Moms like to send their kids off to school with a nice, healthy, packed lunch. Normally included in the lunch is a drink of some sort. This is what happened to a little girl who opened her lunch, only to find a drink of another kind!
The Australian mom had asked her little one to help herself to a drink for her lunch box. Unfortunately, mom had not checked which drink the girl chose. On opening the lunchbox, the drink turned out to be a pouch of slushy vodka!
Mom was on the receiving end of a phone call from the school, about the contents of the lunchbox and had to admit that she had asked her daughter to select a drink herself. Not that she was blaming her daughter, the mom in fact felt very guilty about the incident.
To be fair on the child, the pouch did look exactly like her regular drink, so she is not to blame for choosing what looked like a nice, cold drink. Teachers did not see it that way, unfortunately.
After explaining how the incident had happened, the mom jokingly apologised for the fact that she had not included enough for all the staff, and fortunately they all saw the funny side of it. It was clear that mom did not send the vodka on purpose and that it had been a mistake.
“They were very good about it lol. I made light of it (it was obviously innocent on my daughter’s behalf). I apologised for not sending enough for the teachers and they just laughed thankfully,” said the mother.
Mom posted the incident on her social media page, saying that it was an ‘EPIC lunchbox fail’, when you ask your five year old to put a pouch in her box, and you forget that there are other pouches in the freezer!
So, while most moms feel guilty about sending a less than perfect apple in the lunchbox, moms the world over may be thankful that at least they sent the right juice for their children!
If you’re an avid angler, you should spend a few minutes reading this post. It explains how five small mistakes can make an enormous difference to your success as an angler. And be sure to check out some of the other great posts on the site!
While every angler has his or her own unique tricks, there are some things that every angler should really avoid doing! These little mistakes can make a huge difference. If you learn about these little mistakes that many anglers make, you can avoid them. And this will improve your bass-catching efficiency quite dramatically.
These small errors include common things like talking so much that you don’t concentrate on what you’re doing, wasting time when you should be fishing and changing lures too often. So spend a few minutes learning which tiny mistakes to avoid making, and you’ll be rewarded with more catches!
5. Changing lures too frequently
If you’re changing lures, you’re not fishing. Sometimes hooking a big fish just means getting something (anything) in the right spot at the right time. But if you’re changing lures instead of casting, you might let that structure zip by and miss your opportunity. That’s why you should stick to confidence baits when the bite is slow.
4. The plop
During slow stints, the first thing to go down the drain is care about how the lure you’re casting or pitching lands in the water. A big, fat plop usually doesn’t get the result you want. Silence is deadly.
3. Too much jibber-jaber:
Too much talk often equals too little concentration. Some of the all-time great bass anglerssay very little during the day, sometimes to the point of being Zen-like.
2. More fishing, less time wasting
The moments that make the biggest difference often occur infrequently and when you least expect them. Spending 35 minutes sipping on a Fanta and spooling up your crankbait rod during the critical morning bite, you’re not putting fish in the boat.
1. The angle of the dangle
Recognize that a Texas-rigged plastic with a kink or bend in it (see photo), or a jig trailer that’s hanging halfway off the hook makes a big difference in getting bites. Take the time to make sure worms and plastics are rigged straight and dangling true.
This is an incredible post about an angler who caught a record-breaking monster trout that weighed almost 35lbs! It’s hard to believe that such an enormous trout exists until you see the pictures!
Michael Mitchell is a 52-year-old angler who was hoping to catch a 10Ibs brown trout on his fishing trip to Loch Earn in Scotland. Instead, he caught a mutant rainbow trout that weighed 34lbs 12ozs. And he was only using a maggot as bait!
It seem that this monstrously big trout had escaped from a fish farm where it had reached its enormous size. Biologists who examined the fish’s scales think it is about 5 years old and must have been gorging itself on the unlimited supply of stickleback fish and minnow in the lake to get as big as it did. The previous British record for a rainbow trout was 33lbs 4ozs. Mitchell is waiting to find out if his catch will be recorded as the official record.
