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There are three things I know for sure: I’m not done traveling; I want my kids to travel with us; I don’t want to wait.

I am still lusting after Morocco and Cuba, but it doesn’t stop me from making my list longer and finding new destinations that I would like to explore. I’m always amazed at the new places I discover through National Geographic, Instagram and just by sheer luck while stumbling around the internet.

For some reason I also read a lot of inspirational travel quotes and here are a few of my favourites:

  1. “Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret.” – Oscar Wilde
  2. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller
  3. “Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times”
  4. “And then there is the most dangerous risk of all — the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” – Randy Komisar
  5. “It feels good to be lost in the right direction”
  6. “To Travel is to Live” – Hans Christian Andersen
  7. “Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul.” – Jamie Lyn Beatty
  8. “Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
  9. “Work, Travel, Save, Repeat”
  10. ”Life is short and the world is wide”
  11. “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” – James Michener
  12. “Go, fly, roam, travel, voyage, explore, journey, discover, adventure.”
  13. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” -Agustine of Hippo
  14. “Not all those who wander are lost.” -J.R.R. Tolkien
  15. “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer”
  16. “You can shake the sand from your shoes, but it will never leave your soul.”
  17. “Travel doesn’t become adventure until you leave yourself behind” – Marty Rubin
  18. “Traveling’s not something you’re good at. It’s something you do. Like Breathing.” – Gayle Foreman
  19. “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag
  20. “No matter where you go, there you are.”
  21. “To travel is to take a journey into yourself.” — Danny Kaye
  22. “Travel is like a giant blank canvas, and the painting on the canvas is only limited by one’s imagination.” — Ross Morley
  23. “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” — Susan Heller
  24. “You lose sight of things… and when you travel, everything balances out.” – Daranna Gidel
  25. “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin

This is me sitting next to yet another hospital bed. It is the third time for my mom in the last 8 or so months. She has cancer.

My mom is over 70. Most days you wouldn’t guess she is “that old”. You would never have guessed she already had cancer when we went to Reunion Island last year. We didn’t know. It was only 2 months (or so) after we came back that she could barely breathe, didn’t get up – and didn’t tell us.

She was rushed to hospital 56km from their home via ambulance that night. The next morning while the rest of Joburg was still tucked in bed I was already on my way back “home”. I sat next to my mom’s bed working on my laptop for a week while she was brought back from the brink.

She went through 6 monthly chemo treatments and at the end the poison destroyed more than the cancer.

Last month just as I was about to celebrate my big birthday I got yet another late night call that my mom is on her way to hospital via ambulance. We packed the kids 2 days before my birthday and rushed to Polokwane. My mom’s white blood cells were destroyed and she had no immunity and looked deathly pale with dark circles under her eyes.

It took another week before she was discharged.

Just 3 weeks later here I am again sitting next to her bed watching another bag of someone else’s blood make its way into her system. She doesn’t look as bad as the last time, but she’s smaller and older. She’s still fighting.

Note:
Currently my mom is out of hospital and at home.

As a kid my parents dragged us all over South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia. We camped everywhere. It taught us to be responsible for fire, dishes, cooking, safety, learn to plan itineraries and organize the packing up of a camp. It also encouraged us to learn about places (read maps), people and their cultures. It brought us closer as a family. I have so many stories to tell about funny things that happened on the road and I never want to stop having adventures because of that.

I think when you travel you expand your mind and see things differently. I want my kids to follow their hearts everywhere to collect passport stamps, make memories, have great big adventures and go beyond what I’ve been able to do. Travel is the best thing in the world you can give your kids next to a good education and love. Every day they do or see something new with you, you are helping them build memories that will warm their hearts even when you are gone.

We’re planning to take our 2 kids camping in the Kruger and our 2 year old has already spent a 9 day self-drive holiday on Reunion Island (with my parents in tow). I’m already planning where my 4 month old’s first passport stamp will come from! 

It’s a magical world out there – and kids love magic.

When doing an independent tour of a country you always kind-of want to know how much it costs to buy a bread or coke so you can budget. Well, here are some of the items we bought and their prices.

How much does alcohol cost on Reunion Island?

How much does beer cost on Reunion Island
The cost of imported beer

Description Price Shop
Amsterdam Black Rhum 50CL €2.29 Leader Price
Special Prestige 50CL €1.29 Leader Price
Biere Gold 50CL €2.20 Leader Price
Dodo in a can €1.15 Local shop in Saint Philippe

Dodo Bourbon Reunion Island
Dodo Bourbon is the local beer and is the cheapest

How much does a baguette cost on Reunion Island?

