Family time

Most of you probably know the story by now. Last year, my mother was doing a bit of genealogical research on her father’s side in Spain. We knew that her grandfather, my great-grandfather, had left Asturias for Cuba, but we didn’t know too much else. He never spoke much about the family he left behind, and he never returned to Spain. My mom, using the few clues she had, actually found two of my grandfather’s first cousins living in Asturias.

Many Skype phone calls ensued, and in July 2009, my grandfather, his wife, my mom, my brother and I went to Spain to get to know the family there and see the tiny mountain town where my great-grandfather grew up.

This time around, Nathan and I spent a weekend with the cousins in Pravia.

We toured Gijón on a rainy day, we cheered on Spain together when the team played Paraguay, and on Sunday, we met at my grandfather’s cousin Delfina and Rogelio’s house for a family dinner with five of their six children and their spouses.

Rogelio proudly showed off his garden, where he grows kiwis, plums, gooseberries, and apples, among many other things.

While Spain’s Rafael Nadal won the Wimbledon men’s single title on the TV, we cleared the table of jamón serrano, empanadas, Delfina’s ensalada rusa and the tarta de Santiago we brought back with us. There was no shortage of food, or drink either — Pablo regularly poured sidra (Asturian hard cider) for everyone. There was also plenty of rapid-fire Spanish; poor Nathan did his best to keep up, and I learned exactly how difficult on-the-spot translating can be.

While staying in Pravia, we also made a quick side trip with our hosts Pablo and Sonia to the airport to pick up a rental car so that we could continue our adventures across northern Spain. On our way out of town two days later, we stopped once again at Delfina and Rogelio’s house, to have some breakfast, say goodbye, and beg them once more to come visit everyone in Miami.