Famous Cactus Coliving from Tenerife received a younger sibling in its smaller neighbor La Gomera.

When Maria, Cactus Coliving’s owner invited us to check out the new space, we were very excited to see 2 things we already knew well from completely different perspectives – 

1. La Gomera (the island we visited 2 years ago collaborating with a pop-up coliving organized by Awid Aman)
2. Cactus Coliving – one of the first colivings we visited when we started our coliving journey, back in 2022.

After more than 2 weeks in Cactus La Gomera – we are leaving full of impressions and definitely with another perspective.

Discover how it went!

Cactus’s new Location: San Sebastián de La Gomera

First of all, we want to say that we completely understand why Maria decided to open her second location here. 

With its charming city and port, and amazing volcanic beaches just a 5-minute walk from the house, it’s an ideal spot. It’s also convenient to reach, as it’s less than a 1-hour ferry ride from Tenerife South.

While La Gomera offers a nice opportunity for everyone to relax and slow down, which is a common motivation for people choosing this island, we were pleasantly surprised by San Sebastian.

Despite its small size, it’s surprisingly full of life!

Of course, the community we met through Cactus also made that life a bit brighter. 

But first, let’s tell you more about the coliving. 

The Cactus House

History

The new Cactus house is a former hostel created in a building of a former school. The photos cannot really capture its charm and how fun and whimsical all the corners of the house are. 

While it’s a bit sad that its charm cannot be fully seen through videos or photographs, it also gives you a special gift when you arrive, as this space becomes a treasure only those who share it truly see it. 

There are traces of the house’s “past lives” all over the place – the practicality and organization of a hostel, and a shelter-like ambiance of a school. 

We believe all places and buildings carry their history forever, and we’d like to think that the energy that has been created throughout the years of this building’s existence is still around, helping the coliving blossom in its purpose. 

A school left behind the energy of knowledge, deep connections, community, and learning about the world, and the hostel left its own energy full of adventure, exploration, and courage that follows the travelers. If you think about it – mixed together, those two energies are exactly what makes a coliving. 🙂

And maybe this is one of the reasons why this house makes so much sense. 

Space

As we said, it’s hard to imagine this interesting building, and we’ll leave that magic to your imagination – at least until you arrive and see for yourself, but what we can share is the functionality aspect of the space.

The one-story house is quite spacious and actually one of the largest coliving spaces we’ve been to. With 14 rooms in total, including both private and shared ones, it can accommodate more than 25 people at its full capacity.

Because of its corners, hallways, and different rooms, the coliving space offers a good balance of private and common areas with most of the common areas being located on the ground floor, including the coworking space, kitchen, living room, and the garden, so the top floor is relatively isolated from daily activities.

Top floor and private areas

This is not the first coliving we’ve been to that has this setup of a top floor being secluded from the common areas, but it has only confirmed once again that it is definitely one of the setups we like the most.

In a place such as a coliving, designed for mid to long stays, having an isolated “bedroom” area is extremely valuable when living with a group as you can pick your level of social engagement by choosing one location over another. 

In Cactus La Gomera, the upper floor does not only offer privacy and seclusion from the common areas, but the old school’s long and narrow hallways that take up the most space on the top floor don’t really encourage long chit-chats in it, which further creates the balance of privacy and social life and amplifies the purpose of common areas on the ground floor.

Furthermore, the long hallway is blessed with windows all along the yard side, which allows an easy way to peek out and check if there are people outside and join if you feel like it. 

Additionally, the house is equipped with numerous bathrooms, making it practically impossible to experience overcrowding. Most of them are located all the way down the hallway on the top floor, leaving a lot of privacy for people to use them. 

On the top floor, you will also find the washer and the drying balcony, as well as one tiny coworking section and the Skype room. But let’s talk about the working areas in the next part. 

Working in Cactus

Needless to say, coworking and working areas are a crucial part of any coliving space. This is especially true for coliving spaces that are located in rural areas or cities that are not very digital nomad-friendly. 

