The Beginning (Part Two)

In the early part of that year we had thought that 2020 would be the year that we set off on our adventure. Like most people, even as we watched the news of events unfolding first in Wuhan and then closer to home in Italy we were still totally unaware of what was about to transpire. In March of that year – as for almost everyone else – everything changed. Suddenly the idea of ‘going away’ had become something of an impossibility when we were not even supposed to leave our own house unless absolutely necessary. International travel had shutdown entirely and there were no clear answers about when things might return to their previous state. Of course, we were not alone. Everybody has plans of some sort, and at that point in time they had all been suddenly put on hold with no certainty about if and when they would resume.

However, there were a number of positives to be found especially if you’re an unstoppable optimist! First and foremost was getting to spend time together as a family. This was the case for lots of people but for us it had an additional benefit in that it acted as something of a dress rehearsal for our time away. When we were thinking about our trip it was always a concern how it would be with just the 4 of us in constant close quarters and now we had the opportunity to find out. As luck would have it we discovered that we really liked spending time together and that our 2 girls in particular thrived in each others company and became firm friends. There were tough times as well but getting to go through these in the comfort and familiarity of our own home has meant that we came away with the necessary tools and coping mechanisms to make the journey over here far less bumpy. In essence we were able to test out how our group dynamic would function under stress but with everything else (except the backdrop of a global pandemic) remaining relatively unchanged.

Another concern that I had when we first began to make our plans was how I would cope without work. That may sound a little silly but I find a lot of purpose in my work – it is one of the places where I can be of use to other people in my community and so gives me a sense of value and worth. I also enjoy the mental stimulation that my work provides with solving technical and practical problems. When imagining how things would be when going away I was worried about what I pictured as a kind of aimless drifting at a point in life where I was feeling ever more like I needed to be doing something worthwhile. Fortunately we were given the opportunity to explore this inner territory as well. Firstly, there is a lot to do with 2 children around and everything that I have mentioned about a sense of purpose, worth and usefulness can find a comfortable home in seeing to their needs. This was a very important lesson to learn before coming away on this journey and it has made the transition much easier as well. I am able to put down my own list of things that I’d like to get done and see that the time that I have with them is precious and should be enjoyed while it can be.

I also found that I was able to fill other needs in other places. During that early part of the pandemic both Rachael and I had already joined a study group which Joe had set up at the end of 2019. This small group turned out to be a seed which had found fertile ground at just the right moment – with so many people suddenly disconnected from their regular working routines and with time on their hands the group grew very quickly and was a valuable place for people to try and make sense of what was happening. The group was called Earth Regenerators and is hosted on the Mighty Networks platform. It has now grown to a vibrant community of over 3000 who are regularly giving their time to a wide spectrum of sub-groups determined to create a more viable future for humans on this planet and I encourage anyone who is interested to join. There were video calls and sharing of resources all focussed on our current planetary predicament and what we can do to try and make a positive contribution to planetary health. So during that period in particular we would attend regular webinars and make connections across the planet with others who like us want to give something back to the Earth. Over time I was lucky enough to make a number of good friends through that network and I was able to put to good use some of my own skills – for example in helping to look for and assess various sites in the UK for regenerative projects. I can often be found ‘chatting’ to someone around the streets near our home and this natural tendency to enjoy connecting with other people and hearing their stories flowed into those new digital channels. So it was inevitable that my imagination was captured by something that emerged from one of our group (Benji) reading Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta which in turn led to the development of our own online gatherings which came to be called Campfires. For months after then I would regularly attend these informal calls and then continued to regularly host one every Friday for many months more. This in turn led to many more fruitful connections within the network – some of which have been connections I’ve noticed between others and some that are going to form part of our own story in this year away.

Writing some of this up now and calling that period to mind again reminds me how much did happen in that space. Although it lacked ‘work’ and the other parts of our weekly routines that fill so much of the time ordinarily it was a very full time when I look back. I could write much more about it but I need to weigh up just how much time gets dedicated to this prologue because right now there is so much happening to us here in Costa Rica that is in danger of being forgotten!

The main takeaway from this little post is that the pandemic afforded us that opportunity to do much of what we would be doing whilst travelling without having to leave home. It also posed an interesting dilemma. Part of our original reason for coming away was to give ourselves time and space to think about what we wanted to do and of course we had been given exactly that but a little ahead of schedule! So at points we were left wondering if and indeed why we might still travel overseas when we might just be exploring the same territory. However, whilst it did give us time to consider some of this it’s not quite the same as being taken away from the familiar and everyday so that you can see things in a different light. Writing this now from a point where we are partway into our travels it is very clear the different benefits that we gain from being here but I remember back then there were moments of doubt.

Eventually things began to open up back home. Because my work is frequently more practical than theoretical I had not really been able to return to work in the way that some people had. I didn’t really experience ‘working from home’ like so many other people did. The closest that I got to that was hiring a scaffold tower for 3 weeks to do all the exterior maintenance on our house (still with a view to going away for a year); carrying out all the essential maintenance to the roof, windows and render and giving it a fresh coat of paint. I was back to work properly around October of that year and like so many other tradespeople found myself extremely busy. Half a year of people being in their homes and not much construction work going on had created both a backlog of jobs plus a whole new wishlist of renovations, extensions and home offices as peoples needs and desires had adapted to the changes in their own lives. All of this was yet another blessing in disguise. Earlier that year when we had thought that we would be coming away we probably didn’t have enough saved up to really cover the cost of the journey. Yet again, from this point in time managing our daily spend in our budgeting spreadsheet this seems all too obvious but back then we were keen to get away and eagerness was probably blinding our judgement.

So this is probably where I bring this little prologue to an end. I worked a lot in that year between October 2020 and up into November of 2021 when I stopped so that we could begin to pack up and get our house ready for our departure. All of that has given us enough savings which with careful budgeting will see us through this year. It has also given us those other resources which I mentioned at the beginning – the ones which as a family we rely upon as much as if not more than we do the money that we have saved. Those abilities of being able to step back and see our purpose and to enjoy, above everything else, the time that we have together are so important.