Diving in Silfra
Nicolas and Precilla visited us from California this week and asked if I (Finnur) wanted to join them for a dive in Silfra (in Þingvellir). This was the perfect opportunity for me to do the dry suit course I’d been meaning to take, and Oli, who had also been toying with the idea of diving in Iceland, decided to do the same.
So, we all headed out to Þingvellir early on Sunday morning with our guides.
We parked the cars at Þingvellir
... and scouted the dive location (from left to right: Óli, Nicolas and Precilla).
We had a quick study session about the general area and about diving in Silfra
And then it was time for all of us to suit up. Here you can tell by the colors in the photo that I had the camera in the underwater case (it compensates for the lack of certain colors at depth when in the case).
And me and Óli suited up too... 🙂 (unfortunately I forgot to take a before-diving picture of Óli -- sorry Óli) 🙂
And in the water we go! Entry is down the stairs seen behind Nicolas here in the photo.
Óli and I were the first in the water but we stayed behind along with the instructor to do some basic dry suit skills while the rest started diving in Silfra.
Óli posing for the camera
The dive has shallow parts and deep parts. This is one of the shallow parts where the water is so shallow we are practically snorkeling. Shallow usually means nice colors, since the water filters out certain wavelengths the deeper you dive. 🙂
And then it is back down the abyss again! 🙂
Here we get to the deeper parts. You can see snorkelers up ahead in the distance. Precilla was one of them.
Ups and downs
The divers leave a distinct trail. 🙂
The deepest we got was about 63 feet (just over 19 m). The water was a few degrees above freezing. 🙂
Lots of divers and snorkelers all around admiring the scenery
We followed our instructor on both dives and occasionally he needed to look behind him to see if we were still there. Here he is checking on us. 🙂
More pretty colors
And some close-ups of vegetation
But, it was not all fun and games, we had to practice more skills for the certification. Here is Óli practicing how to hover in the water. 🙂
Some weird vegetation or something that I saw on the bottom
The slope upwards. Soon thereafter (if I recall correctly) there is a left turn with some shallow waters where we did some more skill practice and then the dive ended.
Happy divers at the end of both dives.
Nicolas, Óli and me trading stories about our dives.
Overlooking Silfra before leaving
And so a fun diving experience came to an end. Óli, Nicolas and Precilla got a ride back with the dive company while Hrefna picked me up to stay with her family celebrating Hrefna’s mother’s birthday at Þingvellir.
And, for even more pictures of the dive see this Picasa Web Album…
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| 2011-06-19 Silfra |