Michael, a painter and decorator narrates how he caught the big trout:
“I was out in the loch on a boat with my brother-in-law, Ian Devine, and we just had a break for a sandwich when I caught a wee brown trout which I released because of its size.”
“Then this monster struck and when it did it nearly took my rod in. I just managed to grab hold of it in time.”
“I knew it was a big one and panicked a bit. It took about 15 minutes to reel in and got a bit of a fright when I saw it. I have never caught a fish that big before.”
The specimen was so big it broke two landing nets as Michael and Ian tried to heave it on board.
The loch fishery has a policy of removing rainbow trout because they are non-native species and anyone who unintentionally catches one is not allowed to return it to the water.
The fish he caught was brought back to shore and weighed owned by Alex Murray, the Loch Earn fishery manager:
“Alex knew it was a Scottish record and said he thought it might be a British record too.”
“We have had to freeze the fish while all the correct paper work is sent off to the relevant authorities to verify.”
“I have only been fishing for five years and am over the moon with it. I’m still on cloud nine.”
Alex adds:
“There is a rainbow trout farm on the loch and any rainbow trout in the water are escaped fish.”
“We have had a scale sample tested and the results show the fish was in its fifth growing season. Judging by the size of it it had been in the loch for most of that time.”
“This incredible trout has had a plentiful supply of food all its life.”
The trout measures 38ins long and has a girth of over 26ins.
The week began in a very good way for Man Kaur. She won the gold medal in the 100 metres at the World Masters Games in Auckland, New Zealand. She did this in 1:14. While this may not seem that fast, you should remember that she is 101 years old! Over the week of events she also took the gold in the 200 meters, shot put and javelin!
“I enjoyed it and am very, very happy,” she said. “I’m going to run again: I’m not going to give up. I will participate, there’s no full stop.”
It isn’t even the winning that is so important to Man, it is the feeling that she is able to participate. Her running career started at the age of 93, when son Gurdev Singh suggested that Man join him in running. Since then, there has been no holding her back. Man says that without any health problems, there was no reason at all why she could not start to run with her son.
Training in their hometown of Chandigarh, in India, Man’s routine is to run the 50 meter print 5 fives, interspersed with 100 and 200 meter sprints every other day. If you don’t find her running, you will find her in the gym, working out.
Nutrition plays a very important part of Man’s day, with wheat grass juice and kefir being a part of her everyday diet. This was part of her mother’s strict diet also.
Man says that she was really pleased at winning the medals, even though she was the only participant in the race. She intends to come back and compete at the Master’s Games in Japan in 2020.
“I feel really good winning all four gold medals, and this is not it, I will come back and compete again at the Master Games 2020 in Japan,” Man shared.
Every Tory Prime Minister has increased VAT! This dates way back to 1973 when it was first introduced by Ted Heath. It seems that there may be yet another VAT increase on the cards.
The Prime Minister and her ministers seem to have avoided the question on the increase after Chancellor Philip Hammond mentioned it. He is considering a 2.5{8efda06dc5ba043acfdc8fffd77f8d4f921b15e7a91685a4537ba393698d3991} flat rate increase, which will cost a two child family £450 a year.
It seems that this tax bombshell will come into effect if the Tories are re-elected in June. On the other hand, it appears that there will be a £70 billion tax cut for corporations and the higher income bracket.
Philip Hammond has said that he wants ‘flexibility’ on the issue (Photo: PA)
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon backed the plan to forget about the promise made by the party to not increase VAT, National Insurance contributions and Income Tax.
A VAT rise would primarily hit pensioners the worst. These people have worked all their lives and suffered years of real pay cuts. The higher income group will benefit with their tax relief.
Margaret Thatcher almost doubled VAT when she first took office (Photo: Getty Images)
“Everyone knows that VAT is the tax Tory Chancellors can’t resist hiking up. It’s the tax bombshell that the Tories are planning for low and middle earners if they are re-elected in June,” Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said.
“A Tory VAT rise would clobber pensioners, the worst-off and working people who have suffered years of real pay cuts, while the Tories’ super-rich mates and corporations enjoy tax giveaways of £70billion,” assistant general secretary Steve Turner said.
