#buckets pools lakes rivers man

[murcielagatito]

janine would straight up start crying if barbara said anything genuinely sweet to her lbr

[chaoscouncilcreaturecorner]

Water & Beach-Themed Names & Pronouns List

Names:

🤍 Masculine Names:

🐚Caspian - Origin: Caspian Sea

🐳Kai - Origin: Hawaiian - Meaning: "Sea"

🐚Ren - Origin: Diminutive of Rene or Japanese - Meaning: "Water lily; Lotus"

🐳Maxwell - Origin: Scottish - Meaning: "Great steam"

🐚Clyde - Origin: Scottish River Name

🐳Alon - Origin: Hebrew; Filipino Word - Meaning: "Oak tree; Wave"

🐚Solomon - Origin: Christianity; Hebrew - Meaning: "Underwater bridge; Peace"

🐳Earwyn - Origin: English - Meaning: "Friend of the sea"

🐚Salmon - Origin: Hebrew; English; French - Meaning: "Salmon; Peace"

🐳Mortimer - Origin: French - Meaning: "Dead sea; Stagnant sea"

🖤 Feminine Names:

🫧Cordelia - Origin: Latin; Celtic - Meaning: "Heart; Daughter of the sea"

🦑Mira - Origin: Latin, Slavic, Arabic, Sanskrit - Meaning: "Admirable; Peace; Female ruler; Ocean"

🫧Maya - Origin: Greek; Central American Indian empire name; Latinate Variation of May; Spanish, diminutive of Amalia; variation of Maia; Hebrew - Meaning: "Water"

🦑Talia - Origin: Hebrew; Australian Aboriginal - Meaning: "Gentle dew from heaven; By the water"

🫧Tallulah - Origin: Choctaw, Irish - Meaning: "Leaping water, Lady of abundance"

🦑Maren - Origin: Latin - Meaning: "Sea"

🫧Sabrina - Origin: Celtic, Latin name for the River Severn

🦑Marina - Origin: Latin - Meaning: "From the sea"

🫧Guinevere - Origin: Welsh - Meaning: "White shadow; White wave"

🦑Jennifer - Origin: Cornish variation of Welsh Guinevere - Meaning: "White shadow; White wave"

🩶 Neutral/Androgynous Names:

🌊Haf - Origin: Welsh; Icelandic - Meaning: "Summer; Ocean"

🦈Current - Origin: Water current - Meaning: "The motion of the Ocean"

🌊Siren - Origin: Greek Mythology

🦈Tasi - Origin: Chamorro; Christianity - Meaning: "Ocean; Sea"

🌊Dipsi - Origin: Hindu; Bislama - Meaning: "Light; Ocean"

🦈Daria/Darius - Origin: Persian - Meaning: "Sea; Possessing Goodness"

🌊Pelagic - Origin: Greek - Meaning: "Of, Relating to, or living or occuring in the open sea; Oceanic"

🦈Mer - Origin: The Word Mermaid/Merman; Spanish - Meaning: "Ocean; Sea"

🌊Wave - Origin: English - Meaning: "Arched form of water or sound"

🦈Bahari - Origin: Swahili - Meaning: "Sailor; Ocean"

Pronouns:

Nature Themed:

Sea/Foam

Wave/Waves

Moon/Moon

Tide/Tidal

Cur/Current

Co/Coral

Bub/Bubble

Wa/Water

Oce/Ocean

Sea/Sea

La/Lake

Ri/River

Aqua/Aquatic

Coa/Coast

Tide/Pool

Sho/Shore

La/Lagoon

Dead/Zone

Deep/Blue

Hurri/Hurricane

Isla/Island

Nau/Nautical

Ocean/Floor

Sur/Surface

Under/Water

Tsu/Tsunami

Al/Algae

Bac/Bacteria

Kel/Kelp

Sea/Glass

Animal Themed:

Wha/Whale

Shar/Shark

Jell/Jellyfish

Fi/Fish

Sea/Horse

Tur/Turtle

Sea/Seal

Or/Orca

Sea/Dragon [Leafy Seadragon]

Dol/Dolphin

Clown/Fish

Blue/Tang

Ott/Otters

Sea/Lion

Octo/Octopus

Squi/Squid

Wal/Walrus

Lob/Lobster

Spon/Sponge

Be/Beluga

Angel/Fish

Mana/Manatee

Star/Fish

Eel/Eel

Sea/Urchin

Cuttle/Fish

Barra/Barracuda

Man/Manta

Ray/Ray

Croco/Crocodile

Mythology/Legend Themed:

Sea/Serpent

Ocean/Dragon

Si/Siren

Mer/Mermaid [Merman, Merfolk & Merbeing Also Work]

Sing/Singing

So/Song

Lu/Lure

Kra/Kraken

Levi/Leviathan

Loch/Ness

Ap/Apsara

Ka/Kappa

Ni/Nixies

Ca/Calypso

The/Thetis

Ne/Nereids

Oce/Oceanids

Na/Naga

Na/Naiad

Po/Poseidon

Tri/Trident

Tri/Triton

In/Indra

Nep/Neptune

Va/Varuna

Ce/Cetus

Ich/Ichtyo [Ichtyocentaurs]

Sea/Monster

Sel/Selkie

Ma/Makara

Beach & Pool Themed:

Flip/Flop

Mock/Mocktail

Mo/Mojito

Be/Beach

Sta/Stand

Swi/Swim

Ba/Ball

To/Towel

Sun/Sunscreen

Bo/Boat

Beach/Side

Pool/Noodle

Beach/Chair

Bu/Bucket

Palm/Tree

Tree/Tree

Sun/Sun

Sha/Shade

Sha/Shadow

Pool/Pool

San/Sand

Go/Goggles

Sur/Surf

Sun/Sunset

Re/Resort

Salt/Salt

Sand/Sandcastle

Ya/Yacht

Fi/Fishing

Fin/Fins

Emoji Themed:

🐢/🐢s

🐍/🐍s

🐙/🐙s

🦑/🦑s

🪼/🪼s

🦐/🦐s

🦞/🦞s

🦀/🦀s

🐡/🐡s

🐠/🐠s

🐟/🐟s

🐬/🐬s

🐳/🐳s

🐋/🐋s

🦈/🦈s

🦭/🦭s

🐊/🐊s

🌴/🌴s

🐚/🐚s

🪸/🪸s

🍹/🍹s

🦩/🦩s

🛟/🛟s

⚓/⚓s

🪝/🪝s

🏝️/🏝️s

🌅/🌅s

🏖️/🏖️s

⛱️/⛱️s

🩴/🩴s

🫧/🫧s

🌊/🌊s

🍧/🍧s

🧊/🧊s

🍨/🍨s

🍦/🍦s

🥤/🥤s

🍸/🍸s

🍹/🍹s

🦩/🦩s

🛟/🛟s

⚓/⚓s

🪝/🪝s

🏝️/🏝️s

🌅/🌅s

🪨/🪨s

🌙/🌙s

🌑/🌑s

🌒/🌒s

🌓/🌓s

🌔/🌔s

🌕/🌕s

🌖/🌖s

🌗/🌗s

🌘/🌘s

👡/👡s

🥽/🥽s

🏄/🏄s

🚣/🚣s

🤿/🤿s

🪸These weren't requested, just decided to post some things as well until we start to get requests!

🪼All of the dividers are from: saradika.tumblr.com! Thank you so much for these beautiful dividers! ^^

~ Created Mainly By: 🧨⛓️📻 {{ Wilbur/Alastor }}

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Contemporary Mediterranean 2003 mansion in Boca Raton, Florida has 5bds, 6ba, 3.5ba, $8.950M + $1,760mo. HOA fee.

Very glamorous entrance hall. Wow, look at the floor.

Oh, look, they knew we were coming- there's a bucket of champagne.

This fireplace, for some reason, reminds me of the organ in Radio City Music Hall. There's another stairway back here. I wonder if they ever sit here- it just seems so weird with the big hall there.

Next is the dining room with a beautiful floor, attractive ceiling, and a niche for a life size statue. At least it's convenient to the kitchen- the doorway is to left of the window.

The kitchen is huge and has a very large dining area. Love the curved cabinetry. This house certainly has great ceilings and floors.

Very fancy pool room.

This looks like a man cave.

And, here's the home theater. This is nice, the chairs in a circle.

This looks like a gym in a spa.

The primary bedroom has a view of Lake Rogers.

Sitting area in the primary.

The home office has a balcony over the river.

View of the river from the balcony.

Very large opulent bath.

A smaller secondary bedroom.

Here's a guest room.

Marble outdoor kitchen pavilion is on the river.

The pool is also right on the river.

[wwhatev3r]

Easy Company Preference: having a Summer Day

I went to a river yesterday, and I had this idea while I was there. You can imagine the background as being in a Beach, river, lake or even a pool. Basically, just the boys having a summer day. Whatever you like :) | Gif by  @whatelsecanwedonow​ |  I recommend to read everything because the characters headcanons are connected. 

Carwood Lipton - Just imagine him sitting in his towel with his swim shorts and a white clean shirt, watching the boys. Just in case someone would drown. He would hand the food and remind the boys to use sunscreen. I can see him with the sunscreen on his cheeks and holding a floater. 

Dick Winters - This man would be swimming around, far away from everyone and minding his own business. Of course, he would keep an eye on the boys while talking to Nix by the water. He trusted Lip and Speirs to keep an eye on them. 

Lewis Nixon - The only person who can make him go into the water is Winters. I can see him being like that uncle; always with a beer in his hand, just looking around, maybe even grilling with Bull. Also, I feel like his hair would look like the fur of a wet dog after getting out of the water.

Ronald Speirs - This man would stand most of the time under a tree, with sunglasses and even using binoculars to keep an eye on the company while they were in the water. He is a sun avoider. Sometimes he would go talk to Lip (to make fun of the boys). While one was in the bathroom the other would take charge in looking over the guys (yes, like a patrol.) Just imagine: “Private Luz, don’t you dare jump out of that rock. Liebgott, don’t drown your colleagues!” / He thinks it’s still a work day, so 0 fun. (He even turn down some girls because of it.)

Joseph Liebgott - I can see him being that person pushing people’s head under the water. Idk why. He also would play volleyball with some of the guys, and he would be the best one. At the point that they would quit playing with him. He sings a LOT.  This mf tried to act brave by challenging Bill for a swim race and regretted his choice.

Bill Guarnere - He refuses to use Sunscreen. “Sunscreen is for quakers!” | He spends the day mostly playing sports and eating food. Him, Lieb, Luz, Babe, Malarkey and Muck would make a competition to see who can hold their breath underwater the longest. He completely lost the competition and got so angry. Btw, he and Babe drink too much and never get drunk. 

George Luz - The Soul of the Party. I can see him cheat in the underwater competition. He would be that one person who would run into the water to splash water to the people who take the longest to get in. That person is Shifty. He can’t stop eating watermelon. Also, he is the idiot who feeds the seagulls. 

Donald Malarkey - This man needs to use the whole sunscreen bottle. His skin is too sensitive so it gets red really quick. Him and Muck make sandcastles competitions and play pranks on the rest of the guys. (They put seaweed on Lip’s face when he falls asleep.) He eats too much snacks.

Warren “Skip” Muck - Him, Malarkey and Penkala are the golden trio. He is that wierdo who uses goggles and a stupid hat. He catches fishes with a bucket just to free them right after. He is the one who reminds Malarkey to use Sunscreen and get’s all dirty eating ice cream. 

Shifty Powers - He is so quiet. He would help Muck catch the fishes, since he is the most observant. He takes a while to get in the water. Also, if you guys were in a river or in a more natural place, he would spend most of the time in that space; watch butterflies, plants and different animals. He will be the one who makes sure everything is clean and no one throws any garbage on the beach. 

David Webster - He is in his natural habitat. He just loves water, principally the ocean (if that’s the case.) If it was, he would definitely spend his time writing poems about it. He has a boat so he would let the boys go for a ride. If it was a more natural place (like a river or a lake), he would stay with Shifty. Both would teach each other things about different species and plants. Btw, this man has the most random facts about the ocean, mostly about sharks.

Babe Heffron - This poor boy barely stepped on the water and got burned by a jellyfish (He was pushed by Bill and Luz.)  Eugene took care of him and he didn’t get in the water for the rest of the day, which is okay, I feel like he wasn’t a very good swimmer anyway. He played cards with Luz, Martin and some other men, and found some really cool seashells with Roe. 

Bull Randleman - As I said, he was in charge of grilling and making the food for the company. Just imagine him with his cigar and an apron saying “Kiss the cook”.  I also think he would be the guy who would pull the smaller guys out of the waves. | “You’re fine Perconte, don’t worry boy.” If any man dared to catcall a lady, I swear, just Bull’s gaze would make them tremble. 

Eugene Roe - I can see Eugene with sunscreen on his cheeks and a medical box by his side in the towel. He only got his feet in the water and was only one time. He is just not a big fan of swimming. He will help the guys with the towels when they are leaving the water and I’ts cold. I feel like most guys will come to him to help them put sunscreen on their backs. He is just trying to relax, but he can’t. 

Joe Toye - He loves to play sports with the guys. Also, he is that one person who doesn’t want to go to the water alone. Btw, he is one of the guys who asked Eugene to put sunscreen on his back. He hurted his knee playing football with Bill and instantly got up and continued, giving zero fucks. He would bring ice cream for everyone for sure, and would get so angry if he had sand in his food.

Frank Perconte - He hates sand so much and doesn’t want to get sunburned for nothing in this world. He also loves to play sports with the guys and tries to act cool by going to a deep area of the water and then Bull has to go pick him up. I feel like he would be that person who would get really mad if you drop a grain of sand on his towel. 

Floyd Talbert -  He got hit in the head by a volley ball because he was standing by the net while flirting with a group of girls. He never made the same mistake again. He doesn’t want to wet his hair because he might ruin it. He has the most beautiful swim shorts, let me tell ya. He is the one who chooses the music that is playing. Him and Lieb got into a discussion because of it. 

