I think I may have got myself stuck

[Akimbo]

If you havn't done so already you might want to try treasure hunting. When I first go to a new area I take a boat along the coast and hop onto all the beaches / islands, even if there's seemingly nothing there, and then: Walk a little, hit dig, walk some more, hit dig. The range on digging is pretty big and I've picked up some significant hauls from it. ( I seem to remember a 50k chest somewhere, probably in dead land. )