It has been a week since we have arrived in Sicily. If you read our last post, you will know that this is our first stop in our “Year of Travel,” and also our first WWOOF farming experience. And ohhhhh boy, was it a long journey!
Quick Recap!
What’s WWOOF?
“Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is a worldwide movement to link visitors (WWOOFers) with organic farmers, promote a cultural and educational exchange, and build a global community conscious of ecological farming and sustainability practices.” [1]
We volunteered and were accepted to stay at a farm in Sicily – near the town of Alcamo to be exact (northwest corner of the island). Due to the unusually hot summer, the grapes ripened more quickly than in the past, so some of the grapes were already harvested. Immediately upon arriving in Italy, we would be helping pick grapes at the farm.
So, instead of planning some extra time to sightsee in Rome like most people would, we set off for Sicily at full speed!
Full speed meant going back-to-back from:
Mayagüez -> San Juan [4 hour bus ride]
(+2.5 hour wait)
San Juan -> Madrid [8 hour flight]
(+5 hour layover)
Madrid -> Rome [2.5 hour flight]
(+1.5 hour wait)
Rome -> Messina [9 hour train]
(+2 hour wait)
Messina -> Palermo [3 hour train]
(+2 hour wait)
Palermo -> Alcamo [1 hour bus]
Total: 40 hours of traveling
Luckily, the overnight train had some (minimal) facilities that allowed us to wash up… but we were SO ready for a hot shower. T_____T
By the way, we have mentioned that Sicily is an island. So in order for the train to get across water, it gets loaded into a really, really, really long ferry! It is pretty cool.
We finally arrived at Alcamo and roamed around town for a little before we headed to our final destination:
Bosco Falconeria.
(And that hot shower awaiting us….)
It was a looooong journey, but so worth it. We are grateful to have arrived safely and to be able to work and learn at Bosco Falconeria.
[COVID Note: Italy’s requirements for US travelers changed while we were in flight. We didn’t learn about them until we arrived in Rome, but nonetheless, we were able to get through the airport with no issues. We are both vaccinated, so the newest addition to their regulations are that vaccinated people are also required to get a COVID test completed. When we arrived at the Palermo train station, there was a Red Cross Italia tent set up administering rapid COVID tests for free (!). We got tested and our results came out negative. It’s so awesome that the tests are available in convenient locations like travel hubs.]
Watch our YouTube video below for some clips of our journey!
In our next post, we’ll be sharing more about the grape and olive harvest we have been helping with.
Talk soon. Ciao!
Christie & Oscar
Vida BoriKor 