Diving between tectonic plates in 35 degrees, hail pelting my face,ninja jumping

Didn't sleep too bad last night. The loud rain kept me up more than the cold. We have one large sleeping by so anytime I needed warmth Andy just held me closer. Up at 730 which was amazing we slept in. We quickly tore down the tent, climbed over the fence on the stairs, and headed for the scuba meeting place.

 We met up with the Dive.IS diver masters and headed for Silfra. There was another couple, a British and Argentinian. The wind was blowing, it was raining, and I was getting very nervous about getting into the 35 degree water. Just get it over with I thought. My shoes were still wet from yesterday so I was really happy to put on the jumper that goes under the dry suit. Then I found out the gloves were not part of the dry suit. Oh shit, that was the remaining bit of hope that was keeping me from freaking out. We checked out the dive site for the briefing and the water was crystal clear. 

We put on our 26+ lbs of weights, the BCD and oxygen tank and walked over to the site. This crap is heavy up I was happy to work up a sweat before the dive. Into the water we go.  Once I go down for the check, my face freezing and so does my brain. Holy shit this is going to be a long 25 min. First was the dive master, then the Argentinian, then me and Andy brought up the rear since he had the most experience.

The dive was amazing! We could we 200+ ft and all sorts of colors. I have no idea how there can be so many colors when there's no plants or animals. There was this neon green algae that add dramatic pops. Up and down between the tectonic plates. Very cool. At the end we made a sharp left to be sure we didn't get caught in the lake current or we would have been screwed. Once we got out of the water, we had to walk 500 yards back to the truck. It was HARD. I felt like I was walking at altitude. Going up a small hill had me breathing hard. However I was working up a sweat and that was a good thing. Back at the truck, the wind was blowing so hard I left my hood on. Andy had to help me pull off my gloves. Then I noticed my left hand was swollen from lack of blood flow from the wrists being too tight on my suit. They are still puffy now 12 hrs later. 

I considered not going back in for my second dive I was so cold. Then I remembered its warmer in the freezing water than it is outside. Back in we went again for the same dive, so beautiful. Once we got back to the car I quickly made up sammies of cheese, salmon and beluga caviar. It was so delish. That mixed with the warmth of the car made me a happy person. My lips were so swollen from the water. Quite impressive. 

On the road again, we headed to Hverageroi since it has thermal springs and that's what we needed. The whole town runs on these springs, greenhouses and restaurants. Andy read about a hot river and set his mind to do it so that's what we were going to do. It was raining so hard and I was still recovering from the diving, it was the last thing on my mind. I grabbed a large garbage bag to protect my pants from a kid working at the public hot spring area because he felt bad for me, and I was ready (kind of). The kid said the water was prob 35 degrees C which isn't warm enough for me to get out of my clothes in the hail. We went into the little cafe near the entrance  of the hike and they said it was hailing earlier. Are you fucking kidding me? I'm so over it and it hasn't started yet. 

We started up the hill, cold rain hitting out face, Beth not happy. I started to warm up and my world got brighter. We saw amazing waterfalls and had to ninja jump over several water/mud ponds. My shoes were kinda dry and that's very important to me these days. The garbage bag was working wonderfully to protect my pants from the rain. In the end, the hot river Andy was looking for wasn't hot so we turned back. My shoes did get wet but it was worth it. The views were so beautiful. We could see the hail/rain over the valley. We decided to spring for a campsite for $25 and cook some Mac and Cheese and hotdogs. Yum! We put up the tent before it we raining or windy so that worked for me. Another full day and I'm beat. The wind is picking up like a mo fo. This is going to be another interesting night. 

Huge waterfalls, an Israeli and wet pants

We arrived at KEF at 630am after a night of rough sleep for me, none for Andy. It doesn't matter, we made it! At the car rental place, Andy commented how big thick everyone is here.  Of course not the little guy who helped us at the rental place. The big guys definitely look like Vikings but the little guy would have been an archer he said. LOL. Got in our little VW (how is this not the smallest size?) and headed to Rekyavik for an emergency cup of coffee and food. Hunger, exhaustion, and me not being able to understand the street signs is already taking a toll. It's is going to be interesting.

The town (city?) of Reykavik is small and very cute. We parked and ran into the first bakery we saw and immediate ordered two coffees, two pretzels a doughnut, and two sammies for the road. I feel rejuvenated and ready to go! We head out of the city and start on the Golden Circle. Well, we didn't take the direct route, I'm still getting used to the map and names. 