Johnny Martin - This man will fuck you up if you put the music too loud or leave garbage in the beach. He makes sure Luz or Bill don’t eat lunch for the third time or steal food from anyone’s plate. The one who screams at everyone commanding them to run after the parasols when they start flying with the wind.

[infinitheismworld]

The First Step to Success

"Rain fills the size of the vessel which contains it. Even God cannot give you beyond what you believe you deserve."

Rain fills the size of the vessel. It’s raining. You’re standing there with one spoon. And then you’re blaming, saying that you didn’t give me enough. No, that’s… rain fills the size of the vessel you hold.

Somebody else is standing there with a tumbler, somebody is holding a mug, somebody is having a bucket, somebody has built a cement tank, somebody built a swimming pool and somebody dug an artificial lake and said, “let all that fall and I’ll have…” Rain fills the size of the vessel that you have.

A man was jogging one morning, and at a distance, he saw there was a fisherman who was fishing.

Just curious how this entire process happens. He jogged close to him, and he was watching the fishermen to see, every time the fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back into the river. And every time he caught a small fish, he put it into his icebox.

The jogger said, “All my life I have seen fishermen, and for the first time I’m seeing, because normally people who do fishing, they prefer the big ones. Why are you throwing back the big ones and keeping only the small ones?” And it seems the fisherman said, “I also hate to do what I’m doing, but I’m so helpless. I have only a small frying pan in the house. The big ones won’t fit there.”

And he was not talking about him, he was talking about all of us. Lot of us have a very small frying pan here. Opportunities come in search of us. We say it’s too big for us. We say it’s not good enough for me. You’re scared even to think in one billion dollars.

If you’re not even prepared to think in one billion dollars, how will we become one? Somebody who sold Chai, at some stage of his life desired he can be the Prime Minister of this country. That was the beginning. If you’re not even willing to desire that, nothing can be done.

If you keep telling yourself that I am a sinner, I am a sinner; I am a sinner, so I’ll never have a divine experience in life, so be it. You’ll never have a divine experience in life. Not because divinity did not want to unfold through you, but you have unqualified yourself for that experience.

Rain fills the size of the vessel which contains it. Even God cannot give you beyond what you believe you deserve. If you keep convincing yourself that I’m cut out for crying in life, I’m cut out for miseries in life, I’m cut out for all these challenges in life, you are scripting such a future for yourself.

You are all time creating the script. Life means if there is an up, there will be a down. Till now he didn’t have that plan, but now that you have told if there is up, there will be a down, down is coming, and you draw this into your own life. You draw this into your own life. And life outside is a manifestation of how you think, and that’s the truth.

[awful-roffle-archive]

Meteors dot txt

A/N: this definitely got to a point i just took the characters and setting and did my own story with it but uh. its fine. no idea if i’ll ever come back to this but?? im running out of writing spoons rn so! you get this as is with its really choppy ending :^) nothing’s been proof read by someone else but i tried my best so uh. enjoy lmao

word count: 3,420

"Today's broadcast reports there will be a meteor shower raining over Pelican Town this evening! Make sure to take an umbrella with you! Hehe." The meteorologist quips before the broadcast goes back to the news about the latest about the Gotoro Empire. Rayzan sighs and shuts the TV off, sipping at his coffee.

"What's so important about some damn meteor shower? It's... what, space rocks? Big whoop." He mutters to himself, shoving a rather... strange (to put it lightly) tasting cheese cauliflower into his mouth. It's what he gets from buying food from Joja - hopefully he wouldn't start glowing or something as a side effect. With a grunt he pushes himself off of the floor, throwing the plastic container to the side. He'd clean it up later. Probably.

He jumps as there's a rapping on the janky screen door, and he instinctively grabs his gun from behind a potted plant. Pulling the door open, he aims it directly between the other's eyes.

"What the fuck do you want." His tone is harsh and cold, and he never breaks eye contact with her.

"Oh!" Maru stumbles backwards on the porch, holding her hands up. "I'm sorry! I just- uh-" She falters over her words, clearly taken aback.

"Spit it out."

"Can you put down the gun? Please?" Maru chooses her words carefully, keeping her hands in the air.

"I thought I made it perfectly fucking clear I didn't want anyone bothering me." He moves the gun downward, but his gaze still seems to burn through her.

"Well, yes, but..."

"But you wanted to anyways, right? You decided your high-fucking-horse is more important than my privacy."

There's a long pause before Maru says anything. She just stands there, gawking at him. "I just wanted to tell you about the meteor shower tonight. Everyone's going to be gathered at the beach, if you wanted to come." She speaks simply before turning around and stepping off the porch. "Yeah. I'm aware." He slams the door, the screens rattling as he locks it. "Yoba damn everyone in this fucking town." He grumbles and hides the gun once more.

Grabbing whatever clothes he could find from his dresser, he stares at himself in the mirror. So much for keeping up appearances, huh? He takes a deep breath and runs some hair gel through his hair, a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. He gags and spits into a bucket of lake water. His plumbing hadn't worked for, well, what felt like months now and he wasn't about to go ask Mrs. 'Oh how are you? Where are you from? How is the farm? Do you have any family?' Robin for help any time soon.

Pulling a shirt over his head he makes his way outside, staring at his rather sad attempt at a garden. He was supposed to be a farmer and he couldn't even keep a few peppers alive, let alone an entire farm's worth. Deciding to water the crops, despite them being... well, very dead, he tosses his farming tools aside and heads into town.

---

The walk always felt long and tedious. He had looked into getting a car before, but the walk to even GET to a dealership was way out of the question, and with the only bus in town out of commission, he was pretty much stuck in town and on foot. The sun beat down on him endlessly, almost taunting him for daring to move during the summer.

As soon as he reaches town he instantly heads for Joja. The saloon wouldn't be open for another few hours, and he sure as hell wasn't going to sit in Pierre's and listen to his badgering about how the farm was doing. Instantly being hit with the a/c of Jojamart he takes a deep breath, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Quite the walk, isn't it? You should take a sip of the latest JojaCola flavor! NuBerry - a delicious combination of raspberry and cranberry thrown together by our team of talented scientists! Joja is not liable for any injuries or side effects that may occur while drinking NuBerry. NuBerry - Fresh and full of smiles!" Morris spews off like a recorded advertisement, making Rayzan roll his eyes. He instead heads back towards the freezers, holding it open and just soaking in the cold as he sinks to the floor.

“Probably shouldn't stand there with it open like that.” A voice comes up from behind him, leaning over his shoulder.

“You and I both know you don't care about their electric bills.” Rayzan smirks as he looks up to see Shane leaning over him. “Unless you've suddenly had a change of heart?” He puts a hand to his heart, leaning back.

“Nah. Last I heard there was some freezer monster back there. Snatches up kids that don't know better.” Shane quips and stands up straighter. “Besides, I gotta put these in there.” He motions to a palette of frozen pizza boxes.

“Mind if I nab one of those to go?”

“Hey, if you can get it past Morris be my guest.” Shane pauses, “But if you get caught I didn't see shit.” He grins before going back to restocking the freezer.

“You underestimate me greatly.” Rayzan snatches a box off of the pile, waiting until Morris was busy doing who-knows-what until stealthily stepping out the door with it.

“Oi, watch it kid.” Pam exclaims as Rayzan runs directly into her, almost dropping his box.

“Whatever.” Rayzan grumbles and rushes past her, wondering where the hell he could keep this for the time being. There was no way he was walking all the way back home for just this. Looking around he exhales before checking his watch. 10:04 am. Fuck. What was he supposed to do for at least another two hours before the saloon opened?

He could go to the mines... but that didn't solve his pizza dilemma. He groans before staring down at the river. Maybe... No, that would make it soggy. Shit. He settles on hiding it behind a rock in the shade – at least it would stay cool there. Wiping his hands off he heads past Pierre's, only to get stopped on his way.

“Hey, Rayzan! How is the farm coming along? You know, if you need anything we-”

“Yeah, yeah. You sell seeds and shit. I'm thoroughly aware. It's the only fucking shit you sell.” Rayzan interrupts her, turning back around with his arms crossed.

“Well... Pierre and I have discussed expanding our stock recently. If you have anything you'd like to see feel free to let us know!” Caroline smiles, holding up a small basket of tomatoes. “These are freshly grown from our garden, they're rather fresh, too. We were thinking about selling these, would you like to try one?”

“...I'll pass.” Rayzan rolls his eyes, continuing up the path.

“Oh, well, I'll see you later at the meteor shower then!”

“Doubt it.” He picks up his pace, running up towards the mountains. The air always feels crisper up here, fresher. He takes a moment to breathe as he reaches Robin's house, then immediately ducks by it. There was no way he was sticking around for more pleasant conversations with the townsfolk. ESPECIALLY Robin.

---

As he ducks into the mine, Marlon looks over at him and just laughs. “What, are you planning on starting an earth quake and almost killing yourself again? Didn't have enough last time?”

“Shut up. I didn't even bring my gun this time.”

“You didn't bring your sword, either. Or a pickaxe... What exactly are you planning on doing down there?” Marlon points out, nodding towards him. “May be half-blind but even I can see that's not a good idea.”

Rayzan takes a moment to look over himself, realizing he didn't actually bring any tools. “...Fuck.” He sighs in exasperation as Marlon laughs at him.

“Get out of here kid. I'm not in the mood to rescue you again.”

“Shut up.” Rayzan repeats himself, leaving the cave with a roll of his eyes. He heads past Linus' tent with a nod of his head, shoving his hands into his pockets before heading up towards the train station. Oh how he wished he could hop on the train and get the hell out of here. Instead he pushes the door open to the spa, heading for the locker room. With any luck no one else would be there.

Unfortunately, this wasn't his lucky day. Alex sits up from the weight bench as he waves at him.

“Hey man, didn't think I'd see you up here again.” Alex grins. “That offer to spot you is still open. You know, so you don't drop your weight on your foot again. How's that doing, by the way?”

“It's fine.” Rayzan says simply, yanking at his locker door.

“You gotta pull it up first.” Alex speaks up after a few moments of Rayzan fighting with the locker.

“...I knew that.” Rayzan responds, moving the handle up before pulling it open properly.

“Oh! Uh, are you going to that... that shower tonight? Haley's dragging me along. Don't know, might be pretty cool.”

“Wasn't really planning on it. Everyone keeps asking me about it.” He grumbles and grabs a towel, heading for the showers.

“Well, it's just, basically everyone in town goes to these things. It's kind of a big deal, these festivals and all.”

“Yeah, I got that. Now, do you mind? I'm sweaty and I'm not going to wash myself off at home with lake water.”

“You don't have a shower?”

“No.”

“Why don't you-”

“I'm not asking anyone to fix my shit.” With that, Rayzan pulls the curtain to the shower shut and tosses his things down. What's with everyone in this town being so damn talkative?

---

He spends the next several hours in the pool, ignoring Penny and Alex talking about who knows what. His day is rather quiet after that, deciding to head to his usual place in the saloon – where, yes, he does get Gus to put his pizza in the freezer for him for the time being. He ends up falling asleep in one of the booths, nursing his glass of beer. He's only awaken by Shane poking him in the side.

“Wha-? Ah... Mm..” Rayzan murmurs, stretching his arms out. “Thought you'd have more courtesy than to wake a sleeping man.” He grumbles drowsily.

“Didn't want to, but otherwise it'd be Gus and I figured you didn't want that. He's locking up here to go see the meteor shower thing. Jas wanted me to go with her.” He doesn't sound very enthused about it either. “Want to go keep me company?”

“Ugh.”

“Yeah. I know.” He frowns, but steps aside as Rayzan gets up.

“Guess so.” He sighs, then looks over at Gus by the door. “Can I get my pizza after? So I'm not holding it the whole time?”

“Of course! I'll leave the door unlocked for ya.” Gus beams before heading outside, Shane and Rayzan soon following after.

“So did Morris say anything about the missing stock?” Rayzan glances over, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Hah, no not really. Don't think he even noticed you leaving. Lillian didn't either, or at least she didn't mention it.” Shane ponders as they walk the rest of the way in silence.

---

They pick a spot that's far enough away from everyone else to not be bothered, but close enough that Jas wouldn't complain to Marnie that Shane didn't show up.

“You ever seen one of these things?” Rayzan speaks up after awhile, looking up at Shane.

“Nah, I'm not really... into space stuff. There's enough to worry about on this planet, you know? Never mind worrying about whatever the hell aliens out there are getting up to.”

“Agreed.” Rayzan nods, pushing his hair up out of his face before staring up at the sky as the meteors begin raining by. Everyone is quiet other than the “oohs” and “ahhs” and other noises spoken in awe of the event. As Rayzan looks around he sees people making various wishes, Robin and Demetrius kissing, and Vincent and Jas playing astronauts off to the side. A faint smile grows on his face as he leans back, letting the sand seep between his fingers. This was nice, despite his many protests against it.

Eventually, the shower ended and the crowd started dying down as everyone went home. Shane said his goodbyes as he carried a very sleepy Jas off, and Rayzan was left alone. Rayzan sat there for a few more minutes listening to the ocean. Everything was peaceful, until a loud crash roars through the beach. The sound shakes through the town, and Rayzan jumps from his spot.

“The f-?” He suddenly wishes he had literally any weapon on him. He hesitantly makes his way over to the right hand side of the beach, staring at the smoldering pit among what used to be small tide pools. “Uh.” He mutters to himself, looking back towards Elliott's hut. No reaction. Was he already asleep? How did he NOT hear that? He shakes his head and grabs a stray stick from by the trees, poking at the object in the middle of the pit with it.

“Uh...” Rayzan repeats to himself, looking down at his hands. If he did end up burning himself Harvey wasn't asleep just yet, right? He'd probably be fine. He cautiously picks up the object, finding it to be - surprisingly - not as hot as he thought. It was fairly large, having to be held with two hands, and seemed to be glowing a soft blue aura. It's exterior was rather dark, with dull white spikes protruding out the sides. Although he tried to pull it apart it was no use – whatever it was, it was rather sturdy.

“Damn you're heavy.” Rayzan mutters as he stares at the egg-shaped object in his hands. He looks up, pondering to himself about what to do with this thing. He begins heading back up towards town, only to be interrupted by Maru.