John Major took the tax rate up further to 17.5{8efda06dc5ba043acfdc8fffd77f8d4f921b15e7a91685a4537ba393698d3991} (Photo: Getty Images)
At times it appears that the party does not care if it hurts the poor, as long as the high earners do not suffer. This Prime Minister is no different than the last one, with the same Tory agenda.
“A Tory government will hammer families with a VAT rise like every Tory PM has done since 1973,” Labour MP Wes Streeting, a member of the Commons treasury committee added.
“They don’t care that it clobbers the poorest hardest, that it hits people on middle incomes struggling to make ends meet, so long as they can keep on cutting taxes for the very wealthiest.”
“Theresa May is the same old Tory Prime Minister with the same old Tory agenda.”
David Cameron claimed he would not increase the rate of VAT – before taking it up to 20{8efda06dc5ba043acfdc8fffd77f8d4f921b15e7a91685a4537ba393698d3991} (Photo: Rex)
VAT was first introduced at a flat rate of 10{8efda06dc5ba043acfdc8fffd77f8d4f921b15e7a91685a4537ba393698d3991}, it was then cut to 8{8efda06dc5ba043acfdc8fffd77f8d4f921b15e7a91685a4537ba393698d3991} by Labour, but it increased right up to 15{8efda06dc5ba043acfdc8fffd77f8d4f921b15e7a91685a4537ba393698d3991} when Margaret Thatcher came into office.
Under John Major it rose again to 17.5{8efda06dc5ba043acfdc8fffd77f8d4f921b15e7a91685a4537ba393698d3991}, with yet another increase under David Cameron to 20{8efda06dc5ba043acfdc8fffd77f8d4f921b15e7a91685a4537ba393698d3991} in 2011, despite all his promises that it would not be increased.
The Tory plans prove they’re still a party run for the rich (Photo: PA)
This increase would cost families at least £2,250 over the next five year Parliament– with inflation meaning the true figure is likely to be even higher, if it comes into force.
It seems that the best thing to do is to wait for the manifesto, which will show what the Tories plan to do next. It looks like it will be the hard working Brits who will ultimately pay for the hard Brexit. It would be good to know exactly what the public can expect before the next election.
Every Tory Prime Minister has raised VAT since 1973 (Photo: Getty Images)
“He doesn’t want too many targets inside the manifesto that are too prescriptive, that don’t allow you, as the situation develops over the lifetime of the Parliament, the flexibility,” Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon backs Mr Hammond’s plan.
“The Tories are plotting a tax bombshell on hard-working Brits to pay for their hard Brexit,” Lib Dem MP Greg Mulholland said.
“Hammond must come clean on what taxes he plans to raise before the election.”
A mild, frost free winter followed by a warm spring have created a slug baby boom, with 80 million of them more likely to be born, according to experts.
Jude Beherall, from Neudorff, said: “A mild winter with minimal frosts will produce a glut of slug eggs and, once hatched, these young slugs will be looking to feed their voracious appetites and will head straight for the tender foliage of young plants.
“We are advising gardeners to be fully prepared with slug controls at the ready to ensure their hard work in the garden is preserved.”
Average temperatures over winter of 2016/2017 were 5C, the temperature that usually wakes slugs from hibernation. The winter heatwave means the slugs haven’t headed off for their usual kip, instead working hard on building up a bumper crop of baby slugs.
“Last year’s wet but very mild conditions mean unfortunately we’re in for more of the same,” said the charity Buglife’s Paul Hetherington.
“The conditions were perfect for slugs to remain active for a longer period, meaning they were eating more and breeding faster and as a result the little ones were maturing at a quicker rate.”
To make matters worse, Paul said that the shrinking numbers of birds, beetles and Hedgehogs (the natural predators of the slugs) are also helping increase their numbers.
BugLife is urging gardeners not to make the matter worse by trying to kill slugs with poisonous pellets, as the poisoned slugs are then killing off the predators that feast on them.
“There are a number of more natural ways to get rid of slugs that do not also involve killing animals all the way up the food chain,” Mr Hetherington said.
Instead they recommend using copper tape or some plants you are prepared to sacrifice to counter slugs naturally.
