Waiting and Listening

Kyle and I have been waiting *patiently* to hear back from farms in Peru--I think Kyle is being more patient than I am!! We have contacted a total of 5 farms thus far, of which there are a couple that we would like very much to go to. The ones we are most excited about are artist/eco-village type communities. We contacted the farms a few weeks ago, so hopefully will get some positive responses soon.

As we wait for news of where we may be headed, I have become greatly encouraged by all of the wonderful information friends and strangers alike have provided us with. Luckily for us, my parents are friends with many travelers, and we have been able to glean some useful information from them. What I think has been the most wonderful for me, however, has been how happy strangers are to talk about their experiences and share any advice they have. Today at work, for instance, a couple overheard me mentioning to a friend that Kyle and I would be leaving for South America in October to work on organic farms. Upon checking out, they asked me about our travel plans, and suggested places to go, including El Bolso in Argentina, which they said was a nice artistic community with lots of farms (we will have to look into this). I am very thankful for all of the positive first-hand responses we have received--it is helping to make up for the anxiety of waiting to hear back from farms!

Tickets and WWOOF membership purchased

We have officially bought our airfare to Lima!! We will be flying out of LA on Oct. 14th (still not positive when we'll fly to LA, but that's not as big of a deal). We also bought our membership to the Chile WWOOF organization, which gives us access to all of the Latin America independent WWOOF countries, including Peru. In a few days, once our money gets processed, we'll be able to view and contact all of the farms in Chile and Peru!

Planning, planning, planning

As we get closer to leaving for our much awaited trip, Kyle and I have been reviewing and revising our plans. It currently appears that we will fly to the LA area around Oct. 1st and visit Kyle's family for a bit before flying out to Lima, Peru on Oct. 7th (Kyle's birthday! what a great present :D). The first places we might go in Peru are Lima, of course, and then Cuzco and Machu Picchu. I can't wait to start WWOOFing either, although we are currently unsure where our first WWOOF site will be.

Not only have we been researching travel plans, but also travel safety, etc. There's a lot of things to consider regarding this! Information is starting to come together, though, which is exciting. Kyle also flies up to Alaska in less than a week, so we'll be able to plan things together more easily.

We're also starting to get some of the remaining gear that we need. Our tent is on its way here (should get it any day now) and I'm pretty much set on all of the main gear I need. Kyle still has to get a bit, but it looks like that'll be happening soon.

Graduation ends. Planning begins.

Hello friends. As many of you know, Kyle and I have been planning to travel to South America, specifically Peru, Chili, and Argentina, starting in mid-September. We will predominantly be WWOOFing (www.wwoof.org) as a means of traveling, learning about culture, and working in the organic agriculture industry.

While we have been doing some planning for our trip, it has been challenging finding time to do this as I finished up my last semester of undergrad(!) and Kyle has been busy recording with Fang Chia for their first album. However, now that I am graduated and the album is shaping up, we will have much more time to work on planning our trip. I'm very excited about this, and we'll keep you updated as our plans evolve and our travels begin!