If you want to see another country on the cheap, one of the best strategies is to make use of websites such as helpx and workaway.info. These list various places where you can work part-time in exchange for board and lodging. And so it was that I found myself heading into a remote part of Chile to find a guy called Greg and his farm.

The first part of the journey involved a 10 hour overnight bus south from Santiago to Osorno. This was comfy and uneventful – just how I like it! I arrived at 7am in Osorno and immediately noticed the temperature difference – it was way colder down here than in Santiago!

I had 7 hours to kill before my connecting bus. With an uncharacteristic flash of inspiration, I looked up the only hostel in town and headed there. This worked out perfectly as I was greeted by a friendly young German chap who was working there who told me of course I could use the hostel as a base until it was time to leave and even gave me a free breakfast. Aware that I was imminently going to be working on a farm and was carrying only one pair of lightweight trousers, I headed into town and spent the morning searching for a second-hand pair of jeans and a long-sleeved top. Of course the jeans I liked were way too long so I also found a tailor who took them up within the hour. Very proud of my Spanish/sign-language escapades, I collected my bag and caught the local bus out of town.

At this point I started to dwell more and more on the fact that Greg hadn’t yet replied to my last two emails telling him when I’d be arriving at the designated pick-up place. Was this really a sensible idea to travel to the middle of nowhere without knowing if you’d actually be met once you got there? After about 2 hours we left the tarmac behind and trundled on along a winding gravel road. More and more people were leaving the bus. Once or twice the conductor chap checked again where I was getting off (I’d been told to take the bus to the end of the line). At last the bus reached the end of the road and I hopped off, trying to look cool, calm and collected whilst my insides churned with panic as it was abundantly obvious that there was no-one there to meet me.

As I watched the bus pull away, leaving me alone with just a few cows for company, I realised I’d definitely been a bit rash. This had the making of one of those ‘at least you can laugh about it now’ stories… I sat on a rock in the sun and tried to remain optimistic. After about 45 minutes I got up and started looking at the nearby farm shacks, wondering which one I should pick to try and sleep in that night.

Presently a pick-up with three Chileans in drove up. I hailed them down and in my broken Spanish asked them if they knew of a gringo called Greg who lived nearby. “Senor Gregory?” the driver replied. I could have kissed him. “Si!” I yelped, as hope flooded in. They told me to hop in and set off through a gate, presumably towards the absent Senor Gregory. After only 100 yards or so we passed a pick-up coming the other way. “Senor Gregory” said the driver again, pointing. So out I hopped and sure enough, Greg was driving the other way. Turns out my emails had got lost in his inbox and he hadn’t been expecting me! He was heading out to drop off another four volunteers who were leaving so told me to get in and join them for the ride. Only later did someone mention it was a 2 1/2 hr trip to the town they were being dropped off at!

To cut a long story slightly shorter, we dropped the others off, I accompanied Greg on a supermarket shop and we picked up two more volunteers. As it was getting late, we stayed the night at Greg’s other property, a restaurant near the top of a nearby volcano. And so ended an eventful and random journey. In the morning we awoke to clear skies above the clouds, loaded the truck up with various items (including a grandfather clock and about 8 mattresses!) and set off to the farm.

Greg’s beautiful restaurant on top of the world!

Loading the truck for the journey back to the farm

Stand by for details of life on a Chilean permaculture farm!