Here's to Great Adventures | Volunteering in Spain during the summer

Here's to great adventures!

If you would have asked me 5 years ago, if I would ever wanted to live in Spain, I would have laughed at you in your face. Maybe I would even laugh really hard, because I didn't have any connection with Spain or whatsoever. And then that moment came, that we decided to leave Holland with our little baby that was only three months old, to go volunteering. Now this was not a decision based on fun facts, we actually needed to leave because we did not feel safe. But let's skip the "not-so-fun-part" to talk about maybe the best decision of my life, right? We knew that we were going to be "workaway volunteers" somewhere in Europe, working to get a roof over our heads and some meals. For the rest we were open to any option, because this was new to us too. So the journey for a compatible host started, we made our profile, set our preferences and let's see what hosts pop up. At first I looked for addresses in Italy, but soon we decided that Spain was going to be the best option moneywise. The tickets were very cheap, and for just a small amount of money we bought the entrance tickets for our new lives. Although we did not know what was going to happen exactly, we packed as much as we could carry in our suitcases with us. Let me tell you, we forgot important things in our rush because we really didn't feel safe, and I took lots of unimportant things with me. Most things are replaceable, but forgetting some of the things my children made in Holland still hurts. Luckily I have pictures of them.

I would have never thought our answer was a simple as leaving to volunteer

I had been reading about Workaway before on their website several months before we decided to just go for it. But at the time I was still pregnant and we were looking for a new home too, when I gave birth and nothing went as planned with the search for a new home, I was looking for a solution to overcome this problem. Then it hit me, I knew what we were going to do.. we were going to sign up on the website to make a profile as volunteers. Most of the hosts offer free accommodation including free meals for only as little as 3-5 hours work a day. Most of the times you also get two days a week off. In that time you can enjoy the environment and many of them offer to take you somewhere too, you can read this in their profiles. For example if you are volunteering at a surf school, they offer you to use the materials to go surfing in your free time. So my search begun, and many personal applications (it's like sending out your resume to an employer) were sent to the hosts. I already found out that a certain date would be the most convenient because this would be before ticket prices would go through the roof because of high season. So I set my mind to that date and in less than a week before leaving we got the green light to come to Andalusia for two weeks, our date was perfect. I had to wait until only three days before leaving to book the tickets, that was stressful but it worked out. Everything was set, and we could start packing!

We booked single ticket not knowing we would not come back

We hoped this would be the case, but we didn't know for sure how things would work out. Only the first two weeks were certain, and in those two weeks we had to arrange the next accomodation for ourselves. Only days before this first adventure ended, we found the next address, where we stayed for almost two months. And after this we could finally go to a little place near Granada, this was already agreed before leaving actually, but we knew this would be for months after arrival. But as we had "survived" the first months, we were very happy to leave to this little place near Granada.

	This is our first "Workaway" address where we volunteered for two weeks. This was the view from our terrace. Not bad at all right?
	After two weeks of really hard work, we decided to take three days to have some family time, before heading off to our next host near Seville. Here you can see the insane view from "El Tajo" in the cutest little white village "Ronda". This view was making me sick to my stomach when standing there to make a picture.
	Deep in the Andalusian mountains we worked our butts of for seven weeks (instead of the planned two weeks) and the guy had a fortune of Aloe Vera plants there. As it was about forty degrees outside, we used it for sunburns, Aloe Vera is so cooling for the skin. And here you can see how my boyfriend filtered it to make oil of it.
	When we had some time off, we went to Seville for a night or two, I fell in love with this artistic city. I loved coming there, and I adore the architecture in beautiful Seville. This picture remembers me of a very fun night we had in the evening on one of our mini breaks. Looking at our other pictures of that night, I finally see two happy people again. These are from memorable times.
	When we did not go to Seville, we went to El Castillo de las Guardas, that was the nearest village. We went there to have some tapas and shop a little bit, as we were stuck in a village with only one little street and two shops. This village had the kindest people and I cherish good memories of our visits there.
	Our last arrival was in a little town near Granada that actually was filled with villa's. I remember being told that when you look on google maps, you can see that there are only two villa's in this town without their own pool. The most weird thing I remember was this abandoned big wheel on top of the mountain, where you had the most stunning view.

