Day 6 – Riverjet, Tomatoes, and Snorkeling

Our fourth day in Iceland started with a panic when Brian realized at 10:25 that he had booked us for our Iceland Riverjet experience at 11:00 and not later in the afternoon. This gave us approximately 10 minutes to get ready before we had to leave the house.

Of course, Eilidh chose this time to dirty her diaper, so she got a new diaper in lieu of a new outfit, staying in her pajamas for the 15-minute drive to the Riverjet meeting point where we signed papers and checked in for the ride. Brian dropped us off and drove away, just before we were told we needed escorted further to the actual spot where the experience was set to take place.

We frantically called Brian for a ride and ultimately made it to the site in time. The site was simply a cargo container a few meters from the river, which served as a storage hold for the weather-resistant rescue suits we were to wear on the boat. The 6 riders and driver fit comfortably in the small 9-seat boat which was equipped with a jet engine. Other than the fact that this allowed us to drive in very shallow water, I don’t know what this means.

The Riverjet experience consisted of our small boat hurtling down the white water rapids of Hvita River below the Gullfoss waterfall. The 35-minute ride featured high speeds and multiple spun donuts, yielding a super-fun ride with great Iceland views!

While we were boating, Brian returned to the house to feed Eilidh and finish getting ready for the day. In addition to taking some food from her tube and water by mouth, Eilidh managed to pull out every remaining baby wipe from the package.

After picking us up we headed to Friðheimar, whose tourist centerpiece is a fairly large eatery surrounded by a sprawling maze of interconnected green houses impressively filled with rows and rows of tomato plants. Our server provided us with a brief history and examination of the farm, including tidbits such as the fact that 80% of the tomatoes served and eaten in Iceland are grown on this farm, and more than 600 bumblebees reside in the facility for pollination purposes and provide company for restaurant diners.

The menu consisted of only three entrees and three desserts: never ending supply of tomato soup and bread; tomato tortillas, prepared like a margherita pizza; and pasta with tomato sauce (and tomatoes on the side.) Desserts unsurprisingly also contained tomatoes: cheesecake with tomato-cinnamon-lime jam, tomato ice cream, and green tomato and apple pie.

All three adults opted for tomato soup while the kids opted for pasta plates. Emmie wasn’t a big fan of her pasta, but Noah devoured his quickly and wanted to be sure all of his leftovers made it into the takeaway box. Cassy, Brian, and I all enjoyed our soup and bread, especially the slices from the loaves with green olives baked inside!

Fair-haired and blue-eyed Eilidh was discovered by a bus of Chinese tourists and played tough to impress as they vied for her attention and snapped photos of her on their phones. Brian and Cassy finished the meal with dessert, ordering the pie and cheesecake, respectively. While Emmie was underwhelmed by her pasta, she loved the jam which accompanied Cassy’s cheesecake!

A lazy afternoon at our Icelandic home sounded appealing, so that is how we spent our afternoon! The downtime also gave us some time to work on laundry and prep luggage for our departure from our Icelandic home en route to our next stop in Berlin, Germany.

Nap time was followed by a trip to The Lava Center, a brand new museum experience dedicated to educating visitors about Iceland’s many fiery mountains. Thought it felt a bit overpriced, the museum was interesting for both children and adults.

The “Exhibit” portion of the museum featured information about volcano formation, a history of eruptions in Iceland, and cool interactive exhibits including an an entire room that rumbled and shook to simulate what the earth would feel like if you were near an active volcano. The “Cinema” showed a 13-minute video with additional information on volcanoes and interesting footage from some of Iceland’s most recent eruptions.

Our visit concluded with a trip to the overpriced gift shop where a few seconds after having been told not to touch anything, Emmie handled, dropped, and shattered a $23 glass beaker full of blank volcanic sand. We made our exit pretty quickly after that, and, luckily, the lady working was nice enough to not charge us for the broken beaker. Cassy did find a reasonably-priced Iceland-made candle, while Brian allowed Noah to buy a way-overpriced magnet so they spent the approximate amount of goods broken by Emmie.

Dinner at the Eldstó Art Cafe was next on the list. The kids opted for hamburgers and fries, which was fortunate, since this was the only item on the unpublished kids menu. Cassy chose a bacon panini, Brian a barbecue burger, and I ordered fish and chips. The meal was solid. The only downside was the liberal application of ketchup to the kids’ burgers, which tempered at least Noah’s consumption.

Cassy stayed home with the big kids while Brian, Eilidh, and I made the drive to Silfra in Þingvellir National Park to meet up with DIVE.IS for my snorkeling session. Silfra is a fissure located between the continental plates of North American and Eurasia, which are slowly drifting apart by approximately 2 centimeters per year.

Melted glacial water from Langjökull runs slowly underground, filtered continuously by porous lava rock. By the time the water gets to Silfra, it is some of the purest in the world, yielding a wonderfully tasting refreshment and amazingly clear underwater views up to 120 meters. I was in a group of 4 snorkelers and our guide, an Italian diver named Elli. We received a history lesson on Silfra, and, with the help of Elli and “the surface crew,” donned undersuits and large and cumbersome dry suits, gloves, flippers, and head gear.

With water temperatures at 2 degrees Celsius (35 Fahrenheit), your lips feel frozen the second you hit the water. The coldness is quickly offset by view down through the bright blue water, which was simply phenomenal. I had one panic when my mouthpiece suddenly filled with air and my dry suit wouldn’t allow me to roll over fast enough to breathe, but I was finally able to do so, and breathe right, about the time our guide arrived to ‘rescue’ me.

Overall it was a phenomenal experience and one I would highly recommend if you are ever in Iceland!