Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Last replied
29 Dec 2025
Feedback
22
Email verified
Country info
Badges (3)
Details
Description
June and/or July- Capable hands needed
The projects we need help with fall under two headings: (i), someone with automotive skills to assist in the restoration of an old classic car, and (ii) painting and decorating. We need help in both of these areas because David’s Rheumatoid Arthritis is now chronic, his fingers are now so distorted that he no longer has the dexterity to physically do the work, however, he can work alongside someone guiding them with what needs to be done and solving problems together. For the painting and decorating work, Sally will work together with workawayer(s).
We are Sally and David a retired English couple of 62 and 74. We have been living in Central Portugal for twelve years. We first lived in a village in the Gois area for eleven years and had many workawayers come and help us renovate an old schist house. Last year we sold our village house, and moved to the centre of Alcobaça, where we are now in the last stages of renovating an old restaurant into our retirement home.
We are located in the historic centre of Alcobaça, near the Jardim do Amor. Alcobaça is famous for the Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça, which is only a five minute walk from our house.
Sally is a keen walker and an artist. David is interested in anything to do with cars, he used to rally and race.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Events & social
Movies & TV
Writing
Gardening
Drawing & painting
Books
DIY & crafts
Art & design
Hiking
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Alcobaca is full of history and the Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Help
We are open to either couples (friends or partners) or single workawayers, but prefer no children.
The projects we need help with fall under two headings: (i), someone with automotive skills to assist in the restoration of an old classic car, and (ii) painting and decorating. We need help in both of these areas because David’s Rheumatoid Arthritis is now chronic, his fingers are now so distorted that he no longer has the dexterity to physically do the work, however, he can work alongside someone guiding them with what needs to be done and solving problems together. For the painting and decorating work, Sally will work together with workawayer(s).
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
German: Beginner
French: Beginner
Portuguese: Beginner
Accommodation
You will have a bedroom with possibly private bathroom facilities, this depends on how many workawayers we have at one time, however, you will share with no more than 3 other people, on the first floor there are two bedrooms with one bathroom. You will be provided with 3 meals a day 7 days a week, self-serve breakfast of cereal or toast, rolls for lunch, and a cooked dinner in the evening generally served between 6pm and 7pm. Occasionally we may ask you to cook your own dinner if we are out for any reason, other than that Sally will cook evening meals and you will be expected to help with tidying dishes.
What else ...
ACTIVITIES: We are 12km from the nearest beach of Nazaré. There are many beautiful beaches along this coastline, Praia de Paredes da Vitória, Saõ Martinho do Porto and Foz do Arehlo to name a few. If you’re a walker/hiker then we are only a stone’s throw from a national park, ‘Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros’ where there are many walks and caves to explore. There are many other towns and places to explore nearby.
AMENITIES: Alcobaça is a small town, but with everything you need. It has supermarkets galore, shopping facilities for clothes and anything you could possibly need. There are several banks and numerous ATM machines located throughout the town, a central post office, library, cinema, theatre, music venue and a mainline bus station, along with a Flixbus stop in the town centre too.
FROM THE HOUSE: We are literally in the centre of the town, a five minute walk to the old town and monastery area where numerous cafes, bars and shops are located. Then in the opposite direction five minute walk to the cafes, bars and shops located in the newer part of the town.
IN THE HOUSE: We have fiber optic WiFi.
TRANSPORT: You can travel by bus from Alcobaça to anywhere in Portugal (depending on where you wish to go you may need to swap buses). The town is serviced by three bus services: Rodoviária Do Oeste, Rede Expressos and Flixbus which go all over Portugal at a very reasonable cost. There are also train stations located not too far from Alcobaça in Caldas da Rainha and Valado dos Frades.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (11)
Natalie helped with a variety of tasks and work, she helped Sally make marmalade, peeling and juicing countless oranges, she also did some painting of… read more
John stayed with us for 4 weeks, which just whizzed by, he is genuinely a really lovely young man and we enjoyed his company… read more
you have my deepest gratitude for opening your doors to me. Experiencing four weeks of hard work, pain, leasure and joy in a safe and welcoming environment was an eye-opener for me.
Vivid memory anecdote kind of thing: After two weeks of not so nice experiences with other hosts, i couldn't stop a few tears of joy from… read more
Lara was heaven sent; she spent all of her workaway with us working on… read more
Photos
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(5.0)
Natalie helped with a variety of tasks and work, she helped Sally make marmalade, peeling and juicing countless oranges, she also did some painting of… read more
John stayed with us for 4 weeks, which just whizzed by, he is genuinely a really lovely young man and we enjoyed his company… read more
you have my deepest gratitude for opening your doors to me. Experiencing four weeks of hard work, pain, leasure and joy in a safe and welcoming environment was an eye-opener for me.
Vivid memory anecdote kind of thing: After two weeks of not so nice experiences with other hosts, i couldn't stop a few tears of joy from… read more
Lara was heaven sent; she spent all of her workaway with us working on… read more
We learned many skills during our hours of help and we are grateful for that as well. The village… read more
There are a lot of job to do and David and Sally make sure you find a job that suits you. We did painting,… read more
We helped them with the reconstruction of their house and we really enjoyed that. We have a lot of new experiences.
We have to mention… read more
Natalie and Jiri did a variety of work for us, collecting wood for the… read more
Such a lovely young couple, always willing to help with any task we asked of them. Henny spent most of her time with me painting and decorating bedrooms, and… read more
He did an enormous amount of rendering for us; we now have a lounge where there wasn’t one. He assisted Dave with the plumbing in the new kitchen, dug an inordinate amount of rubble from one place to… read more
There were a variety of tasks inside and out. From olive picking, carpentry, bricklaying, demolition, gardening and cutting up firewood. It was… read more
We would not hesitate in recommending Fernanda as a workaway for anyone.
