The Goat Cave — Daniel & Kimberly

While planning our adventure, we researched and found several online services great for open-minded travelers on a budget. As you know, you can Google just about anything these days and get very close to if not exactly what you’re looking for. Do you want to work on a winery while you visit France? Wwoof.net has a vineyard for you. Would you like to stay in an ocean-side villa for free while in Peru? As long as you are okay feeding the owner’s dog while they’re away on vacation, the house is all yours at trustedhousesitters.com.

Workaway.info is a similar global community of travelers and hosts worldwide who exchange manual work for accommodations and meals. When staying in one area for more than a few days, it is an alternative way to experience local culture and save money as long as you’re willing to get your hands dirty.

To get started as a traveler or “Workawayer,” you first create a profile and list the skills that you are able to provide. Our profile includes skills such as gardening, building, child care, and general maintenance. You then update your profile with the countries and dates that you are available for work. If you have a particular experience in mind, e.g. you’d like to paint a house in Paris or babysit in Bangladesh, you can search host’s profiles and reach out to them directly. Otherwise, proactive hosts will search for skills that they need and reach out to you.

Upon creating our profile, we started to receive emails from hosts and one email in particular caught our eye and was enough to get us to reroute our plans:

“We need help with our cave renovation project in the Granada province of Spain. We have a bathroom to complete and lots of tiling and plastering to do. We can offer you cool and very comfortable camping in our cave and delicious basic meals made from local fresh produce from the market. Spain is extremely hot in the summer, so the cave is the place to be! You will have plenty of free time to explore the area -fantastic for people who enjoy the great outdoors and the real Spain!”

For decades, our Workaway “cave” was used for storing goats, horses, and farm equipment. The farmer who owned the land took a hillside and dug rooms (caves) deep into the earth and used the natural insulation of the hill to protect his animals from the Spanish heat. Now owned by our hosts Elé and André from London, the caves have been converted into a three bedroom, one bathroom home that the couple renovates and relaxes in while on holiday each year.

Elé shoveling decades of manure out of the current Master Bedroom — Elé shoveling decades of manure out of the current Master Bedroom

Our “job” at the cave was to get as much of Elé’s to-do list done as possible before her husband, André, joined the following week to continue renovations while on their summer holiday. As an added bonus, Elé’s Mom, Elsabié, joined us for the week to provide company and ensure spirits ran high. (Originally from South Africa, Elé and Elsabié also provided us with great stories, recommendations, and contacts to use in our upcoming trip to Cape Town—more on those in a future story.)

Kimberly and I were tasked with an assortment of renovation projects: a prior Workawayer had cemented pebbles and tiles onto the bathroom sink façade so we were tasked with grouting; wiring and light bulbs throughout the cave hung bare from the recent electricity install so Elé had some sconces that she asked to be hung; and to satisfy her love for Spanish cooking programs, Elé purchased a TV and antenna that we wall-mounted and installed. Kimberly also had fun installing drapes, curtains, and a toilet paper holder by taking a chisel and hammer to the concrete and cave walls in order to make sizable holes for the wooden dowels that held the fabric.

Our biggest task however was next door to the main cave where two existing caves were combined to form a small annex. The ultimate plan for the annex will be to house their “cave caretaker” while they rent out the main cave to tourists and travelers in the near future.

The annex was put together with cinderblocks, bricks, and an overkill of concrete. There were no architects, civil engineers, or interior designers present during its construction. If you were given concrete and cinderblock as a kid instead of bed sheets and couches in order to build your fort, this annex might have been your result. Two workers built the annex from scratch solely based on Elé and Andre’s translated direction and what made sense at the time.

With the shell of the annex constructed, the layout of the first level floor plan and the stairs to the basement were less than ideal. Elé asked for our input and brainstorming on how to correct the issue. After much discussion, we agreed on a new approach and Elé let us loose to demolish part of the original construction. Once demolition was complete, we took a step back and learned a valuable lesson of the cave...one that Elé has made into a slogan for the nine years of their ownership--“everything is probably, definitely done twice.”

Our demolition revealed that we still didn’t have enough clearance for a future walkway from the front door to the seating area and instead of dropping the stairs further via demolition, it would be better to raise everything to a level higher than it was originally. Fortunately for us, this was no problem as there were no general contractors to approve the change or building inspectors to please. Kimberly and I simply built a new wall with cinderblocks, filled in the void with rubbish from the prior demolition, and capped it off with a few fresh batches of concrete. After the dust had settled, the annex had a functional floor plan and a je ne sais quoi for even the most charming of caves.

The demolition, construction, and odd jobs here and there went on each day until early afternoon when the heat became too intense. For the most part, we followed a traditional Spanish day of working early and retiring when it got too hot. Elé prepared large, filling lunches for us each day and during the afternoon we visited local quarries and pools to cool off and relax. Post-swimming trips were usually followed by a proper siesta or smaller projects indoors.

Evenings were also spent in true Spanish fashion by visiting the local tapas bars. Southern Spain does things a bit differently than northern Spain where it is customary to receive a free tapas with every alcoholic drink ordered. Some bars only offer chips or fresh olives but others offer tortillas, sausages, and vegetable kebobs. Pick the right place and you can walk away saucy and satisfied for less than 4 Euro.

Overall, our first Workaway was an great success and enjoyable experience. We were treated like family, and in addition to helping others, we were able to save a considerable amount of money while we explored a part of Spain that we might have otherwise overlooked. Our Workaway week was very much like a trip to grandmas or going back home for summer. You’re fed well and taken great care of while you stay…but there is a to-do list to complete to earn your keep!

With our wonderful hosts Elsabié (left) and Elé (right). Part of the annex is pictured left and the main cave is pictured right.

Thank you again Elé and Elsabié!