Iceland - Snorkeling in a Fissure

Thursday, September 12, 2013

One of the cooler things we've ever done together was swim in the crack between two tectonic plates in Iceland. We had to wear thermal suits layered under dry suits before getting into the freezing glacial water, but the crystal clear views of 100m in distance and bright blue colored water was worth it. There were very few fish and it felt very lonely and barren, unlike the colorful scuba diving we're used to, but that's how Iceland felt in general. The crack in the earth went as deep as the eye could see. It was pretty mind boggling to imagine our bodies floating between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. We were so lucky to share the experience with our new friends from Canada, Jessica and Matt.

We have just one post left from Iceland, and it's a good one. Our last stop before heading to the airport was to the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa!

- Julia

P.S.
The first half of the photos were taken with our usual Nikon D800, and the last half (in the water) are from a GoPro and an old disposable underwater camera. I think you'll see a difference in the quality.

The Silfra fissure, where we went snorkeling.
It was a bit of a challenge to get into these bad boys.
Matt + Jessica
Julia + Yuriy
I can't feel my lips (or my face), but I'm in a fissure! Tra la la la la!
Can you tell who's who? Neither can I.

31 comments :

  1. You're AWESOME! I love these photos so much.

    ReplyDelete
  2. WOW! I know that my wife would love doing something like that! I'm more a "you-go-I-look-and-wave-(safely-seated)-from-the-shore" kind of girl :)
    Looking forward to your post about the Blue Lagoon!
    xx,
    E.
    www.theslowpace.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! The photo quality is amazing even with the GoPro and underwater camera. This series on Iceland is inspiring me. Iceland is number one on my list of places to go now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It looks so nice! The images are great, the quality isn't too bad.

    www.thecrackedlensblog.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I gotta say that you now rank higher on my Coolest People!! Snorkelling between two tectonic plates gotta be one awesome thing to do!!! What did you feel?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Another thing I need to add to my list for when I explore Iceland! What software do you use you edit your photos? They always look so amazing...

    Kam | A Married Couple & Their Travels

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, that is incredibly beautiful, but also a bit claustrophobic. :) Do you think a claustrophobe like me would be able to handle it?
    http://liveitinerantly.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quyen - I don't see why not! We never went through any really narrow passages in the water. Putting the mask on might feel scary because it's so tight, but once you're in the water you'll be grateful for it. :)

      Delete
  8. holy crap! and I thought my husband and I were hardcore doing the 'into the volcano' tour when we were there last month. this is crazy!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. by BUN - Oh wow, I didn't even hear of a tour like that! Sounds awesome. Iceland is a land of adventure.

      Delete
  9. Wow, I went snorkelling in Scotland with Basking sharks a few weeks ago and thought that was cold. I've not heard of anyone snorkelling in Iceland before. What fish of the few did you see?

    http://somewhereyonder.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/3-ways-to-swim-with-sharks.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. claire - I'm sure it was close to the same temperature as snorkeling in Scotland. Amazing you saw sharks! It was fresh water, and we saw just a couple tiny fish that I don't know. It was pretty deserted down there.

      Delete
  10. SUCH pretty photos. Ah, so awesome; makes me wanna go snorkeling at this very moment :B

    ladyindo.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, my, this is fantastic! I visited Shetland in August and I remember how great it felt to stand between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, but to swim between the plates of Europe and America! Wow. Thank you for sharing this pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  12. You are BRAVE! Just looking at these pictures made me cold, haha! But so so lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Very cool shots! Snorkeling in iceland sounds amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Such amazing photos! Definitely have added scuba diving to my list of adventures for my Iceland trip. Can't imagine the cold though!! x
    http://mustforwanderlust.blogspot.ca

    ReplyDelete
  15. wild! did you look into scuba diving there?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. janis - No we didn't. Snorkeling was expensive enough and diving is always more, so we felt content snorkeling this one time. :) I know you can do it though!

      Delete
  16. WOWWW Vilken Härlig och inpirerande blogg du har:) jag blir glad härinne......Jag följer nu på bloglovin...hoppas du följer tillbaka.

    Om du gillar inredning kan du kolla in min blogg:)

    Ha en fin fortsatt dag

    LOVE Maria at inredningsvis.se - en blogg om inredning

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hej, Jag bruka kolla på din blogg, den är jätte snygg, stilren, professionell. snygg bilder :D

    ReplyDelete
  18. Whoa! Fantastic pictures. I'm a fan of your work, guys.

    May I ask... how do you do it to give that look to your pictures? Is is a filter in your camera or something?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! We edit using VSCO Film and Adobe Lightroom.

      Delete
  19. This looks so so amazing! I love your photos

    ReplyDelete
  20. did you go through a certain company to do this?? and how much did it cost? we want to do this but aren't sure what the best deal would be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Auts - We went through Arctic Adventures. Here's a link to the specific tour with prices: http://www.adventures.is/Iceland/Snorkeling/IntotheBlue

      It was pretty spendy and we probably wouldn't have done it if we didn't have friends who were going.

      Delete
  21. Wow! I thought Iceland would be an amazing place to visit anyway but after seeing this I have got to go there!
    Will have to check out more of your posts and find more places to visit
    Sarah x

    ReplyDelete