Tip: sliced bread is more expensive than a baguette! Eat what the locals eat and your groceries will cost less.

Description Price Shop
Baguette €0.65 Leader Price, Hermitage
Baguette €0.80 Leader Price, Saint Philippe
Sliced bread €1.49 Carrefour Sainte Suzanne

And if you want some margarine to go with your bread… we paid €1.90 for a 200g Plantafin. If for some reason you feel like you need tomato sauce, we paid €1.80 for a normal squeegee bottle.

How much does fruit and vegetables cost on Reunion Island?

Description Price Shop
Tomatoes x 4 which was less than a kg €1.81 Leader Price
Banana bunch 1kg €2.90 Fraicheur de l’est, Saint Andre
Onion per kg €1.80 Fraicheur de l’est, Saint Andre
Potatoes per kg €1.90 Fraicheur de l’est, Saint Andre
Pears per kg €2.40 Fraicheur de l’est, Saint Andre
Dried dates 250g €2.65 Carrefour Sainte Suzanne
Bag of carrots €2.08 Carrefour Sainte Suzanne
2 x green peppers €2.49 Carrefour Sainte Suzanne
Small bag of potatoes €2.61 Carrefour Sainte Suzanne

…and if you need salt to cook, we paid €2.75 for a 110g grinder at Carrefour.

How much does cheese and biscuits cost on Reunion Island?

Description Price Shop
Babybel 120g 6 pieces €2.75 Leader Price
Babybel 120g 6 pieces €2.49 Carrefour Sainte Suzanne
TUC 100g €1.63 Leader Price

How much do snacks cost on Reunion Island?

Description Price Shop
Chips BBQ 135g €0.99 Carrefour Sainte Suzanne
Oreo cookies 176g €1.80 Carrefour Sainte Suzanne
Mini Snickers 227g €1.99 Carrefour Sainte Suzanne

How much does Coke-Cola cost on Reunion Island?

Description Price Shop
1.5l €1.85 Leader Price
1,5l x 4 €7.29 Carrefour Sainte Suzanne

How much does a can opener cost on Reunion Island?

The cheapest, nastiest can opener will set you back €5.49 from a Leader Price! It is very expensive as that same can opener costs R38 in South Africa.

How much does Pilchards cost (in case you feel like you want some)?

€2.93 for a 425g can. If you get that plus a baguette you are set for a big lunch to share between 4 people.

How much does
fuel cost on Reunion Island?

We rented a Renault Trafic 9 seater diesel with a 60l tank and did over 400km. In the end we spent €105 to fill up. A Total garage in Sainte Clotilde charged us €1.21 per liter of diesel.

Some garages have people to help fill your vehicle, others don’t. In case they don’t you have to go inside the shop (usually) and pay upfront for fuel by cash and afterwards you will get the remainder/change.

Rental of the van costs us R5 000 for the 12 days and they reserved a deposit of €1100, but we got this back afterwards.

How much does McDonalds cost on Reunion Island?

Description Price
Bic Mac Meal with hamburger, Coke and chips €9.90
Kiddies meal with burger, chips, Coke and toy €3.70

There were signs everywhere celebrating 50 years of the Big Mac, but finding a McDonalds… well, that was not so easy. They hide out in the bigger towns.

We had other takeaways from places lots of locals seemed to be eating at. Those meals were cheap as chips!

Local food by the beach
This is a sandwich that I ate for lunch + dinner. It has been Americano’d – chips added. Think it was €2.65.

Local food on Reunion Island
Local fare that cost less than 2 euros and I ate twice from it

Entrance fees to attractions

Description Prices
La Saga Du Rhum Adults €10
Children 6-16 €7.50Seniors €7.50
Piton de la Fournaise (volcano) €0
Musee Stella Matutina Adults €9
Provanille Adults €6
Reunion Island Aquarium Family €32 (2 adults + kid)
Adult €9.50
Kids 4-12 €6.50

I took some random pics of items you can buy on Reunion Island

I couldn’t resist…

How much does chocolates cost on Reunion Island
Milka & Oreo

I buy a lot of honey in South Africa so I thought I’d snap a pic of the “Miel”.

Honey on Reunion Island
Delicious golden honey

I like my Madeleines fresh, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Reunion Island bag of Madeleines
Madeleines in a bag

This one was my most impractical find. An appliance to make crepes and popcorn – what do you think, is it a winner?

How much does stuff cost on Reunion Island?
Popcorn and Crepe appliance – winner/loser?

If you haven’t read any of my Reunion Island family holiday posts, here you go: