For a moment there was silence, as the stranger seemly stared downward as if deep in thought. The silence only breaking as a sharp turn to the left of the neck could be seen, the sound of bone adjusting into place was made. A claw was placed into a inner pocket before a small bag of peanuts were seen. The items were offered after the man chose to crouch down to appear less threatening.
"hmm, peculiar creature you are. I sense a adventurous feeling in you. Have you come seeking prayer for safe travels? I offer my services to all races, including whatever you are."
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
âś“ Live Streamingâś“ Interactive Chatâś“ Private Showsâś“ HD Qualityâś“ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Iceland in Winter with G Adventures: Was it Worth It?
(This is a revisited post from a few years ago - may contain affiliate links) After taking a solo trip to Thailand with G Adventures, I knew exactly who I wanted to travel with when my sister suggested Iceland in winter....
https://runawaywidow.blog/2026/07/iceland-in-winter-with-g-adventures-was-it-worth-it/
Spirit of Shackleton - G-Adventures - January 16 & 17, 2024: Odoriferous blubber slugs & our first iceberg!
Day 5:Â Â Odoriferous blubber slugs - smells better dead than alive. Jan 16, 2024
Well they told us we are still rock and rolling at only a 1.5/10.  We sure don’t want to see anything faster than that.  We stumble with our breakfast plates crashing into other guests, tables, etc while the servers carry trays of 10 meals around with no issues.  We spent all day at sea with no land in sight.  Had lots of lectures and learned about seals, penguins, seabirds, etc.  We were warned that when we come to see the Southern Elephant seal to be prepared - they are nicknamed “Odoriferous blubber slugs” because they smell better dead than alive, and it is best to stay far away as the smell will elicit a gag reflex...
Day 6:Â Â Our first iceberg! Jan 17, 2024
Today we spent the morning going through biosecurity on board again - this is where we bring all of our outer layers for inspection and it all gets vacuumed and all the Velcro get picked through to ensure we are not taking any accidental vectors onto our next destination.  In the afternoon we sailed past Shag Rock - the only visible part of the Scotia Arc which is a line of volcanic activity under the ocean.  We were lucky enough to have great conditions as we sailed by and the captain even did a full 360degree turn around the rock, which we were told is very rare!  Shag rock is appropriately named after the shag birds that hang out on the rock.  Along with Shag Rock, we also saw our first icebergs cruising by! Â
Tomorrow we are expected to make land in South Georgia and we are hoping to go out in the zodiacs and cruise around to see the wildlife from sea - the area we are going to be in is too dense for us to be able to get out and walk around as it would be impossible to keep 5m distance due to the large population there.  We are hoping for calm seas and less rocking!
Spirit of Shackleton - G Adventures - January 14, 2024: On a scale of 1 to 10, this was a 1
6:15 am wake up call got us out of bed headed to the buffet breakfast.  The options there are endless.  Fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, waffles, ice cream - absolutely amazing food.  It is all open seating so I decided on day 1 to never sit in the same chair twice.  I think so far I am doing ok but I also don’t really remember which ones I have sat in.  Hahahaha.   But usually every meal you meet new people which is a lot of fun. Â
After breakfast we all went to our rooms awaiting our call signal to get dressed to go on the zodiac.  It was our first zodiac ride so we were all anxious and excited.  We were the last group to go, so I looked out the porthole and watched some of the other zodiac rides take off.  Finally it was my turn!  I headed down to the mud room and there you put on your waterproof pants, jacket, boots and life jacket.  Then you line up in the que to swipe out with your card to signal that you are now ashore and step through some vircon disinfectant foot bath.  Then you wait at the end of the steps that lead to the ocean.  The zodiacs pull up and the staff hold on to ropes so that the sway along with the ocean.  Then you step on the zodiac and quickly sit down.  Once it is full we zoom off getting splashed with salty sea water along the way. Â
Luckily for us this morning the water was pretty calm and it was a pleasant ride to cement platform where we got off. Â
Then it was a 35min uphill hike to get to the Rockhopper penguin and albatross colony.  The problem with the hike was that 1) I am carrying two cameras which are damn heavy 2) I am wearing heavy boots that are hard to walk in, waterproof pants that feel awkward and a life jacket and 3) holy shit it was windy!!! Â
Every once in a while we would lift our heads and brace against the wind to look up and see that there are still red jackets ahead so best to keep going.  Finally after what seemed like forever we finally made it.  You could smell them first actually!  Penguin poop is not pleasant.  Then you can hear them - squawking away as if someone is getting murdered.  Finally we made it through the tall grasses to catch our first glimpse of hundreds of penguins and albatrosses just hanging out together.  We stood there in the blowing wind for over an hour before we got hustled along to get back to the ship.  The sight was amazing.  So worth the hike.  Lucky for us we stayed so long that we got a ride back to the boat. Â
We were all on a high as we get to lunch and everyone was excitedly chatting about this mornings adventure - we all gave it a 10 out of 10.  How could it get better than this?  As we were having lunch, the boat was cruising along to our next destination for our afternoon at Saunders Island.  The conditions were perfect!  In 8 years they have not been able to pull right up on the beach due to bad waves and usually have to go around to the other side and have us hike in.  But today, the sun was shining, the weather was (apparently) calm, and we got to beach our zodiacs right at Saunders island. Â
