Down on the finca

Some of the traveller crew we had met back down south had told us about an English couple and their plum farm at a place called San Rafael. Seems John and Annette travelled on their bikes a few years ago, saw enough to convince them that they didn't want to live in their home country any more, so opted for another change of lifestyle. Neither had much experience farming, but that didn't stop them from buying a few acres of aging plum trees and making a go of it, learning of the vagaries of irrigation, hail and the local labour marked among other things. Nowadays they offer motorbike travellers a place to stop for days or weeks, in exchange for some contribution to the running of the place. I guess they are thankful that traveller season coincides with the plum harvest!

When I first arrived, while Emily was still at school in Bariloche, there were no other travellers there. I hung out with John and Annette for a day before Emily arrived, but then we headed off to Mendoza for Em's birthday. We liked the place, the people, the idea of what J & A are doing, and were disappointed we could not stay longer. A week later, after a little misadventure in Mendoza, we were happy to go back and sign up for the "room, board and beer" deal!

Again I arrived without Emily, who had gone to Buenos Aires to have her passport replaced, but this time there was a crew of bikers there. Peter and Carol, the Canadians, and Chuck, a nice bloke from the US. Phil the tiler was there too, and after Emily arrived, Sebastian and Carola from Germany swelled the numbers further.

Annette, Carola, John and Sebastian take a coffee break

This was good timing for J & A, given that the local workers were not showing for work and the plums needed picking.

A half-day in the field - or in the house - earns tucker, sleep and shower and pretty well as much beer as is required, it seems. Maybe even more. Not that there's any formality to it, far from that - J & A could hardly expect to rouse their visitors out of bed too early, given that they themselves are the ones keeping the party going late into the night! As for shaking trees, picking up plums and carrying boxes, each just does what seems fair.

Em takes the wheel

A good, slow week off the road.

Peter and Carol shoot through