Off the beaten track...

When you venture abroad, do you consider yourself to be a tourist or a traveller?

The tourist that visits the big cities’ main attractions for those carbon copy postcard photos, or the traveller that breaks away from the crowd to explore the hidden depths lurking beneath the tourist’s radar? For the past three months I became that traveller, or rather, I became a fully fledged ‘Workawayer’. Let me explain..

Workaway is one of many non-formal organisations that have developed worldwide networks of projects and volunteers, effectively becoming interfaces for both parties to contact one another with a view to working on mutually beneficial terms. The volunteer is able to seek out suitable projects, where he or she then lends a helping hand in return for food and accommodation. However, the exchange goes much deeper than this, effectively transcending into an exchange of culture, knowledge, ideas, skills, and languages that both volunteers and hosts gain extensively from. Sound good?

Having recently graduated from university, I was searching for a cost-effective way to travel through Europe that allowed me to settle in foreign environments for weeks at a time whilst learning new skills. The Workaway experience was therefore perfect in meeting these criteria. I spent a month apiece in Bulgaria, Portugal and Spain between January and March of this year, working on a variety of projects that included various workloads and a diverse range of people as company. I had also tactfully arranged my placements with due consideration to their seasons and climates; wanting to experience a snowy Bulgarian January, a wet and windy Portuguese February, and the beginnings of a sunny Spanish Spring in March. Living and working in such diverse conditions from day to day was a big learning curve for me with regard to my own adaption, and was especially satisfying reflecting upon the -23°C Bulgarian temperatures from my deckchair in Southern Spain!

I originally set off on this venture in order to broaden my horizons and to get back in touch with what – I believe – the current, conditioned way of Western living has suppressed since my childhood. The goal was to get truly re-integrated back into nature, and to re-engage with the sophistication of the simple things in life. So the experience definitely assisted me in realising this objective with regard to working outside every single day, learning about the intricacies of nature, and working within the varied and beautiful surroundings of waterfalls, woodlands & mountains. The work also varied daily, ranging from animal care and rabbit hut-building to path-building and gardening depending on the seasons and what projects the hosts are working upon. Furthermore, I found myself relying on various sources of sustainable energy over the three months; dining upon the smallholding’s home-grown produce in Bulgaria, relying upon solar energy for heating and showers in Portugal, and drinking pure tap-water fresh from the Alpujarras mountain springs in Spain. How much more earthy can it get?

With regard to the travelling itself, I managed to fit in the grand cities of Veliko Tarnovo, Porto, Granada and Barcelona in between placements, whilst also visiting countless small towns and villages on my well-earned days off. Exploring these hidden pockets proved immensely refreshing in enabling me to embrace their local cultures away from the flashing of cameras, where I could engage in the events and traditions that just don’t get a mention in the travel guides.

So why not try it yourself, venture away from the beaten track with this alternative form of travelling that is easy on the bank balance yet provides you with much more than you bargained for...

Sun, Sangria & the Sierra Nevada

Hola! I now find myself being the latest in a long line of willing workers that have made their way to La Casa del Viento amongst the Las Alpujarras mountain range in deep Southern Spain. I'm currently 'volunteer travelling' my way through Europe, this being the ultimate placement of my initial three months before taking a well-deserved vacation.

Before setting off on my travels, I intentionally pinpointed Spain for March so that I could experience the Andalusian springtime and hopefully catch up with some sun after a snowy Bulgarian January and a rainy Portuguese February! And yes, Lanjarón has gladly delivered on that front.. Even though it does still appear to have a nasty hangover whilst the area recovers from a whitewashed, landslide-laden winter that has left its scars on the mountainside. But, the weather does seem to have turned the corner with some breezy, sunny days followed by cool, starry nights. I've even managed to go about my work casually dressed in just wellies & shorts!

