Saying Goodbyes - Once Again

My Wonderful Family

On the Saturday before we left, Maisa and myself again met up with Henry and Grace......and then absolutely everyone else. As well as me leaving again soon, it was also my good friend Rob's birthday and leaving party too. He was soon to be heading off to Australia and New Zealand for five months and I was really happy about it. He is one of those people who is designed for travelling, yet he has never built up the courage or money to go. Now finally he had both and so was off. Along with all my cousins, all my friends, friends of friends and people that I'm sure I had only met one time, somewhere - it turned out to be a great party. Located in a pub (with dance floor), it would be my last opportunity to see all my cousins and friends before I would head back off to Ecuador for some foreseeable future. It was a great night - of drinking, dancing and a lot of laughs. At the end things got a bit emotional as I said my goodbyes. I really have come to hate the goodbye part and this was equally as painful. It was great to see everyone again though and I made a promise to myself that it wouldn't be another two years before I returned home again.

On our last day the goodbyes continued. I said farewell to my very good friend Darren and his girlfriend J. They had been away in the States and were just back in time to have lunch, catch-up and then wave us away again. We said goodbye to Henry and Grace which was even more heartbraking for Maisa who had to say goodbye to her sister, as she was heading back off to Canada until the following June. Then the family goodbyes commenced. I chatted with everyone before saying farewell to my grandmas, my aunts, my cousins and my sister. The next day was the perhaps the hardest of the lot. Maisa and I had an early'ish flight, so at 6.30am on the Monday morning I said goodbye to my parents. It is too long to be away for two years just to return for 18 days and then go again. I need to be back more regularly and/or for a more prolonged period of time. That, I have to do!!!

Maisa had really loved the trip. She loved meeting with all my family and friends. She loved all the things we did and seeing the city of London. I think the only thing she found difficult was the weather. It was actually a mild winter this year but for Maisa (who loves the sun and the heat) London was pretty chilly in December. Actually, where I usually run around in shorts and a t-shirt until at least as low as -6 degrees C, I also found the cold pretty hard to handle. Being away in the equator sun for two years meant that I was just not used to it anymore. For me the trip was amazing. It was great to introduce everyone to Maisa and obviously to see all my family and friends again. Up until that point I felt really happy about the whole home visit, but once I returned back into life in Ecuador I realised one thing - I just didn't spend enough time with my friends and family!!! Yes, I saw everyone a great deal - but just not enough. Whenever I am outside of England, I always tell people that I love London, that it is the best city in the world.......and yes that is true, but actually what I mean is - it is an amazing city because it is home to all my wonderful family and my best friends, it is home - to me. Next time I return, I'm not going to do too much in terms of sightseeing and activities - I'm just going to spend time - with all the people that I love.

After saying goodbye to my parents, taking a last stroll around my family home, driving through Southgate for the last time in some unknown amount of time and then crossing the entire length of London, we finally made it to Heathrow airport. That morning Maisa and I took the 8 and a half hour flight to Miami - where we would actually be staying for a couple of days!!! For us, it was back to the sun.............