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Newsletter December 2020
About Us
It’s been a while since we last sent a newsletter, so now the time has come! The summer has passed, and we had our first rain showers already. It’s a nice mix between enjoyable sunny days and a little splash now and then.
You can see that the land is really enjoying it and slowly everything is turning green again.
And for us, we’re having some new volunteers once again, so let’s introduce them to you:
First of all, we’ve got Terri. She’s English and got great green fingers. During the summer she’s been very busy taking care of the vegetable garden. That has given us a lot of delicious lettuce, tomatoes, green beans, and much more.
After Terri, Willow arrived from Wales. She has a big heart for animals. Quite often you’ll find Willow with our beloved dog, Sita, going for a stroll.
And last but not least, Om Shanti. He’s quite handy and he’s helping us by improving things. He loves to get his teeth into new projects in his free time. And he loves helping people out as well, whenever he can.
Group Space At Monte Maravilhas
As we‘ve mentioned in our previous newsletter, something is going on at Maravilhas.
A couple of weeks ago Tomtom and his team started the construction of a new group space!
It’s amazing to see their skills in action after months of talking and preparing. We are really glad it’s finally finished and we are pleased to announce that we can offer even more group activities in the future.
The Yurt not only accommodates about 15 people for yoga, workshops, dancing, and more, it also has a small kitchen installed. This means that you don‘t have to interrupt your activities at all when you want to make yourself a cup of tea.
After building the yurt, Shanti and a friend of his have been building the veranda. They’ve demonstrated their craftsmanship and they’ve done an amazing job!
The group space will be available for everyone who’s staying here at Maravilhas. Next to the meditation platform, you’ll now have the opportunity to also do your meditation, yoga, dancing, inside the yurt. This means that you even can do your thing in the middle of the winter.
If you are interested in organizing your group activity at Maravilhas, click here for more information on how to do this. We’ll be happy to welcome you to our lovely property that’s known for its peace.
Coming Soon: Refreshed Website!
We take our guest‘s feedback into account when we think about how we can make Maravilhas even better. A couple of you already mentioned that the website wasn‘t so great when you were using a mobile phone.
And we all know that these days you have to make sure your mobile audience is taken care of as well. Therefore, the plans were already put into motion in January.
And now, at this very moment, the developers of “Vander Let“ are optimizing our website to have better mobile compatibility. This also meant that we had to redo the entire website.
Make sure that you keep an eye on our Facebook page, to make sure you won‘t miss the reveal!
Spending Christmas at Monte Maravilhas
If you aren’t dreaming of a white Christmas, then you might consider staying at Maravilhas for the Holidays.
Even though it isn’t that cold or snowy, there still will be some winter wonderland available for you. We’ll be decorating your house into our own version of Christmas. And maybe Santa will even bring you a little something on Christmas day!
Christmas is highly celebrated in Portugal, so you will see ornaments and lighting around the place. However, if it’s not your cup of tea, then you might go for a hike on one of the trails. You won’t see a single soul caroling.
The temperatures during the winter in the Alentejo are really enjoyable during the day. So, you don’t have to dress in your warmest winter clothing.
And the evenings are cozy when you are inside with the fire lit. Enjoy that natural warmth you get from the burning wood.
New: Food-HUB
There‘s another novelty in the village. We‘ve now got a food-hub! This is a place where local farmers and producers can sell their products.
Not are these products only local, they‘re also organic!
Here’s how it works:
The organizers send out a message through WhatsApp with all the fresh produce they have available for that week. You reply to them which veggies and fruits you’d like and a couple of days later they put it ready for you to be picked up.
The pick-up happens at Casa Nirvana, the restaurant in the village. This makes it easy to go for a quick coffee or tea before you head into the greens for that week.
And not only are there vegetables or fruits, but you’ll also find here some home-made gluten-free bread, or vegan mayonnaise, yogurt made from goat’s milk, and more. It’s a true feast for your belly to shop there.
You just have to make sure that you order in advance, as everything is carefully being packed for you.
Of course, if you’d like to enjoy these amazing products, make sure that you ask the staff at Maravilhas. This way you can be added to the group while you are staying with us.
Discover the Alentejo: Porto Covo
When visiting Monte Maravilhas it can be nice to explore the area. Of course, if you are enjoying our property, feel free to stay and relax.
If you have a craving to go sight-seeing, you might want to go to Porto Covo. This little beach town is located about an hour away from Monte Maravilhas by car. And it’s worth it.
The town itself is quite authentic. Little Portuguese houses and the main street where you’ll be able to do some shopping or have lunch or dinner.
After you’ve done the main street, you’ll find yourself a little beach and a fishing harbor. If you are looking for some beach time it might not be the ideal place, but don’t worry, a bit north of the village you’ll find many beaches.
The town itself can be quite touristic in the summer. Therefore, we always recommend visiting this village before July or after August.
And then, for the beaches.
As we’ve mentioned, when you leave the village to the north, you’ll find some amazing beaches.
Almost all of these beaches have a restaurant or a bar, so you don’t have to be worried about taking a lot of drinks or food along with you. You won’t starve or get dehydrated. That is of course if you decide to hydrate yourself in time!
The downside of these little restaurants and bars is that almost all of them are closed during the winter. From November until March they’ll be closed and then it’s better to take a drive up to Sines or Porto Covo if you’d like to grab a bite.
Sports Activities in the Area
Monte Maravilhas is ideally located for hiking. There are nine route descriptions available, of which seven start from Maravilhas, one is alongside the west coast and one near the Santa Clara lake. We have two bicycles available so you can cycle to the nearby towns. Ourique (20 km) has a horse riding center if you wish to go horse riding. They have guided trips of the area.
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