We started the day at þingvellir, an amazing little national park located between the two tectonic plates. Our short trek through the park lead us to the truly adventurous parts of the day: caving and snorkeling.
Caving: Treacherous, treacherous ice. We never figured out if it was a better idea to give up on helping each other and let it be if one fell only one fell, or keep a hold onto some one beside you and cause a domino effect when the inevitable slip happened. Regardless, we saw some pretty impressive stalactites and stalagmites made both from ice and mineral deposits and even a few columns where the tops and bottoms joined. The cave we wandered through (Gjábakkahellir) was the result of an old lava flow that wormed its way through the ground. the smooth rock surfaces on the inside spoke to the intense and fast heat that had passed through there some years ago. Our guide stopped us half way through to tell us some scary troll stories in the dark about cavers that disappeared in the darkness and were never seen again (assumed to have been consumed by the trolls). Happily all of our numbers emerged at the other end of the cave and spent some happy minutes lounging on the thick cushiony moss and nursing any bruises we may have sustained during slips and stumbles below ground.
Snorkeling: The first thing I will say is that I am almost certain that my face has never been colder than it was during this experience. Scuba Dive Iceland took our group in halves snorkeling in Glacial water that is kept JUST above freezing all year long because the river is located above the juncture where the North Atlantic and the European plates meet. Fortunately they had all the gear you could possibly need to keep the rest of you warm, but the getting into all of it was an adventure in its own right.
We all looked like rockstars in the get-up and had more than a little difficulty walking down to Silfra "Silver". The views under water were spectacular and eerie. Spectacular because the water was so clear that you could see straight down to the bottom through the aquamarine water, and eerie because the only life present in the river was algae and other floating plant life. No fish. The stillness was unsettlingly gorgeous.
Once we had extracted ourselves from the constrictive equipment we took a celebratory picture and headed back to the bus and on to dinner. Another full day for the GREEN adventurers.
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