Day 2 in Iceland quickly approached us at 0600 this morning. I don’t think I have been so quick to get out of bed so early given how tired I was! I’ve slept maybe a total of 6 hours in the last 2 days- the jet lag is real. Also, the fact that the sun doesn’t set until about 2330 and rises at 0330 doesn’t help the sleep schedule either!
These random Nordic art structures were our neighbors, had to capture pictures!
Anyways, we left our very cozy, cottage styled Airbnb in Reykjavik and headed towards the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is infamous for Pingvellir National Park, Geysir, Gullfoss waterfall and Kerid volcanic crater.
We had booked in advance a snorkeling tour in the Silfra Fissure which is located in Pingvellir National Park. Silfra is a fissure between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The water temperature remains at 2-3 degrees Celsius year round since it is fresh out of a glacier.
North American continent on the right and the Eurasian continent on the left! (Wait until you see under the water!)
We arrived to Silfra after about an hour drive from Reykjavik. It was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit outside.. the nerves were setting in!
We parked our car and walked to another parking lot that consisted of many vans full of snorkel and dive equipment.
We signed in and were introduced to a whole new experience we never knew existed- putting on wet suits. If you’ve seen the movie Ace Ventura When Nature Calls, then you can trust me when I say that putting on a wetsuit is in fact the same experience Jim Carey had when he escaped from the rear of a rhino. Unfortunately, we didn’t get pictures of us getting into the suits, so just refer to the top right picture below.
Boy we sure were glad to have these while venturing through freezing waters so the struggle was definitely worth it! Too bad we can’t show you how fully ridiculous we looked with our flippers and snorkel piece on!
Here we go! Luckily I was able to take my go pro with me and attempt to get some decent footage. Everything on our body was covered with wetsuit but a small area on our face. The water was shocking at first but it didn’t really bother us after a little while. My first look under the water completely took my breath away. 
One of the most incredible experiences of our lives! So thankful to have been able to do it. We were in the water for about 35 minutes which was plenty. After the tour, we received hot chocolate and cookies.
Hot chocolate has never tasted so good!!
They also encouraged us to taste the water and must I say, it was the best water I’ve ever tasted. I made sure to fill my water bottle up before we left!
We hopped back on the road and headed towards Geyser. We met some new friends along the way!
Savannah and I talked about how jealous we were of their hair on our way to the next stop, Geysir. Another landmark you can’t miss while driving the golden circle.
The Geysir erupted every few minutes, some bigger than others. Luckily we captured this shot! We hit the road again and headed towards Gullfoss waterfall- one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of Iceland. Here you can see why!
After Gullfoss, we went to our final stop on the Golden Circle, Kerid, a volcano crater. The colors were magical!
After our golden circle tour, we attempted to find a thermal river to swim in that we had read about. Well we found it but unfortunately it was closed because of damage due to thawing of winter. We really wanted to sneak in, then read in small print on the sign that we could go to prison. So we decided we best should leave. We stopped to get gas to fuel up for another day of travel tomorrow. Gas cost us roughly $40 for about 5 gallons of gas. Ouch! Good thing we are living off of pb&j and pumpkin seeds to save money!
Currently, we are relaxing at our Airbnb where it is after 9 pm but looks like it’s about 4 in the afternoon! Packing a eye mask was probably the best decision I’ve made in my almost 25 years of life. Hoping we can get some good shut eye tonight as tomorrow is another adventure packed day!
The Aud Blog 