The ride to the island was great - penguins swimming in the water on either side of the zodiac.  When we pull in, there are exhibition leaders in the water waist deep and they grab the zodiac, spin it around and pull it in.  We then swing our legs over the edge and jump down into knee high water and quickly waddle onto the beach - and a waddle it is with all of our gear and wet weather outer layer.  But the sight walking onto the beach was unremarkable.  Penguins everywhere you looked!  The Gentoo Penguins would come jumping out of the water onto the beach, waddle up the beach in a row, usually giving us some sketchy looks -they must wonder what specific of humans we are - clearly the red gadventure species…. The the left of the beach there were some cliffs and the Rockhopper Penguins did what they were named for - they hopped out of the water, onto the cliffs and then hopped along the rocks to get up to the colony.  Watching them jump in the water it just looked like they were having the best time.  Further down the beach on the right, there was a small group of King penguins.  They look so official - like they are wearing formal outerwear and they always look like they are having a very important meeting, but nothing seems to come out of the meetings.  Beside the King penguins was a large group of Gentoo penguins.  While I was standing there a mother penguin was regurgitating food for her two babies and then after she stopped they kept pecking at her for more.  She then took off waddling at high speed through the colony with the babies chasing her down.  It was so amusing to watch!  As I headed back towards the beach and the Rockhopper Penguins, we passed by some Magellanic Penguins hanging out with some sheep!  They didn’t really do much - occasionally would walk past us in groups of 3-4. Â
As we spent about 2.5-3 hours on the beach, you could see the waves growing in intensity.  Well this will be a fun ride back.  The zodiac comes in and we do the whole procedure in reverse.  One person fell out of the zodiac and landed in the water - we are wearing life jackets that have a CO2 canister in them so if they sense water they puff pop up, so she puffed up.  The ride back was super bumpy, we got soaked with sea water and were clutching on for dear life.  I will admit that I was super happy to be back on the big boat.  Everyone met up in the lounge for some tea and snacks before our debriefing/reviewing of tomorrow.  During the debriefing, someone was brave enough and asked the question we have all been thinking all day.  So on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this afternoons zodiac ride/docking.  The main exhibition leader Jonathan laughed and said oh that way mild!  1 out of 10.  The room went silent - we all imagined what the other zodiac rides will look like.  Gulp.   Luckily tomorrow we get to get off on the boat ramp as we are docking at Stanley. Â
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
âś“ Live Streamingâś“ Interactive Chatâś“ Private Showsâś“ HD Qualityâś“ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Spirit of Shackleton - G Adventures - January 13, 2024: Penguins at 2 o’clock
Woke up in the morning to a gently rocking boat and wondered what happened to the Drake Shake.  Turns out we just went with the flow of the waves and instead of rocking us, they pushed us accelerating us towards Falkland Islands at airplane speeds - ok so maybe not airplane speeds but we arrived 12 hours ahead of schedule!  The morning started with an amazing buffet breakfast and then a lot of safety briefings - how to get in and out of the zodiacs, that we need to be careful because once we are passed Falkland Islands there is no air evacuation.  The boat has to evacuate and it ain't fast.  We learned about previous issues they have had and to never ever put your fingers in a door way as the air pressured doors will chop them right off (hopefully - because crush injuries are worse). Â
Around lunch time it started to hit me.  The waves had increased and the boat was rocking side to side quite a bit and I was feeling nauseous.  I took my Gravol and then went for lunch that maybe a bit of food in my stomach would help.  Well I didn’t eat much and ended up going to bed for a brief nap before my kayak training again (gear fitting).  Once the nauseousness subsided, the drowsiness kicked in!  All I wanted to do was sleep but we had two lectures in the afternoon and more kayak training!  Luckily I got a nap in after our kayak training and started to feel a bit better. Â
After the lectures we went outside as we could start to see parts of the Falkland Islands.  Beautiful green islands with jagged brown cliffs and rocks - and best yet - even a rainbow!  As we were standing out on the bow of the boat we had an announcement over the speaker that some whales were spotted from the bridge.  We could see the blows off in the distance but they moved so fast it was hard to get a picture of them.  I got a dorsal fin photo - that count?  Hahahaha. Â
At 6pm it was time for the captains cocktail and we were introduced to the captain crew that are running the ship - our captain has over 30 years of experience on boats and is one of the most experienced ones in the industry.  The bridge most days has an open door policy so we can pop in and out, visit and ask questions. Â
We then had a brief meeting on the coming days - tomorrow we are hoping for 2 landings in Falkland Islands.  The first is from West Point Island where we do the Devil’s Nose Hike and then in the afternoon, the plan is to land at Saunders Island.  Once the briefing was done, we got to go back outside to watch as we came in for landing/docking/anchor dropping??  While out there we saw some seals swim by, some penguins zoom along beside the boat and finally the call everyone was waiting for : Penguin at 2 o’clock!  And there was our first Penguin swimming in the water past our boat.