When the town or a city has a bunch of cafes to work from or even some external coworking spaces, the colivings can leverage those spaces and create a relationship between them and their colivers, giving colivers places to work from undisturbed outside the house.

But, if the location does not really have suitable working spaces around, then a coliving needs to provide this space. 

Luckily, this is not Maria’s first coliving space, and she certainly spent a lot of thought and care on the coworking areas both in her Tenerife place and in this one in La Gomera.

Cactus Tenerife definitely has 2 of the best coworking spaces integrated in a coliving that we have seen (yes, they have 2 very spacious coworking spaces inside the house), but Cactus La Gomera is also not far behind. 

The working and coworking spots

Although smaller than the Tenerife one, the main coworking space in Cactus La Gomera easily accommodates 10-12 people and also offers the use of external monitors for an additional fee (2€/day).

The space is also conveniently located on the ground floor in a garden room, so it allows an easy switch from working inside to working outside and vice-versa.

There is also an additional coworking desk on the top floor for those who are looking for more privacy, and if that is not private enough for you, you can always work from your bedroom since each room is equipped with an ensuite desk, or book a Skype room for your calls and meetings. 

Besides the main coworking area, of course, you will find many work-friendly spots around the house. And of course, with the Canarian weather, the yard is reasonably one of the favorite spots for everything – working as well. 

There are 3 different tables (smaller or bigger, in the shade, or the sun), a hammock, and 8 lazy bags that people can choose to work from (which they typically do). 

The beloved garden (yard)

The yard is definitely the heart of Cactus La Gomera. It is shaded by two large mango trees, providing perfect cover during hot hours.

With many different corners, it’s where most people spend their days, whether working in one of the spots or simply enjoying the sun, relaxing in the hammock, or reading a book in the bean bag.

This is also the place where Cactus hosts family dinners.

When the time came, every Wednesday, we would put the tables together at the center of the garden, decorate, bring out the wine, and turn on the tiny yellow lamps to make an ambiance. Then we would sit all together to have dinner, enjoying the lovely La Gomerian nights.

Of course, some nights, it would be windy, but the garden is so much loved, that people would just put on their sweatshirts and still sit around and chit-chat. 

Like the one in Tenerife, this Cactus also has a ping-pong table that’s always shaded, providing a great mid-work activity to boost your energy a bit. 🙂 

Cactus La Gomera Team

The Cactus team in La Gomera is a special one. As Maria is on a different island, her visits cannot be as usual as in Cactus Tenerife. But that is not a problem, since, like in Cactus Tenerife, there is a great team who takes care of the house and the community. 

In this coliving, you will meet Rebeca – the community manager of Cactus La Gomera, and her team of 3 volunteers who are there to take care of the day-to-day.

But – who is Rebeca?

Let’s meet her. 🙂

Local Host: Rebeca

Rebeca is originally from Galicia, but in the eyes of locals, she has already proven herself as one of their own. After years of living in La Gomera, Rebeca definitely found a part of her soul there. She is not only living a life there but sharing her passion for the island with those who come to visit. Working as a tour guide for the island, she’s the best person to tell you all its secrets. 

We actually met Rebeca 2 years ago during our last visit to the island and yes – she was our tour guide. Her passion, dedication, and positive energy shine and infect those around her. 

So when we found out that Maria chose her to be the host of her new La Gomera experience, it absolutely made sense to us.

Even though she doesn’t live in the new Cactus house, she is there for all the important activities and is always ready to share new pieces of La Gomera’s culture and history with anyone whom she crosses paths with. 

We learned so much from her. For example, on the first day of our stay, we had the opportunity to learn how to make traditional La Gomerian soup, as well as the most popular Canarian dishes, mojo rojo and mojo verde in a workshop that she led.

We also learned a lot about the Laurel woods in La Gomera, the story of Gara and Jonay, the reason why Germans love this island so much, and the peculiar whistling language of La Gomerians. 

