I went snorkeling in Iceland, at the Silfra fissure in Þingvellir National Park.
While taking in literally breath-taking views, my hands and face went numb.
But it’s so worth it.
The crew over at Arctic Adventures make you strip down to your skivvies and gear you up in waterproof gloves, boots, and a wetsuit. Not ironically stylish, but functional.
I made a mental note to integrate that into a very hipster “Oh yes, I’ve been between the continental plates,” while enjoying a microbrew with other hipsters, at a later date to be determined.
Yes, that’s me in a hilariously massive wetsuit. I suppose they didn’t have any from their travel sized collection left. Good, yet chilly times, were had by all. Before that afternoon, I had never felt two degree water or had any reason to imagine what it felt like.
As I swam in the tectonic rift valley, I did. I couldn’t help but think about that scene from Titanic, where Leo and Kate beat box, I mean, try to light a fire with only the fake chattering of their teeth.
Then I got distracted by the kicking from the person in front of me.
After the snorkeling, our guide let us jump off a local cliff into the freezing water. It was amazing, and thanks to all the gear, my trendy little boy-shorts didn’t even get damp.
Get your own freezer pop experience from Iceland Excursions. They put the celand in Iceland! It’s a bit of a drive out to Þingvellir, but they pick you up near your hostel and shuttle you out there and back.
This post first appeared on Triptease.com in a far shorter form. As they no longer post or share content, all of their user submitted content now redirects back to their home page. I recycled the post for use on my personal blog and the old Triptease post is no longer accessible.