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A Cathartic Adventure For The Soul

Sao Miguel

By Bee Hope LavalleePublished 4 years ago 2 min read
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Sometimes leaving behind your routine and exploring the world is the catharsis you need to heal.

My family originates from the main island in the Azores, Sao Miguel. We are a loud, passionate, and exuberant Portuguese family that finds joy in the beauty around us and in the connections we have to the world. We had always talked about traveling to the Azores together and attempted some plans, but being a large group full of conflicting schedules-it never panned out.

In 2016 everything shifted for us. At the end of May that year my grandfather, suddenly and unexpectedly, passed. It shook us all to our cores and left us in a fog of grief that swirled around our beings and lingered in our chests. I felt like I couldn't breath for months from regret and pain of moments with him I wish I could relive. My grandfather was the man who raised me, the man who taught me to love and appreciate nature, the man who was supposed to walk me down the aisle, the man who was my step-in father.

That year catapulted me into living my best and most fulfilled life, I refused to stay stagnant and decided I needed to cross off things on my "To Do" list. I left a job that made me unhappy, started a new one that opened doors for me to further my education and passions, embraced my insecurities, and started loving myself and my loved ones with more fervor. My family also embraced this attitude and we became closer in pain, promising to listen and love each other no matter what.

In April 2018 my grandmother turned 70, her big birthday present from us all was a family trip to Sao Miguel the following year. She cried, in a room full of loving family and Portugal flags. The following months were full of group chats and phone conversations about where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do on this trip that we had talked about for years. It had finally come to fruition and it was exactly what we needed.

The plane ride to the Azores was full of excitement and anticipation, we giggled across the aisles at one another as we talked about what we would see and do first. We rushed off the plane and onto our adventure, as fast as our sleepy feet would carry us. The next week and a half was a blur of amazing adventures, lovely people, and dreamlike scenery that made my artists heart halt.

This specific moment was from one of my favorite hikes with my cousins, at Lagoa das Sete Cidades the King's view. You can see a peek of the twin lakes in the volcano craters as the sun sets and the patchwork of the hilly landscape. I had seen pictures of this place for years and had always said I would go when I got to Sao Miguel, so to say it was a dream come true would be putting it lightly. I was using my Samsung Galaxy 8 with HDR on and caught this shot right before wisps of fog came rolling in from the mountain tops. It was the most astounding sight and as I stood there I could feel my grandfather's presence watching over me and appreciating the same view.

grandparents
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