Harvest, fucking harvest

So the life of a traveler comes with its pitfalls. There's the fact that to travel, one must save up money, or build up debt. I have done much of both. Funding travels requires lots of money, even if you travel cheap, like I have learned to do. I work my ass off during harvest to make a little money, and it rapidly disappears. I am currently down in Argentina, working for 300 pesos a week, which is roughly 80 dollars a week, or $1.50 an hour. Yeah, no joke. So this isn't exactly funding any travels, let along paying for my time here...

No doubt, I am gaining valuable experience, mastering my trade, practicing my Spanish, and having some fun. Working too much to have too much fun, but the harvest will be over before long, and I will be able to enjoy myself more fully. It's about halfway through, and I have earned the respect of my coworkers with my knowledge and work ethic, which keeps my morale up, but god harvest wears a man out. It's not just the hours of work...that I enjoy in a twisted workaholic sort of way...but your mind gets twisted, because you are with the same people all the time, and when you have time off, you are so physically tired from shoveling and pushing and pulling and handling grapes and machinery that you don't have the energy to do anything. Life becomes an odd warp, and your mind gets fucked. This whole situation basically altered/fucked-up my life path a year back. Then in Oregon, where my coworkers became amazing friends, this same situation was one of the best times of my life. It's a strong force. Ever stayed up all night, then done stuff the next day? That haze, the dreamy, surreal quality of life, is exactly how I feel during harvest. At times I am sharp as hell, and I haul ass at work, but it's still a glazed reality. Then when harvest ends, the feeling is amazing. It's the well-earned exhausted relaxation like after a five-hour session of basketball, or long bike-ride, when you just sprawl out on the couch, maybe lean over for some juice or a beer...

So emotions are both muted and powerful at times like these. I find myself bitterly drinking myself to sleep at times because of some fuck-up at the winery, or because some lazy bastard coworker just sits on a forklift all day and never gets in the shit and works a shovel. Other times, a glance at facebook or an old memory or depressed alt-country song on my ipod sends me into some moody spiral. Other times, days go by without much of a thought of anything significant.

So this being a travel blog of sorts, I'll mention what I've been up to in my travels...I've been eating excellently, they have great cheap meat and veggies and I've been eating lots of beets and steak sandwiches and stuff. Plus I have met a few local folks, gone out a few times and danced myself to shame... I am failing horribly at seducing Argentinas (the hottest girl I have met told me that I reminded her of someone from a movie...turned out it was the son from Beverly Hill Billies...the next hottest girl suggested we got out, then stood me up...) but I am comforted by the fact that my roommates are doing about as horribly...the Andes provide a beautiful backdrop to my morning yoga...I went for a 5-hour bikeride up towards those same Andes, it was really fun, this place is a total desert but the view is great. I have Sunday off and I think I might go hiking with a coworker, that should be fun. Other than that, I am currently exhausted and think I'm going to go to sleep now.