Have fun and leave your stamp on this Algarvian townhouse project in Sunny Silves, Portugal

Details

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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.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural 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.

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  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.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Portuguese: Intermediate
  Spanish: Beginner
  French: Beginner

  This 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.
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  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!

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  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.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  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.

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  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 😎

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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