Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Feedback
27
Facebook verified
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
My husband & I moved to the Algarve in October 2016 and have absolutely fallen in love with our new home country and our home which comes with 5 acres of land and sits behind a mountain (well officially a hill ;-) )! We run a dog sanctuary consisting of nearly 30 rescue dogs that keep us busy and entertained! They all live in our house with their own entrances to outdoor space.
We love the workaway scheme which enables us to meet some truly amazing people and to learn about different cultures and experiences. We think we offer a great place to stay in beautiful surroundings where hopefully you'll find value in the work you do whilst enjoying time out! The accommodation is private - a charming detached annexe with two very comfortable single beds away from the house with private bathroom.
Please feel free to contact us - we always reply even if we are unable to host you at that time :-)
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We live in the countryside in a mountainous area of the Algarve. From our experience not many tourists visit the area so you would be able to experience an authentic Portuguese lifestyle within the local community.
For anyone wanting to gain experience of working with dogs.
Help
Ideally we would like a couple, one of whom can work the land and the other who is able to help with caring for our dogs. We are happy for you to work the same hours so that you have time off together. Due to my husband having a below knee amputation in 2019 we need a lot of help with tidying up the land:
- Clearing weeds, undergrowth and trimming back trees
- General maintenance such painting and fixing fencing
- Help with daily food preparation and cooking for humans!
- helping us sort and tidy land such as bric a brac
And the best bit ... giving the dogs lots of TLC if of course you love dogs as much as we do!
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Beginner
Portuguese: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
Self contained, detached annexe which has a bedroom with two single beds and a shower room.
For breakfast and lunch we provide food items which you can prepare in the annexe. There is a kettle, toaster, electric hob and fridge in the room. In the evening I or we or you (!) prepare dinner and we eat together outside or inside depending on the weather. As I lack imagination if you're vegan or vegetarian I ask you to cook the evening meals (the main kitchen is all yours) for all of us.
What else ...
In your time off you would be welcome to spend time enjoying the land and beautiful views. You are welcome to use the pool during your stay and come out with us when we are out and about. We also have a couple of bikes you can use during your stay.
You can also visit the local villages and towns embracing the local culture and community. The town of Sao Bras De Alportel is a beautiful mix of old and new and has most the facilities you could want and we go in about 3/4 times a week (10 mins by car). In Estoi you can enjoy the traditional culture of drinking coffee with the locals in the cafes on the numerous quaint squares. Azinheiro itself has a café/bar whilst Peral has a bar/cafe/restaurant both about 1km from us. For everything else is about a 30 minute drive away and we generally go to Faro once every couple of weeks. The beautiful seaside town of Fuesta is a 20 minute drive away with its sandy beach and clear blue sea and amazing fish BBQ's and vegan restaurant.
In the UK we hosted Norwegian students as part of family which we enjoyed immensely. Whoever visits our home needs to love dogs with some understanding of rescue dogs. We are pretty flexible, easy to get on with and happy to help wherever we can.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
We have secure space for you to stay in your camper van should you prefer.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (14)
A great experience of six weeks instead of the two planned. A big thank you for your kindness, generosity and trust. You have welcomed me like a member of the family in this beautiful region where I have met a great community of doggie lovers. I hope you will share your life with many other travellers.… read more
really inspiring for me to understand how much love and passion they all put into this project and how much each one of the dogs they are… read more
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
A great experience of six weeks instead of the two planned. A big thank you for your kindness, generosity and trust. You have welcomed me like a member of the family in this beautiful region where I have met a great community of doggie lovers. I hope you will share your life with many other travellers.… read more
really inspiring for me to understand how much love and passion they all put into this project and how much each one of the dogs they are… read more
It was an absolute pleasure to host them.
They made delicious vegan meals for us all and undertook all the jobs we asked them to do.
Highly recommended.
We wish them all the best on their continuing adventures and hope to see them again soon.
From the minute i met Lucy,… read more
Our work was really varied. Working in the garden, doing some… read more
We were with Dave and Lucy for 3 weeks. We can't recommend staying there highly enough! Their property is amazing, and has some truly spectacular views. They are very welcoming and looked after us well. We spent many evenings laughing on the balcony and we thoroughly… read more
They always make sure that they… read more
Our two weeks went by to quickly with days spent working along side Dave, exploring the local area and evenings spent on the terrace full of conversation and laughs.
They go that extra bit to make sure you are totally comfortable during your stay… read more
The location is stunning with beautiful views and very tranquil. Lots of work to do and although physically challenging it was almost therapeutic. The two… read more
The place is in a beautiful part of Portugal, close to 4 villages that you can reach by bicycle. The work wasn't so… read more
