After many local dives in our DUI drysuits, we are off to Iceland to dive in a World Heritage Site: The Silfra Crack in Thingvellir National Park (The continental drift between the Eurasian and North American Plates).
We drove to a grassy field to suit-up, walked (in full gear) across a field, and climb down into the start of the Crack. The water is glacial melt-off that has taken about 30 years running through underground rocks to get to this surface opening. The water here is crystal clear and so fresh you have to take a drink when you get in (which we did). Oh, did I mention that this water is 37 degrees (F)! Thanks to our DUI drysuits, we were able to make a 45 minute dive in 37 degree water - that was amazing!
In this picture you can see that I can reach out my arms and touch both Europe and North America at the same time. We were, however, limited in the number of pictures our camera would take because the water temperature was so cold it kept draining our batteries.
At the end of this dive we had to exit by crawling - YES CRAWLING - over rocks wearing all our gear! Then we had to walk back to the car: about one half of a mile in full gear. We did this several times and our DUI drysuits were perfect for this rough challenge. These drysuits are fantastic!
Next, we drove to the north-west side of Iceland to dive Strýtan (a geothermal chimney). While no hiking or climbing in and out over rocks was required for this dive, make sure you note the snow on the hills in the picture's background. The water here warmed up to 40 degrees (F).
 
Diving in Iceland was a great experience and it would not have been possible without our DUI drysuits!
Take Care and Dive Safe,
Cindy and Larry
Irvine, CA
|