“I use fuschias in my own garden – slugs hate fuschias, so it’s a good idea to plant them surrounding plants that slugs usually destroy, like hostas,” he advised.
If you venture up to Queen Creek, Arizona, you may chance to meet an incredible couple called Nathan and Lori Ryberg. They have been married for 33 years and have six biological children. They have also adopted seven, and – even more amazing – all the children are -or have been-homeschooled by Lori.
The couple met at university, and found that they both enjoyed working with children and adults with special needs. Soon after they were married at 22 after they graduated they started taking in foster juvenile delinquents for five years.
“You can’t save the world, so I decided to save a few kids. We became foster parents,” Lori says.
Nathan and Lori Ryberg have two huge hearts and 13 children. They are pictured in 2015. Back row, from left to right, with their current ages: Elizabeth, 26, holding Obie, 2, Luke, 22, Elijah, 20, Samuel, 28, Jeremiah, 18, John, 32, David, 24, Samuel’s wife Nicole, 25. Front row, left to right: Grace, 12, holding Gabe, 2, Hope, 16, Lori, 55, Nathan, 55, holding Mercy, 3, Faith, 19
In 1997 they adopted for the first time: two boys, John, 12, and David, who was 5 – both had already been in Nathan and Lori’s foster care. Nathan, at that time, had a job working in residential treatment for boys with drug and sexual addictions. Hearing the boys’ stories of their arresting officers impacted Nathan to the point that he decided his energy was best spent in the police force as an officer to help the police culture change from ‘para-military to human service’. His social work degree continued to help him at the Tempe Police Department.
“I have gotten to practice more social work being a street cop than I did as a social worker,” he says.
Lori was working for an adoption agency at that time.
“I loved doing that, finding families for kids. That was going to be my whole life and then we decided to take our first [foster child],” she says.
Nathan and Lori met in 1979 in college at Azusa Pacific University in California. While they were still in school, they would babysit for their professors who had children with special needs. After graduating with degrees in social work, they were married at 22, pictured
Nathan explained that the process of adoption just ‘seemed to happen’ to them. When the Rybergs started having children of their own, they changed their fostering license to include disabled children. “Then it just started,” Nathan explains. “[But] it’s been slow.”
In 1999 they adopted two-year-old Faith and in 2001 they adopted Hope, then 1. They had also been in the Rybergs’ foster care. By then they also had five biological children, Samuel, Elizabeth, Luke, Elijah and Jeremiah. By 2004 they had another biological child, Grace and in the past two years they adopted three more children: Mercy, Gabe and Obie.
Lori says that to date they have had between 18-20 children with disabilities.
“We’ve had, I think, between 18 and 20 kids who all had medical issues, all had extra stuff on top of their needing foster care and adoption.”
The Rybergs didn’t adopt their children all at once. Lori said: ‘I don’t ever remember making the decision like we’re going to adopt a certain number of children – it never occurred that way.’ The family is pictured in 1993 with John, Samuel, Lori, David, Elizabeth, Nathan and Luke
Sometimes those children are able to go back to their homes. Those children were in the foster system because their parents didn’t understand their medical needs. In those cases the Rybergs step in and teach parents how to care for their child. But that doesn’t always happen, which is why the Rybergs have adopted seven foster children, which Lori described as a privilege.
“We’ve been able to provide a home for kids that not only needed a home because of something with their families, but they also have medical needs. I think that’s the key component is that these kids are in foster care for no reason – nothing to do with them.”
“It’s not their fault. Even if it is the reason – because their parents can’t take care of their medical problems – it’s still not their fault and it is still nothing to do with them. And they still deserve as interesting a life as anybody else can get.”
Over the years, the Rybergs have fostered between 18 and 20 children and adopted seven. They also had six children of their own. Lori homeschooled all of them over the years. Pictured are: Faith, Luke, Elijah, David, John, Jeremiah, Samuel, Hope and Elizabeth
By today most of their children are over 18, which helps. John is 32, Samuel, 28, Elizabeth, 26, David, 24, Luke, 22, Elijah, 20, Faith, 19, Jeremiah, 19, Hope, 16, Grace, 12, Mercy, 3, and Gabe and Obie are both 2.
