After living what feels like perpetual Ground Hog Day due to the pandemic, it was time for a vacation. A week before the pandemic started becoming an issue in the US on March 2020, and all travel from Europe was locked down, Luisa and I were actually headed to Cancun with some dear friends.
It was going to be the first vacation that Luisa and I had taken in about 10 years. Over the years, we had taken days off here and there, such as Luisa accompanying me on business trips, or going to the beach for 3-4 days and of course there would be our annual trip to Florida to kiss off the old year and welcome the new year but none of these are what I would truly call a vacation.
Right before the Cancun trip, I had just gotten back from Toronto on business and was really concerned that we would not be allowed back into the US so we decided not to go. Prior to the lockdown though our primary focus was on taking care of my mom and dad especially in the latter years. Luisa also flew down multiple times, most of the time alone, to spend the last precious moments with her brother and father before they passed.
After having lived through 18 months of painful loses and then roughly 18 months of a pandemic, we were ready to start a new chapter. To be able to live again.
In early 2021, I started planning for a trip to Puerto Rico. My initial goals were to do Ancestry Research, visit family and get to know Puerto Rico like I have not experienced it before. My Ancestry research portion was going to be the first time I was armed with knowledge of the island like I had never had prior to any previous trip there. When my parents started to have their health issues in 2010/2011, I started to research my family tree and got really into it. I studied and learned a lot about our family history, took DNA tests and convinced many relatives to do the same. Joined many groups on Facebook and got to learn a lot about the various parts of Puerto Rico that I was not really aware of.
So the trip to Puerto Rico was to help discover what I did not know, continue to research my tree and ancestors and start a new chapter in this thing we call life. A "re-discovery" trip of sorts.
As the trip got closer, I started to make arrangements. Planning to visit cemeteries throughout the island, spend time in the Ancestry research centers, and of course with the family eating wonderful meals that would remind us of my parents cooking.
I was actually intending to surprise my family there by only telling a few select cousins so that I can plan specific things we were going to do, but you can imagine how that goes. Keeping a secret over there is like, well there is no such thing. I can imagine that they would each tell each other "it is a secret so don't say anything", as they went person by person telling each other "the secret". When I was growing up and I did something I was not supposed to do, I was surprised as heck to learn when I got home that my mom already knew about it. When I would ask her how she knew, her response was "Un pichoncito me lo dijo." Well, in Puerto Rico they must be inundated with pichoncitos because the planning for this trip proved that there are no secrets with a family as large as mine. Luisa actually commented "Note to self. Puerto Rican's can't keep a secret."
Early on, one of the highlights I planned was to go zip lining on the Monster at Toro Verde. As I have gotten older, I have actually become more fearless. Life is of course, for living. But to insure that I did not chicken out and actually went through with it, I invited (OK, for those that know me, I intensely pressured) cousins from NJ, Boston and several on the Island to go with me. Even my sister Evelyn joined us on that trip. It was a condition for her going with us to PR, that she had to do everything we did, including the Monster. For those that don't know what the Monster is, check out Jimmy Fallon and his journey. In the end, we had a total of 9 of us take the leap.
We then headed to Jayuya where my tribe lives. To say I have family there is an understatement. There can never be enough time there to truly appreciate the beauty of the mountains of Puerto Rico, the amazing, humble people and of course the incredible food that they prepared. From a Pig Roast to a Sancocho to home made bread to bacalitos, to Arroz con gandules with a side of conejo. I had my fill and gained 10 lbs over the 2 weeks there and I am sure the bulk was during that time. It actually started before the Orocovis trip with gandiga, empanadas, alcapurias, garbanzo with chorizo, arroz and tembleque. And that was only one dinner thanks to chef Aby!
There was so much family, including some cousins I had never met given that I had not been there in such a while, that we had to have 3 different "events" to be able to see everyone. Luisa said to me that she had not seen me laugh this hard in years. I agree.
We were there for 2 whole weeks and it would take a lot to describe everything we did as we traveled throughout Dorado, San Juan, Jayuya, Utuado, Isabela, Rincon, Cabo Rojo, and Cayey. With 4 AirBnBs, a hotel stay and of course several days at my uncle's house in the mountains, it was an incredibly memorable trip. One that I will never forget and only makes me want to go back as soon as possible. I felt my parent's presence there. We all did.
Once, when our boys were younger we took them to Puerto Rico. They ran around throwing coffee beans at each other. Coffee was something that my family grew in those mountains of Jayuya. Coffee that my uncles would pick, and my aunts would actually roast in the largest cast iron pot over a wood fire. My uncle once yelled at them and said, "Hey, stop throwing those beans. That's money!".
This time, during my visit one of my cousins told me that he grows coffee. That my uncles and cousins actually pick the coffee and my family sells it to Hacienda San Pedro who produces it and commercializes it.
On the last day of our trip, on our way to the airport, I actually went by the Hacienda San Pedro and picked up some of that coffee.
Today, on Thanksgiving, roughly 25 days from my healing trip, I thank God as I started my day drinking some of the coffee grown and picked by my family. I am thankful for all of my family, here and in Puerto Rico and for being reminded what truly is the most important thing in my life. My family.
An incredible family that helped heal the wounds of isolation and pain that Luisa, Evelyn and I had, which had not fully healed until now. A cathartic trip indeed.
Note: While I did get to visit some incredible places, to fulfill my ancestral search, I never did get to the research centers, walk the cemeteries or meet up with the dozens of DNA cousins I originally intended to visit. I guess I have to go back soon to finish my trip. Luisa - pack your bags.
A special shoutout to Manuel and Shirley, Grenda and Benny, and Dan and Jill for joining Luisa and I on this trip. For Mael, Melvin, Glenda, and Junior for helping me with the plans and to all of the others that helped make this trip better than I could have ever imagined.
