Workaway: Mijas, Spain
A LOOK INTO OUR FIRST WEEK
After a southern France road trip, an Italian holiday, and a Mediterranean cruise, we have arrived at our Workaway in Mijas, Spain. We have already accomplished quite a lot here in just our first week!
GETTING THERE
From Madrid, we took a train to a train to yet another train to Fuengirola. We then took a short bus ride and arrived at the closet bus stop. Farshid, our amazing host, met us there and walked us to his house. We are very thankful that he did! The signs around here are very small and easy to miss. Everyone names their houses and puts plaques on them. His house name? Finca la Paz.
ACCOMMODATION
Our accommodation is a rustic 300-year-old house alongside a mountain in Mijas, with lots of land. We have our own bedroom and share the remainder of the space with our host. A big adjustment for us is the lack of AC. Thankfully, we have a fan in our room! Farshid kept lots of decor from the previous owner, promising her he would not get rid of anything. He has some unique vintage toys in the attic and even a door knocker from 1662.
We have 2 cats that don’t live here, but act like they do. One is a ‘fancy’ cat and we named her Chanel, after one of our good friend’s fancy dog (also named Chanel). Farshid agreed with the name, but we have yet to find a name for the second cat. There is also a wild boar that tears up his veggie garden and freshly planted trees, but luckily he has not been around in a few days. Maybe the trees will thrive now!
Looking out from the patio is gorgeous! We have cacti, hills, flowers, and the Mediterranean Sea in the distance. A 10-minute walk takes us to the bus station, which gets us to the beach in just about 15 minutes. We’ve already been twice!
OUR HOST
Farshid is one of the happiest men we’ve ever met. He loves life! He thinks most things are “wonderful” and has a genuine kind soul. He is originally from Iran, lived in Sweden for most of his life, and then moved to Spain less than a year ago. Like many people in this area, he moved to southern Spain to escape the hustle bustle and to find peace in nature. One of his friends convinced him to join Workaway and even created his profile for him! Since then, Farshid has hosted many travelers and seems quite happy to have the company around.
WORK
We were not given specific tasks, so we have been doing projects that we think would help the property. Greg has built a staircase leading down to the veggie garden. I rake leaves every morning and then tackle cleaning projects. I love a good before and after photo! Daily, we assist with meals, dishes, and laundry. Farshid would like a treehouse built, but we do not have the correct tools for such a big construction project. Great idea though!
FOOD
Farshid provides all of the food, which is amazing! Every morning, he brings out Muesli ingredients for breakfast. This is a popular European breakfast consisting of oats, seeds, dried fruits and nuts with milk or yogurt. We prepare lunch and dinner together, always eating outside. Different from the US, lunch is the main meal. We’ve eaten grilled hamburgers, bread/cheese, fish, veggies, turkey… lots of different types of food. He loves our tacos! We’ve already made them twice. If only we could find fresh jalapenos and cilantro to give him an even better taco. Next on the list for him to try… Skyline Chili!
FIESTA
Farshid is teaching us how to be more spontaneous. With just a moment’s notice, he suggested going into town and the beach. We quickly got ready and made the bus with just 2 minutes to spare. The next day, we were invited to a barbeque. We were a bit hesitant, knowing that it could last to 2am, but we agreed and are glad that we did. Who knew we would be eating grilled chorizo, dancing in a garden, and meeting people from all over the world on a Tuesday night in Spain?! Luckily, we were not there until 2am :)
Our second trip to the beach was a full day adventure. Greg and I rented chairs and an umbrella for a total of just 12 Euro! This included a cabana attendant to take food and drink orders. He was originally from Portugal, lived in the UK for 30 years as a bodyguard, and is now living in Spain, working on the beach. What a life story! He would radio the orders to the restaurant via a walkie talkie, a runner from the restaurant would drop the food/drinks off on a table, and he would deliver them. We had a pitcher of sangria and a barbeque pizza. After the beach, we found the Irish pub and watched the Irish Football Semi-Finals: Galway vs Derry.
On Sunday, Farshid hosted a barbecue with a large group of friends from church. We had watermelon, hummus, salads, grilled zucchini, and a large assortment of grilled meats. Lots of wine and tinto de verano were also enjoyed! Before this party was even over, plans for the next one were already made- for the following Sunday!
Want to know about our first Workaway experience in France? Read about it here!