Originally the children were enrolled in a public school, but because they had behaviour problems, it was just so time consuming, always going back and forth to school meetings, and dealing with Special Education needs. Added to that there were times when the kids needed different therapies in school.
‘We did originally have our two older adopted sons in public school and dealing with the public school Special Ed programs – that was time consuming. It was constantly meeting, constantly having to help them intervene on behavior and all that other stuff.
In November last year, Nathan and Lori officially welcomed Gabe and Obie into the Ryberg clan. The two-year-old boys have Down syndrome and were adopted on National Adoption Day. They are pictured with Nathan, holding Gabe, Lori, holding Obie and Mercy, front
Finally Lori made the decision to homeschool her family. She firmly believes that children with behaviour problems respond better to being in smaller groups, rather than in large classes.
“You really do lessen the amount of behavior problems with kids with special needs when you don’t have them in a big group like that,” Lori added.
Homeschooling has advantages for Lori in that she can schedule doctors appointments whenever she wants to, instead of only out of school hours. School work can always be done in the car on the way to the doctor, in fact most curriculums are based that way so they are easy to travel with. Lori proudly admits that with four kids in college or through college, she must be doing something right.
Holidays with the Rybergs can get a bit crazy with family coming into town. Grandparents, aunts and uncles all come to Nathan and Lori’s house in Queen Creek, Arizona
As if she didn’t have enough on her plate already, Lori enjoys cooking and makes sure that there is a home cooked meal on the table every night. She admits that she relies heavily on the slowcooker, and cooks many casseroles, but has no complaints from anyone!
“I really like to cook, so that’s a really easy thing to do. I make a lot of casseroles, though. It’s not steak,” she laughs. “It’s tuna casserole, it’s spaghetti… crockpots, that kinds of stuff is pretty much all the time.”
On top of it all, Lori runs errands with all her kids because she doesn’t like to leave any of them behind.
Lori said: ‘We generally do big Thanksgivings and Christmases. Those are kind of over the top. Lots of food, lots of fun.’ John, left, David, middle, and Luke, right are pictured at one of the Ryberg’s big Christmas celebrations
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had ten kids trailing behind me at Costco or more. And thank goodness it’s quite fun,” she said.
“I like taking kids to the grocery store, I like taking kids out. I want them to be part of the public. I want them to see how things work. I want other people to see them.”
“I think a lot of families with kids with disabilities are fearful of taking their kids out. They’re afraid of how they’ll behave, but the more you take them out, the better they become. They’re more comfortable. My kids are all really comfortable.”
“Our big goal in life is to make sure that our kids, no matter what their disability is – that they’re socially appropriate. It is incredibly important to make sure that our kids can be part of the world.”
Their daughter Hope, right, has Down syndrome. When they first adopted her in 2001 someone approached the family and asked Nathan and Lori if they realized that Down syndrome is ‘for a lifetime’. Lori said: ‘We looked at them like they had horns coming out of their head… We very much understand that this is where we’re going to be in our long-term and that’s really good with us.’ Hope is pictured with their biological daughter Grace
When they adopted their daughter Hope in 2001, who has Down Syndrome, Lori was asked if they knew that this would be a life time job. She replied that they already had three children with Down syndrome and knew exactly what they were taking on. They knew that it would be a long term commitment, and they were happy to be a part of Hope’s life.
Their other children with disabilities are Faith, who has Spina Bifida, Jeremiah, who has cerebral palsy, Mercy, who was born extremely premature, and Gabe and Obie, who also have Down syndrome.
“We looked at them like they had horns coming out of their head,” Lori says. “Yes. We do understand that. We had already adopted three children with spina bifida and that is for a lifetime too… We very much understand that this is where we’re going to be in our long-term and that’s really good with us.”
“Lori added that it’s an honor to be able to care for these children.”
Lori homeschooled all their children, which she said is complementary to their family’s busy schedule of therapies and doctor appointments. After homeschooling, four of the Ryberg children have graduated college or are in college now. Lori is pictured with Elizabeth after she graduated and Nathan
I can help my community, I can help my city, I can help my state by taking a few kids and making sure that they get everything that they need. As hard as that is sometimes.”
