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Host rating
100 %
Last replied
6 Jun 2024
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Description
Hello!
We are a family of three* - Sam, Mike and our very loving beagle. *UPDATE* kittens just arrived! Originally from UK, we moved out to Portugal 3 years ago and have been loving life ever since.
We have a house in the lovely town of Silves, which could be described as a 'diamond in the rough'... this is what we are doing projects on, slowly but surely. The next projects we will be working on are likely to be: more tiling, pulling up floorboards, fitting underfloor heating and quite a lot of demolition (and then filling many skips afterwards).
Silves is a great town, with all amenities easily on foot - banks, post office, supermarkets etc you name it. It is also the orange producing capital of Portugal, and is conveniently located in the centre of the Algarve making it ideal for exploring elsewhere. There are a number of festivals that go on throughout the year, which are one of the many reasons we love Silves & think it's a great destination to visit. Of course, the weather can be pretty warm in the middle of summer, but we are around 15min drive to the Algarvian beaches, so there is always opportunity for cooling off.
We speak English and are trying to learn Portuguese. Mike speaks some French too.
About our place: it's a big old traditional stone built house, with a private garden. In the garden we have a clean, modern caravan which will be available for our guests so they have some comfort & privacy. There is also a lovely big room upstairs in the house with single beds (can be up to three) if you prefer
Pippa, our beagle is a friendly little soul and also loves meeting new humans.Types of help and learning opportunities
Art ProjectsLanguage practiceGardeningDIY and building projectsAnimal CareCreating/ Cooking family mealsHelp around the houseGeneral MaintenanceCultural exchange and learning opportunities
Silves is a majestic city which really should be on everybody's bucket list. There's plenty to explore, both nearby and slightly further afield. We have a big castle on the top of the hill and plenty of fabulous local eateries.
We are very happy to help any guests with their English speaking, if they want to work on this.
Mike is massively into music and will happily chat all things guitar related if you have an interest - or better, if you are a fellow musician he will be only too thrilled to jam together with you.
We have a table tennis table although we're both still fairly amateur at it, you're of course more than welcome to play a game or three.
We've recently got into padel, and there is a court nearby in the park, so although we're not very good, we really enjoy going (mostly we spend our time retrieving the ball from outside) so always happy to have people to play with, whether complete newbies, or people that can show off their skills!Help
We have embarked on a very exciting renovation project of a grand townhouse which we are doing fulltime. We have started with small amounts of demolition and all the heavy tasks of mixing cement and carrying it to wherever necessary with our local hired help.
The help we would like is somebody (or a couple, for instance) who want to explore our part of the world and are prepared to help out with our project in a way that suits them. For instance, it is my dream to build my own pizza oven, so anybody who has previous experience doing this and could lead the way in creating one would be 100% welcome.
Some days we are quite busy with the renovation projects, and so the most useful thing would be if Pippa gets taken on a walk in the morning - or help with meal prep/shopping/cooking if that's what you like to do. Otherwise you can help alongside us as we do whichever aspects of our renovation are within our capabilities, for instance sanding down woodwork, repainting, replacing floorboards and other light carpentry tasks.
We take it in turns to cook the evening meal.
There is also a garden area which is in need of some attention, so more of the daily tasks that need doing are things like watering the trees and plants that are already here, and also helping with the design and creation of the rest of the garden area.
Everyday here will probably be a little bit different, but if you're sociable and prepared to pitch in then we will get along well. We are really happy to try and accomodate individual preferences regarding the help given, so if you'd prefer to lend a hand painting than shifting wheelbarrows of sand then for sure we will try to make that work for everyone.
We really enjoy hosting people and learning about different cultures - for many years previously in the UK we were involved in cultural exchanges and loved meeting new guests and hearing about their adventures.Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Portuguese: Intermediate
Spanish: Beginner
French: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
I speak a little português and want to learn more. It would be great to host some português speakers who wish to practise or improve their English, for example. I have previous experience teaching English as a foreign language abroad.Accommodation
Caravan, very clean and modern with a comfortable double bed, plenty of storage space for clothes etc a table with seating for two and a small kitchenette area.
Inside the house a beautiful music room is also available for guests, with up to three single beds to accommodate any extras.
We have an outside shower, washing up area and are currently working on plumbing the bathroom inside the house. There is also a separate loo accessible from the garden, although when we have a working bathroom in the house you will of course be welcome to use that!
We will provide meals :-) Copious amounts of tea also!What else ...
The train station is a twenty minute or so walk from the town, however the coach service is generally very good, and well priced, if booked in advance eg €5/ tickets to Lisboa. It's also possible to get to Portimão & Armação de Pêra by bus.
