Welcome to my Garden

When travelling we’ve experienced so much kindness and one way in which people have helped us out is through Welcome To My Garden (Thanks to Kirsty and Marcus for the nod)

An app, started in Belgium, allows hosts to offer their gardens to ‘Slow travellers’ - those who travel by bike or foot for a free night’s stay. When trying to explore new places and connect with local communities, it’s a great way to learn more from the people who live in the location at which you’ve arrived. It is also helpful when you’re trying to keep to a budget and we’re extremely grateful to those who have given us a safe space to camp on this trip so far.

We’ve had three great stays so far using this app, each with their own memories and stories.

Our first stay was with Vincent and Nacho in Portries at Vincent’s farm. We spent a wonderful evening sharing stories of travel and adventures and learning more about each other’s families and backgrounds over restaurant leftovers. In the morning, over a herbal tea we discovered more about Vincent’s farm and his life here. They also gave us some very helpful tips before we left including the warning of a very steep hill on the way (it was the steepest hill we’d ridden in a long time!). Sleeping on one of the terraces beside an olive tree that we had seen throughout Spain was a real treat.

Our second Welcome to My Garden stay was on a campsite Montes de Perín just within the Sierra Muela, Roldan and Cabo Tiñoso Natural Park. Petra and Roel welcomed us with open arms and offered us a covered pitch for our tent and bicycles. As adventurers themselves it was wonderful to hear how this Dutch partnership had settled in Spain at a very beautiful location. Their passion for nature, exploration and inspired vision for their campsite was infectious.

If you’re travelling in the area on foot or by bike, we highly recommend this stop for both the landscape and the host’s generosity. In addition, we woke up to the sound of an Eagle Owl calling, so that was a massive bonus!

Our final Welcome to My Garden host was in a small town on the Mediterranean coast. The host wasn’t present during our stay but camping in their garden gave us an excellent base to relax and explore more of the local area whist enjoying the sunshine and a peaceful setting between the sea and the mountains.

We’re extremely grateful to all our hosts for their kindness in both providing a safe place to stay but also enabling us to learn more about communities and people on our travels.

There are very few Welcome to My Garden hosts listed in Morocco but we have already been invited to a homestays and look forward to meeting more hosts in the future.