Help us take care of a beautiful old farmhouse near the Mojácar coast in Andalusia, Spain

Infos

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  Description

  Hello! We are Andy and Fleur, and we both live in an old Cortijo near Mojacar in Andalusia, Spain with a rescue cat called Steve, a rescue dog called Shaun, and a part-time dog called Loobey. Andy is a musician, a conductor, who used to work around the world on theatre productions such as Lion King, We Will Rock You, Thriller Live, Les Miserables and more. Fleur has been travelling around the world for a few years, doing Workaways and couch surfing, and now is (reasonably) settled living here in Spain. She did her first Workaway here, more than three years ago, and now has come back to stay. The property is quite big, with five bedrooms in the main house plus two separate apartments with three bedrooms between them which are rented out to holidaymakers. We also have a big pool that is open for over half of the year, and our own almond, orange, lemon, lime, carob, fig, pomegranate and mandarin trees. We are looking for someone who is interested in the jobs listed below, plus some help with general maintenance, painting, and gardening, and also some light housework. We are also interested to hear from people who are willing (and able) to paint some fabulous art onto a side of an outhouse or a section of wall around the property and combine that with the more boring jobs of painting white walls and sweeping up leaves, as we have recently started a tradition (which we love) of each workawayer who wants to leaving a piece of art behind somewhere around the house or gardens. So far we have eight murals, an up-cycled chest of drawers and coffee table (see photos), but there is plenty of opportunity for more.
  
  The house is quite secluded, with miles of walks behind the property, and only shepherds with their goat herds occasionally passing our front door, but the local village of Los Gallardos, where you can find small supermarkets. shops and four bars, is only a ten-minute walk away. Larger, more bustling towns by the sea like Vera, Garrucha, and Mojacar, with a multitude of bars and restaurants, are a fifteen-minute drive or an (infrequent) bus ride away. The weather is generally warm throughout the year (sunbathing is still possible in most of December and January) but the nights can be a little chillier in winter and we sometimes light our log burner, although we stopped that mid-January this year. Temperatures regularly reach forty or more in the shade during the summer, and even in winter, the thermometer in full sun can reach 38C on occasion. Our pool is not overlooked and we, our helpers and our guests, are able to practice naturism around the pool area if they wish, and it is totally acceptable, although not compulsory, in other areas of the property and around the house. If you are not in to that, no worries, as long as you don't mind other people who may choose to do it occasionally.
  
  We have successfully hosted many workawayers over the past four years, so we know how things work and how to help everyone settle in and be comfortable here. We only expect about three hours of work, five days a week, for accommodation only. We are happy for you to do more some days and less others, and pick your days off as you wish; we are quite relaxed about things. We have listed our current main projects below.
  
  English is the main language in the house, and we are happy to teach that or try to learn a new language also, and we are both keen to improve our not-so-good Spanish. Fleur speaks Dutch and German, as well as perfect English. If you are interested in music or acting and wish to have some lessons, or just chats, Andy can do that; he is a musician and conductor who worked on many musicals (see above...). Fleur is an excellent cook, and in the past has practiced yoga and meditation.
  
  Your accommodation will be a private room in the main house, with your own bathroom. We can accommodate singles, couples, and occasionally also families, but right now we more often host one person at a time, or a couple, as there is not so much work to do at the moment. You are welcome to join Andy/us on trips to the supermarket, dog walks and to town for drinks and tapas, but independence is also welcomed if you have a car or wish to use the semi-regular bus service to the playa. Andy also works two or three afternoons at a local dog shelter, and if you are interested, you can go and walk the dogs there while he is working. We are vegan and vegetarian friendly, but we do eat fish and meat ourselves. If you would like to cook for us on occasion too, that would be great, we will return the favour. If you would like to chat to a previous Workawayer to check everything is as it seems and hear a first-hand account of what it's like to be here, that can always be arranged, or just contact someone who has left a review.
  
  This is a fairly relaxed Workaway, with not too much work and plenty of chill time. If you would like to chat about staying with us, please send a message.
  
