Last night, our host invited us by the main house to get to know one another and enjoy a few glasses of some local red. For a couple of hours, we swapped stories on our histories, travels, and experiences with the local culture, along with draining a couple bottles of good wine.
Drinking wine the night before starting work is not always the brightest idea, though it’s rude to turn down an invite from your host, right? Admittedly, the wine-induced sleep was not so restful, but we rose anyway and got ourselves fed and ready to go by 8 am.
No one said the work would be glamourous, so I was unsurprised to spend the entire workday plucking weeds. In a way, it can be quite meditative, though leaning down and pulling up the grassy invaders can become less-than-comfortable over time. However, it is pretty satisfying to turn back and see an area transformed, knowing that it was all you.
Also, I should probably mention that there are 5 dogs here, one of which is only 3 months old, and 3 cats. So, the day did get broken up semi-frequently with some friendly visits. And, when I say friendly, I mean two dogs deciding to play fight on top of you, or put your your whole arm in their mouth while you’re trying to pick things up.
The food situation here isn’t quite up to par at the moment. A lack of a grocery run has meant we’ve had to get creative with what’s been left in the cupboards. There’s no such thing as a tienda within easy reach. Oatmeal, pan-fried bread (I can get creative with a little flour and some spices) with homemade salsa, and a stir-fried pasta with onion, carrot, and cabbage were on the menu for today. Tomorrow, we should get to the market and get some more ingredients to mix it up with.
So, for now, I’m dealing with my first day of physical work in quite some time, on a wine-influenced sleep, and a lack of food to a degree. Luckily, that combination might just be the perfect thing to help me sleep through the songs of the crickets tonight.
Hi Marie,
I did a few workaways in South America too. It’s a bit of a gamble what they end up like, but we had some great experiences. This one sounds like a decent place so far. I hope it goes well for you!
I think you’re definitely right about that — our host already filled us in on some horror stories that some of his past workawayers have had. So far, I think we’re in a good place 🙂
So wonderful to read about your travels thus far! I love reading the journal style posts you’re sharing and I’m glad to hear you’re taking some pressure off of yourself about blogging in a certain way. Your passion for travel really comes through in these diary posts and I’m looking forward to hearing more about your workaway experience!
Christine recently posted…Christmas in Vienna: Schonbrunn Palace
Thanks so much for the kind words, Christine! It’s so easy to get caught up in feeling like you need to deliver. It’s nice to just write for the enjoyment.
It definitely sounds like challenging but rewarding work. I work part time at a winery, which is a really different situation of course, and I love spending evenings like that with the winery owners – it always makes for great stories 🙂
Kacy recently posted…[Food + Wine] Wins – Sona Creamery Edition