Wednesday, December 17, 2008

I'll be out for a spell...

Tomorrow morning I fly from Sevilla to Milan where I will then catch some form of transportation to Croatia. For the past month I was frantically contacting WWOOF farms all over Europe in search of a farm to work on over the Winter break. After many emails to Portugal, Ireland, and Greece nothing came of it. A short while later I received an email from Helga and Yakov a couple near Umag, Croatia who have a farm that could use some help over the Winter break.

Their profile has this to say about the farm:
This is a family farm of 12 ha. We practice organic and biodynamic farming. We grow olive-trees, 1ha of vineyards, lavender, vegetables, and grains. There are 3 cows, 2 pigs, and chickens. Two times per week we sell our products at the local market in Umag. Work is varied, depending on a wwoofer's wish. You'll learn about organic farming, baking bread, healthy cooking, milking cows and making cheeses, preserving vegetables, harvesting lavender and herbs, winemaking, etc. The surroundings are great for biking trips, and swimming in the Meditteranean Sea (5km away). You can take day trips to nearby destinations (Istria, Italy, Slovenia). WWOOFers are welcome the whole year!
Needless to say I am excited. I don't know how much of the above takes place during the winter, but I will take what I can get. In email correspondence they have said mostly this time of year will be chopping wood, feeding animals, and using the tractor.

On top of picking up a few skills and trades before Peak Oil is thrust upon us, I am excited to take a bit of a tech break...although, it won't be as techless as I first hoped. I am bringing my computer. However, only because I have recently obtained some Rosetta Stone files and I am addicted to learning Portuguese at the moment. There is no internet at the farm so I won't be doing so much dawdling. This also means that I won't be able to GChat with friends, which is my favorite time-waster. I maybe be able to pop into an internet cafe here and there along the way, but mostly I will be out of reach.

Besos.