With all that said, with the energy she has, the passion for this island, and the knowledge she loves to share, Rebeca really seems like the perfect fit for a first coliving space in San Sebastian de La Gomera. 

Volunteers

Other than Rebeca, you will always find 2 to 3 volunteers who are living in the Cactus house, taking care of the space, and making sure your stay is good. 

During our time there, we met some amazing girls who were working as volunteers at the time. 

We met Maryam – a volunteer who has been with Cactus La Gomera from the start. She was there to witness all the changes and challenges of opening a coliving space and grew to be a very big part of it. 

We met Sara – an ambitious Italian girl with a passion for sustainability and nature conservation, with whom we shared a lot of great talks and will definitely stay in touch. 

And we met Marissa – a quirky adventurous girl full of soul who brings the party with her wherever she goes. Even though she came a bit after us and has only been in Cactus for a few weeks, she will definitely grow into the heart of the community very soon. 

Activities

As with every coliving, Cactus La Gomera is slowly building its signature activities but that will take some time. 

Of course, recurring weekly activities are always there, such as daily yoga (usually organized by Cactus volunteers), family dinners, and Monday pancakes, and there is a lot of space for organic activities hand-picked by current colivers.

During our stay, in addition to regular activities, some things we had the opportunity to experience were drone flying lessons organized by one of the colivers, Michael, the mojo workshop that we already mentioned, and a few movie nights and family dinners outside the house that were fan favorites.

Of course, we also lead our own skillshare on SEO. 🙂

We cannot wait to see in which direction Cactus La Gomera will develop and what unique activities will become its signature ones. 

The community we found in Cactus La Gomera

Lastly, during our stay, we had the opportunity to meet some amazing people. Despite April being a slower season in La Gomera, there were around 8-12 people (including volunteers) at the house.

The community comprised digital nomads, long-term travelers, La Gomera enthusiasts (mostly Germans – as expected 😀), and individuals who had already experienced the original Cactus location in Tenerife South and wanted to check out the new space.

Most people we met stayed between 2 weeks and one month, while volunteers tended to stay for up to 3 months. Many of them were working remotely, but all were passionate about exploring new places and sharing a bit of time in their lives with other like-minded individuals. 🙂

We encourage you to check out the new Cactus place yourself. There is something beautiful about visiting a young coliving space as there is always space to leave your mark behind. We bet you will fall in love with the tranquility of the island and find a bit more time to get to know yourself in the slow-paced environment.

We appreciate your support!

Thank you for reading our content and following our journey! We are working towards becoming full-time content creators and being able to share stories with you even more frequently. If you’d like to support us to be one step closer to that goal, you can do it through Ko-Fi! 👇🏽

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Learn more about coliving

• • Interviews with Coliving Operators

Discovering San Sebastian de La Gomera with Cactus Coliving’s New House

• ByMarko
• March 26, 2024

• • Coliving Movement

Why are the Canary Islands one of the most popular places for coliving?

• ByMarko
• February 8, 2023

The post Coliving Spain 2024: #11 Cactus Coliving Has Arrived to the Capital of La Gomera appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

Today, we are bringing you a new chapter of Maria’s journey as she opens a new Cactus Coliving experience on another Canary Island – La Gomera.

Join us as we jump into Maria’s decision-making process and discover why she believes San Sebastian is the perfect location for the second house of the Cactus Coliving brand.

Enjoy!

Embracing a New Chapter

“Milestones make the targets achievable.”

-Harjeet Khanduja

1. Congratulations on the opening of your new coliving space in La Gomera! Could you share the inspiration behind this new venture?

Maria: The idea for our coliving space in La Gomera came about when my parents visited the island for a day trip on August 5th, 2023. They stumbled upon a charming old house that was managed as a hostel at that moment.

It was about to be closed down by its current management, who were moving operations to another island. Knowing that many of our clients at Cactus Coliving Tenerife had shown interest in visiting La Gomera, and realizing the potential of the location, I went to check out the hostel and the surrounding area the following week.

