car, got Delaina's regulator set-up, and came back. I stayed in the water, chatting the people and looking down into the clear water. After Ryan switched out the regulators (thank you very much Delaina and Ryan), we were off!
Silfra Cathedral and Lagoon here we come! Æsgeir had already decided that due to the horrid elements, we were going to combine two separate dives, Cathedral and Lagoon, into one long dive. Normally a second set of tanks is stashed topside, at the end of Cathedral so divers can switch out before crossing over into Lagoon. It was way too windy and cold for any tank switching that day, so we simply had to keep our breathing to a minimum.
We dropped right down between the North American and European tectonic plates, to the bottom of the Atlantic, which was 130 FFW. Pretty cool to be at 130 feet below the surface, rollover, then look up and see the surface! The bottom had no sea life, was very narrow, and a tad crowded for all the people we had, but amazing to think about where we were on the Earth at that moment - touching to different continents, in crystal clear water! Ryan's and my HIDs lit it all up, drowning out the others' dive lights. We had more diving to do, so we didn't stay there long. We ascended until the lava rocks allowed us to go forward, through the "v" in the plates, onward towards Lagoon.
The dive was spectacular! It was crystal clear water running between two continents! I realize I have already said that, but it is quite the unique place in our Earth where continents have met, and are now drifting apart. People in the know say the drift apart about 2 cm per year. Because it wasn't particularly sunny topside, it was pretty dark running through the rocks. And without my second strobe, my pictures were not as bright as I wanted them. I hope they are bright enough to give you an idea what it was like diving through the continents.
Unfortunately, Ryan still had to deal with his irritating BCD, and its slippery weight pocket. Unlike last time, the pocket fell completely out. Luckily, it almost hit one of our group in the head, so it was grabbed before it went to the bottom, and given back to Ryan. To avoid future problems from it, Ryan held onto it with his hand the rest of the dive.
At the end of Cathedral, we were in about two feet of water getting over to Lagoon. It was kind of funny trying not to hit the bottom, while getting over to the other side. I felt like a whale in a creek bed. Lagoon is not very deep, and much wider than Cathedral, so sunlight was much more prevalent, and it was easier to explore the nooks and crannies. Still no sea life, at least that I saw. At some point in the dive we took a sharp left up some finger waterway (glad we had Æsgeir). We were going against the current, but it wasn't very strong. Not sure why, but still had lots of gas despite being 40 minutes into a dive that was not only deep at times, but also kind of a lot of work going up down, around, and through the tectonic plate maze. A few minutes later, I noticed people "beaching" themselves on lava rocks - the dive was done.
Alrighty… now that we have exited the water, back to the cars. During the surreal dive, I had forgotten about the nasty weather looming overhead. It took less than a minute before all my focus was the weather and the walk back. With the wind it was probably about 0 to 5F. Not only was everything on us quickly freezing up, but the blowing snow was now sticking on us too. And don't forget the terrain - very uneven, icy lava rocks with itty-bitty hills and valleys to shake things up. And if that wasn't enough, sometimes there were snow patches 6 to 10" deep. Dry suits were a lifesaver, and so was the thought that at some point the hike would end. Meanwhile… don't slip and fall.
Yay we finally made it back to the cars! In reality, the walk probably lasted just over ten minutes, but it sure seemed longer, and it certainly wasn't as long as it took to separate ourselves from our dive gear. We were literally frozen from head to toe, coated in layers of ice. No one could disconnect their dry suit hoses or inflator hoses, or unzip their dry suits. But no one really was interested in getting out of their dry suits just yet. In addition to those pleasant problems, I had the added bonus of not being able to move my hands because my gloves were frozen. Someone came over, and eventually was able to breathe enough heat onto my dry suit hose to disconnect it (thank you). I was on my way to freedom - yay! Ryan was still stuck to his, and the other guys were working on their freedom too. The whole scene was a tad comical.
By this point, Delaina had come back from her hike to the dive site entrance. She hiked over there thinking that's where we would exit. Being the nice, thoughtful person she is, she did grab my regulators and tool from there. She also brought back a couple of very cold women, who were unprepared for the weather (canvas tennis shoes, no real warm clothing). Our guide's and a friend's girlfriends had not ventured out to see their Vikings dive before, so they picked today to see what it was all about. They weren't out for very long, before that had enough.
Upon Delaina's arrival back at the car, she quickly surmised our frozen problems. She helped me with my buckles (thank you Delaina), then I hopped in the car to start defrosting. Delaina then started working on Ryan, who still firmly attached to his dive rig. Meanwhile Æsgeir and friends were going through unusual gymnastic-like maneuvers as they were trying to get out of their rigs and drysuits. There was a hotel nearby, so they sent their women to get some hot water. Despite repeated attempts to break free of the dive rig, Ryan wasn't having any luck, so Delaina cleared out the front seat for Ryan and his BCD to get into the car (I think with tank too). After a few minutes Ryan was finally free of his dive rig - wahoo! Shortly thereafter, my ice-crusted gloves finally started loosening up. About five minutes later I was able to detach the dry gloves from the suit's rings, and my hood thawed enough so I could take it off. Someone came by asking Ryan if he wanted hot water so he could unzip his dry suit. He smiled, and kindly declined the offer, since the dry suit was what was keeping him warm, and no undergarment would be comfortable out in those elements. Meanwhile, a new set of divers was surveying the scene.
After loading up the trailer and car, Ryan and I had to figure out how to get out of our frozen suits. We had three choices (a) use the hot water, unzip, and freeze outside, (b) walk to the hotel, strip, then freeze on the walk back, or (c) drive to the hotel to defrost and change. We chose (c). We were so frozen, no chance of getting the inside of the car wet. Five minutes later, and we were in the hotel working on getting out of our dry suits. Naturally, I had complications. My dive boot laces were frozen solid, therefore, couldn't untie them. I tried using the hot water in the bathroom, but for some reason, the water wasn't hot. [Note: Iceland does not use hot water heaters. Their hot water is naturally heated by the geothermic conditions, and simply piped around the country. It is not possible to run out of hot water, but it is very possible to burn the hide right off you, if you are not careful.] I walked back out to Delaina and Ryan. I asked them to get me some hot water, but Ryan was determined to get those laces undone without it. And ten or so minutes later, voila - the laces were undone. 45 minutes later we were home. What a crazy adventure that was!
It was most unfortunate Delaina was not with us diving, but I hope Ryan and her get to dive Silfra during more hospitable weather. There is a lot to explore in Silfra, and one dive is not enough. By June, Iceland will have something like 22+ hours of sunlight, and certainly better weather. Even though the first day of spring has already occurred back in Seattle, here it is still considered winter, although spring appears to be just around the corner. If you get a chance to visit Iceland (bring lots of money - everything is super expensive), and dive Silfra!
In my research, I have found lots of places to go diving, and majority of them do not require a boat, just a car to get there. How does Iceberg Lagoon grab ya'? Yup, that's a dive site, and yup, icebergs are floating in it. 
after the diving (heavy duty undergarment and icecap will be worn). Hope to do lots of diving, will post reports, and take lots of pictures! 
Should be lots of fun seeing Delaina and Ryan, Iceland, and what's under all that cold, cold water!!! Can hardly wait 
!! 
Rich! 
But it seems based on your description and photos that the diving was WELL worth the freezing temps. I just can't imagine how cool that must have been. I hope you are able to post some more photos, that place is simply amazing!