Mar 14, 2010 - YouTube

Day 93 It’s our last full day in Reunion. This leg of the vacation did go by rather quickly. Tomorrow we will be jetting off to Paris. The camping came to a conclusion, finally. The tenrecs tasted HORRIBLE. Most of the weird things I have eaten (crocodile, octopus, tortoise) have all tasted good, so eating them made a little sense. But, the tenrecs were beyond disgusting. Martin took one bite and spit it out directly. Poor pregnant Nadine threw up from just the odor. I managed a couple of bites, trying to be culturally sensitive. But,...

Mar 13, 2010 - Pants

Day 92 So, I stand by my original statement: camping is unnecessary. Especially if all you’re going to do is sit around and eat and drink. We not even really camping – we’re in a house that’s under construction. So, there’s a bathroom with no water and limited electricity. It’s just like being in Madagascar. I guess that’s why everyone likes it so much. Sigh… The road to the house was pretty intense. Lots of hairpin turns and ups and downs. It’s the exact kind of road I have no appreciation for. Martin kept pointing out all of the...

Mar 11, 2010 - money

Day 90 We went to McDonald’s today. We got four happy meals for the kids, two extra value meals, a McChicken and a McFlurry. It was $50. I can’t get over the prices here. McDonald’s is not a four-star restaurant! It’s McDonald’s. Where is the dollar menu???? But, it’s been three months since we’ve had fast food and it was good. Very, very good. Apparently we’re all going camping this weekend. Yeah (sarcasm)…I kind of feel like I camped for two years in the Peace Corps and I’m totally over it. But, everyone is super excited to go up in...

Mar 10, 2010 - Hawaii

Day 89 Today we are hanging with the twin! Nadine picked us up this afternoon and we went to get Ceinthe at work. We haven’t done a lot of touristy things with Perle which is a-okay with me. I have a tendency to get carsick and Reunion is very mountainous. The roads are extremely curvy and hilly. Not good. But, Ceinthe decided to take us to see a few sites. We saw a huge waterfall which was pretty cool. And then we saw a volcano. Apparently the volcano erupted two years ago and the lava is still hot and smoking. I guess we don’t need to...

Mar 9, 2010 - huge

Day 88 We spent the morning at the beach. Somehow I managed to get a sunburn even though I spent 95% of my time in the shade. Of course I managed to lose the sunscreen between here and Madagascar. So, I think the beach will be avoided for the rest of the vacation. We ran into Gosy’s ex-brother-in-law which was awkward. The break-up is recent and messy. He was appropriately embarrassed. At a loss for what to say, he said I was tanner than the last time we crossed paths. Yep, in eight years many things changed…including my tan?!?!?!? I...

Mar 8, 2010 - lost forever

Day 87 We went to the grocery store today. It wasn’t quite as fun as it could have been. I went with Gosy, the kids and Perle. So, I didn’t really enjoy the experience. When I grocery shop, I like to go down every aisle and look at everything. It takes me a while to do the shopping. But, since it’s the only shopping I can usually afford, I have to enjoy the experience. With four extra people, I couldn’t really dilly dally around. Plus, since I didn’t really need anything specific, I couldn’t draw out the experience. It’s hard to explain...

Mar 7, 2010 - grocery shopping

Day 86 It was raining almost all day today, which is apparently quite rare in Reunion. It rained a majority of the day yesterday too. Since we’re here to visit family, it doesn’t really make much difference that we’re stuck in the house most of the day. Perle asked me this morning if there was anything special I wanted to do. She found it quite funny that I just want to go to the supermarket. It’s been three months since I’ve been grocery shopping and I miss it. The biggest stores in Ft. Dauphin are smaller than any convenience store in...

Mar 6, 2010 - market

Day 85 Today I found out the answer to a question I’ve had for several years. Gosy was the second twin born, which makes him officially the baby in the family. I had always assumed as much – he smacks of youngest child syndrome. He disagrees…what does he know?!?!?!? We started the morning with a trip to the market. It was fascinating – most of the crafts sold in the market come directly from Madagascar. So, the market looks like a fancier (and more expensive) version of a Malagasy market. It was kind of confusing. I bought a snack at...

Mar 5, 2010 - New Country

Day 84 Another crazy day in Madagascar!!! I bribed my first government official today. Let me rephrase that in a way that sounds less illegal…I gave a gift to a hardworking employee who was doing a great job and deserved rewarding. I did not mention previously, because I didn’t want to give my mother a coronary, that I was worried we might have a hard time getting out of the country. I was right to worry. Let’s start with Gosy. Gosy’s Malagasy passport is not expired. However, apparently the passports were updated and everyone was...

Mar 4, 2010 - Reunion Island

Thursday, March 4, 2010 This is the closest I’ve been to France, as a matter of fact, I was in France. La Réunion is a French region, just like Hawaii is to the US. I didn’t have to change US dollars for most of the countries we’ve been to, because they accepted our money. But I had to have euros for La Réunion if I wanted to buy anything. As it turned out, I didn’t spend anything, but I’m sure I’ll be able to use the euros as I go along. We spent most of the morning at the Mascarin National Botanical Conservatory and Environment Education...

Mar 24, 2007 - The beginning....

Couldn't sleep with all that excitement. The suitcase has been waiting, packed, for the last week. Today is THE day. I've been waiting for that trip for years. From Dublin, we got to Paris on time, no problems at all. Didn't even have to pay for the excess luggage. Charles de Gaulle Airport and everyone speaking French around us. That's a change now! Have to be careful what we're saying, now anybody can understand us. Transfer to Orly Airport takes over an hour, the coach has to get through Parisian traffic jams. At 9.00pm we're on the...