My favorite place to go is my grandparent's house in Puerto Rico. I have a lot of family there on my mom's side and love to go and spend time with them all. My grandparents live there all year and they still live in the house my mom grew up in. Every time I go and visit, whether it’s during the springtime or wintertime, summer even, it is always very nostalgic since I grew up going to that house and spending time with my cousins and grandparents.
When we go up to my grandparent's house, it looks and feels surreal. My grandparents live in a small town in the middle of the island called Corozal. It is like you are in the middle of the rainforest and their house is surrounded by several trees and lots of plantations. As you walk outside the house, you can smell all of the fruit's strong, fresh and floral scents. The smell of ripe mangos and sweet pineapples makes you even more eager and excited to start picking the fruits and eating them.
All of my family and cousins live near my grandparent's house and you can walk to their house which is really nice. You have to go up a big hill in order to get to their house which is always an adventure and it just makes the whole trip even more memorable. My cousins would always say “Nos vamos a morir algún día bajando y subiendo este cerro” (we are going to die one day going down and up this hill). My grandparents also have many fruits that grow in their backyard, like mango trees, passion fruits, pineapples, and other fruits from the island that grow all in their backyard. It is always so fun to go out and pick all the fresh fruit that is ripe during the day.
Later when the sun starts to come down, I love the way it sets on the horizon, painting the sky with beautiful colors. We can see everything so clearly and it is very peaceful especially when you are up in the mountains at night.
A fond memory I have is how my sister and I would always be playing in this pink and purple castle my grandpa got for the both of us and my sister would always be climbing into the house through the windows whereas I would just walk in through the door. My grandpa was probably thinking “Esta nena es loca” (this girl is crazy). My sister and I would spend the whole day playing in that house, dressing up in it, playing with dolls, and setting up tea parties. It was such a memorable place for us.
I love how my grandparents live in Puerto Rico and how much fun we always have when we go and visit, whether it's spending time out on their beach house in Isabela, or just spending some quality time at home with them and my cousins. I am grateful to have such a close bond with them all and am grateful for being able to go and visit them as much as we can since it is like a vacation for us. My love for the island is and always will be everlasting, and it will always have a special place in my heart.