A journey of two lifetimes
The way I see it, Christmas goes with cold, grey skies, a snowflake sweater and a fireplace where you burn marshmallows for your hot chocolate. In the background a movie goes on, covered by your family’s conversation and laughter. So a summer Christmas eating seafood is a strange concept to get used to, it definitely doesn’t feel like a typical Christmas, but it feels pretty damn good.
Since arriving to the surprising city of Valparaiso 10 days ago, we knew we wanted to stay longer and take the time to discover its wonders, we just didn’t know how to do it without spending the rest of our money. During the first two days we visited the steep streets of Cerro Alegre, wandering around and connecting on the internet looking for cheap ways to live in the city since fuel was becoming a big hole in our pockets.
So we sent more than a few messages to workaway offers, from workaway. Same principle as the wwoofing we did in Argentina. You connect, you check the places and the job offer, you get in touch, and if both parties feel the tickle, you're in for a ride!
So this time, the tickle happened with Rodolfo. He and his girlfriend Luisa had a project to open a pizzería and they needed someone to help with renovations while sharing a pizza or two.
If you have been around our blog, you’ll know how much Jonny and I enjoy our food. Nothing else needed to be said, refusing the call of pizza was unthinkable.
We got the job, and for a morning of work every day of the week, we get free accommodation in the beautiful neighborhood of Cerro Mariposa, meet extraordinary people with strong and refreshing ideas to push forwards Valparaíso’s ecological and cultural potential and we get the opportunity to discover with the “Porteños” themselves their colorful and evolving piece of paradise.
I also can’t deny the obvious implication of the ceviche Luisa made us for Christmas, I think it found its way into our hearts and anchored us here for a while, but we will keep you posted!
Merry Christmas, and until next time!
- Sarah -