Falling in love with the house’s Canarian style (for those of you who know me, you know that I have a great weakness for Canarian architecture 😍) and its close proximity to the beach, just 5 min walk to a nice volcanic black sand beach, we decided to take the opportunity and make it happen.

2. Two years ago, we had an amazing time at your original coliving space in Arona (Tenerife). How has your experience with the original space influenced the design and concept of the new space in La Gomera?

Maria: Well, drawing from the knowledge I gained during my studies at Les Roches and my three years of operating Cactus Coliving Tenerife, I’ve learned a lot that has directly informed the design of Cactus Coliving La Gomera.

As you know, the heart of any coliving space is the kitchen. With this in mind, I dedicated significant effort to creating a spacious and well-equipped kitchen in our La Gomera location.

It features two cooking stations, two sinks, and ample storage to ensure that our guests have a comfortable and convenient culinary experience.

Another crucial aspect is fostering a sense of community. To facilitate this, we’ve brought on board Rebeca as our community manager for La Gomera.

She’ll be the main point of contact for guests, ensuring that everyone has the best possible workation experience on our beautiful island.

Given that many of our clients prioritize remote work from Monday to Friday, we’ve also designated a specific area for work.

Here, guests will find large tables, ergonomic chairs, and the option to rent monitors, among other amenities, to support their productivity during their stay.

3. What unique features or amenities can guests expect at your new location in La Gomera?

Maria: Our new location in La Gomera offers several unique features and amenities that promise an exceptional experience for our guests.

Firstly, we’re just a 5-minute walk away from a stunning black sand beach, providing easy access to leisure and relaxation by the sea.

Additionally, our coliving space is strategically situated in the heart of San Sebastian de La Gomera, offering guests convenient proximity to a variety of amenities such as restaurants, supermarkets, a farmers market, and beautiful parks, all within walking distance.

Moreover, our location is only a 10-minute walk from the port, making travel to and from Tenerife incredibly convenient. With a quick 45-minute boat trip, guests can easily access our coliving space from Tenerife, enhancing

4. You’re known for your commitment to the local community in Arona (Tenerife), from monthly cleanups to other initiatives. How do you plan to incorporate that into the guest experience at your new coliving space in San Sebastian (La Gomera)?

Maria: We keep our commitment to the local community into the colivers experience at our new coliving space in San Sebastian de La Gomera.

We offer workshops where colivers can learn about unique aspects of local culture, such as the traditional use of whistling as a language among locals.

Additionally, we’re partnering with local organizations for clean-up initiatives, providing colivers with opportunities to contribute to the island’s preservation.

We’re also hosting workshops on making mojo, a popular Canarian sauce, to give colivers a taste of local cuisine.

These activities aim to offer a meaningful connection to the community and culture of La Gomera during their stay.

5. Now that you have two spaces (the original one in Tenerife and the new one in La Gomera), do you see guests interacting between these locations? Is it common for guests to visit both, and is there any promotion for those interested in trying both spaces?

Maria: A good number of our colivers like the chance to visit both Tenerife and La Gomera. They know they can rely on Cactus Coliving for solid internet and a good place to work at either site. So, it’s pretty common for guests to move between the two during their stay.

Plus, to encourage colivers to try out both places, we throw in an extra 5% discount for those who do.

What Future Brings for Cactus Coliving

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

-Helen Keller

6. Now, with this significant milestone achieved, what are your hopes and ambitions for the future of Cactus Coliving, both in 2024 and beyond?

Maria: We’re committed to encouraging our colivers to make a positive social impact wherever they go.

Currently, we’re working on several projects, such as our charity Animal Month initiative, where we support a horse rescue to raise funds for more animals in need.

Additionally, we’ve recently partnered with the Canary Green organization to kickstart beach clean-ups in Tenerife for 2024.

