Local Encounters

When I began planning my trip around Italy, I didn’t envisage myself spending hours in lengthy queues and battling enthusiastic tourists. I wanted to spend time with real families, get to know their lifestyle and be swallowed up by their culture.

When the time came to embark on my adventure, I found myself standing at a payphone at Forli station in North East Italy. I was about to call Nevio, the owner of Monticino and the host of my first WWOOFing experience. I nervously keyed in the numbers while staring at the piece of paper in front of me. Written on it, was the Italian translation for “Hi, its Jacinta, I am at Forli Station, ready to be collected”. When Nevio answered I stumbled on the words in front of me but eventually got them out. By the intonation of his sentence, I thought he had asked me a question, I mumbled that I don’t understand and his frustrated “OK”, was followed by the click of the handset. I wondered whether he was on his way to collect me or if I would remain at Forli Station for hours to come.

There must have been at least 60 guests there on my first day, Nevio had introduced me to his family and staff but I was so overwhelmed, I wasn’t able to recall anyone’s names. I was shown to my room; a lovely space in the attic of the farmhouse with a window overlooking the vineyards and rolling green paddocks.
My days were spent fitting tractor parts, digging trenches, feeding and fetching animals, babysitting, resetting the guest rooms and preparing meals for the restaurant, the family and the workers.

I was lucky enough to explore the property in my free time by wandering through the wheat and lucerne fields on both foot and horseback, I learnt to drive on the right, watched the sun rise over the Adriatic and witnessed wildlife grazing freely at dawn.

The best part of my time at Monticino was meal times, lunch was at least 3 courses each day and everything on the table was either from the farm or hunted on nearly lands. My evenings were often spent with the cooks on the terrace, chatting away into the wee hours of the morning and drinking Monticino’s endless supply of wine and beer.

My time sped by way too quickly and just as I felt I was making progress with my Italian, I was back at Forli station, ready to carry on with my travels. I loved every minute at Monticino. The friendships I made with this family will last forever and I can’t wait for the day we cross paths again in the future. I definitely intend to return.