Using the same title for this post as one of Jules Verne’s best-known works is a bold move, but I think it is pretty aptly used this time. We are in Silfra, Iceland, which can be accurately described as a bunch of volcanic debris spilling over from in between two tectonic plates – the North American plate on the right-hand side in the video, and the European plate will be on the left. In between? No man’s land. In the most literal meaning of the word, it does not belong to the European plate, nor does it to the American plate. Icelandic people claim that if they ever have to choose between the two continents, they will keep this little part neutral. At Silfra, you are free, floating in between continents, with none of the Earth’s crust underneath you. It goes down into the mantle.

Apart from being around freezing temperature (the water was 2 degrees Celsius) that makes you appear like a whale in a dry-suit, the water is crystal clear after because it is filtered through volcanic rocks. This means that you can see for hundreds of meters, quite a surreal underwater experience, especially when there are deep drops underneath you.

Now I am just saving up so I can get back there and dive instead of snorkeling.