Travelogue: Next Steps

Tommorrow I will fly to Santiago, Chile, spend a couple days there, and then head to the far South to volunteer on a "farm" in Patagonia. I signed up for an organization called "WWOOF" (Willing Workers on Organic Farms, google it) and found the listing below. Sounds amazing, and my hope, pending confirmation that Thomas is not insane, is to spend 6-8 weeks there before exploring more of South America. I think it will be an amazing opportunity to see a beautiful part of the world up close, to get my hands dirty, learn some new skills, and, importantly, live for a time without spending money.

Apologies for the late notice, but due to the enigmatic scheduling and pricing of flights, I will be spending 7 hours in Miami tomorrow. If anyone is dying to see me, we can meet on South Beach for a mojito.

See below for a more thorough explanation of what the heck is going on in Chile. After reading you will know as much as I do.

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My name is Thomas, I am from Holland , I travelled around the world several times and came across this natural paradise in Patagonia , Chile. I fell in love with the valley , the waterfalls , the untouched jungle (Cold Jungle) I am active and enterprising , I need help building log cabins , perfecting my dams, turbines and windgenerators to make electricity. I also bought materials to build a katamaran and heaps of tools for all kinds of mad scientist projects. I own this beach right on the estuary. Plenty of fishing seafood , swimming kayaking and more. Dolphins and curious sealions often come spy on us strange human beings . I heard a ferocious roar of a puma (american lyon) a while ago. All I need is a few helping hands as the challenges of survival in pure unadulterated nature are many . Lodging in tent, meals rich in fishs. Come see . Adelante. Bienvenidos! But I need wwoofers remain 3 weeks or more.

Total freedom to choose from...to participate in whatever projects you enjoy :


1) exploring & clearing the jungle ( small scale ) using machetes
2) making a path to the lake ( 6 kms )
3 building a bridge over the stream/small river involving some cement work
4) farming and 2 greenhouses .
5) making repairs .......tents or structure or broken tools
6) some work involving chainsaws
7) setting up tents and alternative accommodations
8) building log cabins
9) cutting, drying and storing firewood ( using only dead trees )
10) cooking with woodstove , baking whole wheat bread or raisin bread
11) installing copper tubes into firewood systems in order to make hot water for
boiling baths and hot showers ( involves bending and soldering copper tubes )
12) washing your own dishes and /or taking turns ......I am not the maid
13) fishing witha net and collecting buckets of seafood ( mussels ) for meals
14) Smoking and preserving seafood which I give to friends , no charge .
15) Sailing a catamaran to go into town for shopping and picking up volunteers
16) Enlarging present DAM/reservoir to store 20 times more water
( Water is delicious and safe and used for drinking , cooking and generating electricity )
17) Some small scale electric projects ( mostly lighting and music )
18) taking care of livestock ( limited to 3 goats at present ) the challenge here is to keep them safe from PUMA
19) Learning , participating and actually helping in various projects .
20) Taking photos of projects and activities ...in order to improve my very amateur
internet site and helping me prepare the way for ADVENTURE TOURISM
some time in the future