Profile information
Host rating
85 %
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Details
Description
We, Peter and Suzan, have 10 hectares of land in the centre of beautiful Portugal right next to rio Mondego. We bought the land in 2019 and haven't regretted one second of moving here. We live a so called off the grid life with the comfort of internet, solar power, hot shower and toilet. Our veggie garden is producing, not as much as we would like, but we are getting there. We have 2 dogs who are guarding our 9 chickens and 4 geese during the day, and live in our house during the night. Our 5 cats keep the critters away and our chickens give us plenty of eggs.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
In weekends and when it is really hot we like to visit Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain on mainland Portugal. We take swims in several reservoirs and there are a lot of river beaches to cool down. Canoeing on rio Mondego is also an option and for those who feel really sporty there are many routes for walking and mountain biking near us and up the Serra.
Viseu, Coimbra and Seia are not far away and worth visiting, Coimbra being a university city, with rio Mondego passing it, is particularly nice to go to. There are lots of beautiful historical villages, Piódão, Cabeça or São Romão and roman bridges to visit. In the summertime there are also events like pizza night, different Portuguese summer festas, movies, marchas populares or music night nearby.
Help
On our land there are about two and a half million wildly growing mimosa trees which we want to turn into a forest. In order to do so we need you to help us cut and plant trees. (Diameter not more than 15 centimeter.) We have already done a lot, but there is still a lot to do. We find the work very rewarding as you can immediately see the results and it really makes a difference to the landscape.
Primarily we like help with a handsaw and different sizes of loppers. We also use brush cutters and different sizes of chainsaws and even a tractor with shredder to turn the cut down trees into mulch for the garden en to create pathways.
*To prevent the possible risk of insuries these powertools will only be handled by us. If your (travel)insurance covers it, we are happy to teach you how to savely handle powertools, but you can only handle them on your own risk and when we are around.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
German: Intermediate
Portuguese: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
To me language is like a game, I like to find paters and similarities by comparing different languages. At the moment I am learning Portuguese, which is great fun as there are so much similarities with English. Someone told me once that Portuguese really is badly pronounced English. Which I don't fully agree with, but I get why she said that.
Accommodation
We have a Renault Master converted into a cosy campervan with a double bed.
There is also a comfy big old campervan with 2 double beds and a solar penal.
We have a one person camp bed outdoors 'bedroom' with mosquito net and a roof. As you sleep in the middle of nature it could happen, and already has happened, you are sniffed by a wild boar and foxes run right past you.
On site we have a 'hillbilly' eco-toilet and shower, phones and other devices can be charged and we have internet.
Further down to the river we have a caravan with a double bed solar penal and 'hillbilly' eco toilet.
I f you like to help us for 5 hour per day, 5 days a week, we happily invite you to our tabel for meals, we are meat eaters, but don't eat meat every day. To make our lives a bit easier we handle a week menu consisting of yogurt or bread for breakfast, wraps or bread for lunch and patatoos, rice or pasta for dinner.
We like to go out for dinner regulairly, if you like to join us please accept we that pay 5 euro of your meal and you pay the rest. Eating at a restaurant in our region costs something between 10 to 20 euro's, it depends on what kind of beveridge you take with it. If you'd rather stay home you can cook up an omelet with eggs from our laying ladies, or make yourself a grilled cheese sandwich.
Fruit is always on our table.
Plain water and water with gas is available, as are home made lemonades.
We don't mind you drinking alcohol, which you have to buy yourself, but only in your own time and public drunkenness will not be tolerated.
What else ...
Back when I came to Portugal to help people through workaway I loved to have siëstas in my hammock and cool down in rio Mondego. My hosts didn't really go out that often, so I didn't go out a lot too. That's why it is really handy if you come here with your own transport, there is so much to see! If you don't have your own transport you can happily tag along when we go somewhere, in Nelas, near us, there is a train station and there are also busses in case you want to explore this beautiful part of Portugal on your own.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
If needed you can work from our home where we have great internet access.
Space for parking camper vans
Lots of places to park up here.
Can possibly accept pets
If you have a pet you are welcome, but since we have animals of our own your pet, if it is a dog, should be on a lead if you are near our house.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week.
