Destiny played its role. In 2015, before meeting each other, Lourdes and Brendan decided to make the most of their Summer. They were both PhD students but at different universities. That Summer, Lourdes was getting ready to celebrate her birthday on July 17th, and Brendan was hanging out with new friends from the University of Rochester. Thanks to those generous friends that invite you to join them to every event possible, we ended up at the same 4th of July barbecue. Lourdes invited Brendan to her birthday party. That birthday was one of the best that Lourdes ever had: tasty Peruvian food, lots of Pisco, and the first dance with her beloved Brendan. Lourdes never expected that hiking, climbing and swimming in rivers will be part of this partnership, but how happy they are when they join each other on adventures that include travelling and eating yummy food - comida! comida!

Brendan put together a hike up Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks a few weeks later. Luckily, Lourdes decided that she would join in on that fateful weekend. The hike provided the perfect opportunity for the two to get to know each other. As they approached the summit, they broke through the thick fog and were rewarded with a cloud-laden landscape, stretching out across the rolling hills and rugged peaks. Lourdes remarked that she felt she was living heaven on Earth, and as he watched her Brendan had to say that he agreed. Of course, clouds bring rain, and the whole party soon found themselves racing down toward the campsite. Lourdes and Brendan wanted to continue their time together, so they agreed to cook in the shelter of one tent while the rest warmed up in the other. They prepared a meal together for the first time, and although it was heavily ramen-based, they enjoyed it so much they continue to cook together to this day.

Lourdes and Brendan attended the wonderful wedding of a friend in New York in October 2016. The next day, Lourdes convinced Brendan to go for a sunrise run to Brooklyn Bridge. On that crisp morning, with the golden light cast across the NYC skyline, Brendan said to Lourdes, "If I had a ring I would propose to you this moment". After the inspiration of more friend's weddings, a plan started to develop to get that ring. Peruvian gold was a must - but how, where to get that in Rochester? With the help of their Peruvian family they got the ring, so now they had to choose the perfect place and moment. The couple often spoke of visiting Bali for their honeymoon, but Lourdes had to finish her PhD dissertation. So of course they decided to combine their honeymoon and engagement. On the day of their second year anniversary, they rode a scooter up the slopes of Doi Suthep. Just as on Whiteface Mountain, they broke through the blanket of clouds to find a breath-taking view. During that sunrise atop Wat Phra That, a buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Brendan proposed Lourdes to marry him. The Peruvian ring made it all the way from Peru to US to South Korea and finally to Thailand. It had been their best trip ever and laid the foundation for many great adventures to come.