We went inside for dinner all so super happy.  Wake up call tomorrow at 6:15am so I guess I better go to bed - but first I may just sneak outside and check to see if it got dark enough to see some stars…
G Adventures South America: Day 14 - Refugio Amazonas
// March 24th, 2011
Well, there’s a first time for everything. And, while I sit here by candlelight, surrounded by mosquito netting, writing this post about today’s journey deep into the Amazon Forest, I can safely say this is a new first for me.
About Last Night...
When I signed off last night after a HUGE and memorable day wandering the ruins of the breathtaking Machu Picchu, I should have been tucked away in bed in our cosy hostel in Cusco. Due to some recent pretty heavy rain and resultant landslides, however, we were still anxiously waiting in the tourist town of Aguas Caliantes along with hundreds of others, stranded while the train tracks somewhere between Machu Picchu and Cusco were cleared.
Julio, our G Adventures guide was a superhero by the end of the night, dealing with all of us tired, cranky and somewhat tipsy (bar hopping to fill time will do that to a person) as well as doing his best to wheel and deal our way onto any next departing train.
We eventually did get aboard a train at around 1am after some pretty crazy pushing, shoving and running to grab a seat, and after that it was all a bit of a blur as we did our best to get any amount of sleep possible.
Somewhere along the way, out in the middle of nowhere, we all disembarked and transferred to a small bus which carried us the rest of the way back to “Hostel Corihausi". Again, a super human effort from Julio getting everyone conscious and vertical long enough to get us all off the train, considering our sleep-deprived, zombified states of being.
And here’s where the fun really started for me. Considering today was our first day in the Amazon, I was all scheduled to start a course of “Doxycycline” anti-Malaria tablets last night. My tablets were in baggage storage at the hostel in Cusco so the only thing I could do was take them as soon as we returned this morning. As instructed, the first dosage was a double one (2 tablets). The instructions also call for the tablets to be taken with meals. I was soon to find out why not obeying this suggestion was a bad idea.
With our flight out of Cusco and into the Amazon but a few hours away, I took the Doxycycline tablets (on an empty stomach), organised some washing and jumped straight into bed in an attempt to grab a couple of hours of dead-to-the-world slumber before having to pack and leave again.
After having dozed off for no more than say 25 minutes, I awoke to what I can only describe as the most intense heartburn I think I’ve ever had the misfortune to endure. To all those people who have had coronary episodes that took the form of severe indigestion-like symptoms… I think I know where you’re coming from…
DOXYCYCLINE 1 – ROB 0
All I could do was throw up violently, guzzle a LOT of water and try to go back to sleep. Needless to say, by the time I was packed and heading back out to the airport with our reduced group, participating in the Amazon trip, I was no better off in the sleep department. Not a great start to the day.
Rainforest Expeditions
A short flight north-east from Cusco to the town of Puerto Maldonado and we found ourselves in the super warm and muggy surroundings of the Amazon Forest. Talk about a surreal experience. Yesterday, the cool, oxygen-starved Inca Trail through the Andes mountains, and today, the sweaty, humid Amazon Forest.
I rarely ever get sick – maybe once a year if I’m really unlucky, but when I do, it’s usually at the turn of the seasons when temperatures vary greatly from one day to another. It’s like my body freaks out and shuts down in protest. So far I feel fine (despite this mornings little episode), but considering the vast difference in atmospheres and temperatures I’m now experiencing, I’m a little nervous at how the next few days are going to go.