Our last mission was moving houses

Our last host was leaving this big villa to move to another town near Granada, and we agreed helping him move. So we could stay in his new house too, and we had the tasks to walk the dogs, feed the cats and cook some days. This town was a bit more vibrant, and we liked it there. But maybe the best news before this big move was, that I was hired at the same company as where our host was working. So this meant, we could now look for our own apartment to settle down!!! I am still very happy that he recommended me for the job, even though I had an accident after only weeks and got into sick law with a serious back injury. His help has actually made sure that we did not have to go back to Holland, this help was just a small gesture for him maybe, but for us this made everything possible. It was touching to see that a person that you did not know a few months before, is willing to help so that you can start a new life. He never had to do any of this, but still he did!

This recap only contains our first four months in a new country

So we've actually seen quite a bit in those first months. And we also did have some funny, scary and amazing experiences during those months. Like running a hostel for eight days without the owner being around, and without speaking Spanish. This was somewhere deep in the mountains with mostly Spanish people arriving. A big challenge but it was amazing! We actually did it, and we did well... But also we have seen a huge fire around us, coming close in those eight days that was pretty scary. It kept spreading and we thought we almost should evacuate. And there's also the part of learning more about Spanish culture, eating tapas, and making friends for life. Although these were Dutch people, we sure miss them now we've moved to Hungary. But I'm convinced we'll meet again, and this was only a temporary goodbye.

Although I feel at home in Budapest I miss Spain sometimes

After a while in our own apartment in Spain I learned more and more of the Spanish language, and I started to appreciate it a lot. This is the main thing I miss here in Budapest, because I really don't like Hungarian at all. Whenever I hear people speak Spanish on the streets or when listening to a Spanish song, I think back of the great memories we have from Spain. Sometimes I feel a bit homesick even, which is weird because where we live now is much more vibrant and I feel much more at home in our apartment here than I did in our apartment in Spain. But Spain has got a special place in my heart, and I will never forget that Spain has been very good to us after we left Holland. When I think back of the 14 months in Spain, I think back with a smile and feeling of happiness. I would not have wanted to miss that time, and I would not change a thing, because it was one big adventure, and for us the start of a new life. A life where we found back ourselves and started to feel confident again about our skills to get back on track.

España, nunca olvidaré que has sido bueno con nosotros. Tienes un lugar especial en mi corazón. Un día nos encontraremos de nuevo. Gracias por mostrarnos lo bueno en las personas. Porque hemos perdido la fe en la humanidad cuando llegamos. Te apreciaré y mantendré los recuerdos vivos.

Spain, I will never forget that you've been good to us. You have a special place in my heart. One day we will meet again. Thank you for showing us the good in people. Because we have lost faith in humanity when we arrived. I will cherish you, and keep the memories alive.

Still have some free time? And want to help hosts so you can enjoy the summer in Spain?

I would recommend anyone that is on sabbatical or wants to enjoy a few months in Spain, to find a workaway host there. We did not find a host at the coast, but there are plenty. Of course we also had to adapt because we had a baby with us, but if you are alone or just a couple, there are so much opportunities for you to enjoy weeks or even months in Spain. If you like (kite)surfing for example, you can easily find a host where you can work only a few hours each day in trait for accomodation and food. This will make sure that you will have a great experience in another country, you help out the host and you'll still have enough time to enjoy a "holiday" in your free time. Because you also work for food and accommodation, you'll save money to take short trips of a few days to cities you want to explore. It's such a great way to be able to have a long trip to Spain (or any other country you wish) but without needing that much money as you normally would need when going on a holiday for weeks/months.

And if you do, please don't hesitate to share your experiences, because I'd love to read them!