  
  ***This bit is not currently available.........
  
  We are also interested in hosting a single, trustworthy, chilled person, who might want to live here for six months or more. This would give either us, or Andy when he is here alone, more flexibility to be away for a day or two, or possibly a week or two, without worrying about Shaun, Steve, or other guests. For this, there would be no set hours, we would just like some help with cleaning and animal/house sitting occasionally also; on most days, there would be minimal 'work' required. This position would suit a digital nomad, student, artist or writer, or someone who needs some space to get away for a while.... ***

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Projets artistiques

  Pratique d’une langue

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  You can immerse yourself in the local culture, join us for tapas by the beach, swim every day in the pool or in the sea, or be a hermit in your room if you prefer. You could practice yoga, singing or piano, have some monologue coaching, talk about theatre, relax in the sun, make cocktails, enjoy some home cooking, go for walks in the countryside, learn Thai, lay in the hammock, and generally enjoy a fairly chilled existence.

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  Aide

  Travelers of any age, gender, orientation, race, or religion are welcome. We are looking for help with general maintenance, lots of painting, some gardening, some light housework and help cleaning apartments. We are hoping to complete a few projects this year also, which our guests are welcome to choose from; they are listed below. If you are happy to help with housework and gardening, then some time on that would be good when needed, but the rest of the time can be spent on your chosen project. During the summer, we will not be carrying out any big garden or maintenance projects, so workawayers who are happier helping with cleaning and painting are more welcome then. As mentioned above, we love the idea of workawayers leaving a piece of art on a wall somewhere around the place, if they would like to. Dog walking at the local shelter is also an option (as above) and volunteers are welcome to do that as an added extra.
  
  Our current projects:
  
  Painting a white wall at the back of the apartments/next to the pool. (Completed)
  Stripping and oiling doors and shutters. (Ongoing)
  Repairing a large tile mosaic (Completed)
  Painting the inside of one apartment. (Completed)
  Cutting back a very big bush. (!)
  Putting up a bamboo fence. (Completed!)
  Taking down a wooden play castle and designing/building something to replace it. Like a rock garden or a seating area with a canopy. Or something else....? (Completed !)
  A bit of plastering, inside and out. (Ongoing)
  Lots of painting around the outside of the house and grounds. (Ongoing) ***
  Painting lots of metal gates and fences. (Ongoing)
  Repairing balconies. (Completed! (For now))
  Build a barbecue.
  Repairing the outside wall. (In progress)
  Refurbishing the pool bar. (Completed!)
  Painting some original art on an outhouse, or on a wall somewhere ***
  Upcycling a second chest of drawers with something arty ***
  Painting a little stone wall yellow again. (Completed)
  Renovating a garage ***
  Painting the entire house.
  Paint a mural
  
  At some point, we need to replace an entire bathroom. We could discuss food/payment if your skill set covers this.

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Hollandais: Courant
  Allemand: Intermédiaire
  Espagnol: Intermédiaire
  Français: Débutant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  Andy is happy to help with English, and speaks reasonable French and is learning Spanish - native Spanish speakers who are willing to help us are VERY welcome as neither of us are good enough yet. Fleur speaks fluent Dutch, excellent English and very good German.
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  Hébergement

  A private room in an old cortijo, with a bathroom that is only shared with other occasional workawayers, not with the hosts.

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  Autres infos...

  The local villages provide everything one might need to comfortably survive, including many bars and restaurants that are open all year round. In Garrucha, Vera, and Mojacar playa, there are loads of bars, restaurants, and a few clubs, which during the summer season are quite busy, and all three have amazing beaches, including a large naturist beach at Vera Playa. These are all a bus ride away. Alternatively, you can relax at home here, with peace, quiet, sunshine, miles of beautiful walks, and as much solitude or company as you desire. There is also a dog and cat shelter nearby that always welcomes additional volunteers, and as mentioned above; you can go there when Andy is working and walk some dogs. They always appreciate it. The cats won't appreciate anything, because they are cats.

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  We have a good wifi connection in the main house, the apartments and most the pool area.

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  There is plenty of room for parking.

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  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

  We have dogs and a cat, and they are not super keen on other pets in the house. Shaun the dog enjoys playing with small dogs and girl dogs, and usually does not try to eat them. Big dogs can be more challenging, but once he is comfortable with them he is quite chilled. Steve doesn't really like any animal he doesn't know, and not many he does know, but he is a cat, and is therefore also a bipolar narcissist.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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  Nombre d'heures attendues

  About three hours a day, 5 days a week, but we are pretty chilled about that.

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