“Oh my yoba – I could hear that crash from across TOWN! To think something actually hit the ground! And you're holding it!” Maru begins rambling off, clapping her hands together. “Can I see it? That doesn't look like any meteor I've ever heard of, but of course space is really vast and there could be plenty of different-”

“Whoa, whoa. Listen, if you want this thing take it. I don't know what to do with it.” Rayzan begins trying to hand it off, only for it to stab him in the arm. “What the fuck?”

“Oh- Oh dear, are you okay?” Maru widens her eyes, frantically trying to grab it again – only for the object to protest yet again.  Rayzan grunts in pain, nodding.

“Maybe we should... not. Do that.” He hisses as he carefully sets it down – thankfully it lets him do that – before rubbing at his wrists. “Fuck, what is that thing?”

“Well, I'm not entirely sure... It seems at least somewhat sentient though, don't you think? Exciting!” Maru grins before turning her attention back to him. “...Right, we should get you to the clinic.” She reaches down to pick it up off the floor, only for it to spray some form of mist into the air. “AH!” She exclaims as she stumbles back, holding a hand over her face. “Okay! You pick it up!”

“I'm not touching that thing again!”

“We have to at least move it somewhere no one else can get hurt.” Maru insists, rubbing at her eyes.  Rayzan grunts and picks up the foreign object, carrying it in his arms as he follows her to the clinic.

Harvey looks up from his paperwork as the door opens, raising an eyebrow. “I thought I locked... Oh, Maru, hello- Are you okay? What is- Rayzan are you bleeding?” He gets up frantically, moving around the counter.

“I'm fine, he might need stitches. Don't... touch that thing.” Maru aggressively points to the object. “I need to go wash out my eyes.” She motions vaguely in the air before walking off. Harvey blinks a few times before looking back towards Rayzan as he sets the object in a waiting room chair.

“Alright... well, let's get you sorted. I'll... call Gunther and let him know about this also.” Harvey furrows his brow, walking Rayzan back towards the examination room. “What happened, exactly?”

“I don't know. That thing fucking... Grabbed me when I tried to give it to Maru.” Rayzan hisses in pain as Harvey looks over his wounds.

“These look pretty deep – did it get you anywhere else?”

“Not that I can tell.” He shakes his head as Harvey frowns. “I feel kind of... sick, though.”

“Hopefully that's just from blood loss and it didn't inject you with anything.” Harvey notes before gathering everything necessary.

---

Rayzan wakes up in one of the hospital beds in the morning and groans as he sits up. “...So that wasn't a dream. Fuck.” He looks down at his bandaged arms with a frown. Harvey comes in with a smile, holding a clipboard close to his chest.

“Well, good news, you aren't going to die.” Harvey smiles before continuing, “You ended up passing out last night so I set you up here. As far as I could tell, there's nothing lethal in your blood stream either. Maru and Gunther are in the waiting room discussing the...” Harvey trails off for a moment, “Well, if you'd like to talk to them, you're free to. Be sure to keep those bandaged though, alright? And I wouldn't advise any excessive movement... If you need any pain killers, let me know.”

Rayzan nods, pushing himself out of the bed. “Yeah, thanks doc.” He mutters and heads into the waiting room.

“Oh! Mr. Rayzan, it's always a pleasure to see you. This is certainly an interesting specimen you've found here!” Gunther smiles as he stands up straighter.

“Yeah, and it tried to fucking kill me. Can't you take the yoba damn thing to the museum or something where I don't have to look at it?” He glares at it, crossing his arms over his chest before wincing and simply putting them down by his sides.

“Ah... I was looking into that, actually. It seems it's imprinted on you somehow and is rather territorial about it.”

“It's done what? I'm not a damn mother duck or something! If that shit turns out to be an alien I'm not taking care of it.” Rayzan protests angrily, leaning against the counter.

“If it would let me I'd take it off your hands after it hatches or... whatever it's going to do, but until then no one can touch it.” Maru frowns as she looks over at him. “I guess you could just drop it off somewhere, but there's no guarantee it still won't try to find you once it hatches...” There's a pause. “Though I'm absolutely open for helping you out with it as much as I can! Maybe we can be co-parents of it!” She laughs, though it doesn't last long as she sees Rayzan's expression. She clears her throat as she looks away. “Up to you, of course.”

“I'm probably just gonna drop the thing in the river or something. Maybe it'll float off to wherever. Or better yet, drown.”

“Mr. Rayzan, sir, if I may interrupt, I don't think that's such a good idea.” Gunther speaks up. “We don't know anything about this creature – it could be invasive to the local environment. It's better to keep it close so we can learn more about it.”

“Then you take it!” Rayzan picks up a wooden crate, then sets the object inside of it. “There. Yours now. Have fun with your murder egg.” He shoves the box into Gunther's arms and storms towards the door.

“Rayzan!” Maru shouts, but frowns as she turns back towards Gunther. “I think we're on our own here.”

Gunther nods, “It seems so...” He looks down at the object, then nods towards her. “I'll take this over to the museum for now and try to figure out what it likes... Perhaps find a sun lamp.”

Rayzan rolls his eyes as he slams the door behind him. He heads towards the saloon, grabbing his frozen pizza out of the freezer before making the journey home. He'd be glad to sleep in his own bed again.

[living-dead-parker]

Grocery Store Antics - Dad!Tony

Summary: Tony takes his kids to the grocery store

Warnings: cussing, probs ooc, nebula was adopted by Tony idc idc idc, tony in a dad outfit just picture it plz, not super funny but i tried 

Part of a new collection I plan on starting called Tony Stark and his kids.

Word Count: 1.8k

"We need some hot links, hot dog buns, some chicken, drinks, and some desert," Pepper says out loud before turning to look at May who is making the list. May gives her a thumbs up, completing the shopping list. Among it includes bug spray, pool noodles, and tons of ice cream. All of it completely necessary.

The heat is returning once again, and while not super hot, it's warm enough for a barbeque and swimming in the lake. Tony insisted on grilling and making a day out of it. He has his dad outfit on; a pair of khaki cargo shorts, random SI shirt, and his dad sandals. He has on a bucket hat, of all accessories, and some sunglasses with the lanyard strap on it. Peter insisted Tony wears the ensemble, making him look like the ultimate dad. You're not sure how Peter convinced him to do it, but maybe he's finally accepting that he's becoming an old man. Either way, you're shocked because you remember being 14 and hearing your dad claim that you'd never catch him dead in a pair of cargo shorts and a bucket hat.

"Someone go with me to the store!" Tony exclaims, hearing feet running down the hall. In seconds, all the kids come tumbling in. Morgan up front, Peter next to her. You stand behind Peter and Nebula behind Morgan. Tony rubs at his temple before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Dad move!" you yell, causing Peter to giggle. Tony looks up, beginning to regret any of this. Now his children are gonna bully him? It's like the Avengers all over again.

"What store are we going to?" Peter asks, walking over to May and grabbing the list from her.

"Not sure, but let's get going while May and Pep set up. Rhodey should be here in a bit, so we should get going."

With that, you lead the way out, followed by Morgan, Nebula, then Peter. Tony walks behind everyone, closing behind him. You sit in the passenger seat of the Audi SUV, connecting your phone once the car is on. Peter sits behind you, Morgan in the middle in her car seat, and Nebula behind dad. Tony pulls out of the driveway, heading off towards the city. Taking over the music, you start by playing some RHCP, to which both you and Tony sing to.

The drive wasn't too long, but it wasn't super quick either, having to drive a good twenty minutes to reach the nearest grocery store. You played some classics, singing along as loud as you could with your father. Every once in a while, the two of you would glance over at each other, smiles as wide as rivers and oceans. Tony would take in the sight of his first born, the pride and joy he's felt overpowering anything. Getting you back was probably the biggest event in his life. You, on the other hand, seeing the old man makes you feel nostalgic. He's been through so much and you owe it all to him. He's always been so selfless with you, even if things were bumpy at times. Cheesy as it may sound, he's your soul mate and you're his soulmate.

"Alright," Tony says once the car comes to a stop in the parking lot of the grocery store. "No lollygagging, in and out. Hear me?"

"You got it, sir."

Peter runs off and grabs a cart from the parking lot collector things. He returns to you all, moving over to your side. Tony picks up Morgan and puts her in the small seat on the top basket. He turns and sees Nebula eyeing the cart, never having done it before. It's quite adorable, actually. She's been getting used to more human things. Shopping malls, movie theaters, parks, and watching TV. For now, Tony and Pepper are letting her be a kid, seeing that she didn't get much of that. They're letting her experience the good stuff in life. All the ice cream, the fun parties, and bounce houses, cool music, and television. All of it.

So Tony chuckles as he nods his head to the bigger basket. "Get in, ya big dope," he jokes. A full belly laugh comes out when Nebula gets in excitedly, squealing as she sits down in the cart. You giggles, taking a quick picture of her in the cart. Having a blue alien sister is cool, except for when it's not. The only times it's not is when you see people staring at her like some kind of monster. It tends to happen a lot in public, much like at this very moment. There's a couple staring harshly while their kids ask about the 'cool blue lady'.

"What are you looking at?" you call out, causing Tony and Peter to pause in their steps. Your group all look over at the people on the other side, meanwhile Nebula looks down shamefully. Sometimes, she refuses to go out for that reason. People tend to ruin the moment. "She's cool and helped save the world, so a thank you is in order instead of staring at her like she's a monster."

The couple turns away and walks faster, almost running away. You flip them the bird when they look over their shoulders, but ultimately they speed walk away all the way. Tony chuckles, lightly clapping your shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. They're not worth the stress," Tony says looking at you and then at Nebula.

"Let's just go inside and get what we need," you mutter softly, calming down from the moment.

Upon entering the store, things went downhill. Morgan was beginning to get antsy, so Tony put her down so she could walk. The first thing you all got was the dry food items. From there, you went to other non-perishable items or things that did not need to be refrigerated just yet. Before getting the meat and cake, you all happened to walk into the aisle with toys and pool supplies.

"Dad!" you exclaim, grabbing an already inflated whale floatie with black handles on it. "We need him!"

Tony sighs, pointing at the basket nonetheless. You giggle villainously and throw the floatie into the pool. Peter grabs a couple of pool noodles, Morgan grabbing three boxes of donut floaties, three mattress floaties. Behind Tony's back, you and Peter sneak in two boxes into the cart while Tony answers his phone. When he turns around, he has five super soakers in his hands.

"So, change of plans. Steve, Nat, Sam, and Bucky are going to be joining us for some food and a swim."

"So we ambush them with water guns?" Nebula asks. Her voice sounds almost menacing. It's awesome.

"Morgan, you take Nat. She won't attack. Peter, Y/N, Neb," Tony continues, looking at the three of you. "You take Sam and Bucky. I'll get Steve. That sound good?"

"Sounds better than good," you respond excitedly. Tony chucks the soakers into the cart, grabbing the handle and pushing it. There are still so many more things to buy, and the first cart is already running out of space. Even without Nebula in it. So Tony sends you and Peter to get a new cart.

The two of you do just that, grabbing a new cart and racing back inside. However, when he hears the distant sound of singing, he knows it's you. As the words to My Heart Will Go On fill Tony's ears, he sighs. Not a minute later, you're rounding the corner into the aisle that Tony is in, revealing Peter kneeling at the end of the cart with his arms spread as if he was in the king of the world scene in Titanic. Tony sighs, assuming his signature Tired Dad™ stance; head down, temple rub, pinching bridge of nose.

"Onward, trustee sea captain!" Peter exclaims. Tony flips the kid off, pushing the cart out of the aisle and into a new one.

"Dad," Morgan says excitedly as the group approaches the produce section. Tony turns to see his little girl with an orange in her hand. "Orange you glad I'm the normal one?"

Tony chuckles, shaking his head but approving of the joke nonetheless. However, you approach with your hands behind your back. You look at the little girl before squatting down to her level. You pull one hand forward, revealing an avocado.

"Avocadon't go there," you start. You proceed to reveal a squash in your other hand. "Before I squash you," you continue, pulling out your phone and showing your screen to reveal a google image search of baby goats. "Kid."

The beginning probably wouldn't have been funny, but Tony finds himself busting a guy at the preparedness and the commitment to the joke. How you had that ready, he'll never know, but he doesn't want to. He likes the mystery.

"Tony," Peter comes up, holding his hand out to reveal an orange in his hand. "Orange you gla-"

"Morgan beat you to it," you say, looking around a grabbing a bag off one of the nearest stands. It seemed to be all so conveniently placed. Tony's impressed. A bag of peas. "Pea-ter."

Peter is stunned into a silence. First Morgan steals his pun but now he gets punned right back. Not even by Morgan. He feels bamboozled. Peter looks around and grabs a small bag of beans just a few feet away from the group.

"I feel so bean-boozled."

"How do I do it with all of you kids?" Tony asks as he begins pushing one of the carts away.

"Should have kept your legs closed," Nebula cuts in, causing you to burst into laughter.

"She got you, dad."

"It doesn't even work like that-" Tony cuts himself off with a playful sigh. "Plus two of you aren't my creation, so," Tony mutters, not sure what to say next.

The rest of the grocery trip was spent making dumb puns, mispronouncing any and everything. It also involved bugging Tony as much as possible. There's one thing all four of you enjoy doing, and it's bugging Tony. Who doesn't enjoy bugging their dad?

"Morgan, say cupcakes are for basic bitches," you encourage the girl. Tony turns to look at you two as Peter and Nebula continue looking for some kind of desert to feed everyone. You suggested cake, but dad keeps saying no.

"Morgan if you say it I will tell mommy-"

"I'll have Peter make you a web swing!" you bargain.

Morgan nods, watching as you pull your phone out. You open your camera and begin recording.

"Daddy," Morgan begins, smirking as Tony begins shaking his head. "Cupcakes are for basic bitches,"

Suddenly, Peter and Nebula burst into laughter at the young girl's words. At that point, Tony calls it a day. They've been at the store for about an hour, things are running behind. So Tony heads to check out, pay for everything. Damn near has a heart attack at the price, despite the fact that he's a literal billionaire.

"500 dollars? How?"

