TRAVEL: For 91 Days in Iceland

[Sorry: worth buying if you want some unusual experiences, but the free promotion period is over]
For 91 Days in Iceland is part of a series of books written by this team of authors. Their approach to travel is somewhat unusual: they move to a new country and live there for three months. During this time, they visit many places that tourists probably never see, such as the Silfra fresh water dive site, where you can dive in the gap between two continents.

Photo provided by http://www.dive.is

I don't enjoy the cold, but this book has definitely piqued my curiosity. The authors mention several activities I'd like to try, such as "Snorkeling at the Silfra Fissure." I can't resist quoting the humorous introduction:

Floating on your stomach in near-freezing water is normally an experience one has after being murdered by the Mafia. But in the right circumstances, it can be enjoyable. When you're alive, for instance, and looking through crystal clear glacial water at the Silfra Fissure.

They go on to reassure the reader that the tour company, Dive.is, provides dry suits which "keep out the cold and keep in the warmth" and a PADI training course to teach you how to swim in them. I wish I was a few years younger!

Iceland has many great places to observe nature, and this book's active table of contents can help you locate them. In the Arctic Fox Center at Suðavík, for instance, you can learn about the only terrestrial mammal native to Iceland (almost hunted to extinction), and if you're lucky, you can watch rescued fox pups. A visit to the Látrabjarg Bird Cliffs will allow you to see millions of birds close up, including some of the 10,000,000 puffins that live in this small country.

Although I prefer to visit warm countries, For 91 Days in Iceland provides lots of enjoyable reading.