After decades of absence, I visited the village where I spent the happiest summers of my childhood: Canet de Mar near Barcelona. My nephew, now a grown man, guided me thru the well-known old streets to the beach, where I could feel the mediterranean sea kissing my feet.
Hundreds of memories came to my mind about loving people, now gone, with whom I learned to enjoy the wonders of everyday life. I pictured the image of my parents smiling and making plans for us to have a great time together. My mom’s laugh and my dad’s jokes lightened our careless days of yesterday. I miss them as I miss my brother and my sisters spattered around de globe.
The village is more extensive and has changed, but the shrine of our Lady of Mercy and the uphill mall leading to it remains the same, as do the old alleys of the town. And we saw the square in front of the church where our old home is constantly bathed by the sun, now occupied by strangers.
And above all, the beach with its thick sand and its crystalline sapphire blue sea that calls you to its arms with joyful songs like the enchantment of a mermaid while you soak your feet in the gentle waves that reach the shore.
Oh, scene of my childhood, keep waiting for me. I’ll return to you often to awaken those sweet memories that shaped the best years of my life!
heaven on earth, that coast. I know the French side of it.
Yes, it is beautiful, and for me, plenty of good memories.