He looks over the receipt and sighs when he sees what cost him almost three hundred dollars and something that cost him 70.

"A raft lounge for almost 300 and an inflatable pool seesaw for 70? Wow. Bamboozled by my own kids."

[photo-safaris-blog]

How To Plan A Safari To Africa?

There are a few key inquiries to, thoroughly consider when arranging your optimal safari occasion to Africa. The first is “The thing that would you truly like to do?” Not what you figure you should do, nor what your companions prescribe, however, the closest thing you can accomplish to your very own most out of this world fantasy of what you need from your African safari tours.

The considerations that need consideration

The other primary contemplations are your own prosperity, wellness, capacities and your accessible spending plan. Do you need Luxury, Deluxe or Budget-spending itinerary with reputed tour operators? Would you like to see the breathtaking hordes of the Serengeti and Masai Mara migrating wildebeests, zebras or mighty elephants of Chobe, Tarangire and Amboseli from a 4×4 game-review safari vehicle?

Would you like to take a gander at perfect wild or Grand River from a treehouse, a camp, the deck of a house-pontoon or a tourist balloon? Would you like to film, photo the Big Five in Tanzania’s NgorongoroCrateror South Africa’s Kruger NationalPark, or would you like to, just yet discerningly experience the dynamic, extraordinary environment of Botswana’s rich Okavango Delta or the UNESCO World Site Legacy wild of Lewa Conservancy in Laikipia cushioned around Mount Kenya.

Does your inclination reach out to chic voyages through Garden Route in the Eastern Cape or differing celebrations in Zanzibar or Cape Town? On the other hand, do you long to test yourself against the most testing territory on the planet? It can be from mountains and volcanoes like Kilimanjaro and OlDonyoLengai in northern Tanzania to burning the Namibian desert on the Skeleton Coast and scuba diving in the brilliant coral reefs of the Indian Ocean in Mafia, Pemba and Mombasa. Maybe your feeling of experience reaches out to bungee jumping at Victoria Falls in Zambia and Zimbabwe, whitewater boating on the Zambezi or even Uganda’s Nile, fly-camping along the Luangwa Stream in Zambia or Rufiji Waterway in Selous Tanzania finishing with trekking through challenging untamed woods overflowing with fire ants and vexes looking for imperiled Rwandan and Ugandan gorillas.

Vacation exercises of reputed tour operators can likewise stretch out to social or chronicled endeavors, which can be as enlightening as the ingrained instincts of a Kalahari bushman in Makgadikgadi, as moving as a Maasai wedding, function in the Mara. It can be as stunning as the fossil bones or impressions of ancient man in KoobiFora Turkana or Olduvai Crevasse or old cavern rock canvases in Botswana’s TsodiloHills, Matobo Hills and Diana’s Promise in Zimbabwe, and as tragic as remembrances of Rwandan destruction. You can even discover chances to chip in as an educator, a games coordinator, a specialist, a progressive, a humanist or an analyst at numerous goals in South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia or Zambia. You can do so on ventures as shifted as restoring panthers, checking birds, lion and rhino following undertakings, securing turtles and sharks and furthermore giving a hand to younger students living with their host families or orphanages.

Contingent upon the motivation behind your visit, your voyage through Africa can be will be determined by what you would like to see and experience A romantic honeymoon could be spent in Botswana, horse-riding in South Africa or at shoeless beach heaven by the Indian Ocean in Zanzibar, Mozambique, Seychelles, Maldives or Mauritius, or any combination of these destibations and that’s just the beginning. In the event that you are putting resources into an anniversary adventure, you should extend it to cover an assortment of goals and exercises during a similar wild outing. Whatever your fanciful idyll includes, reputed safari organizations have the skill and energy to make a consistent, bother free custom agenda to envelop any or the entirety of your most stunning travel dreams.

Where to Go On Safari In Africa 

There are three unmistakable and darling zones to visit on your safari getaway with reputed tour operators. Though a great part of the natural life can seem comparative, there are incredible contrasts in immaculate verses created unsettled areas, untamed life or guest fixations, climate, landscape, perspectives and openings. Major Southern African safari goals incorporate the Kruger and Sabi Sand, Etosha, Sossusvlei, Okavango Delta, Chobe, South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi, Victoria Falls, Hwange, Mana Pools, Matobo Hills and so forth. Botswana and Zimbabwe bolster enormous crowds of up to 80% of Southern Africa’s populace of more than 300,000 elephants and Kruger – Sabi Sand is the Central Hub for the Big Five in South Africa.

Kenya and Tanzania are prime untamed life safari gems in East Africa, enveloping Lake Victoria, moving savannahs, the incomparable African Rift Valley, the Swahili coast and islands of the Indian Ocean. Here you will discover Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, the Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti Plains, Selous, Tarangire, Masai Mara, Amboseli and the incredible pools of Manyara and Nakuru as the essential visited biological system. The yearly wildebeest migration sees a huge number of ungulates conquering floods, flames and starvation in the quest for crisp grazing between Tanzania’s Serengeti in the south and Kenya’s Masai Mara in the north. Other corresponding and occasionally the less dealt goals incorporate Katavi, Selous, Ruaha, Mahale, Laikipia, Samburu’s Northern Wilderness, Chyulu Hills – Tsavo and that is only the tip of the iceberg.

Rwanda and Uganda are most popular for gorilla and primate tracking safaris in Volcanoes and Bwindi Parks as a major aspect of the more noteworthy East Africa just like the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is a piece of Central Africa

The various zones offer various styles and experiences of the African safari experience.

Botswana has low sightseers apportion with “glamping” or camping spectacularly in extravagance tented confined venues in huge, untainted wild regions: the objective here is to give fewer quantities of advanced visitors paying more to have liberated access to enormous private conservancies for continuous and undisturbed natural life viewing experience which yields a profoundly valid encounter away from the majority. It leaves the experience unscripted as the manner in which nature would have proposed it to be.

Zambia, the final most stunning Africa, will, in general, be supported as a prepared returning safari nation for repeat guests who like to appreciate the final wild with strong quantities of natural life and birdlife populace in unblemished biology. One can experience exceptionally outdoorsy rural conditions – not for the timid when an elephant scrounges its trunk over the outside washroom during the long stretch of the October heat. One can have the “pleasure” of having restricted water fill late-night bucket shower after a bush supper in a flame lit zone of tent’s sandy floor may show a crawl or development however drives the prepared Africa voyager to be unflinching by the happenings and esteem it as being in the bramble.

The natural life involvement with Southern Africa is less dense than in East Africa as the spearheading untamed life goals where there are frequently more sightseers obliged in progressively populated lodgings in littler zones, for example, the Ngorongoro highlands or Masai Mara. Yet for those like to experrience it properly, there are still increasingly crude, valid wild regions open on private conservancies and parks in Laikipia, Ruaha, Selous and Katavi.

To what extent To Go on an African Safari 

While ponderiung to what extent your safari will last, you have to think about how to get the ideal incentive from your excursion. As a rule, airfare to your destination in Africa costs when booked well ahead of time.

We suggest arranging the safari trip logistics effectively to abstain from backtracking to the first appearance point. Reputed tour operators can assist you with arranging and plot the logistics effectively. Obviously, on the off chance that you can bear the cost of an opportunity to visit a few parks in different nations, it is smarter to gather exercises in contiguous zones. For example, a visit to Victoria Falls in Zambia or Zimbabwe by the compelling Zambezi River combined with Chobe National Park and Okavango Delta in Botswana and completion with Kruger National Park in South Africa can amount to a superb safari!.

Make a northern circuit voyage through Tanzania with Tarangire, Lake Manyara, NgorongoroCrater and the Serengeti or essentially trail to Amboseli, Nakuru-Naivasha, Laikipia or Samburu and Masai Mara in mysterious Kenya can be well combined with  a trip to see the mountain gorillas in Bwindi in Uganda or Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. On the other hand, differentiate a particular encounter of the Skeleton Coast of Namibia with an excursion to Sossusvleiending with exploring the wonderful Etosha National Park.

Consider doing a safari of 12 – 14 days. There is such a great amount to choose – from horse-riding, ballooning and white-water rafting to pro bird watching, photography, angling, scuba diving, hiking and trekking…

 It might be ideal to consolidate a thrilling encounter, for example, a wild safari in Sabi Sand in Kruger, with a restful voyage through South Africa’s Garden Route ending in Cape Town. Or end with a relaxing stay in Zanzibaer, after a safari in Kenya or Tanzania.

Photo Safaris will be pleased to recommend the best blend of goals for the traveling time that you have for a flawlessly great dream safari. Call 928.899.5917 to have a word with them and plan your trip to Africa after the pandemic of COVID 19.

[shannrussell-blog1]

Lonely Planet ranked the Kimberley second place in the top 10 regions of the world. With stunning gorges, waterfalls and 4WD tracks along the breathtaking coastline, you can camp out in the huge array of flora and fauna – truly the ultimate adventure.

and came home with a more accurate appreciation of this fantastic country. We travelled from Perth in our Land Cruiser, and camped in an Oztent RV5 for about 33 nights, with one night in an Airbnb and one in a caravan park cabin. I cannot recommend this region more – it is absolutely stunning!

The stunning Windjana Gorge National Park in the Kimberley Region, Western Australia. Image: Aaron Schubert.

Where is the Kimberley?

The Kimberley is located in the north-east corner of Western Australia. It starts near Broome, and heads north to the coast and east to the WA/NT border. There are two ways by road to cross the Kimberley; up the Gibb River Road, or along the

One of the many incredible sunsets you can see at Kooljaman at Cape Leveque. Image: Aaron Schubert.

Weather in the Kimberley

he Kimberley has two distinct seasons – the wet and dry. In the wet season, it’s hot, humid and gets a heap of rain. This runs from November to April, and a large portion of the Kimberley becomes inaccessible or closed. Major towns are the exception to this, however.

The dry season, though, from May to October is when the weather is perfect – sunny, warm and cloudless days. The exact dates vary from year to year. Some years the rain didn’t stop until late May, so you need to be flexible when planning your trip.

When’s the best time to visit?

Ideally, as early on in the dry season. This is when the water is at its highest (and most spectacular), numbers are low and the weather is beautiful. School holidays are always busy in the Kimberley, and as time goes on, the weather gets warmer and the water levels drop.

If you can’t get there in May or June though, July and August are both spectacular months to visit. After August, it starts to heat up which means the water levels will drop – so there’ll be less to see.

Car Camping at Cable Beach Caravan Park. Image: Aaron Schubert.

What’s the camping like?

The Kimberley and camping go hand in hand. Whether it’s on one of the many stops along the Gibb River Road, or overlooking the pristine beaches of Cape Leveque, a tent, caravan or camper trailer is the ultimate way to see the Kimberley.

I’m going to make a brave call here, and suggest that camping in the Kimberley is some of the best you’ll do anywhere in Australia. Being such a massive area, I’ll break it down into a few different regions in relation Broome

Broome is one of the major towns in the Kimberley, located on some of the best coastlines WA has to offer. There are about 8 caravan parks where you can camp, spread throughout the town. We stayed at Cable Beach Caravan Park,Roebuck Plains Roadhouse Caravan Park is good for a stop (it’s about 35km from the Great northern highway turn off).

The view from Cape Leveque at Sunset. Image: Aaron Schubert.

Cape Leveque

Roughly 200km north of Broome lies Cape Leveque, the peninsula that you can’t miss on the map. Cape Leveque road takes you from Broome Road right to the top. A large portion of the road is bitumen, but the rest is a gravel/soft sand combination that causes havoc with many vehicles and trailers.

A lot of people comment that it’s one of the roughest roads they��ve done, but it varies a lot depending on what time of year you go up. Either way, the trek is worth it. There are plenty of places that you can call in to explore, and much more where you can camp. Willie creek, Quondong Point, Middle Lagoon and Kooljaman are a few of the more common ones.

We stayed at Middle Lagoon and Kooljaman, and loved both places. The beaches are clear, the sunsets are amazing and the water is warm. In terms of a remote, coastal camping experience you really don’t get much better. We didn’t do so well fishing, but that’s pretty normal for us!

Check out that stunning view of Mitchell Falls along the Gibb River Road. Image: Aaron Schubert. 

Gibb River Road

The Gibb River Road for many people is the primary reason for visiting the Kimberley. It’s a 660km track that runs from near Derby through to Kununurra or Wyndham. It’s long been known as one of the best 4WD adventures you can do in Australia, with spectacular views, incredible swimming holes and more natural beauty than you can possibly imagine. Whilst the main track is 660km, there are a huge number of side roads that take you to the attractions. We did around 2000km on the Gibb River road and didn’t even visit every spot along the way.

Camping options range from a couple of Tunnel Creek, Bell Gorge, Mornington, Manning Gorge, Mount Elizabeth, Mitchell Falls and El Questro.

Most campgrounds have water, flushing toilets and showers, which is greatly appreciated considering how remote you are. National parks are $15 per night per person, with stations around the same price (up to about $22). Not exactly cheap, but it’s a price that seems insignificant when you are up there.

Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungles

I’ll make a mentionLake Argyle and the Bungle Bungles, purely because they are truly magnificent. The caravan park at Lake Argyle is stunning, with an amazing infinity pool.

A bird’s eye helicopter view of the Bungle Bungles. Image: Aaron Schubert.

The best way to travel the Kimberley

I’m probably a bit biased here, but the best way to travel the Kimberley4WD

Take time to prepare, so you can experience a remote sunset like this one at Cable Beach. Image: Aaron Schubert. 

How long do you need?

Some people do the Gibb River Road in 2 days and say they’ve done it, personally, I think you’ll get more out of it on a longer trip. We did Perth to Broome, Cape Leveque, the Gibb River Road, Lake Argyle, Bungle Bungles, 80-mile beach and back to Perth in 5 weeks, and had a ball. It wasn’t too rushed, although we did kill the kilometres in the first few and last few days.

I’d suggest at least 7 days on the Gibb River Road (we did 17), 3 at Cape Leveque, 2 at Lake Argyle and 2 at the Bungles.