Our goal is for each of our colivers to find ways to support our islands and local communities, contributing to a brighter future for the Canary Islands.

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that! You will find more than 3500 native speakers waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Disclaimer: This article contains some affiliate links.  At no additional cost to you, we can earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase.

Coliving movement

• • The Coliving Spain Project

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• ByGala
• May 23, 2022

• • Coliving Movement

Why are the Canary Islands one of the most popular places for coliving?

• ByMarko
• February 8, 2023

The post Discovering San Sebastian de La Gomera with Cactus Coliving’s New House appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

More than two months ago, we started this project on the Canary Islands in La Gomera, only passing by through Tenerife.

Now, after visiting Galicia and Valencia, we’re back on the islands, and we have a second chance of exploring Tenerife and all its beauty, and we’re super happy about it.

Tenerife is a magical place tailored for nature lovers, rock climbers, and adventurers.

Sadly, many go without knowing that classical tourism in places like Tenerife hurts its raw beauty or that it doesn’t truly show what these places have to offer without artificial tourist attractions.

If you’re not a classical touristic type and you’re always looking for a way of connecting with the local community, learning about the culture, and experiencing what locals love to do when you travel, then you’ll love Cactus coliving in Tenerife South.

Disclaimer: This piece of content may contain some affiliate links. If you decide to make a purchase or book through one of our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Tenerife’s new tourism model

In the past few years, or since the pandemic, Tenerife has become a favored spot for digital nomads, especially from Europe.

This has to go in hand with the fact that a lot of previously popular digital-nomad places were not accessible to European nomads anymore, so traveling nationally, or at least in the Schengen area, made more sense.

So, while the European mainland went through winter, people realized that the Canary Islands might provide the same escape from the cold as popular Asian and South American destinations, only much closer and much more accessible.

That is how this destination, which was previously popular only for a few weeks of a hedonistic escape, started to receive attention from remote workers, digital nomads, and younger expats looking for a place to settle down for a few months or years.

As it is already familiar, digital-nomad-focused tourism calls for a completely different business model than that of classical tourism and this is why Tenerife started blooming in new colivings, hostels turned into coliving spaces, coworking cafes, and many more opportunities tailored for the digital nomad lifestyle.

Still, many property owners designed their places only for extended stays, but their behavior towards the island stayed the same. The opportunities they offer are the same as the ones touristic agencies provide, and not many truly incorporate the life and soul of the island.

That’s why a need for a different approach was born. An approach that will give back to the island and emphasize its beauty through kind and natural touristic activities that do not disrupt the ecosystem and the culture.

And that need is also one of the reasons Cactus coliving was born.

The neighborhood

Cactus is located in Valle San Lorenzo, a small town in the province of Arona, just 10-15 minutes by car from well-known locations like Las Americas and Los Cristianos.

Unlike many other colivings, the house is not outside the town, so even if you’re not in the mood to take the car or a bus and go to the city, you can still find everything you need around the corner.

For example, literally around the corner, a minute from the house, there is a rather big supermarket, Alteza.

Still, if you don’t find what you’re looking for there, just down the street, on a 7-minute walk, there is a hypermarket Hiper Dino with an even more sizable choice of groceries.

When it comes to dining out and entertainment, there are also a few cafes, restaurants, and bars around that you could visit to have a quick barraquito or a Saturday night cocktail.

On top of everything, because Roque de Jama is close by, you will enjoy gorgeous views while strolling through the town or, even better, chilling on the Cactus rooftop.

The house

The Cactus house has quite a story behind it.

It’s more than 200 years old, and it was one of the first and most important houses in the town that supplied the whole town with gofio and electricity.

Originally, it was a part of two more houses with a total of six immense water tanks that fed their gardens.

With the development of the town and the infrastructure, the houses split, and this one was left in the keeping of the church.

Some decades later, the church put the house for sale to the public and that is when Maria’s (the Cactus coliving founder) family bought it.