Which leads on nicely to the volunteering I'm doing here.. I must admit I wasn't quite sure what kind of work I'd be doing at a holiday house accommodation, but I've been pleasantly surprised with what has been required of me. I started off with some general maintenance work; where I was rendering the rustic casita walls, fixing things here and there, wood chopping, path building, and moving things around as clients came and went.. But once the sun showed its face, I was then entrusted with undertaking some serious gardening work in order to get my Green Gym fix.. Firstly, I got myself re-acquainted with a strimmer in order to prep the garden for the spring before I then went about working on 'Jardin de Dan'. Yup, my very own vegetable patch which I prepared and fertilized before planting the seeds that will – hopefully - produce some excellent carrots, lettuce and beetroot for future volunteers & clients alike. I then moved straight on to revamp Silvia's composting heap into another vegetable patch that has been named, in Welsh-Italian spirit, Gardd Grandiosa.. I have also been lucky enough to get some barman & hospitality experience whilst I've been here, where I was on drinks-serving duty during the evening meals with the clients. But having always been on the drinking side of the bar up until this month, Ann quickly pointed out that I was a little too generous with my wine servings! However, I never did get any complaints from the clients, and isn't the customer always right...

So for all this work, what am I getting in return? My preferred method of payment.. Food. I believe the key to a volunteer's efforts is found in his stomach, and wood-chopping & digging never so seemed so breezy in anticipation of what awaits at mealtimes here. Ann definitely gets the best out of me with her own excellent stamp upon Spain's national delicacies, whilst also mixing in some prime Sunday roasts as a reminder of home. And having voluntarily adopted a raw vegetarian diet during my previous placement, I am almost overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of the food served up here in its insatiable ability to satisfy my extensive appetite. The sangria and tinto de verano played their part too in helping me wind down after a long day in the sun! There is also the entertainment of the animals here at La Casa del Viento; where two dogs and five cats make up a motley crew that never fail to appease the guests with their playful brawling and mischief around the living room. Such antics are a staple of mealtimes here, providing a homely environment that can't be found at sterile high-rise touristic hotels with their Mickey Mouse Michelin stars.

And although Lanjarón is beginning to open up to such hotels with its increasing tourism, I was very relieved to see that this hasn't impacted upon the town's general atmosphere and ambience. It is still very much a typical little Andalusian town with its compact community, independent family-run shops, and friendly locals happy to chat over an evening's tapas. The area is also blessed with its famous drinking water distributed amongst little fuentes around the town, which is surrounded by some breathtaking scenery that allow for very nice vistas as you walk along the Sierra Nevada's many trails. Developing my Spanish was a prime objective in coming here too, and little did I know that I was setting myself quite a challenge in acquainting myself with the Andalusian accent. Their preference against pronouncing syllables at the end of certain words definitely helped in refining my now excellent pronunciation of 'no entiendo'! But I have gained a lot from my little chats with the campesinos, and also from the weekly intercambio sessions that I race down the mountainside for after work each Friday. Yet getting back up the mountain to Casa del Viento's pretty little perch is another challenge, with my own personal best being 24 minutes from the Municipial Market's door to Ann's door. Beat that future wwoofers..

And with setting this challenge, I now near the end of my stay here at Lanjarón.. I shall be shortly moving on to take a month's break from volunteering after my three months' efforts,. where I shall be indulging in a sabbatical siesta of snowboarding, festival-going, Amsterdam, and a little piece of home for the Easter period.. Deserved? Yeahhh..

Paz y amor,
Dan.

More than I signed up for...

The Awakened Life Project. A permaculture & meditation project based upon the fundamentals of community values. Hmm, it sounded interesting. And it was..

I spent just about a month at Quinta de Mizarela, and being a part of the project's daily running definitely exceeded my expectations in terms of what I would experience within its little pocket of Central Portugal. The diet, the meditation, the environment, the people, animals, my own development, solar panels & compost loos; where to start…

I set off on this Workaway crusade of mine in order to expand my horizons and to get back in touch with what – I believe – the current, conditioned way of Western living has suppressed since my childhood. The goal was to get truly re-integrated back into nature, and to re-engage with the sophistication of the simple things in life. So this placement definitely assisted me in realising this objective with regard to the challenges & benefits of living off-the-grid, living in a yurt, learning the intricacies of the eco-cycles at work within the quinta, and working within the beautiful surroundings of waterfalls, woods & land terracing in the middle of Serra do Açor..