The 2017 Kimberley season is going to be massive. They have had a huge amount of rainfall (far more than other years), which means everything is greener, and the waterfalls, rivers and pools are even nicer to visit. If you haven’t got the Kimberley on your bucket list, you better write it down. You’ll have an amazing trip that will stay in your memories for life!

Who’s travelled the Kimberley region? What hidden spot did you find that we missed? 

The post Why the Kimberley is the Best Camping in Australia appeared first on Snowys Blog.

[ianfaulkner1-blog]

​By Roxanne Reid Think African travel and chances are the first word that pops into your mind is safari. Much as I love wildlife and safari, there’s so much more to Africa than that. This collaborative post highlights some of the best African countries to visit for epic things to do, from scuba diving and surfing to hiking on the rim of a live volcano.

We’ve hiked and e-biked, camped out in a cave, ridden a motorbike and sidecar, crossed national parks on horseback and tracked desert-adapted rhino on foot. But of all our adventures and activities in southern Africa, these are some of my highlights. 1. Hot air ballooning over Sossusvlei, Namibia

We climbed into the basket of a hot air balloon among the sand dunes at Sossusvlei well before dawn, then floated up into the sky as pink started to flush the low clouds. We looked down on a dreamscape of sand dunes, mountains and fairy circles, watched the desert come to life. We even spotted wildlife like gemsbok, springbok and ostrich. Despite the noise and heat of the flame that whooshed every now and then to keep us afloat, it was an ethereal experience as we drifted with the wind towards the landing site. We had a ‘crash’ landing, which meant that the basket overturned but we’d prepared for that and landed safely on our backs, unhurt. We ended with a slap-up brunch and sparkling wine on a dune. It’s expensive, but find the money; this hot air balloon experience will live on in your memory forever. 2. Climbing a sand dune in Namibia

One of the most popular activities at Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft Park is climbing a sand dune. These are 5 to 80 million years old and a rich red thanks to iron oxide in the sand. Dune 45 is one popular climb, but we tackled the higher, 320m Big Daddy dune for superb views over Dead Vlei – a white clay pan photographers love for its dead camel thorn trees. Although they’re 900 years old, these skeletons are still standing because there’s no moisture in the desert to rot them. Climbing a sand dune is tough slogging because your feet sink into the soft sand, but also a chance to focus on tracks and small creatures. I worried that walking on the dunes might damage them, but the wind sweeps the footsteps away within a day. Don’t rush to the top as fast as you can; rather linger to drink in the view and appreciate the moment. 3. Quad biking on the Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana

We explored the moonscape of the Makgadikgadi pans on quad bikes, sticking to existing trails so as not to damage the environment. It’s a featureless landscape, not a landmark on the horizon. The pans used to be lakes a million years ago, before tectonic movement formed a ridge to the west and water could no longer flow into them. When the lake water evaporated, it left behind salt and other condensed minerals. After the excitement of riding into the middle of nowhere, kicking up dust, we stopped to allow the silent sunset to creep over us. Once it was dark, the sky was a spectacular canopy of stars. If you do this trip with Planet Baobab, you can opt to sleep overnight on the pans and enjoy an uninterrupted view of every star in the southern hemisphere. 4. Flying over Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe is on any Africa lover’s bucket list, a powerful display of tumbling water, rising spray and thundering noise. Thanks to the generosity of a friend, I got to fly in a helicopter over the Falls a few years back to get a bird’s eye view and appreciate just how big and powerful they are. The pilot made a few passes so everyone saw the spectacle from their side of the chopper and could take photographs, but still the 10-15min flight was over way too quickly. When David Livingstone approached Victoria Falls in his canoe back in the 19th century he could see the spray from miles away. He wrote, ‘Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.’ See them from the air and you’ll realise just how splendid this UNESCO World Heritage Site really is. 5. Canoeing the Zambezi River, Zimbabwe

Mana Pools and the Sapi Concession next door make up a true wilderness area in northern Zimbabwe. This is where to go for a walking safari, to see bull elephants stand on their back legs to reach into the trees for a tasty meal. It’s also where you can get into a canoe and paddle yourself down the Zambezi River to feel closer to what is truly the lifeblood of the area. You’re so quiet that you see lots of water birds, maybe hippos and crocs, or elephants forging across the water to an island to find food. Trust your guides to keep you safe. A late afternoon paddle lets you watch the changing colours of the sky at sunset, and the reflections in the water. 6. Ziplining through the Tsitsikamma Forest, South Africa

We went ziplining with Tsitsikamma Canopy Tours in one of the Garden Route’s indigenous forests, surrounded by huge yellowwoods, giant ferns and forest birds. We climbed to a wooden platform 30m above the forest floor and got the first anxious step off the platform and slide out of the way. After that it was all Tarzan-and-Jane fun zipping from tree to tree on the ten slides – the longest of them a thrilling 91m. Although there are 500 species of tree here, only the Cape hard pear and the giant Outeniqua yellowwood have been used for the platforms, which are built in a way that doesn’t damage the tree. Our guides briefed us well and helped us every step of the way; they also explained a bit about forest ecology between the slides. 7. Hiking in Kruger National Park, South Africa

​A three-night Wilderness Trail in the Kruger National Park is one of the best ways to get an authentic bush experience. It’s not extreme hiking, more a twice daily nature immersion. It was a chance to explore untouched wilderness areas on foot where we didn’t have to obsess about the Big Five, though we did see elephant, lion and leopard on the Olifants Trail. Instead, we got excited about birds, tracks, broken bits of grass and what they might be telling us, trees and shrubs and their uses to man and animals, even dung. Our expert guide and tracker exploded with interesting information, they entertained us and kept us safe. We overnighted in basic huts, got well fed by the camp chef, and lay in bed at night listening to the calls of lions, hyenas and hippos. We loved the remoteness and getting away from the Kruger crowds.

Obviously, I haven’t been everywhere or done everything so I asked other travel bloggers about their favourite activities in Africa. Here are the comments and photos they shared. You can find out more about each experience in the writer's blog link. ​

8. Paragliding on the Garden Route, South Africa

If you’re looking for adventure, South Africa has it all. I loved paragliding on the Garden Route with SA Paragliding Adventures at Sedgefield, close to Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. The experience was wonderful from start to finish, from the friendly staff who made us feel at ease to running forwards off a big hill and taking in the stunning views over the rolling hills, rivers and never-ending beach. I thought it would feel really fast but when you’re up there floating, it’s still and peaceful. Every so often you’ll lift up through an air thermal, which is exciting. They will even let you steer yourself for a short time. Drifting over the world below and seeing it from a different perspective is truly magical. ​Sam Topping, Honest Explorer 9. Rock climbing in the Cederberg, South Africa

The Rocklands in South Africa’s Cederberg mountains is well known in the rock climbing community as one of the best bouldering destinations in the world. Professional and amateur rock climbers from all over the globe travel here to test their strength and skill on sandstone boulders. Friends and I went for two weeks and barely had time to scratch the surface of all the climbing opportunities. All we did was eat, sleep and rock climb (with rest days every so often to restore our muscles). It’s a rock climber’s playground, and you could spend years travelling back to this place and still not climb everything it has to offer. If you’re keen on climbing and looking for a taste of adventure, put bouldering at the Rocklands at the top of your adventure list in Africa. Allison, She Dreams of Alpine 10. Pony trekking in Lesotho

A few years back I joined a pony trek experience from Mount Moroosi in the south of Lesotho to Malealea. We had to pack all our food and supplies for about five days. It was special to travel on horses through areas where nobody, or rather no white people, had been before because of course this is the daily mode of transport for the local Basotho population. The people don’t have much but while on our trek we had women come to us with a handful of berries to taste and in the evenings, after we had asked the chief for permission and set up our tents, they would come to sit with us. This five-day pony trek experience is one of my fondest memories of Lesotho. Jessy Lipperts, Planet Pilgrims 11. Sailing in a dhow in Mozambique

The area around Inhambane and Tofo along Mozambique’s southern coastline is off the beaten tourist track, with only a small airport linking the region. The Bay of Inhambane is therefore a beautiful place to enjoy a dhow cruise to soak up the picturesque surroundings. A dhow is a traditional sailing boat typically used to transport goods or as a fishing vessel. The best time to enjoy a dhow cruise is as the sun begins to set, allowing you a stunning view as the light fades. Your guide will offer up a feast of snacks and drinks to enjoy as you bob along. As you tuck in and sip on a cold 2M beer, your captain will sail you around the estuary, pointing out some of the most interesting spots and explaining the area’s traditions and history. Laura & Charlie, The Travelling Stomach 12. Hiking in the desert, Namibia

Tok Tokkie Trails is a three-day, two-night guided hike through the NamibRand Nature Reserve in Namibia. The landscape will be etched in your heart for years to come. Nothing compares to treading a path through the desert by day and sleeping under the stars by night. The 22km hike is perfect for beginners, crossing gently undulating sand dunes, expansive grassy plains, and a small rocky mountain. You’ll learn about the desert’s natural features and inhabitants, from the graceful oryx to the hardy tok tokkie beetle. At day’s end, rest your weary bones in eco-luxe desert camps. Enjoy a three-course dinner, wash off the desert dust with a hot bucket shower, and sleep under the stars on cosy stretcher beds. The real party starts after dark, when one of the darkest skies in the world explodes with stars and the most vivid Milky Way you’ve ever witnessed. Claire, The Adventurous Flashpacker 13. Skydiving in Namibia

Swakopmund, a desert oasis on the west coast of Namibia, is one of the main adrenaline capitals of southern Africa. The most popular adventure activity is skydiving. What could be better than jumping out of a plane at an altitude of 3000m above what is considered to be the oldest and most picturesque desert in the world? From above, you can see where the desert meets the waters of the icy Atlantic Ocean, which is also known as the Skeleton Coast. What also makes skydiving Swakopmund special is that the area is very remote. The instructors are all very professional and there’s a chilled atmosphere while you wait for your jump. Enjoy the scenery while hurtling towards the ground at near terminal velocity until your chute opens, which is when you can admire the breathtaking view for a few extra minutes. Sabine & Sean, The Travelling Chilli 14. Swimming in Devil's Pool, Victoria Falls, Zambia

Devil’s Pool in Zambia is often touted as the world’s most dangerous infinity pool. It’s best described as a natural infinity pool that sits atop the thundering Victoria Falls. It’s possible to swim there when seasonal water levels allow (usually mid August to mid January, though this varies from year to year). The adventure begins at the Royal Livingstone Hotel. From there, thrill seekers travel across the Zambezi River by speedboat to Livingstone Island, where David Livingstone first set eyes on the Falls. After a short swim across the Zambezi, we lowered ourselves into the Devil’s Pool and allowed its currents to push us to the edge of Victoria Falls. It was an incredible moment, hanging over the edge of one of the world’s greatest wonders.  Elaine & David, Show Them The Globe 15. Climbing an active volcano in the DRC

Mount Nyiragongo is an active volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with the largest lava lake in the world. The climb is tough – straight up the side of a volcano that’s over 3350m high, with zero switchbacks to ease the pain. There’s also a risk of militia activity in the country, although I felt safe while I was there. The climb was worth all of the pain, fear and physical effort it took to get there. A magical moment was reaching the top of the volcano and peering down into a pool of bubbling magma. It felt like staring down into the centre of the planet, and I spent hours sitting in silence, staring in awe. That night, I camped beside the crater, listening to the lava splashing below me, too excited to sleep. This is definitely one of the most epic things you can do in Africa. Lauren Juliff, Never Ending Footsteps 16. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda

Imagine coming face to face with an ancient cousin of our species in the deep and dense forests of Africa. That experience 16 years ago was one of the most memorable of my life. As we started the hike I wondered why the guides had machetes, but soon discovered the bamboo forest grows rapidly every day so they have to cut branches to make the tracks passable. My shoes became loaded with thick mud from the wet soil so good hiking shoes are a must. Coming eye to eye with a group of gorillas was thrilling. They were right in front of us – an enormous silverback, some females and little ones in a large family group. They saw us too but just went about their daily lives, ignoring us while we were in awe of them. Jyoti Baid, Story at Every Corner 17. Hiking in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda

We went on a thrilling two-hour hike in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park. We started out in the rain armed with hiking poles. A slippery path led us down into the rain forest and we made slow progress, but it was exhilarating to listen to the sounds of exotic birds. The climax of our experience was a suspended canopy bridge that stretched 200m across the rain forest. Walking across the bridge, which shook violently at every step, was an adventure in itself and not for the fainthearted. As we stood in the middle of the swaying bridge looking down at the forest 60m below, the sky transformed into a palette of shades of orange. The sun setting among flitting clouds provided a moment so magical that it remains etched in our memory. Sandy & Vyjay, Voyager 18. Trekking the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda

This has to be one of the most epic and rarest adventures you can have in Africa. Fewer than 10 000 people visit each year (the number of people who do the multi-day hike is capped, and even this isn’t reached). These are the legendary Mountains of the Moon, a range of snow-capped peaks on the equator in the heart of Africa. The mountains straddle Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but are most accessible in Uganda. Forests of cabbage-like trees, giant lobelias, trees draped in Spanish moss and shrouded in mist, hidden lakes, equatorial glaciers – it’s a magical, other-worldly landscape. There are basic huts to stay in and a guide and porters are mandatory. They help ease the difficulty of an often-muddy trek, and hiring them gives local people employment and an inherent investment in helping to preserve this fragile environment. James Ian, Travel Collecting ​19. Chimp trekking in Uganda

We went chimp trekking in Uganda in two places – in the Kibale National Forest and in the Kyambura Gorge. Each was a different experience and I’d recommend doing both if you have time. At Kibale National Forest we trekked through the forest for about an hour before we found the chimps. We first ​heard them howling in the treetops then spent an incredible hour with them. Though you are meant to maintain a distance from the chimps, they kept coming close even when we tried to move away. Our experience at the gorge was very different, calmer and quieter. Even though we only saw them from a distance because of inclement weather, it was still amazing. I’d recommend adding the chimps to your Uganda bucket list. Leona Bowman, Wandermust Family 20. Climbing Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Climbing Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is a phenomenal challenge. I trekked with eleven other hikers and an amazing team of guides and porters. I was impressed with the support, the food, the expertise, the safety while on the hike. I chose the longest trek, Lemosho route, to give myself more time to acclimate to the altitude. Altitude sickness is a major factor in some hikers not making it to the summit. Each day we walked about 16km, really slowly. We ate great food and slept in tents. Most nights we had a view of the peak. Day by day the ecosystem changed, from lush forest to barren alpine desert. Summit night was the most challenging; we hiked through the night to reach the summit at sunrise. We were freezing, short of breath and exhausted but it was worth it to make it to the top. Megan McCormick, Beyond the Photos 21. Snorkelling at Chumbe Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania

I’ve snorkelled in many parts of the world but was blown away by Chumbe Island Coral Park in Zanzibar, Tanzania, with its array of tropical fish and colourful coral. An award-winning private nature reserve in the Indian Ocean, the marine sanctuary has 440 fish species and 90% of the coral diversity in East Africa, with 200 species of hard corals. The pristine coral reef is so fiercely protected that only 16 visitors are allowed on the island at a time and scuba diving isn’t permitted unless it’s for research purposes (conservationists have spent 20 years researching and protecting the area). I booked a day visit to Chumbe Island from Stone Town, a tour that included snorkelling, a nature walk, lunch and learning about the conservation project at the island’s eco-lodge (you can also book an overnight stay). For snorkelling enthusiasts visiting Tanzania, this is an experience not to be missed. Helen Suk, Not Without My Passport ​22. Hiking salt lakes and a volcano, Ethiopia

​I did an epic four-day trip through the Danakil Depression, a large swathe of desert stretching from Ethiopia into Eritrea. One of the hottest places on Earth, it has some of Africa’s most bizarre landscapes. The first night you watch the sun set over a salt lake. You may meet salt miners hauling their loads on camels’ backs for the three-day walk back to Mekele. On the second day, you visit Dallol – a mini-volcano in the salt flats that spouts sulphuric acid to create an ever-changing technicolour landscape. On the third night, you reach the base of the active volcano Erta Ale. You hike 12km to the top in scorching heat. You camp right on the rim of a lava lake and walk down to within a couple of metres of the crater rim, shoes melting under your feet, falling through semi-hardened lava, waiting for your guide to yell ‘run’ if a wave comes too close. Carrie Mann, Trains, Planes and Tuktuks 23. Scuba diving in Egypt’s Red Sea​

There’s no better thrill than exploring the vast underwater world, and Egypt is the perfect place to do it. Visibility is good, temperatures are pleasant (even in the colder winter months), and the gorgeous reefs and majestic wrecks are a sight to behold. Marine life is abundant and really diverse. You could encounter whale sharks, clown fish, stonefish, eagle rays, murrays, seahorses, turtles and more. If you’re lucky, you might even spot a dolphin or two. Convinced yet? Scuba diving in Egypt is a wonderful experience for both novice and expert divers. It was the highlight of my three-week solo trip to Egypt, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that I’ll return to explore the Red Sea’s underwater world some more. Lisa Vandenbossche, Clumsy Stray Cat 24. Surfing in Taghazout, Morocco

Is surfing in Morocco a thing? It sure is. Not many people realise there are some killer spots here to catch waves. When I found out, I was glued to the idea and ended up staying in Taghazout for over a month learning how to be a surf bum. There are lots of beaches with great surf a few hours in either direction of Taghazout. The waves cater to beginners and pros so everyone can enjoy them. Taghazout surfing has camps for the totally clueless; you can go out every day for a week and get your skills and confidence to a point where you can go out alone. The best part? This usually expensive sport is pretty cheap here. After my camp, I was renting a wetsuit and board for the whole day for only US$7. Nina Ragusa, Where in the World is Nina? 25. Camel riding in the Sahara Desert, Morocco

A night in the Sahara Desert remains one of my favourite memories. We rode camels into the desert to stay with Berbers, an ethnic people indigenous to North Africa. I’d had no previous experience with camels and soon discovered that an hour’s ride is not for everyone. Once we arrived at the campsite, all pain was forgotten. Just before sunset the rays of sunlight reflected off the sand dunes, forming a golden halo. At night, we gathered around a long wooden table to enjoy couscous and tagine cooked by our hosts. We chatted about life and the future, drifting off for a chilly February night in our tents. In the morning, we rode back with our camels and said goodbye to our charming hosts. I’d definitely recommend adding such an experience to your bucket list. Daisy Li, Beyond My Border 26. Trekking in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco

In Morocco’s Atlas Mountains is the highest peak in North Africa – Mount Toubkal. A Toubkal trek to the summit is a challenging yet rewarding experience, especially if you take a couple of extra days to enjoy the Berber villages at its base. Going with a guide, such as Aztat Treks, on this journey is essential and makes the overall trek incredibly rewarding, especially learning about the region’s history and culture, and experiencing authentic accommodations and beautifully made food. Mount Toubkal is 4187m high so reaching the summit is no small feat. Preparation, plenty of food and water, taking breaks along the way, and acclimating to the thin air overnight at the Refuge Toubkal help make for a successful trip. Christa Rolls, Expedition Wildlife 27. Biking across the Sahara to West Africa

It’s not all that hard to bicycle across the Sahara Desert – if you have stamina and don’t mind the sun and wind. A tar road goes all the way from Morocco, through the Western Sahara and Mauritania. Granted, there are still issues with landmines if you venture off road in the Western Sahara, but other than that it’s quite a reasonable undertaking. We did this 2000km trek in 2007, and even then there was cell phone connection pretty much everywhere except in Mauritania. The cell phone towers usually had a big wall around them, creating shaded spots to have a break from the sun. On a bike you connect with the locals. Where else will you get your water from, and stock up on food? After all, there’s no money spent on gas or diesel, but all the more on rice and beans. Chantal, Earth Nomads 28. Cooking in The Gambia, West Africa

We don colourful outfits from the rail of clothes in Ida’s courtyard kitchen and head off to the local fish market, feeling a little self-conscious. The market is on the beach and it’s a riot of colour, noise and action. Brightly painted pirogues, the local fishing boats, are being unloaded while seagulls squawk overhead. Guided by Ida, we buy ingredients for the West African dish, fish benachin. Back in her courtyard, we are each assigned a task, some peeling and others pounding, crushing up the ingredients for a spicy sauce to be served with the fish. Soon a benachin (which means ‘single pot’) is bubbling away. When it’s ready, we sit on the floor, eating out of one bowl as is the tradition, while Ida tells us more about Gambian life. It’s a day out I recommend as an insight into the local culture. Kathryn Burrington, Travel With Kat Like it? Pin this image! 

You may also enjoy Best African safari holidays: 7 parks everyone should visit

Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za

[willswalkabout]

Rotorua. With some nervous excitement I reboarded a plane to the other side of the planet, for what would be the 4th time in 3 months that I'd done the mammoth trip. Leaving Monday evening I didn't arrive until Wednesday morning. In Bangkok airport on the way, I'd followed the live text for the Lions fixture against the Highlanders. The disappointing loss only added to my anticipation for Saturday's game. I had to wait a couple of hours for my bus to Hamilton. I then got a nandos in Hamilton, before catching my final leg to Rotorua. After checking into my room at about 8pm I absolutely crashed. The next day I frustratingly had to move rooms, so checked out at 10 and went for a wonder. It takes about a day to get used to the smell of rotten eggs which smothers the town, and stems from the sulphur, (I don't know the science) emitted? Let's say emitted, from the hot springs. I went to a great exhibition about the NZ Maori team through the ages, and then on to the Polynesian Spa, where I had a very enjoyable couple of hours relaxing in pools of temperature 35-42'C, completely naturally heated from Priest Bay of lake Rotorua. That evening I went to the biggest Irish bar in town, but found that Lions fans hadn't quite arrived yet, the previous game being in the South Island, so had a pretty early night. The next day I was up early to go White Water Rafting. This was an exhilarating experience, the first time I'd done such an activity. For around 45 minutes we cruised down a stunningly beautiful River, and not so much cruised, but flopped down the world's highest commercially rafted waterfall, at 21ft. Pictures below. That evening was more fun, with the Lions having fully invaded Rotorua. I spent the evening with James and Brett, friends from Shanghai, and Trevor, a Kiwi living in Perth who had come over for the tour. The lions atmosphere is incredibly special, with fans from all sides and countries sharing drinks, laughs and stories. It's makes for an uniquely warm environment, and one I loved being a part of. The next day at midday I helped break the world record for the largest ever Haka, with approximately 7,700 people taking part, destroying the French's previous total of 4,000. It was a hilarious event, as organisers ran about town trying to boost the numbers, as half an hour out from the attempt we were only on 2,500. I then by pure chance met up with James and Brett again, and had a few more drinks, on Rotorua's "eat Street" which was now packed out with fans from both sides. The queue for the public buses was insanely long, but luckily we'd met up with a couple of other guys who had a car, so we packed in and drove to a side road about 10 minutes walk out from the ground. In the ground I met Ben Mills. I went to primary school with Ben and he lives 2 roads from me back in Highbury. He was part of a 70 man touring party with the Durham University Rugby Club. Sitting on the East coast of NZ, Rotorua is practically the furthest you can get from our homes in the UK, so it was a surreal and wonderful experience watching the game with him, a guy I've known since I was 4. Ben's the fifth friend I've been able to meet on the travels after Howard in Hong Kong, Kitty in Melbourne, and Eleanor and Ellen in NZ, and I've loved being able to do so. I've also now made new friends around the globe that I'll hope to see again if/when I pass through their respective cities in the future. Watching a Lions game live was a major tick on the bucket list, but I sure as hell hope it's not the last time I do so. Though the game was one of possession and attrition, nothing could take away from the spectacle. When I inevitably look back on this trip there is no doubt supporting the Lions in NZ will make my top five list. In the company of current contenders; walking the great wall of China, sleeping on Ha Long Bay, Philippino sunsets, and the Milford track. I didn't go out and celebrate, knowing I had to get a bus at 7.45am the next morning. I'm currently writing this that same Sunday evening. It has been a joke up this point. Having arrived at the airport at 1.30pm, knowing I'd already have to be here a while, I then got the news my flight was delayed from 6.15pm to 9.50pm. Despite this I'll still get to Santiago, Chile at 5pm, Sunday the 18th. From there I plan to get a bus to Valparaíso, the final stop of my longest travel day yet. I might as well post this one now though, and the start of my Chilean escapades will be in the next blog. As my stopwatch of awake hours hits 12, and I have 3 more before an 11.5 hour flight.... Over and out.

[echeveriia-moved-accounts]

Lol can u answer all of the cryptic asks

alright haha here goes

Ahool: Have you ever traveled overseas, and if so, where did you go?

my parents took me to the netherlands when i was a baby, but i was way too young to remember anything

Champ: Is there something you’re looking forward to?

definitely graduation!! and also going to college in august

Chupacabra: What’s your favorite food?

it kinda depends on my mood…i like pizza a lot, and i also really like curry

Dover Demon: Do you believe in aliens?

hell yeah

Flatwoods Monster: What does your favorite outfit consist of?

i have a really cute red flannel crop top that i like to wear with shorts and converse when it’s warm enough

Fur-bearing Trout: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

i used to have two earlobe piercings on each ear and two cartilage piercings on my left ear, but one of the cartilage piercings got infected and i had to let it close up, and it took one of the earlobe piercings on that ear with it (don’t get your ears pierced at claire’s guys). i’m planning to get them repierced at some point this spring, and i want to get a tattoo someday but idk what yet

Jackalope: What’s your favorite alcoholic (or non) drink?

hmm i don’t really like any kinds of alcohol that much, but wine is okay i guess. as for nonalcoholic, coffee is practically necessary for my survival 

Jersey Devil: If you had three wishes, what would they be?

for everyone i love to be safe and happy, for the world to become a better place (not likely), and to be prettier because i Hate Myself lmao

Kelpie: Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

i don’t remember who that was but probably not

Kraken: If you could have any superpower what would you want to have?

flight! i daydream about sprouting wings and flying away from everything all the time

Loch Ness Monster: Where is your favorite river/lake/pool/beach?

sometimes i go to stillwater and there’s a place near the town where you can go down some stairs and walk along the st. croix river, and it’s so pretty and you can go for miles and there are cool caves and people walk their dogs there all the time

also if anyone ever goes to banff national park in canada, there’s a trail that goes up to lake agnes and there’s a cute little teahouse up there. it’s an uphill hike that takes a couple of hours, but it’s so beautiful that it’s definitely worth it.

Lusca: What country do you want to travel to?

oh man there are so many places i’ve never been that i would love to go to… i guess i’d want to go to iceland because the landscape is really beautiful

Mermaid: Who is your celebrity crush?

i don’t really have one

Mokele-Mbembe: What’s your favorite book?

i love the expanse series and i can’t wait until the 6th book comes out in paperback so i can read it

Mothman: Who are you most comfortable around?

my friends and also my mom

Ningen: What’s the last movie you watched?

mad max fury road

Ogopogo: What band can’t you get enough of at the moment?

i haven’t been obsessed with a band in a really long time.. i need to find new music haha

Ropen: One little known fact about yourself?

i seem really nice and chill and most of the time i am, but tbh i can turn on people really fast. if you piss me off and i decide you don’t deserve another chance i’ll cut you out of my life and it’ll be like you were never important to me at all

Sasquatch: Where is your number one camping destination?

in glacier national park there’s this really great campsite we went to that i really wish we could have stayed at longer than one night. it’s a really big site and the soil is soft and it’s shaded by these huge pine trees and right next to the lake. it’s site d150 at fish creek campground in case anyone ever goes there 

Skunk-ape: What TV shows are you watching right now?

i’ve kind of taken a break from watching shows at the moment, but i’m still making my way through star trek enterprise and i also need to watch season 6 of game of thrones. i’ve got what feels like a never ending list of shows to watch but no energy to watch them haha

Thunderbird: What is your biggest fear?

failing in what i try to do and not living up to my potential. having everyone be disappointed in me

Thylacine: What’s one thing on your bucket list?

i really wanna go skydiving, and a couple years ago my dad said he might take me for my 18th birthday (which has passed), so there’s a chance i’ll get to do it!!

