Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.12.2016, Qupperneq 58

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 18 — 2016
58
Even in a town as small and
quiet as Reykjavík, it’s still easy
to get caught up in daily urban
stresses: Drin king too much
caffeine, staying up too late,
and djamming a little too hard.
What can a person do to wind
down and relax? Going into na-
ture is one thing, but what does
one do there?
Water therapy
One foggy Monday morning, I
found the answer to those ques-
tions about 40 minutes outside
Reykjavík, in Þingvellir Nation-
al Park. I was there to finally try
out Arctic Adventures’s famed
snorkelling tour through the
Silfra tectonic fissure. I don’t
know what I was expecting, but
I didn’t think it would be one of
the most relaxing afternoons
I’ve had in ages. Trust me, trav-
eller: you don’t need therapy, or
a massage. Nope—just grab a
scuba mask and a wetsuit.
This tour is, first off, quite
novel: the swimming area is
directly between the Eurasian
and North American tectonic
plates on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
This means that, theoretically,
if you touch both sides of the
narrow scuba path at once, you
are in both Europe and Ameri-
ca. Unfortunately, as our guide
humorously explained to us,
this gimmick is not technical-
ly true. The plates are actually
30km apart, so while you are, of
course, swimming in between
them, if you touch both sides of
the walls at once, you aren’t in
both Europe and America un-
less you have a 30km wingspan.
Of course, you needn’t tell your
Facebook friends about this: it’ll
still make a great profile picture!
The fissure is a deep, narrow
trench filled with clear, ice-cold
water, surrounded on both sides
by dark mossy stone. It looks
just a few metres deep at first
glance, but it ’s much deeper.
W hile I only did some scuba
diving, the location is also sup-
posed to be one of the best in the
world for deeper dives.
Into the blue
Back at the park, we change into
our warm suits and wetsuits.
It’s still foggy and other attend-
ees start voicing worries—will
the water be too cold? Will we
get sick? Our guide assures us
that we won’t feel chilly at all.
I feel doubtful—this is glacier
water, after all.
I’m the first one in the water,
and as I submerge myself in icy
glacial meltwater, I’m completely
toasty and dry. Throughout the
whole snorkel path there’s a soft
current, which means you can
just relax and mosy along while
staring at the deep blue—there’s
barely a need to swim. The suits
also make you float, creating a
sort of zero-gravity experience. I
splay out my arms and legs, and
every muscle in my body totally
relaxes. It’s incredible. Even my
neck, where I keep my tension,
completely loosens. It ’s better
than any massage I’ve had.
Completely at ease, I concen-
trate on the view. At first glance,
there’s little wildlife—you won’t
see any fish or whales here, but
rather a stony cavern. But as you
get used to it, you start to no-
tice more captivating details.
Personally, I became obsessed
with this orange/pink plant life
on the tops of the stones. Was
it algae? Lichen? Coral? I have
no idea. Even so, these organ-
isms float in the water perfectly
straight upwards, covered with
l it t le gl it tering air bubbles.
They’re gorgeous. I desperately
wanted to reach out and touch
them, but I kept my guide Da-
v id’s words in my head, “No
touching!” I wish I’d had an un-
derwater camera so I could’ve
taken pictures.
In the days after the trip, I’ve
dreamed of going back. The dai-
ly stresses kicked in, and there
are some knots forming in my
neck—maybe it’s time for more
underwater therapy?
I’ll see you there.
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Swimming
In Silence
A scintillating snorkel
in the Silfra fissure
Distance from
Reykjavík
40 km
Trip provided by
adventures.is
Words HANNAH JANE COHEN Photos ART BICNICK
How to get there
Take Route 1 to Mosfellsbær, then take Route 36