Strap in for this one! It has been a couple of months since our last personal update, and we honestly can’t believe where the time has gone. We had planned to post a big update around the time we left the UK, but it turns out packing up your entire life and saying goodbye to everyone you know is quite time-consuming – who knew!
Flash forward to today, nearly one month into our ‘big adventure’; wow, we have covered some ground! So far, we have clocked up just over 7,265 miles by plane, train and coach and celebrated two family birthdays.
Our route has been from Manchester to Rio via Frankfurt, then to Sao Paulo and on to Iguassu Falls. After a week at this natural wonder of the world, we then started an epic road trip down through Argentina towards its beautiful capital, Buenos Aires via the Parque Nacional Esteros Iberá.
We apologise now if this update is a bit on the long side, as you can see, we have a lot to catch up on!
The Final Countdown
What a whirlwind our last fortnight at home turned out to be. Despite thinking we had a handle on everything, we still descended into gentle chaos for our last week in the UK.
Not only were we packing to go and shutting down our lives in England for 18 months, but we also had put our family home on the market. Whilst it still hadn’t sold upon our departure, we needed to have everything packed up or gotten rid of ready for when it did sell. Honestly, without the heroic efforts of Kirsty’s mum whipping us into shape in the last 48 hours (plus maybe a little after our departure), I don’t think we would have achieved it!
We hit decision fatigue in our final days and needed fresh blood to swoop in. It was really hard to think not only what we would want/need on our return in 18 months’ time but also what would or wouldn’t fit into a house that we have yet to set eyes on!
There is a real balance between paying astronomical storage fees for things that potentially won’t fit in our new home and getting rid of items we will have to replace on our return.
In the midst of endless tip runs, charity shop runs, and box packing, we also had to say our goodbyes. The girls finished school for half term on Friday 27th October whilst also having the last sessions at gym, dance and swimming. There were a lot of farewells that week, and it all got a bit emotional as some of these people have been part of our support network for years.
We also realised that this was our last opportunity to reach out to the girl’s school for help. We were taking over their educational reins in just over a week, which was really quite daunting. Both girls had fantastic final parent/teacher consultations with glowing reports on how strong they both were at independent learning. This helped ease our concerns, but we knew that we had to be organised and have an action plan in place.
Everyone at Buxworth Primary School has been helpful and supportive as we headed towards our new pastures. It seemed easier during lockdown as we had set times and work to do and direct teacher support. From now on, we were on our own.
Initially, it felt that there were so many learning resources out there that it was overwhelming at the time. The girl’s school guided us in the right direction as to which platforms would be the most helpful and also gave us a lot of valuable advice. The support we received reaffirmed that we made the right decision when we chose Buxworth all those years ago!
Fond Farewells
On Saturday, 28th October, we held our leaving bonfire which felt like the perfect bookend to our life at Will Hey Farm. For many years, we held a bonfire around this time, and with our leaving date being the 5th of November it seemed right.
It was also a handy way to purge unwanted furniture and other debris that had accumulated after 15 years of living on a farm!
It was the most the most amazing night. The turnout was heartwarming, and the weather was kind (most of the night!). It gave us the opportunity to stand back and appreciate how many amazing friends and family we have.
There were people there who had been childhood friends for Adrian and me, plus the friends we have made through New Mills, Macclesfield Round Table, nursery and school, and our ever-supporting family. It struck us properly for the first time, not only what we were leaving behind, but who! Everyone had such kind and supportive words, which added a bit of comfort to us as we were wondering if we were doing the right thing.
We had also arranged several more intimate goodbyes with our close friends and family. Spanning just a couple of weeks, there were meals out (if we are honest, there were too many of those as our waistlines expanded further!), takeaways, walks, baby cuddles, drinking sessions and good old catch-ups over a brew. I don’t think we have laughed and cried as much as we did the last few weeks.
One of the most important jobs was to find our beloved animals, small and large, the BEST homes. We can’t thank everyone enough who has taken on our furry babies; it took a huge amount of pressure off us, knowing that they were in capable, loving hands. As a family of animal lovers with quite a large menagerie, parting with them was tough. Life isn’t the same without them, and our last few weeks in our home felt empty without them (although not having to trudge outside as much through the awful British weather the last few weeks was a bit of a silver lining).
As busy and unsettling as it was, we made it. We finally had our bags packed, our final goodbyes said and were on our way to the airport. We were all brimming with excitement but shadowed with apprehension. We were heading out on an adventure like none we had experienced before. We had tried to plan for all eventualities and think with our ‘top adult’ hats on, but we genuinely had no real idea of what we would face this coming year.
There will be many amazing highs, but there will be many lows. I’m sure the homesickness will kick in for us and ultimately, there will probably be dramas along the way. We just have to be sensible and hope it is nothing too disastrous. After all, the rollercoaster of life is what good adventures are about. We are the Spencers, and we are adventurers. This trip is all about being together and learning about the world.
We will update you all very soon on our first month on the road.