Wendigo: Do you believe in good and bad luck?

i think that people can be lucky and unlucky, but i don’t believe there’s some sort of force controlling it, just random chance

Yeti: Where do you go when you want to be alone?

usually just up to my room, but in the summer i like to climb the tree in my backyard. it’s as tall as my house, so i can be high above everything else and surrounded by a protective canopy of leaves

[versatilepoetry]

The World Outside After Bath

When I bathed my body in pure crimson blood; the world outside seemed to be horrendously appalling and ghastly as I stepped out, When I bathed my body in an ocean of squelched garbage; the world outside seemed to be rotten fish; with all entities wandering in vicinity seeming as if unwashed since marathon years, When I bathed my body in scintillating white and sacrosanct cow milk; the world outside seemed to be an evanescent fog; with each object striking my eye as a hazy and distorted mirage, When I bathed my body in stupendously redolent lotus juice; the world outside seemed to be extravagantly fragrant; without the slightest trace of dirt and promiscuous stain, When I bathed my body in a river of foaming saliva; the world outside seemed to be as slippery as the eel; the gargantuan roads appeared to be coated with tons of oil; with every single individual falling head on the ground; after unwittingly loosing his heavy grip, When I bathed my body in a pond of talcum powder; the world outside seemed to resemble a clown; and I held the sides of my stomach incorrigibly tight; as I was a trifle afraid that they would explode out laughing, When I bathed my body in a pool of blistering Sunlight; the world outside seemed to be burning and scalding hot; with my fingers circumspect of touching any object in fear of being gruesomely charred, When I bathed my body in a stream of white electricity; the world outside seemed to emit pugnacious sparks; and I dared not put my foot on the earth in danger of getting wholesomely electrocuted, When I bathed my body in a puddle of vivacious scorpion juice; the world outside seemed to be as ominous as the hideous reptile; with each person appearing to ooze lethal venom from his mouth; instead of eloquent and enchanting speech, When I bathed my body in a film of pungent tears; the world outside seemed to be effusively crying; every man and woman appeared to be sad; and edging towards the brink of extinction, When I bathed my body in pulverized cactus pulp; the world outside seemed to be irritable and irascible; with people scratching their scalps every second in utter exasperation, When I bathed my body in glittering liquid of pure gold; the world outside seemed exorbitantly rich and marvelous; with every person inundated with fancy chequebooks and chains of shimmering pearls, When I bathed my body in crushed garlic; the world outside seemed like the decaying fish; wafting an odor that fomented me to puke out all that was trapped inside my stomach, When I bathed my body in the floating clouds; the world outside seemed to be insurmountably windy; with man flying a few feet above the ground flapping his fleshy wings, When I bathed my body in a fulminating tub of acid; the world outside seemed to be like a sizzling pancake simmering boisterously to erupt in hostile fumes, When I bathed my body in silvery sands; the world outside seemed to be gradually slipping; with every visible glass and body completely engulfed with monotonous dust, When I bathed my body in finely pulverized bone powder; the world outside seemed to be an obsolete dead corpse; with ghoulish images of ghosts wandering on the streets instead of robust individuals, When I bathed my body in a conglomerate of satiny hair; the world outside seemed to be a mesmerizing planet; on which fairies floated and basked in the aisles of unprecedented romance, When I bathed my body in a pool of pure shit; the world outside seemed to be a stinking dustbin; with every individual vomiting out every second instead of blissfully inhaling air and living, When I bathed my body in silvery moonlight; the world outside seemed to be an enchanting paradise; with a fleet of tantalizing fairies eating, sipping and sleeping milk, When I bathed my body in firewood ash; the world outside seemed to be brutally burnt; with every object in vicinity appearing as if charred to wholesomely Black soot, When I bathed my body in pungent acrylic paint; the world outside seemed to be freshly whitewashed; everything seemed to be newly constructed; with people's faces sparkling even after wee hours of chilly midnight, When I bathed my body in a lake of molten wax; the world outside seemed to be melting at electric speeds; blatantly prominent outlines of the city seemed to be fading rapidly into thin wisps of oblivion, When I bathed my body in enigmatically slithering snake skin; the world outside seemed to be hideously snaring; with pedestrians seeming to viciously bite each time they opened their mouths to speak, When I bathed my body in a finely squelched pulp of green grass; the world outside seemed to be passionately raw; with humans inevitably tickling themselves in a state of restless frenzy, When I bathed my body in strands of morbid spider web; the world outside seemed to be an eerie playground; with humans having unpleasantly ghoulish designs engulfing their face, When I bathed my body in superlatively piquant tomato curry; the world outside seemed to be a delicious pizza taken out right from the sizzling oven; with all tangible and intangible sprawled around appearing to be completely red; appearing as if uninhibitedly blushing unstoppably all the time, When I bathed my body in a rivulet of vitamin tonic; the world outside seemed to be a pathetic hospital; with people holding their faces in inexplicable despair; orphans wandering on the roads with antiseptic bandages wound to their throats, When I bathed my body in a bucket replete with foamy soap; the world outside seemed to be a profuse blanket of frothy spray; with denizens walking on an island of spongy bubbles; bursting them pompously with their fingers to clear their way, When I bathed my body in whirlpools of pulsating rock music; the world outside seemed to be a sleazily blaring discotheque; with countless clusters of youngsters gyrating their bodies to unsynchronized beats of vibrant sound, When I bathed my body in a shower of raunchy salt; the world outside seemed to be overwhelmingly tantalizing; with even the incomprehensibly old seeming to bounce euphorically with new found rigors of life, When I bathed my body in plumes of black vehicle smoke; the world outside seemed to be an obfuscated blur; with visibility cutting down to almost an absolute zero and dynamic individuals hopelessly tripping their footing even before they decided to walk, And eventually when I bathed my body in a compassionate waterfall of her moist breath; the world outside seemed to have vanished in entirety; didn't appear at all no matter how hard I strained my eyes; for all I could feel; imagine; and appreciate was her mesmerizing eyes and lips; the invincible seed of romance; now palpitating turbulently in her heart as I touched her.

[topfygad]

Wild Lands and Cosy Camps in Iceland

Driving and camping along Iceland’s Ring Road takes a couple to iridescent geothermal sites, whale sightings, and national parks.

  Bubbling mud pots, iridescent mineral deposits and steaming fumaroles at the geothermal site of Hverir are the stuff of dreams. It’s worth driving east of Lake Mývatn to witness this spectacle. Photo By: ProMedia Sudath/Shutterstock

Húsavík, Day 7

The sperm whales showed up one and a half hours into our journey across the Arctic sea. The sky had turned leaden and the sea had merged with it, and the only line differentiating the two was the school of six whales spouting water from their blowholes. The sprays spread into the air and disappeared like dandelions in a storm, reappearing every few minutes. Next to me, a six-foot-tall American doubled over with sea-sickness was retching into the Arctic. His wife, although sympathetic to his plight, looked a bit annoyed at having to let go of this ecstatic photographic moment of whale sighting. I observed the whales, swaying between dizziness and exhilaration, grateful to have finally seen them, regretful that the puffins had not shown, and impatient to stand firm on land once again.

***

My husband, S, and I are in the whaling town of Húsavík in the north coast of Iceland and we’ve been driving and camping for over a week now. Having started with sunny weather, our undependable luck caught up with us by Day 4 and we’ve had the rains chasing us for days. They come and go, leaving the campsites damp and muddy, making our task of pitching tents every evening before dinner a Herculean effort that we’ve been managing so far with steady swigs of whiskey. But after the whales have been seen, and the nightmare of a boat ride endured without messy accidents, I insist that we need the comfort of a warm B&B. After we’ve had the most luxurious sleep in days, we’re refreshed and ready for some more camp living. But the sky outside still bears down on the sea with its dark clouds and I ask the man at the reception doing our bills if the weather is always this challenging? He looks up at me with eyes full of remorse and says, “I have to say you have real bad luck because until the day before the sun was out and shining and the sea was the bluest of blues. I wish you better luck when you come next.” I thank him with the saddest smile I can muster and leave the building hoping against hope for the sun to show.

  Hvolsvöllur, Day 2

  Camping in Vatnajökull National Park is a pinch-yourself-to-see-if-it’s-real sort of experience. Photo By: Henn Photography/Cultura/Getty images

We’ve left behind the lights and tin-walled dwellings of Reykjavik to go deeper into the south on Route 1 or the Ring Road which goes in a complete circle surrounding most of Iceland, giving the fjords in the west a miss. As far as the eye can see, there are no people, just table-topped mountains covered in a spill of moss and lichen and black volcanic soil. Years ago, when the unpronounceable Eyjafjallajökull erupted, halting air traffic in most of Europe, I had looked at stock images and marvelled at its scale. Now looking at other lava fields spreading out around us I feel like I’m inside a movie. Each scene reveals an even more improbable landscape—a desolate, untouched wilderness of low shrubbery, blue rivers and gushing waterfalls which appear with the regularity of punctuation in a very long, artful sentence. There are sheep grazing, their coats so bulky and furry they look like white and black hay bales on a limitless farm. And then there are the horses—stout, docile, their manes flowing in the chilly wind like a mythical beast’s. The animals and fields seem suspended in time as if they’ve always been there and always will be irrespective of days passing and seasons changing.

As we enter the campsite at the town of Hvolsvöllur, 106 kilometres southeast of Reykjavik, and set up our tents and ready our portable stove for dinner, we see a woman with a shock of silver, frizzy hair approaching us. “Are you going to need a shower?” she asks. We nod in obviousness. She then holds out her palm for 800 krónas as fee for using the hot shower at the campsite. We pay her quick and watch her go knocking on every other parked vehicle or pitched tent. She tells us cheerily that she comes every evening to clean the camp kitchen and bathrooms, housed in two red-painted portable structures, and collects the charges for maintenance. As we wait for our sausages and eggs to cook and sip on coffee from camping mugs, we watch the quiet campsite slowly fill up with cars and the hum of chatter, and then tents pop up like colourful igloos dotting the ground with oranges, army greens, and dark blues. The late-summer wind makes us shiver and finally, when the long day is taken over by a darkening sky, we wait for the stars to come slowly aglow.

  Skaftafell and Vatnajökull National Park, Day 4-5

Driving on Route 1 has felt more like comfort than chore. We’ve escaped a tourist-saturated south for the moonscape of Skaftafell, a scenic area in Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland’s southeast. The summer night is feeble and the volcanic beaches inky black; an unknown deserted universe laid out flat and open just for us. We’ve driven past vast green treeless expanses; strolled along cold, black-sand beaches strewn with ice blocks broken off from Vatnajökull—Iceland’s largest ice cap—shining like diamonds under a timid sun. We’ve been soaked from the spray of the mighty Dettifoss waterfall as it frothed and foamed its way into the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river. We’ve set up our moveable home at Skaftafell, on fields of green bordered by hills that looked as if the skies had parted and poured giant buckets of emerald felt down them for years.

The waters around Húsavík (bottom-left) are a fertile home for humpback and sperm whales; Icelandic horses (bottom-right) are descendants of ponies first brought here by Norse settlers in the ninth century; Unexpected furry guests (top-left) often greet drivers on Ring Road; Diamond Beach (top-right), is a glacial outwash plain in southeast Iceland and a big draw for tourists. Photos By: Horstgerlach/iStock Unreleased/Getty images (boat), ROM/imageBROKER/Getty images (horses); Alexey Stiop/Shutterstock (animals); Technotr/E+/Getty images (beach)

  Mývatn, Day 6

Thanks to the eye-popping landscape we’ve had so many stops on the way that we have lost track of time and are running quite late. The rain hasn’t shown any sign of remission and S, in order to get ahead of the clock, has taken a turn onto a gravel road that would get us to the northern volcanic lake of Mývatn just in time for sun down. We bounce over hills, and slow down like a cautious cat at bends looking out for blind turns. A dense, impenetrable fog swirls outside and at one point I’m certain we’re about to crash to our deaths. Then as suddenly as it had descended, the fog lifts and clears our vision to a wall of waterfalls on the horizon. We drive down the slim, gravel track leading back to Route 1.

We continue our drive down the almost buttery smooth Ring Road flanked by mountains and clear, sparkling lakes. We occasionally spot an iron letterbox and reckon the lone house that stood a mile away from the highway overlooking the sea. Here is isolation and its gift of abundance—each individual on his or her own acre in the midst of nowhere and with a window on the infinite blue horizon. Here it is possible to respect nature and to take refuge in it.

Watching the aurora (top-left) spill colours on the Icelandic night sky isn’t a memory you’ll likely forget; Húsavík (bottom) sits on the eastern shore of Shaky Bay and has the distinction of being the whale capital of Iceland; The Church of Akureyri (top-right) is the town’s most enduring symbol and holds a notably large 3,200-pipe organ. Photos By: Olivier Bergeron/500Px Plus/Getty images (northern lights); Alexeys/iStock/Getty images (lake),; Coolkengzz/iStock/Getty images (church)

Slowly we approach Mývatn, our stop for the night. Steam rises from grey muddy pits bubbling with boiling mud sediments, and the air reeks of sulphur. The landscape has yet again, unmistakeably and without warning, changed. A vast ochre desert lies open before us against the setting sun and steam columns reach up to kiss the sky. We drive further down into the town and pitch our tent by the calm, teal Mývatn lake. While stuffing our faces with steaming pasta, we watch ducks swim past us and count the sad-eyed sheep that flock on the hill right across.

Akureyri and Hvammstangi, Day 8-9

When we arrive in the northern town of Akureyri, the rain has finally left us and the sun is high in the sky. We visit cafés and bookshops and drink beer at hipster bars. We see trees like poplar and rowan, which we hadn’t seen anywhere else in the country, and walk past gardens bursting with scarlet and golden flowers. We take the most spirit-restoring dip in the town’s public hot pool—a complex with four pools set to different cool and hot temperatures just to afford you the best sleep that will surely follow. Elderly men and women sit in extended circles murmuring like politicians—a daily ritual for most Icelanders.