And then there are the dietary adjustments I dived into! Just to set a premise; I have always been a meat-eater, and this is a raw-vegetarian joint. Yikes! Also, having been fed a standard issue, modern, omnivorous diet whilst at my previous hosts in Bulgaria for the previous month, I wasn´t able to prepare myself for this test in any way. So I really was going from one extreme to the other, with no bridge to fill the void. But – to my surprise – I did enjoy the new diet being served up, and as long as there was a cooked side-dish on offer every once in a while, my extensive appetite was happily fed! Although, on two or three occasions, my detoxing stomach wasn´t quite as amused in adjusting itself to such changes! But what I really appreciated was that I was able to see what was being served at meal-times whilst working in the garden, I was eating fresh produce rather than barcoded products, and I was participating in the whole cyclic process of the earth-to-mouth food chain. I also learnt so much about different foods from the guys at Quinta de Mizarela, so I´m definitely walking away a more knowledgeable and will be a more ethically responsible eater.

Then, of course; if I was eating, I was working. That´s the deal, right? Whether I was digging ponds (the amphi-bian-theatre is worth a visit by itself), composting fruit trees, erecting polytunnels, laying down new vegetable beds, collecting donkey poo, chopping wood, clearing land, or feeding the donkeys, I loved it. The work I was entrusted with ranged from the physical & methodical to the creative & technical, so I was always kept on my toes with what I was doing without getting bored. Plus, the physical side of it definitely saves you some Euros on gym costs; digging ponds & barrowing earth-tonnes in the Green Gym strips fat & gets you ripped! I also learned so much about the dynamics of a garden e.g. how the trees and grassland feed the donkeys, the donkeys then proceed to “feed” the vegetable patches, which ultimately feed us. And although you learn this kind of stuff in Biology whilst at school, being out amongst it all beats theory hands down!

Away from the work, a key factor which attracted me to this placement was the fact that Pete and Cynthia engage in a lot of meditation & spirituality; which have I always been intrigued by, yet unable to explore at home without any real guidance. So I gave it a go. And in all honesty, I found meditation tough to begin with. I don´t think I have ever sat still for 45 minutes, let alone be at rest with my mind for that long, so it was a whole new experience for me. However, after a month of meditating every two or three days, I now feel very comfortable in meditating and have had some fascinating experiences/insights in the process.

What set me at ease was the way it was all explained to me – such as the principle of just being – in enabling me to grasp a better perspective to view the practice from. A lecturer once described how the thinking brain can be seen to resemble a set of structured blocks; so when you are really learning, these blocks are moving around to assume new positions, thus causing confusion that ultimately leads to more clarity in the shape of better arranged levels of understanding. So I think it´s safe to say that the little game of Tetris going on upstairs had a thorough re-shuffle having lived in such a dynamic environment!

Ultimately, I think I gained so much from living and interacting with Pete, Cynthia, Billy, Mim, and the natural environment. They all provided me with a strong support network that has helped me explore a range of issues I have always been interested in discussing and practicing. For example, they have all been a great help in holistically assisting my self-issued “slowing down” process, which has begun to eradicate the frantic thought and speech patterns that have troubled me for years. And in contrast, being entrusted with the carrying out of some unsupervised, technical work in the garden instilled a great deal of confidence within me that only mutually trusting relationships can generate. My own perspective on life has also shifted, veering away from a solely results-based outlook to one of appreciating and focusing more on the present “means” rather than just the “end”.

So even though I prospectively signed up for a sunny (slight mis-forecast on my part there!) month of gardening and living in a yurt in Portugal, it turned out to be a hugely rewarding experience of living off-the-grid in the company of some pretty cool, like-minded, liberal people…

Paz e Amor,
Dan