Aurora and Luca continue their journey, discovering the WWOOF realities of the peninsula and themselves: a month in each Italian region, starting in the South. Their van makes stops in Sicily, first in Modica at Damiano’s and then in Campobello di Mazara at Alessandro and Laura’s. Miyazaki and arancine, urban gardens and the noble art of hoeing the earth, sesame cultivation and the search for the right medium, family Easter and the sirocco wind: let’s start with Aurora, then.

“We’ve been on islands for two months now and we still haven’t seen the sea. Of course it’s because we go as farmers and not as fishermen and what the heck though, some sea. And in fact Luca tells me oh but you know I’d really like to be on the sea a little bit.”

“…Damiano Poi returned to Sicily, to Modica, which is a beautiful place in the south, in line with Tunisia. You say Tunisia and you think hot and you think in Modica you go to pick citrus fruits in the bellino light dress. Instead, a cold one. You say Modica and you think chocolate and you think beautiful. And instead a fatigue looks up and down these narrow streets of Modica that my calves not even when they did crossfit were so Schwarzenegger. But what do we care. We are here to toil, to suffer and to learn all we can. We are here to take and squeeze everything and shove it into our heads and hands. But we are actually realizing that those who host wwoofers are not exactly expecting fighting mules because it is not the work that is the key part: it is the exchange. It is not equal work and could not be. Those who are in the wwoof network are interested in the person, their culture, what they bring to the home, an exchange of knowledge and positive energy, listening, respect and being well…”

https://aurorafaletti.substack.com/p/wwoofing-in-sicilia-orti-urbani-e