***

We get back on the road again and drive past farms alternated with steep, mountainous descents until we take a right and drive into the northwestern village of Hvammstangi standing right next to the sea. The Arctic has turned rough again, and the wind has picked up after an afternoon’s rest. We struggle to pitch our tent against the strong currents but finally manage to make it steady for our last night out in the open. After dinner, we venture out to spot the Milky Way. As we train our eyes on the northern sky, dark over the sea, we notice it dapple with green spreading like an approaching wave. The wave flickers, fades, recedes, darkens and reappears until it dances ever so slightly. A streak of faint light spills slowly illuminating the sky with a tender, iridescent glow. The aurora comes alive for us—we watch, our eyes fixated.

All flights between Delhi and Mumbai and Reykjavik require at least one layover at a European gateway city such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Paris.

Indian travellers need a tourist visa to visit Iceland. Applications for the Schengen visa can be made online through VFS (dk.vfsglobal.co.in) and relevant documents (list on website) must be handed in at the visa application centre in person. The 3-month tourist visa costs Rs4,680 (plus Rs780 service fee), and takes about 15 working days to process.

Camping

The best time to camp in Iceland is Jun-Sept. Temperatures in June through August hover at 15-20°C, whereas night temperatures in September can dip to 5°C. September is usually the start of the Aurora season too, though there are no guarantees; weather is pretty unpredictable across seasons here.

Between May and August, the tiny island of Lundey, just off Húsavík, hosts nearly 2,00,000 Atlantic puffins, who gather here to breed. Photo By: FedevPhoto/iStock/Getty images

Campsites are easily found in almost all towns and national parks, and most are equipped with toilets, showers, a tiny kitchen (though not everywhere), and washing facilities. Summers are busy and it’s advisable to book ahead. Charges per person per night vary between €11-20/Rs850-Rs1540. At national parks, pay for designated areas at the visitors’ centre (sites are usually equipped with toilets, showers, and eating areas).

Camping essentials include tent, stove (can be rented, or bought from supermarkets), cooking utensils and cutlery, shower shoes, car charger, solar powered battery charger and a head lamp. Food is pretty expensive in Iceland, so draw up a menu that’s easy to cook, or stock up on sandwiches.

If you’re camping in the open, hire an SUV (www.bluecarrental.is is a good option; from ISK51,606/Rs28,475 for a small, automatic car for 10 days, including insurance, minus petrol).

(function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.5&appId=440470606060560"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

from Cheapr Travels https://ift.tt/2nNeMAk via https://ift.tt/2NIqXKN

[ntrending]

The complicated, century-long relationship between swimming pools and chlorine

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/the-complicated-century-long-relationship-between-swimming-pools-and-chlorine/

The complicated, century-long relationship between swimming pools and chlorine

Americans love to swim. We’ve won one-third of all Olympic medals for swimming—more than any other country in the world. Founding father Benjamin Franklin is credited as the inventor of swim fins. And the United States has approximately 10.4 million residential pools. Hundreds of thousands more are owned and operated by cities for community use, not to mention the gyms and racket clubs that serve dues-paying members.

But the modern, large-scale, sanitized, and relatively inexpensive swimming pools we know and love today emerged only a century ago, thanks to advances in chemical sanitation and filtering technology. One academic paper (which is, at times, laugh-out-loud funny) from Montclair State University chemist Kevin Olsen went so far as to divide the history of pools into “BC,” or “before chlorine,” and after.

However, pools—and the tools we use to keep them clean—aren’t perfect. Seeking a cleaner, more comfortable swimming experience, the pool industry has tried to innovate in recent decades. The growing trend of “saltwater pools,” which rely on salt chlorinators instead of traditional sources like household bleach, is one byproduct of this continued tinkering. But despite our best efforts, we just can’t seem to quit hypochlorous acid (the chemical name for common pool chlorine).

Swimming for leisure in lakes, rivers, and oceans is probably as old as humanity itself. And man-made pools, often for bathing, date back to ancient Indus River Valley civilizations. But in the late 19th century, people became concerned that bodies of water—natural or artificial—could be plagued with disease. They weren’t wrong, but their methods weren’t necessarily effective. Without a chemical solution, people built pools on downward slopes to drain the water, and frequently replaced the liquids in an attempt to flush out impurities.

That all changed around 1911, according to Olsen, when Brown University tried to sterilize Colgate Hoyt Pool, a heated, marbled crown jewel on the Providence, Rhode Island campus. A chemist added to the pool bleaching powder, which had risen to prominence in recent years as a method for treating drinking water, in the hopes of eliminating the pool’s brownish hue. “The results were spectacular,” Olsen writes. “Bacteria counts went from 700 [parts per million] to 0 in only 15 minutes.”

It didn’t take long for these methods to spread. Laws regulating the sanitation of pools appeared on the books in just a few years. But the modern swimming pool’s other essential component—the filtration system—took a few more decades. It wasn’t until the end of World War II, according to Olsen, that diatomaceous earth filters, which rely on powdered rock to capture fine particles in the pool water, became popular. And skimmers, which are built into the pool and often mimic the appearance of a storm drain, only emerged in 1952; they’ve been trapping bigger pieces of debris like sticks or leaves ever since.

Swimming in carefully managed man-made pools had never been more popular.

But by the 1970s, warning signs started to bubble up. (Or, as Olsen put it, “the first fissures in the summer love affair between chlorine and swimming” eventually emerged.) For one, chlorinating a pool can be gnarly, mind-numbing work, especially if you don’t have an automated system. People with manual pools still mix their own chlorine poolside, then walk the bucket around the perimeter, dumping the liquid cleaner as they go. Depending on usage, temperature, and other factors, homeowners have to repeat this process as often as once a day. They also have to measure algae, pH, and other indicators of pool health—and modify them with a second set of chemicals when things get out of whack. (No wonder it was in the midst of this repetitive task that Olsen came up with the idea for his research paper. “At the time, I had an above-ground pool in my yard,” he says. “And one night, I’m stirring chlorine into it, and I wondered, ‘who invented this?’”)

Even worse, when pool chlorine mixes with urine—as it often does—the chemical interaction generates troublesome compounds. Chloramines form when free chlorine compounds bond with urine or other chemicals. They’re the real source of that chlorine pool smell and can cause skin irritation, burning eyes, and respiratory problems. In fact, frequent swimming in chloramine-saturated pools appears to increase the risk of asthma and some allergies, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. The other toxic substance—cyanogen chloride—forms under similar conditions and can disrupt your body’s ability to utilize oxygen.

These risks may seem acceptable, given infectious disease is a possible alternative. But chlorine doesn’t even always do its job. Between 2000 and 2014, there were 493 outbreaks in pools, hot tubs, spas, and water playgrounds in the United States. Eight people died as a result. Norovirus, Shigella, and Cryptosporidium, all of which are found in human poop, caused the majority of these pool-based infections.

Over the years, chlorine alternatives—or at least what seem like chlorine alternatives—have gone to market. In 1919, according to Olsen, at least one luxury hotel was advertising ultraviolet purification. “No Chlorine, no Chemicals,” the ads said. And in the 1920s, pool owners dabbled in ozone, that carefully-regulated gas punching a hole in our stratosphere. But the most successful system is, undoubtedly, the salt chlorinator.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a retired chemistry professor developed a new way to create and release chlorine. Instead of dumping bleach, calcium hypochlorite powder, or related chlorine compounds into the pool, this new system subsisted on salt. It now accounts for 35 percent of automatic sanitation systems in residential pools, according to internal data from the pool products company Hayward.

“As opposed to putting chlorine into your pool every week or every couple days, really the salt water general takes care of that for you,” says Jason Davila, Hayward’s product manager of chemical automation. “Not only does it provide a convenience benefit, but it also provides a more luxurious experience. People note the water feels silkier; you don’t have that chlorine smell or those red eyes that people get from traditional chlorine.”

The name “salt water pool” may conjure up serene, saline memories of the ocean, but Davila says these pools are about as briny as a contact solution. The ocean has a salinity level around 35,000 parts per million. Human tears are about 6,000 parts per million. And a Hayward pool is somewhere between 2,500 and 3,500 parts per million. To achieve the slightest hint of salinity, pool owners add a small amount of salt to the water, tabulated according to the gallonage of their pool. As a result, some proponents mistakenly claim these salty systems offer chemical free filtration. But, Davila says, even salt water pools need chlorine to stay clean.

On the Periodic Table of Elements, basic salt is classified as NaCl, or sodium chloride. When dissolved in water, salt breaks down into salt and chlorine. If you have a salt water filtration system and add salt to your pool, the NaCl is pulled through a special cell made of titanium plates coated in ruthenium, a powerful catalyst. The cell stimulates a chemical reaction, creating chloride ions. When oxidized, these ions form Cl2, or chlorine gas. In a final reaction, the gas dissolves in the pool water as hypochlorous acid, which cleans the pool water. “That’s how you go from traditional table salt to what we in the pool industry consider chlorine,” Davila says.

There are many claims made about the superiority of these salt water systems, but there’s little academic research to back it up, at least for now. Most of what we know comes from user experience. The notion that salt water pools are “silkier” or “softer” doesn’t come from a research paper, but from people swimming in salt water pools at resorts or neighbor’s houses—and, of course, from swimming pool marketing material. According to industry experts, the feel of a salt water pool likely has to do with osmotic gradients. Because the pool water is kept at a saline level similar to the saltiness of the cells in our body, it doesn’t dry us out, making the swimming experience that much more pleasant.

Similarly, saltwater filters are said to be less likely to redden your eyes or irritate your skin. While chlorine is chlorine is chlorine, delivery methods can shape our body’s response to chemicals, according to both Davila and Olsen. Because the sodium chlorinator is regularly producing and evenly distributing the cleaning solution, it’s not as harsh as one big dump of sanitizer every few days the traditional way. And, Davila adds, by continuously churning out chlorine, salt chlorination curbs the formation of irritating chloramines.

Olympic-sized or kidney-shaped, it’s clear that pools intersect with politics and economics, and regularly serve as real-life laboratories. Throughout history, we’ve been easily spooked by both disease outbreaks and the side effects of chemicals made to manage them. And we’ve barely begun to imagine what the pool of the future could be. But at the end of the day, whether you’re in a salt water system or a traditionally chlorinated pool, there’s nothing quite as soothing as a swim.

Written By Eleanor Cummins

[hotfitnesstopics]

Want to make this the most positive summer you’ve ever experienced? Do something you’ve never done before. Your brain loves novelty.  Even if you’re a little afraid of venturing outside your comfort zone, your brain lights up—literally, on a high-tech brain scan—when exposed to images you haven’t seen before and novel experiences, according to a study by three European researchers. Specifically, it’s the part of your brain known as the “pleasure” or “reward” center. When stimulated, this area will release a chemical called dopamine, which may both make you feel good and motivate you to seek a reward. Novelty seeking as a personality trait is linked to health and happiness, according to research by psychiatrist C. Robert Cloninger of Washington University in St. Louis. So bring out that dusty old bucket list you have, and pick a few things you’ve always wanted to do and get started. Looking for ideas? Consider these: 1. Put some fun into your fitness routine. There’s something about routines that become, well, routine (read: Boring). If you’ve been dragging yourself to exercise class, consider changing it up. Take a barre class (no tutus required) that may get you closer to that ballerina body. If you loved Zumba, take it to the pool. Look for water Zumba classes where you can splash to the salsa beat. Get outdoors by planning weekend nature hikes at your closest parks or bike rides that end at a lake or river where you can cool down after all your efforts. Bonus for doing any aerobic exercise: A bigger brain. A study from the University of Pittsburgh found that people who walked for 40 minutes, three days a week grew their hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls memory, learning and emotion. 5 Fitness Myths That Will Blow Your Mind Read More 2. Do something challenging. For some people that may mean paragliding, bungee jumping or ziplining through the Costa Rican jungle. You might settle for swimming with dolphins, petting a snake at your local nature center, or traveling alone to someplace you’ve always wanted to go. However you define adventure, add one to your summer to-do list. It could change your life—in a good way. For example, one 2016 study found that people who were involved in outdoor and adventure programs felt more confident, happier, had less stress, and a greater sense of well-being. 3. Fulfill a goal. Give yourself the summer to get closer to something you’ve always wanted to accomplish. Say you’ve always wanted to turn your basement into a craft room or man cave but right now it looks like something from an episode of “Hoarders.” You don’t have to do it in a weekend. Create a plan to do an hour of work a day through the summer. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to take part in a race. Find a cause you support that has a walk or run fundraiser attached and focus your summer fitness efforts on getting in shape for a 3K, 5K or 10K or even a 3-day. Recipe for success: Write down or share your goals. A study from Dominican University found that people who put their goals in writing accomplished far more than those who didn’t. A second study from the same researcher found that 70 percent of those who sent weekly updates to a friend either accomplished their goals or were halfway there, compared to 35 percent who kept everything to themselves. So You Want to Start Jogging? How to Begin Read More 4. Try out a new hobby. You may think that exercise is the only activity that has health benefits. You couldn’t be more wrong. Any leisure activity, whether it’s knitting, painting, gardening or riding your Harley can reduce stress and lower your blood pressure on the spot. And, according to a 2015 study by researchers at the University of California in Merced, Syracuse and Penn State universities, the effects can last for hours after you’ve put down your knitting, paintbrush and parked your Harley. Hobbies that engage you and bring you joy can take you away from the pressures of your day-to-day life and help relieve boredom, which can lead to all kinds of unhealthy behaviors (like eating!). 5. Learn something new. Take a course that lets you get the most out of that digital camera you have. Get some new strings for that guitar and find a good teacher. Take a healthy cooking class so you’ll be making tastier Flex meals for yourself and your family. Finally learn to speak French. There are countless brain benefits to becoming a student again. Learning and playing an instrument, which involves complex physical and mental processes, results in more gray matter in the brain—in other words, a more powerful brain, according to one study. Other research found that learning a new language, even when you’re older, may help stave off Alzheimer’s disease. Learning something new is like aerobics for the brain. The post Ready, Set, Summer! 5 Healthy Goals to Add to Your Warm Weather Bucket List appeared first on The Leaf. from The Leaf https://ift.tt/2J3cbvp via IFTTT

http://www.fitnessclub.cf/2018/06/ready-set-summer-5-healthy-goals-to-add.html