{"id":8273,"date":"2018-09-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/camperstories\/secrets-of-summer-solstice\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T07:12:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:12:57","slug":"secrets-of-summer-solstice","status":"publish","type":"camperstories","link":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/fr\/camperstories\/secrets-of-summer-solstice\/","title":{"rendered":"Secrets of Summer Solstice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iceland’s Midnight sun<\/span><\/h2>\n

6 July 2018<\/span><\/h3>\n

Silfra Snorkeling<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Can you believe it is 12:30 in the morning and there is still daylight visible out of our 4×4 Camper van as I am writing this blog? My body\u2019s internal clock has no idea what time it is now considering we\u2019ve had a four-hour time change and the setting sun is still visible in the Icelandic sky. Travelling around Iceland\u2019s famed Ring Road<\/a> (Route 1) in five days, I\u2019m anxious to see how light it will be as we near the Arctic Circle in our camper van. Running on diesel, our camper van can comfortably sleep four people, so Alyssa, Shaina, Zach, and I are all set, even with our own provided sleeping bags. Our camper van has everything we need to make it possible to travel the Ring Road in a short amount of time before we continue on to Europe. The roof pops up to accommodate two passengers to sleep above the vehicle, there are chairs and a table inside, and we even have WiFi, to make the reading of this blog possible. We are definitely satisfied with our decision to rent a camper van<\/a> rather than stay at Airbnbs and rent a vehicle during our time in Iceland.<\/p>\n

\"4x4<\/a>\u00a0\"4WD<\/a><\/p>\n

We spent our first day driving around Reykjav\u00edk, the capital of Iceland and the northern most capital in the world, to stop at B\u00f3nus (a grocery store to stock up on groceries to live off of in our camper van) before making our way up to Silfra.\u00a0 Arriving at Silfra, we had a scheduled dive of the glacial lake at 16:00, which would not have been possible if it weren\u2019t for the midnight sun. With the Earth\u2019s Northern Hemisphere tilted towards the sun, Iceland experiences an incredible amount of sunlight during the summer months. If we were to arrive in winter to snorkel Silfra (yes, it is still possible) the darkness of the early-setting sun would have prevented us from snorkeling.<\/p>\n

We were so excited we could snorkel at 16:00 after our flight had arrived earlier that morning. Never have I ever been snorkeling in thirty-seven degree water, but it was a memorable experience I will never forget. It is the only place in the world where you can see two tectonic plates clashing. We saw the Eurasian Plate meet the North American Plate at the largest lake in Iceland, \u00deingvallavatn. The water was so clean that our tour guide even told us to drink water straight from the lake. The water comes from a glacier north of the lake, and the water travels to the mantel of the Earth at depths of eight miles before resurfacing-It takes 20-30 years for this process to take place. The water was crystal clear and absolutely freezing, but thankfully, our dry suits kept us warm and is definitely the highlight of today.<\/p>\n

\"Snorkeling<\/a><\/p>\n