I left Positano a little worse for wear, as has been a theme on this trip. I had to make one final push to get where I am staying for the next month, which sounds delightful. Not trying to sound whiney, but I’m tired of moving around so much. It’s truly exhausting. However. My itinerary of getting from Hostel Brikette to my work stay included a bus ride, two ferries, a metro, another 6 hour bus ride, and a car ride. It was my last travel day for a while (hopefully), but a big one.
The travel was fairly uneventful, save a quick lunch back in Napoli, after the metro and before the 6 hour bus ride. I stopped to eat at a restaurant and kill a bit of time, because I had 1.5 hours before my bus left. As soon as I sat down I ordered a Coke and asked for un minuto before I ordered food. The waiter grumbled but brought me a Coke. Then he proceeded to ignore me for the next 20 minutes. I tried to make eye contact, subtly wave at him, call to him as he walked by.. finally I had to nearly yell, scusi signori. He came up to my table looking like I had said, “F your mother,” took my order, took my menu and slammed it down on the host stand. The whole restaurant looked at me. By the time I had eaten, I was running out of time and needed to get to the bus, but of course my waiter wouldn’t so much as look at me. So I asked another waiter for my check and he shouted to my waiter that I wanted my check. My waiter said something in Italian, picked up a menu from another table and slammed it on the host stand. Again, the whole restaurant looked at me. But the check didn’t come, and I started to worry about missing my bus. Finally I went inside and paid at the cashier, and got out of there as quickly as I could. It was by far the most uncomfortable meal I’ve had on my travels. But relating the story to other people here, they just shrug. Eh, don’t take it personally. And so the journey continued.
Where are you going, what are you doing, and how did you find it? You might be asking. All valid questions. I will answer to the best of my ability: in order to finance three months in Europe, I realized that I had better find a way to travel cheaply, because surprisingly, even staying in hostels and eating cheap meals adds up, and quickly.
While I was still in Hawaii, I Googled “farm work surf Portugal” and website workaway.info popped up. Bingo. Exactly what I was looking for. Workaway connects people who need help with people who want to travel cheaply and don’t mind getting their hands dirty - kind of like WWOOFing but not exclusively for farming. I found a work/stay in southern Italy and made arrangements to work and live there for the month of September. Not that Italy was really on my radar at that point, and not that there is surf here (that I know of) but Giulia was the first person to respond with an offer, so I accepted.
Giulia and I didn’t talk too much before I showed up, just the occasional check in to make sure neither of us was going to flake on the other. I didn’t ask much about the work or the stay, but the vibes felt right. As I sat on the bus, traveling through the Italian countryside, my mind began to wander. What if Giulia isn’t real? What if this is all a scam? What if… the mind could go down all sorts of rabbit holes. But I had committed to going to Lecce, so I just hoped a nice woman named Giulia would pick me up at the bus station. I put a lot of trust in the universe, and for the most part, it has worked out.
Once again, it worked out. Upon my arrival in Lecce, I met Giulia, who was exactly who she said she was on her Workaway profile. We went for a quick dinner to get to know one another, and found we had a lot in common. She told me that she wants me to tend the olive trees, which I thought sounded awesome. I’ve been missing a little farm work in my life. After a nice dinner and a glass of wine, we headed out into the countryside where I am to live for the next month.
Thus concludes phase one of my travels. I’ve been on the road now for one month, reconnected with wonderful old friends and made many new friends. I’ve gotten to spend very special time with family, which was a highlight. Miraculously, I haven’t gotten any sort of sickness or injury (yet - fingers crossed) nor have I had a real hangover. I don’t quite have the same serenity as I did in Hawaii, but I’m hoping that my time in the Italian countryside will allow for some meditation, yoga, and continued self work. Yet I feel a sense of growth, of independence and a pride in knowing that I can travel alone, get myself into and out of awkward situations, and have a great time doing it. And so, now on to Phase 2.
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