But I digress...
Arriving in Puerto Maldonado, we were met by our local “Rainforest Expeditions” guide, Johan. He collected us all from the baggage carousel of the airport terminal and escorted us out to the company bus waiting in the parking lot for us.
Climbing aboard, we had no sooner taken our seats when we were each presented with our own basket of rainforest snacks including salted banana chips (A-MAZING), brazil nuts and a native orange which was messy to eat, but delicious.
As we demolished our culinary gifts in a fashion that would have suggested we hadn’t eaten all day (which for some of us was the truth), Johan introduced us to the rest of his crew and explained that we were on our way to a port where we would transfer to a long boat and cruise up river to our accommodation – “Refugio Amazonas”.
Once at the port, we had the opportunity to stretch our legs, purchase snacks and drinks, visit the loo, chase around some chickens and generally stretch our legs a little before heading down to the river to board our next form of transport.
With a good 3-4 hour river journey ahead of us, all we could do after doning our life vests was grab a position on the wooden benches that lined the sides of our long boat, and try to get comfortable. Johan, meanwhile, ran through a few safety notes including providing us with reassurance that, should we end up in the drink for whatever reason, we were likely more at danger from camen alligators than from flesh-stripping piranha. Reassuring indeed. Thanks Johan.
Next, we were each handed another unique snack – this time a gourmet rice of some kind served wrapped in a large banana leaf. Yum! The meal certainly kept us quiet for the first quarter hour or so as we headed off along the muddy waters of the river, deep into the Amazon!
Over the next couple of hours we had plenty of time to sit back and observe the vastness of the country we were in as thick forest after thick forest passed us by on the river bank. The increasing feeling of isolation was broken up from time-to-time by the rare passing of other boats and by the odd roughly constructed mud hut that appeared on the banks.
An abundance of wildlife is something I’m obviously keenly interested in seeing throughout this short visit into the Amazon. And while we didn’t see all that much with our naked eyes on the river this morning, we sure as hell could hear a massive amount of critters all around us, even over the top of the boat’s motor. There’s absolutely no doubt that the forest is alive with activity and I couldn’t wait to hit land and check it all out.
A couple of hours into our river journey and we were required to dock at a small checkpoint where we registered our entry into the “Tambopata” region and received some pretty cool stamps in our passport validating our visit to this amazing part of Peru. I wasn’t aware that you were allowed to stamp your passport with anything other than official country entry and exit stamps, but I was soon assured that it was all above board, so I jumped in line and got my passport inked!
It was here at the checkpoint that we all got out first close up glimpse of some Amazon wildlife as the trees above rustled with the playful movement of a couple of monkeys of some kind. It seemed to trigger a run of good luck for us as, over the next couple of hours on the river we saw more monkeys playing in the forest canopy and also a family of capybara foraging the muddy shoreline.
My camera simply doesn’t have the telephoto power to capture such sights with amazing clarity (damn you Peruvian thieves!!), but here’s a shot I captured of the capybara.
A pretty nondescript set of old wooden stairs leading up the muddy bank from the river’s edge and into the forest was all that marked our arrival at home for the next couple of nights – "Refugio Amazonas".
Considering none of us really knew what we were in for over the next couple of days in terms of accommodation and activities etc, exiting the boat and heading along the muddy trail into the forest was pretty exciting in itself.
The unknown soon presented itself as we entered a clearing and set our eyes, for the first time, on the amazing “Rainforest Expeditions Lodge” like an oasis at the end of a lush, leafy green desert (or something), with its high pitched hardwood frame and just all-around awesomeness.
Needless to say, with available light starting to fade, cameras were quickly whipped out and everyone captured the memory of coming across this amazing construction in the middle of nowhere.
Seated in the bar area, Johan gathered us all around, introduced us to some of the lodge staff and tossed up the idea of heading out on an evening activity. We were all pretty tired after our hellishly long night last night and a long day of river travel today, so we passed on the idea, opting to push the activity to tomorrow evening.
Instead, we opted for the opportunity to settle into our amazing individual rooms, and enjoy a few cold beers set amongst our amazing new surroundings. This was followed up by a surprisingly decadent buffet dinner that left each and every one of us well and truly satisfied.
And that brings me full circle to now. In my much needed cage of mosquito netting, scribbling away by candlelight wondering what the heck it is that’s nestling and rustling away in the walls above me. To be honest I don’t really care. I feel oddly safe on the bed here and now I think it’s time to try the ol’ sleep thing, assuming the creature (whatever it is), that’s just started screaming out there to my right, gives it a rest soon.
