Family really need help with sorting out our olive grove in the beautiful mountain village of Galilea in the southwest of Mallorca

Spain

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4
Last activity
14/11/2019
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85.7 %
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within 4 days
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Description
Hello,

We are a family of 4: Emma (British), Eladio (Spanish), Emelie (7 years old) and Elia (3). We live in the beautiful mountain village of Galilea in the southwest of Mallorca. It's a very quiet, peaceful location with spectacular views down to the sea and offers complete tranquillity for nature lovers. Palma, the capital is only a 25 minute drive away, as are the beaches of the southwest coast. The village has a couple of bars and a pizza restaurant, there is also public transport to Palma but it is not especially frequent. This is a place especially suited to nature lovers. Hikers and keen cyclists (who don't mind serious hills) will love it but those wanting a great social life will find it a bit boring!
Our house is a traditional stone cottage of over 100 years old with a lovely olive grove where you can see enormous centuries old olive trees. It was abandoned for around 30 years and we are slowly getting it back into shape. Many of the drystone walls have collapsed so they need repairing and the land is completely overgrown so we are doing a lot of pruning and cutting down of trees to get to the old olives trees.
We run a small bed and breakfast and hope in the future to be able to produce our own olives, honey, fruit and vegetables but we need a lot of help before we can get to that stage!
We are looking for a couple who can help us during the atumn, winter and early spring with gardening, cooking, cleaning and childcare. We offer independent accommodation, self service breakfast (we'll supply cereals, milk and general breakfast things), and a cooked lunch and light dinner with us in our housewith shared cooking and clearing up duties. On your days off lunch and dinner will not be supplied.
It might be a nice project for friends - the rooms can be made into twin rooms. It could also be good for a couple. If the woman feels strong the work is fine for her - I do it all with no problem, but there could also be the option of looking after our daughter and the house while I do the work outside if you prefer.
Type of help
Gardening
Building
Babysitting / child care
Cooking / shopping
Help in the house
Help
We'd like people to come for a week or two at most from now.
What we really need help with is the olive grove, cooking and childcare. The gardening is quite hard manual work involving dry stone walling, pruning trees, strimming the land and burning. You may need to lift heavy stones, dig, move around wheelbarrows of soil and stones - it's not work for the weak and feeble!!! It is however quite satisfying.Help is also needed with cooking and cleaning our house and entertaining Emelie after school.
If the weather is bad there are always other things that can be done - we also restore furniture and you can help us out with that. You could also give us a hand with some bits of DIY- here'll always be something to keep you occupied!
Languages spoken
English, Spanish
Accommodation
The accommodation is in our bed and breakfast rooms which are spacious and comfortable. They are en suite and have internet access, fridge, air conditioning/heating and coffee making facilities. There is no kitchen or television, so bring your own entertainment for the evenings! We have two rooms which can be made into twins and each one has its own independent terrace area. If friends or a couple come you will be in a twin room. We expect you to keep the room clean and also to help us with cooking and cleaning up after eating.
What else ...
It is very quiet here and transport is not the best. There are buses to Palma everyday but they are quite limited (4/ day monday - friday and 3/day at the weekend). It costs around 2.65 single. A lot of people hitch hike down to Palma and it's pretty easy to get people to pick you up. We also go out quite frequently and are happy to take you somewhere on your days off. We have a mountain bike you can use but as I said, it's not easy cycling here. If you are feeling rich, the best option is to rent a car and at this time of year it's actually pretty cheap. This will give you the freedom to explore the beautiful island and it is well worth the effort.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Photos

View of the village and surrounding mountains.

Terrace and outdoor are of the room

View over our land

Your hosts: Emma, Eladio and Emelie

The private room as a double

The en suite bathroom

The private bedroom - as a twin room

Show all photos

The village of Galilea

The old trees which need pruning and clearing

Example of the dry stone walls that need repairing

The view from our house

Feedback left by and about host (4)

18/03/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Zeb & Annie)

We had a really great experience with Zeb and Annie. They are such a fantastic couple who fitted in perfectly with our family and our lifestyle. The two weeks they were here flew by and we very much enjoyed their easy going company and their tales of life in The States. They are very fit and hard working, being prepared to try everything no matter… read more

(Excellent )

23/01/2019

Left by Workawayer (Zeb & Annie) for host

Our two weeks with Emma, Eladio, Emelie, and Elia were fantastic! They made us feel very welcome and treated us like family members, but also made sure we were comfortable and taken care of just like their bed and breakfast guests. Emma is the perfect host, and is a great cook - she made delicious meals for us twice a day, even taking care to cook… read more food that she knew we enjoyed. We ate with the whole family in their home, which was a great way to get to know them and learn about what life in Mallorca is like for them. Eladio is so friendly and has a great sense of humor. He drove us from the airport and also to our next destination after the two weeks, which was extremely helpful and kind. They both went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed, and had great conversations with us over dinner about where we were from, what we did back home, etc. Their two daughters, Emelie and Elia, were also so much fun, and their endless energy and playful spirits were such a positive addition to our experience.

We were free to have breakfast in the mornings with food and coffee that was provided in our room, which was a pleasant and relaxing way to start the day before work. Our accommodations were incredible - Their home is nestled into the quiet mountain town of Galilea, which is the highest town in elevation on the island, but still only about 20-30 minutes from Palma. We got to stay in one of the bed and breakfast rooms under the terrace - It had a huge comfy bed, it's own bathroom and mini fridge, heat/air conditioning, wifi, and two arm chairs to relax in. The room also overlooked the grove, which had a view of both the mountains and the sea - stunning. We worked 5 hours in the mornings doing a variety of tasks to help clean up the olive grove and get the land less wild. Most of what we worked on was trimming trees, burning grass and brush, collecting firewood, and other yard work. It was sometimes hard work but very rewarding to see the grove slowly become more clear! Plus Emma and Eladio were almost always out working with us, making the time pass with good conversation and finishing the workday with a hearty lunch.

We had the afternoons and weekends to ourselves, which we usually spent riding our road bikes around the island - the weather was beautiful, even for January! We had been originally attracted to Mallorca for the cycling, so it was perfect to be able to find a family that would let us work and live with them to allow us to afford such a great biking trip. Their home was also in a great location for lots of beautiful routes through the western mountains - if any cyclists are looking for a great workaway in Mallorca, don't miss this one! :) Having our bikes was also a perk since Galilea (the town the home is in) doesn't have much in it (though the pizza restaurant is fabulous!) There is an occasional bus that comes up the mountain, but being able to bike down to the town of Puigpunyent for an atm, grocery store, restaurants, etc. was very nice, so I would recommend having some form of transportation to see more of the island if you do come here (though most people visiting the high mountain town seemed to have rented cars anyway).

Overall, our two weeks flew by and we will always remember the experience fondly - we'll definitely be recommending their bed and breakfast to our friends back home as well! We are so grateful for Emma, Eladio, and their family :)

(Excellent )

07/02/2018

Left by Workawayer (Kerryn & Simon) for host

We feel very glad to have met Emma, Eladio, Emelie and Elia and felt very welcomed in to their home. They were very aware of checking that everything was going well for us (& it was!). Their bed and breakfast rooms are beautiful and have a stunning view out over the land. The work was very satisfying and there was plenty of variations in work to… read more

(Excellent )

28/01/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Kerryn & Simon)

A really great experience! We loved having Kerryn and Simon around. They are such a fantastic couple who fitted in perfectly with our family and made the two and a half weeks they were here just fly by. They are very fit and hard working, being prepared to try everything no matter how physically hard or brain numbingly repetitive! Over and above… read more

(Excellent )

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