After a great night's sleep and a filling breakfast, we took to the road again, but this time, we headed off-road into the Icelandic Highlands with Arctic Adventures.
A quick stop as the road turned into a proper rutted off-road trail, to lower the tyre pressures on our pimped-up Toyota Landcruiser, and we were on our way to the first dive site of our trip – Odin's Tear.
Update: Iceland adventure, day three
Odin's Tear is a small, tear-drop-shaped lake in the heart of the Highlands, and it is an unlikely dive site, located where it is, but it is well worth the hours of off-road driving – and the 15-minute hike with all of your equipment to actually get to the water's edge!
The topside scenery surrounding this small body of water is stunning, but it is when you stick your head below the surface of the 3 degree C water that things really get awe-inspiring.
Imagine diving in a lake full of the purest mineral water on the planet and you'd be close to Odin's Tear. The unreal clarity of the water is something else – our guide and photographer Eliska was playing with lighting some 50 metres away halfway across the 120-metre-long lake, and she was as clear to the eye as if she was a mere metre or so away. It is hard to explain just how clear this water is – you almost feel you are flying, it is only when you breathe out and your exhaled bubbles head for the surface that you remember you are underwater.
After hauling all our kit back to the Landcruiser, we headed further into the Highlands through some of the most-amazing scenery I have ever seen, including several exciting river crossings, mountain climbs, steep descents, and much more.
A quick stop for a late lunch and a dip in the thermal hot river at Reykjadalur – which means ‘steam valley' – to soothe aching muscles, and we were off again, eventually emerging from the Highlands in the west, reinflating the tyres and then taking the main ring road back into Reykjavik, where we were spending the night.
Tomorrow we head to the famous Silfra Rift dive site, and then get on the road north ready for more coastal dive adventures later in the week.