Faro Airport is around 45mins drive from Silves. There are a huge number of beaches to explore, nature reserves, parks and reservoirs etc. We also have bikes that you are welcome to use. We also have a double kayak that you can take out for a spin.
We try to be mindful of our neighbours, and keep late night noise to a minimum, and ask that you also respect nearby residents late in the evening. If you smoke, please don't inside the house or the caravan.
In our previous life (in the UK) we hosted and the aspect we most loved was meeting strangers, who quickly became friends. We have very much missed making connections with people since stopping, and hope to meet & make good friends again via workaway.
Walking in this area is fantastic and there is lots of beautiful nature that can be enjoyed here. For example, Silves is virtually overrun with storks and they are quite a fascinating bird to live alongside.
Blue carpenter bees, sparrows and a variety of butterflies can often be found in the garden, and I often spot a nightjar in our local park. There is often the hoot of a nearby owl at night too.A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We are in the centre of town, so good for signal & WiFi although currently we only use a small mifi device for our Internet needs.
Can possibly accept pets
If somebody was travelling with a dog who gets along with Pippa, we would love to have you stay. We also now have kittens so needs to be a dog that is cool with cats 😎
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (21)
This was our first workaway experience and it was the most welcoming, fun, hands on, friendly, and loving environment that we could have hoped for. The community that we felt whilst here was such a beautiful feeling and we will miss it so much.
Working on the house was… read more
Everybody is so welcoming with anyone. No judgment,… read more
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
This was our first workaway experience and it was the most welcoming, fun, hands on, friendly, and loving environment that we could have hoped for. The community that we felt whilst here was such a beautiful feeling and we will miss it so much.
Working on the house was… read more
Everybody is so welcoming with anyone. No judgment,… read more
During… read more
We were so, very, incredibly fortunate to host Laurin for some weeks.
He became an integral part of the team about 30 seconds after he arrived. Our… read more
they created a very cute workaway community in the lovely small town Silves!
I always felt very comfortable and after a few days felt like Iam at home.
I even extended my stay two times haha
I had to share a room with another workawayer and the work was chilled.
I hope I come back soon!
The work they did here was varied, from prepping & painting a ceiling, to running electrical trunking, pulling wires through the trunking & some… read more
The van in which we stayed in was very comfortable and we loved the frequent cats visits.
Sam and Mike are super nice people, always asking if we are happy and if we need anymore tea ;) The pets are really cute and cuddly. If… read more
What a month we had while Stephen was with us! Literally every day felt like a new chapter of the project because he worked so… read more
Over three months she has put heart, body & soul into this project and been completely committed to every aspect of the work she's been involved in.
Besides that, she's probably just about the nicest person in the… read more
Sam… read more
She truly became an invaluable part of the team. Dependable, exceptionally thorough in her work and interested… read more
Great location, the house is in a small peaceful town so you get to enjoy the benefits of a city, but nature is nearby so you can go for walks in the countryside or to the beach.
The variety of jobs, you could do something different everyday if you’d… read more
During his time with us, Simeon has helped with so many different jobs - fixing sticking doors and installing locks on doors, some small amounts of rendering, getting plastic… read more
The work is always fun and interesting while you also learn a lot of new skills.
If you wanna work in a great team you should definitely… read more
He was really keen to help out however he could with our project which varied from painting cabinets, to designing some room layouts. However the best thing that Jesse did whilst with us was very… read more
We really enjoyed having her stay and getting to know her. She made an excellent member of the team - helpful, always interested in learning and being a part of the action. She didn't hesitate to get involved and was a lovely person to have around. Highly recommend Charlotte. Wish you all the best for the… read more
What made it… read more
These two arrived with such great energy and enthusiasm, it was truly a pleasure to host them. During their stay, Miriam helped so much with the 'Marie Kondo' method of just organising things which was exactly what we needed at the time. Eli has painted the most beautiful mural on our wall and has got serious… read more
We had a great experience with Sam&Mike, they are a beautiful and funny english couple.
There was a lot of work to do cause the… read more
Thank you for the great time which we spent together.
When I came to you, I had a plan to stay a week or so, but because you both are so welcome, warm, friendly and lovely I stayed four weeks and it was a great four weeks!
It was my pleasure to help you with your bathrooms and some pipes. Thanks to you I could visit many… read more
We had almost nothing properly plumbed in, and went from a caveman type of existence to life After Tomas (AT) where we now have TWO actual flushing toilets, sinks to go with them both, a kitchen… read more