My first visit to Puerto Rico was in 2011. I came with a large group of friends and one of the many wonderful memories of that week was the sunset captured in the photo above.

Notice the person third from the left, with the striped towel? That’s me. The girl to my right was funny, smart, stunningly gorgeous, and could sing and dance better than anyone I had ever met. In that picture we weren’t dating yet, but four years after that picture was taken we would be married in San Juan.

Put simply— without her in my life, I wouldn’t be living here.

Let’s jump forward to spring of 2020. The pandemic is starting and we’re living in Spain, where my wife is finishing up the second year of her MBA. I’m sure you can remember a year ago when the pandemic was unfolding across the world and countries were locking down. Above all, I remember feeling scared and powerless. Yet seeing the entire world halting as thousands of people died daily of the disease had a way of clarifying the important things in life.

Family is important.

It became abundantly clear to us we wanted to be near family, and my wife’s family lives in Puerto Rico. I work remotely and saw my chance to convince my wife to return to her birthplace (I like to point this out when Puerto Ricans ask me if I like the island — it was my idea to move here!)

Flights out of Spain opened up in June and after a surreal day of international travel we arrived safely in San Juan. My wife’s parents met us at the airport with a car full of groceries (a fine example of their incredible generosity). My wife and I drove to Aguadilla, a sleepy beach town on the northwest part of Puerto Rico, where we would self-quarantine for two weeks. To fight the jet lag we tried to stay up until the sunset.

That evening the island was showing off. I took the picture below:

After spending months of strict lockdown in an apartment, the sky felt surreal. I can’t tell you exactly the mix of emotions I was experiencing at that moment, but the word “blessed” comes to mind.

There I was, once again, watching a breathtaking sunset over the Caribbean while sitting next to the love of my life.

One of Puerto Rico’s names is “La Isla del Encanto”, the “Island of Enchantment,” and let’s just say I found myself enchanted by this island ten years ago. Now I’m a gringo living here and every day I love this place more.

I hope to use this blog as a way to share with friends and family what I can about this beautiful island!