New Year in the Mountains 1

December 30th

This was the first New Year's I spent with my girlfriend's relatives. She and her parents live in the city, but her grandparents and the rest of her family live in a town that's a three-hour drive away.

The plan was to visit them, stay at my girlfriend's grandmother's house, and deliver the wedding invitations for our upcoming wedding in April.

Esther, my girlfriend, has an older sister and a younger brother; her sister Sara is married to a Dominican man named Esteban, a huge and muscular 30-year-old who is very kind and friendly. Esther's younger brother, Ibrahim, is 25 years old, single, and a charming, athletic guy with curly brown hair and a very friendly personality.

"Víctor!" Ibrahim said to me after we arrived at his grandmother's huge house, where we would be spending New Year's Eve. "You have to see the waterfall, let's go check it out."

Víctor is tired, I think it's better if he rests for a bit, Esther's mother replied, who had been telling me anecdotes about the town during the entire trip.

"It's a magical place," she told me during the trip. "A place where people travel to find themselves and discover things about their lives."

Ibrahim had given up on the idea of taking me to see the waterfalls, but Esther thought it would be a good idea for me to get to know one of the town's popular spots.

Víctor never sleeps, Esther told her mom. Let him have some fun before we lock him up in family gatherings.

Take Esteban with you, Sara, Esther's older sister, said. So he can relax too for a bit.

We had left very early, and I was indeed as tired as Esther's mom had supposed, but Ibrahim had a great vibe, and his invitation was so energetic that I couldn't refuse.

The town is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, and to get to the waterfall, you need to hike for an hour. Although I'm a very slender guy, I'm not passionate about excursions, and I consider myself a city boy.

The path is uphill, and big drops of sweat were sliding down my face, and my soaked t-shirt was sticking to my torso. To my surprise, Ibrahim and Esteban were going up like it was nothing, and they often left me far behind.

Near the place we were heading, Esteban took pity on me and approached me to chat for a bit.

"Is this your first time in this town?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes," I replied, panting.

"Well, pay attention, because incredible things happen here," he said.

"What kind of things?" I asked with genuine curiosity, although it was hard for me to talk and listen.

"I don't want to predispose you... just let yourself go... turn off your prejudices and feel," Esteban said, and he didn't say anything more. We were finally arriving at a small valley in the middle of the mountain, where there was an incredible waterfall that fed a small lagoon of crystal-clear water.

Although what my gi...