Silfra Fissure and the Golden Circle

Today we snorkeled the Silfra Fissure(space between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates) and drove the Golden Circle.

We started our day with breakfast and coffee at our hotel before immediately hopping on the road for a long driving and exploration day. Our first stop was the Silfra Fissure, where we snorkeled the space between two tectonic plates! There is actually a few miles in total between them, but in this part of the stretch there is a massive fissure filled with water that you can snorkel through! We had to wear dry suits for this adventure, which completely encase your body other than your head and hands, and keep your clothes dry underneath. The dry suits were a trip(they are filled with air and you float) and they enabled us to see a ton of the fissure. The water was essentially freezing cold, so our faces and hands were very numb, despite wearing neoprene hoods and gloves. We loved the fissure snorkel, and saw tons of cool rocks and weird neon green stringy algae(there aren’t many fish in this freshwater fissure, and it feeds into the largest lake in Iceland).

After we finished snorkeling we hiked up to the top of the North American tectonic plate for an awesome view of the edge of the plate itself, and the surrounding countryside. Next we headed to a nearby waterfall, Öxarárfoss, which was beautiful.

After Öxarárfoss we drove to Hrafnagia Observation deck, for epic views of the area from a higher vantage point, and then we headed to the Haukadalur Geothermal Valley. In this valley there were a ton of active geysers, the biggest of which had massive eruptions every 5-15 minutes! After watching the geyser erupt a few times, we walked the geothermal park and checked out a number of cool neon thermal pools and other smaller geysers.

Next we headed to Gulfoss Falls, which was a massive waterfall that looked a bit like Niagara Falls. We walked to the bottom and enjoyed admiring the massive power of this huge waterfall, before walking further down the river to see the path it had carved through the rock.

Our next stop was Kerid Crater, which was a volcanic crater filled with very blue water, and lined with very red clay, covered in very green moss. It was truly a kaleidoscope of color and very unique.

At this point we’d had a long day so headed to our hotel in Selfoss to check in. From here we walked to a local food hall and tried an Icelandic restaurant, sampling lamb stew and fish stew. Both were traditional dishes, and absolutely delicious! After dinner we walked to a local grocery store, buying rye bread which is a staple here, local candies, and styr(Icelandic yogurt). After this we called it a night, with another big day tomorrow.Read more