Eleven-year-old Mia Pelletier had a day that words cannot fully describe.
After swimming in the crystal-clear pools of Turkey’s Cotton Castle — known for its bright white plains of calcified rock — she returned to her guesthouse with her family to jump into a Zoom call with CBC Kids News.
“It was so beautiful.  It was like snow, except it was 35 degrees Celsius outside,” he said of the famous location.
Turkey’s Pamukkale, which translates to “Cotton Castle,” is known for its white, glacier-like hills formed from minerals in spring waters that have flowed for thousands of years.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
Since March, the Pelletier family has been traveling to see some of the world’s most exciting sights, away from their home in Montreal, Quebec.
It’s all part of a timeline trip that Mia’s parents took after discovering that Mia and two of her three younger siblings will one day go blind from a rare genetic disorder.


Create visual memories while there is time 
When Mia was seven, she was diagnosed with an eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), which is incurable.
People with RP lose their vision slowly over time.
It starts with their outer or peripheral vision, until only a piece of their central vision remains, which is also called ‘tunnel vision’.
While the severity of vision loss can vary, people with RP often lose most of their vision in early adulthood and are legally blind by age 40.
After Mia’s diagnosis, her mother, Edith Lemay, discovered that two of Mia’s brothers — Leo, 9, and Laurent, 4 — also had the disease, which is passed down genetically.
The family poses for a photo near Walvis Bay, Namibia.  In the back, from left to right, are dad Sebastien Pelletier, Mia, 11, and mom, Edith Lemay.  Front, left to right, Laurent, 4, Colin, 7 and Leo, 9. (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
“The hardest part is that there’s nothing I can do about it,” Edith said.
She was told that the best thing to do was to show her children lots of pictures to fill their visual memories with strong images.
“Then it came to me,” said Edith.  “We’re not going to see an elephant in a book – we’re going to see elephants.”
Edith and her husband, Sebastian, began saving for a family trip around the world.
Four years after Mia’s diagnosis, they headed to their first destination.


The sand dunes of Namibia 
When the family first stepped off the plane in Namibia, a country in southwest Africa, Mia and her siblings were overcome with excitement.
“It didn’t seem real,” Mia said.
“People do that in books or movies.  I couldn’t believe I was doing it in real life.”
They began a daily hiking routine, scrambling over boulders and chasing the best views each destination had to offer, passing through various African countries and into Turkey.
Pictured on the left is the first campsite the Pelletier family set up in the countryside of Spitzkoppe, Namibia.  On the right, children pose on some majestic rocks nearby.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
Among historic sites and breathtaking scenery, Mia and her siblings attend school with their mom.
While in Namibia, Mia tried sandboarding, the first in a long line of great experiences.
Sand dunes near Walvis Bay, Namibia.  Mia’s mum said her children were smiling so hard as they traveled up and down the dunes they had sand in their teeth.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
“It was like sliding on snow, only it was sand.  It was so much fun,” Mia said.


Elephants in Botswana 
After leaving Namibia, the family headed to Zambia, which is also in Africa.
To get there, they had to pass through Botswana, where the main goal of their vacation – to see a real, living, breathing elephant – came as a complete surprise.
“While we were driving on the highway, a big, wild elephant came right up to the car,” Edith said.
Elephants in Chobe National Park in Botswana.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
The family then saw more than 30 elephants running along the shoreline.
“All the kids screamed, ‘An elephant!’  Edith said.  “They were so excited.”


Seeing hot air balloons in Turkey 
After frolicking in Victoria Falls in Zambia and playing on the beaches of Zanzibar in Tanzania, the family finally arrived in the Cappadocia region of central Turkey.
It was there that Mia saw something she said she will never forget. 
Hundreds of hot air balloons take off every morning in Cappadocia, Turkey, sending thousands of people into the sky.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
The family rose before sunrise to ride a fleet of hot air balloons.
As they flew over the Turkish landscape, Mia said the scene looked like “lanterns in the night” and she and her brother felt like they were dreaming.
The family woke up early to take a hot air balloon ride in Turkey.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
Edith said moments like these are something her children “can keep forever”.
“I’m so grateful that they saw this, even if they go blind tomorrow,” he said.


What’s next for the Pelletier family? 
Edith said the family plans to head to Mongolia, Indonesia and South Asia before the end of the year.
It all depends on which countries are accepting travelers due to changing COVID-19 protocols.
With many adventures already under her belt, Mia said she has learned a great lesson so far.
“Never trust the first impression you get of a country,” said Mia.  “Once you visit, your vision will change completely.”
Browse through these images for more amazing moments:
Swimming in a water pool in Spitzkoppe, Namibia.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
A pelican says hello during a boat trip in Walvis Bay, Namibia.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
Jumping off the docks in Stone Town, Zanzibar.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
The famous Victoria Falls in Zambia.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
Walking along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
Spotting giraffes during a safari in the Serengeti, Tanzania.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
Swimming in a cave in Zanzibar.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
A dip in Lake Malawi, Tanzania.  (Image submitted by Edith Lemay)
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