“What makes it easier is that she says her children with special needs have a positive attitude and appreciate the little things in life.”
“It is really typical to say that Down syndrome children are never sad, they’re always happy… That’s not true at all.”
“But at the same time, they wake up every morning happy as can be. They start off the day happy. They don’t always end that way… but they can’t wait to see what’s going to happen and that’s definitely the way I like to see life.”
Faith, pictured, was born with a condition called spina bifida. Today, Faith is 19 and uses a wheelchair full-time
One of the children, Faith, has Spina Bifida which means they need a wheelchair for her. When she was younger, lifting Faith up and into the car was easy as she was so little, but this became a problem as she got older.
“I can barely lift her now, to get her in the car,” says Nathan. “It kind of just snuck up on us.”
On their $85,000 a year shared salary, Nathan and Lori considered buying a minivan, although they were very expensive and their whole family wouldn’t be able to fit into one. However, some of Nathan’s co-workers stepped in to help the family.
The Tempe Police Department started a ‘GoFundMe’ page to raise money for new transport, the idea being to raise money to buy a 15 passenger bus and a wheelchair lift. To date this venture has raised $57,000. The goal for the bus is $75,000.
“We just really want to express our gratitude for the GoFundMe page and all the support we have gotten from people,” Nathan said. “We’re just really grateful that my friends did this.”
Most of the Ryberg children participate in some kind of sport or adaptive sport. Hope, left, and Grace, right, are pictured after a Special Olympics event
Nathan plans to retire in four years time, and he says that although they will take on a little less fostering, they will certainly continue until they no longer are able to. They have become involved in recruiting and training foster parents.
“We will continue to take foster kids as we are able,” he said. “We will definitely slow down and do one at a time, but we are involved in recruiting and training foster parents so we will continue to care for kids as they are brought into our path.”
“I know this is where we’re supposed to be,” Lori added. “It’s really something we’re really good at and I’m hoping to be able to do it for the next 20 years.”
After adopting Gabe and Obie last year, the Rybergs have decided to slow down just a bit. They will continue to take in one foster child at a time. Nathan and Lori will also recruit and train foster parents
These days the house is not quite so full anymore, as some of the children have married and moved away to start families of their own. Lori says that they only have 12 people in the house these days!
Lori says that fostering is what they are meant to do, it is something that they are really good at and they plan to continue. Years ago foster parents were warned against getting too fond of the children, but both Nathan and Lori disagree with that. According to Lori, the best thing you can do is to get close to them and teach them how to love other people.
Lori sees her fostering job as a privilege, she says she is honoured that the state of Arizona see her as a suitable person to care for disabled children. This is just what she does, and she and Nathan love it.
Lori says: ‘I know this is where we’re supposed to be… It’s really something we’re really good at and I’m hoping to be able to do it for the next 20 years’
“I was telling somebody not too long ago: ‘I don’t feel very special. I do not understand. I don’t understand why people are interested in this whole thing’.”
“I’ve actually spent some time talking to them about it and they’re like ‘But you don’t understand, Lori, I would never be willing to do this” and I’m like, ‘Oh, you don’t know what you’re missing out on’.”
“I didn’t know people weren’t willing to do it, I just thought that the opportunity never came to them. But it really is true that there’s just no way, that they’d rather just do something else.”
“And this is what I would rather do. And that’s what makes the world go round, is just everybody has their thing and this happens to be ours.”
Maykool Coroseo Acuna, aged 25, went on a trip to Bolivia Madidi National Park with a group of other tourists. The tour company was Max Adventures, who regularly run tours into the Park. It seems that this particular trip was to a remote part of the forest which is only accessible by boat, and is many miles away from towns.
Feizar Nava, the owner of Max Adventures said that the group had gone into the forest and on their return he had noticed that Maykool ‘looked strange’.
In the evening it is customary to attend a ceremony called a ‘Pachamama’ which it to thank mother nature for letting them go into the forest. The ceremony involves coco leaves, candles and cigarettes, and it seems that Maykool refused to attend. He went to his tent.
When a guide went to check, Maykool had disappeared. Nava was sure he had vanished because he refused to participate in the ceremony. Folklore says that those who do not respect Pachamama will be driven mad by Duende which is an evil spirit. The evil spirit then hides its victims in other dimensions and Nava was convinced that this is what had happened.
Maykool Coroseo Acuña, 25, was camping in Bolivia’s Madidi National Park near the Tuichi River with tour company Max Adventures when he wandered off and got lost in the forestPark rangers spent several days looking for Acuña but were unsuccessful. Six days after his disappearance, all they found was a muddy sock lying on the ground of the forestAcuña was covered in bites and cuts when he was found, as a result of being in the wilderness for nine days
Rangers spent six days hunting for Maykool, and only found one muddy sock. Shamans were called to the camp to pray for his safe return. Several items such as beer cans, cigarettes, cocoa leaves, wine bottles and a large wooden cross were brought in order to help breach the dimension.
The shamans performed many different ceremonies in order to breach the dimensions and bring him back. They believed that he was stuck in another dimension, because he had upset the Pachamama by not participating in the ceremony.
It was nine days after his disappearance, that rangers heard someone screaming from a riverbank less than a mile away. Maykool was found and rescued. He had to be laid on a stretcher and carried out as he was weak and had been bitten all over by insects.
Nine days after his disappearance, rangers heard Acuña screaming from a riverbank less than a mile from campSpiritual shamans were invited to the camp to take part in rituals in an attempt to locate the Acuña, and they even used the muddy sock to try to make contact with his soul
Maykool then told the rangers that he had been kept alive by following a group of monkeys who threw fruit to him. The monkeys led him to water and shelter each day. Maykool had started out with shoes, cell phone and flash light, but had got rid of them as it had been too hard to run with them.
After running for a long time, he finally stopped. He wanted to get back to the group but had no idea of which way to go at that point. The night before he was found, Maykool said he prayed that he would be found. He was convinced that he would never see anyone again, as he was well and truly lost.
“I started running, I was wearing sandals and I said ‘no, they would slow me down,” he said.
“I threw away the sandals, then the cell phone and my flashlight.”
“And after running so much, I stopped under a tree and I started thinking. What had I done, what was I doing? And when I wanted to get back it wasn’t possible.”
Acuña had to be carried back to camp on a stretcher made of blankets and branches after he was discovered by the riverbackMax Adventures owner Feizar Nava said that Acuña had signed up for a tour with travelers he’d met the previous day, and the group went into the rainforest for an afternoon of exploring with guidesAcuña thanked his rescuers and took a photo with the group that searched for him for days after he was brought back to campAcuña said that the night before he was discovered by the riverbank, he prayed that he would be saved
After he was found, Maykool had a photo taken of himself with the group of people who searched for him, and found him.
Maykool says that while he appreciates the fact that cultures have their own different beliefs, he did not believe in the shamans, neither did he believe in the culture of the Bolivian Jungle People, when he was lost, he prayed and he believes that God saved him.
Charlotte Singer (pictured before and after her weight loss), who had a gastric bypass aged 15, has spent $30,000 removing excess skin so she can finally date
Having achieved her goal weight, Charlotte is now confident in her own body and able to enjoy dating:
“I have been a compulsive over-eater ever since I was born, it was definitely an eating disorder, I was always hungry and obsessing over food.”
“I knew there was a better life out there for me. At 15 your life has not even started and I knew I had to have gastric bypass surgery.”
At school she was bullied by the boys and was so heavy she broke a dentist chair while having her teeth checkedAt the young age of 15, when she weighed close to 306lbs (22 stone), she underwent a gastric bypass after all her dieting attempts failed
Charlotte’s parents divulge that at the age of 2, she liked pasta over baby food and by 5, she was taking her schoolmates’ snacks. She says:
“I started drinking coke at five-years-old and at six, when my family would go out for breakfast, I would order the same as my dad.”
