greetings from the funny farm...
so i´ve been here on the island of Tenerife for about 2 weeks now, wwoofing of course, at what i have just begun to call the funny farm. i wouldn´t say it´s bad here, just kinda funny. there are 4 1/2 other wwoofers too. How can there be half a wwoofer? Well, Willow doesn´t do that much work, but he does do some, he feeds nitrogen to banana plants all over the farm, and he´s really good with a hammer. But the thing is that he´s not even 2 years old yet. I´ve been having a really good time hanging out with him, and he reminds me of my little friends from the Elm Tree, and i am remembering how much i love to be with children. But unfortunately for me, he and his parents left today for the next wwoof farm, leaving just 3 of us.
But it doesn´t make the funny farm any less funny, well maybe a little, he is a pretty funny guy. I can´t really explain why it´s a funny farm, but let me just emphasize that by funny i mean crazy. I think of the song Manic Monday, even on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
It´s nice though, there are plenty of avocados from the farm, and bananas sometimes. These are the 2 main crops being grown. We have a nice big salad everyday, all grown on the farm. And i´m making friends with the chickens, and planting seeds, and the other wwoofers are cool, so it all balances out.
wwoofing is just so awesome. you call someone up and ask if you can come, you ask a few questions, talk for a few minutes, and then all of a sudden you´re living together for a month, and you barely know each other, but 9 times out of 10, it really works out. Okay well 8 times out of 10 it really works out, 1 time it doesn´t work at all, and 1 time it´s just a little weird, but good. These statistics should not be taken as fact.
So, 2 more weeks here, and then i don´t know, Carnaval. Yes, i think i will take a vacation from wwoofing for about 10 days to put on costumes and party. Well maybe not all 10 days, but until i get tired or realize that i should start saving my money so i can get off this island in March, which is when i think i will go back to the mainland of Spain.
who knows though?

welcome to the wonderful world of whims. here in the land of christy, we get an idea of what to do, and we just go. forget about research, planning, reservations...what fun would there be in those things? in my world, it is easier to go somewhere hours away by bus and ask in person how much the ferry is, instead of calling someone or looking up on the internet how much it is. or even what time the bus leaves.
so i got to the bus station in alicante around 10 in the morning, but the bus didnt leave until 3. so a little waiting. then a bus ride where i watched some movie with julia roberts and hugh grant in spanish. i get to granada, halfway, and find out that i have to wait 7 hours, until 3 in the morning, for the next bus to cadiz. it ends up being a good thing, because i get to cadiz in the morning about 24 hours after i left the farm. i get off the bus, and head to the hostel my lonely planet guide told me about. oh, and in the world of christy, we dont take taxis, even when we have money, and the taxis are right there across the street from the bus station. so i walk for about fifteen minutes with my backpacks, and finally find the hostel, which isnt a hostel anymore. mierda! so i find the next cheapest hotel in the lonely planet, get there and it says cerrado, closed. one down the street, closed as well. mierda! mierda! mierda! but in my world, i know there is always something good that happens next. so i walk a little bit to find a place to sit down and think. and after a couple blocks i see the banyan trees. ohhhh how i love banyan trees. it is my favorite tree. so it must be a good sign. i am about to sit down on a bench underneath it, when i look over to the left, and i see the tourist office. i figure at least i can ask when the ferry leaves. maybe it will be leaving today, and i can just get on it now. the guy tells me about casa caracol, the snail house, the youth hostel in town. not in my lonely planet guide. i get there, and nick the owner tells me to get myself a rough guide guidebook. but anyway, i can relax now.
later that day, i find out that the ferry is 260 euros to the canary islands, and doesnt leave until saturday. 5 days away... no way.
so tomorrow, i will take a bus to seville, a little backtracking, but only an hour and a half away, and then i take a plane to tenerife, the island where i will be for at least one month, probably 2. one month at the wwoof farm, and then there is carnaval and a rainbow gathering.
i am happy that i came here to cadiz to this hostel because there are so many great people staying here. i feel like i am on vacation. i am not the one sweeping the floor, folding the laundry...and i dont have to wake up at anytime, so i can stay out until 4 in the morning. which is what i did. i went with 5 or 6 people to reggae night at this bar. we danced, drank a little beer, and met some other travellers. i actually met a guy from colorado there. crazy.

so, this is how i do it. and i like it. tomorrow i have no idea what will happen. i know there is a woman, with 3 kids, and 2 other wwoofers. and a 1 hour time difference. i have directions to get to the farm. i dont know how it will be, what i will be doing. but i think i will be warm, and i know i will be on an island. thats all i need to know for now.

well, i was finally going to give you some pictures, but this computer hates me, so you are all just going to have to use your imaginations. which is what i've been doing. i've been building castles out of firewood, rescuing princesses from dragons, and casting spells of invisibility. as well as some sea kayaking, where i realized that it is harder than it looks. oh, and of course, we celebrated the new year. here in spain, there is no ball dropping, or anything like that. once the bells start ringing, you know the ones that ring 12 times for midnight, the bells in the church in the village across the valley, you have until the bells stop ringing to eat your grapes, 12 of them (which is actually easier than it sounds). so there was a group of about 15 people here, mostly all from Spain, and after an incredible dinner, a few drinks, and some bad dancing, we went outside, and waited for the bells, once the bells were done, and the grapes eaten, there were fireworks, which were pretty awesome. And then a lot more bad dancing. Well, i guess it wasn't bad enough to say that twice.
So a few days ago, the whole family, got in the van with all their camping gear, which includes surfboards and a kayak, and mattresses, to go to Portugal for about 8 days. i have been here with the grandmothers and grandfather, doing a little cleaning, and a little help with plowing the fields, but mostly just relaxing, reading, playing with the cats, watching movies, and some walking. i have also been planning where i am going next. i thought this time for sure i would go to ibiza, but i changed my mind. and it's my adventure, so i can do that. i've decided to take a bus to Cadiz tomorrow, which is all the way on the other side of the country, the western side in the south, just below Portugal (which really means i should have figured this out before they went to Portugal, and gotten a ride there, but oh well). I will stay in a hostel for a few days, and then i will take the 48 hour ferry to the Canary Islands. I am actually really excited about this, and i hope that i find a wwoof farm that i can stay at there. i've written to 3, and there are like 10 more as well, but i figure, even if i don't hear from them soon, it will be warm there, warmer than here, which is pretty warm, so i can just camp for awhile on the beach...or some other kind of craziness.

oh, and i guess if you want to see some pictures of where i've been the past few weeks, you can go to www.aqua-ventura.com