It's amazing how there's no one here. Driving on the "highway" is beautiful, green and no traffic. Our first stop was at Pingvellir to get our first views of some water and scope out what well be diving in tomorrow. It's really windy and cold. How am I going to get in that water? I'm already freezing. Andy decided to not go immediate to the bathroom since it was $1, he can hold it he says. After we walk around he asks me to run up to the visitors center and get him a bathroom pass stat. Being the amazing girlfriend that I am, I rush and get him a card so he can waddle his way to the bathroom. Mental note, don't hold it, it's not worth shitting your pants to save $1. We head east and see a hitchhiker after we pass Laugarvatn. He's smiling and soaking wet so we do the right thing and stop. He's David from Jersey then Israel. Super nice and he tags along to our next stop at Geysir.

The actual Geysir only goes off 2-3 times a day since too many tourists threw rocks in it, but Strokkur goes off every 5 min. It's was amazing to see the water in the hole moving around ready to blow. It catches you off guard and everyone cheers. We head up the mountain and fine a boiling spring, Andy puts his hand in it. Well not really, he puts his hand in the water 10 ft from the spring and it was still very hot. Putting your hand in the mineral water is very silky, I can't wait to get in some hot springs!

Our next stop is Gulfoss, an amazing HUGE series of waterfalls. The power of the falls is amazing, it seems more powerful than Niagra as I remember it. We get some awesome pics and move on. David shows us the way to a secret waterfall hidden along a trail near some summer homes. Andy Audi have jeans on, which are soaked since the trail isn't clear and our jeans re brushing up against the shrubs. Our feet fall in water and we are very soaked. Oh well, it's part of the experience. The hike was completely worth it. It was a set of smaller waterfalls but the rocks were black and the ravine in the middle of the river makes the water crystal blue. We are so lucky to have found it. It pays to pick up hitchhikers!

Now we are hungry and stop in one of the two open places there are to eat.  Just then, 40 large blond Icelandic teens come running down the road pushing cars that aren't broken down. WTF? These kids were beats! Even Andy was intimidated. Haha. I couldn't handle being around them and I didn't want to pay $20 for a small pizza so we went to a restaurant around the corner. That place was expensive. $20 for a bowl of soup!? He'll no. The three of us decided to get some items at the store and cook at the hostel David stayed the previous night. The owners were so nice letting us cook in the kitchen. We had some amazing baked beans and hotdogs. After we ate and warmed up a bit, we headed back out into the rain to drop David off so he could hitch a ride back to Rakyvik and we could pitch our tent.

The visitors center wanted $27 for us to camp there. F that. It's free if we just go down the road a bit. We found a great place off the main road. It was only 6, too early to go to bed to we headed for the thermal baths. They were amazing. The saunas were hot as shit though and I thought my skin was going to melt off. Back and forth between the warm and hot baths. We relaxed in the warmth with the light rain hitting out face. We previously called to confirm that we were going to dive in the potential hurricane tomorrow. It shouldn't be a problem she said. Oh good. Lets do it so I can get over my nervousness of getting in this water and a huge winds when I get out. Even the farmers are getting their sheep off the mountain so they don't die in the potential snow storm. 

Back to our found camping spot to quickly put up our tent. It's raining a bit but not too cold. It's 930 and finally getting dark. I'm going to sleep well tonight. There are no snakes or large animals. Just Icelandic ponied that could trample us I supposed, but how much damage could they do? 

And we're off!! SFO>SEA>KEF

Easy morning making our way to SFO across the old Bay Bridge one last time. Parked the car at work and cabbed it to the airport. No line through the gates so we had two hours to spare. What to do? Get some celebratory vacation drinks that's what. We met Lenard at the bar and talked about the house he's building in Mendo on 20 acres. Beautiful views, I think I could live there, but it's kinda like WV (not much civilization around) so I change my mind. 

Andy packed a beautiful tomato (of course it cant be left at home) so now we needed something to go w/ it. We stopped to buy a $5 half loaf to add to our $60 bar tab. At checkout the lady asked if we found what we were looking for today. Andy took the bait and asked "what's up with that question? Do you really think we found everything we are looking for here?" Luckily she was amused and not irritated at some one simply answering her question. "I have to ask that question." Poor girl. When the dude behind us who overheard the conversation was asked the same question his retort was "no way!". Glad the revolution has begun. 

That's about all the excitement there is for today. I'll be taking my Xanax in in a few to get some sleep on our ~7 hour flight to Iceland so I'm not comatose on the Golden Circle journey. I'm envisioning us now in a small (not the smallest!) car scooting around Iceland on those questionable roads. Oh there's a river crossing we shouldn't go through but probably will. Good times. BTW, we just realized the water we will be diving in is just above freezing. I might die or paralyze my face. It better be freakin amazing. I also left the liquor at home. That could be a good or a bad thing. Probably the former.