The Offer From Ecuador - Leaving Home Again

A Night To Remember - Except I Don't

I was only in England for three months. After traveling around the world for a year and a half, I only lasted back in London for 100 days. After applying to perhaps 40 volcano jobs all around the globe, only one even replied. The offer came pretty quickly. Hugo Yepes, the director at the Instituto Geofisico in Ecuador contacted me saying that there is a huge project about to take place in the South American country. The Institute were ordering numerous amounts of volcano monitoring equipment and they would need some help to instal it all.

After some brief chats, it was clear that both parties could benefit from me making the trip across the Atlantic and getting on board with this lucrative project. He wanted me not only to help in installing seismic instruments on the volcanoes of Ecuador (many of them active), but to also use my skills in seismic data processing and some personal projects on volcanic prediction based on work that I had done for my Masters thesis. Hugo said he had funding to pay me for one year, so thats how long he wanted me out there for. In the process I would get to travel all over Ecuador and learn new techniques in monitoring volcanoes. It couldn´t be better really.

I planned my trip, taking almost a month to sort out my visa (which was a real hassle), getting new equipment and clothes, and booking flights. At the same time I started to tell everyone that I was off again. It was actually really hard leaving this time around. Last time, others and myself were well prepared for my departure. This time though, everything happened so quickly. What made things harder was that I had some real amazing times back home. I went to a lot of Spurs games, my last being the 9-1 thrashing of Wigan Athletic. I played in the Monday pub quiz with my Sister and Dad up in town every week - on one occassion, our team, perfectly named "The Volcano Cowboys" were successful. One Thursday every month I would meet the cousins at their music event - "Soulshack" and on the rest of my Thursdays I was back playing 5-A-Side footy down at the Pitz. I spent a lot of time catching up with family and equally as much time with friends. Over the last few months, I had had some of the best nights out with my boys that I can ever remember - and now it would all end again. It was mixed emotions.

Ivé realised that to make the most of it all you sometimes have to make sacrifices to achieve your goals. Of course the trip would be fantastic and it was always going to be the right thing to do, but I would have to give up my home, my family and my friends one more time.

The last few weeks at home before I left were definately special. My family put on another leaving party, with all the family there. It was a great night and bizarrely just like my last leaving party a few years ago.

I also had two incredible leaving parties with my friends. The first, all of my London boys were out as we headed into town for a drunken, chaotic night. Earlier in the evening, an old school friend and now famous singer, Amy Winehouse joined us in the local pub. We all enjoyed a fair few drinks before we persuaded Amy to come up to the London club. My friend Michael and myself were driven in Amy´s convoy up to the club. All I remember about it was being fairly intoxicated chatting to Winehouse´s driver about volcanoes for 45 minutes - I´m not sure if he was enjoying the small talk or not. Amy was squashed in the back chatting to Blake before we eventually arrived at Covent Garden. In the end Amy got us all into the club straight away before people started to realise who she was. Then she was mobbed by 500 drunk people and we quickly got her out before things turned bad. Me and the boys stayed in the club and partied to the early hours.

My final night was just as eventful. All the boys were out again, but joining us was also my good traveling friend Darren, his girlfriend who we met in New Zealand - Jaqui, and other traveling friends - Harriet, Rob and Kate. It was a brilliant night and the perfect send off. Me and the boys also did a final meal out (just like last time) and with that it was time to say goodbye. The emotions were high and the hugs were long. I left the country with my helium "welcome home" balloon still flying high in my room, and with that - I was off..............