“At ballet classes, there was a Domino’s Pizza next door, so after class I would sneak over to get cheesy bread and quickly ate it before my mum arrived to pick me up before dinner.”
“Once, while babysitting my takeaway order was a chicken alfredo, mozzarella sticks, chocolate cake and fries.”
“I was sitting eating it all in my brother’s room by myself, I remember my dad walking in and immediately closing the door in disgust.”
Charlotte believes a genetic overeating disorder left her with a compulsive addiction to overindulging – accounting for her weight gain
She suffered humiliating moments due to her weight and was frequently singled out at school by bullies who mocked her:
“I was once at the dentist, getting work on my braces, as I sat on the dentist chair it tipped back and collapsed.”
“It was so embarrassing and was a really sad moment for me.”
“Then at school a bunch of football players would stand on the table and shout nicknames at me, just to draw attention to me because of my weight.”
Her weight left her fearing she would die prematurely and that she would never find anyone who could love herCharlotte, 28, from Manhattan, was so embarrassed by the loose skin on her body that she refused to date until she had it all removed (pictured before the surgery) She suffered from binge eating disorder, that left her gobbling massive portion sizes and developing a fast food addiction (pictured after the surgery)
However, Charlotte’s extremely saggy skin led her to have an arm lift or brachioplasty, an abdominoplasty, and a lower body lift when she was 22 years old:
“Some people after losing weight are very comfortable with how they look, but all I wanted to do was to conceal myself.”
“I was very uncomfortable with having any of my excess skin on show and wouldn’t date until I sorted it out.”
“I have a lot of guy’s comment ‘Oh my god, you’re so beautiful’ but then they take a step back once they hear I was 300lbs and couldn’t fit in an airplane seat once.”
“There are some guys who are okay with it and others who aren’t, either way I’m looking for someone different who I deserve to be with.”
Every two years the World Economic Forum presents a report about which countries are ranked in certain categories.
This year they ranked some 136 countries with regards to the safety for tourists in each country. The report looks at how each country exposes tourists to danger, and how business is affected by violence and terrorism.
This year Finland came in at the top spot, followed by The United Arab Emirates, and Iceland.
Finland has been named the safest country in the world for holidaymakers to visit in an influential new report
Very disturbing was the revelation that the UK and the USA came in at 78th and 84th place, well below that of Zimbabwe who came in at 60th place.
Oman, Hong Kong, Singapore, Norway, Switzerland, Rwanda and Qatar all finished in the top ten for safety.
The report does not take into account victims of petty crime. The least safe place in the world was Columbia, with Yemen and El Salvador just above it.
The safety category of The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 from the World Economic Forum rated 136 countries
Egypt ranked as 130, while surprisingly, Venezuela took 131st place. Right below that came Nigeria and Pakistan in 132 and 133.
This year Spain found herself at the very top of the list for being the world’s most tourist friendly country. This is down to the cultural and natural offerings, combined with its top tourism infrastructure. Spain also scored at the top because of the amount and ease for airline travel to and from the country, which has increased dramatically over the last two years.
Even though France has been the victim of terrorist attacks recently, they came in second place with Germany in 3rd place. Japan jumped up from 9th to 4th place, followed by the UK who retained the 5th position. The USA took 6th place, followed by Australia, Italy, Canada and Switzerland to round out the top ten most friendly places for tourists.
While the UK maintained its fifth position overall, it only scored 78th in the safety and security section of the report
The scores are handed out according to categories such as hygiene, safety and security, and information technology. The average score is then worked out for each country.
Europe had the strongest travel incentives, with 1.2 billion tourists visiting there last year. This huge amount is mostly due to good hygiene, good health care, cultural richness and safety.
Spain has been crowned the world’s most tourist-friendly country thanks to its cultural and natural offerings, along with its top tourism infrastructure and airline connectivity
Japan was the most improved country, with Azerbaijan and Tajikistan following her in going up positions. Japan’s increase is due to the diverse cultural appeal, and also the ease for business travel.
At the bottom of the overall report was Yemen, followed by Chad, Burundi and the Congo.
The report noted that there would be a boom in outbound travel from Africa, the Middle East and Asia in the coming decade.
