Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

Fuentes Cabadas, Spain: a tiny settlement -- only three families left -- at the very top of a mountain in Asturias. That's where I took this photo of my grandfather and his first cousin. On the left is the house where she grew up; on the right, where my great-grandfather lived until immigrating to Cuba as a young man. The two cousins, who'd met for the first time just the day before, walked the town arm in arm, she pointing out the uphill paths from the fields, and he imagining how difficult life must have been for her, his father, and the rest of the family. My grandfather never knew any cousins when he was growing up; now at 86, thanks to my mother's diligent genealogical research, he finally does. And as you can tell from the photo, he doesn't want to let go. A second visit is already in the works.