There were some periods that the family lived there and some when the house was empty, but Maria more or less grew up there.

Before opening the coliving, nobody lived in the house for a decade, but during the pandemic, Maria decided to move back into it, which, step by step, gave birth to what it is today.

The name

Probably one of the most beautiful stories about this coliving is the story about its name.

Apparently, when Maria was born, her mother planted some cactuses in the house’s backyard.

And despite periods when the family rarely visited the house, and nobody was there to care for the property or the plants, the cactuses survived all these years and not only survived but thrived.

Today, 27 years later, they are still standing tall and powerful, overlooking the house and stretching more than 6 meters in the sky.

For that sake, it only felt right to name the house after its most loyal keepers, and that is how Cactus coliving got its name.

Thinking about it, it truly feels like a perfect name because it tells the story of the house, the family, and the founder, but also about Tenerife, its history, and the raw and strong nature that makes this island exceptional.

The rooms

Cactus house has twelve rooms in total – one dorm room and the rest private single and double rooms.

The house is spacious thus the rooms are nicely scattered across it.

If you’re not deliberately counting them, you could go without knowing how many rooms are there and where all the rooms are.

The whole house can be divided into two main parts – the old one and the new one.

• The old part is close to the kitchen and opens up to the front yard. This part of the house has five rooms on the ground floor.
• The new part is the rear side of the house that connects with the main coworking area that opens up to the backyard. This area has two rooms on the ground floor, from which one is a duplex, so it also occupies the upper part and the other three rooms on the first level.

Besides these two main groups of rooms, there is also one more room on the rooftop and a dorm room on the upper level of the house.

What is intriguing and captures the spirit of the Canaries is that every room carries the name of an endemic plant species native to the Canary Islands.

Some of these plants are endangered so carrying their names, the rooms also spread awareness about them in a way.

The coworking spaces

Another valuable asset of Cactus coliving is its coworking spaces. Without a doubt, Cactus has one of the best indoor coworking spaces that I’ve seen.

They have two massive coworking areas that are at disposal to their colivers at any time, as well as one all-purpose room perfect for coworking in a smaller group setting and one private conference room.

The main coworking area

The main coworking area is a luminous, ample open space with two big desks with approximately ten seats.

This space is always full of natural light as it opens up to the backyard with a big glass door, and it has a quarter of the ceiling open so the fresh air and natural light can flow through the space.

Some of the things that make this space inspiring and relaxing are the ceiling that is approximately 10 meters high, space openness, and the best part – a tall palm tree growing right next to you.

There is a perfect indoor-outdoor balance in this space, making it the favorite spot for working among Cactus’ colivers.

Other than the chairs and desks, this area also has two cozy lounge areas where you can lay down and work or catch something on the TV. This corner can either play as a living room or simply as a more comfortable working area.

The main coworking space is the one that occupies the most seats, however, it’s designed for a more casual working environment.

That is why another coworking area exists in the house for those who need more silence and tranquility or don’t like the open-space vibe as much.

The silent room

The silent room is just a fun name for the indoor office space in Cactus. Because it’s completely indoor and stands a bit further away from the rooms than the other coworking area, it’s decided that this would be a more tranquil and silent space for work.

This room is also a proper coworking space with four long tables and a lot of chairs. Even though it is rarely fully occupied, it can fit all the colivers if they wanted to be there.

This area is a bit colder during the day as it doesn’t have as much sunlight, so it can be a good space for chilling out if the other space gets too sunny or just having a bit of a private escape.

The silent room also has a super cozy lounge area. The cozy couch can also be another half-private spot for working when you’re in that “working from the bed mood” but don’t want to stay in your room the whole day.

The conference room

A concept of a conference room is something that we have only seen in Cactus, so far. But, when you think about it, it’s a very useful amenity.

Beside the door, you will notice a small whiteboard that serves as a booking tool.

You can write your name on the board and book the space for up to 3 hours per day, so you know you have a safe, private room if you need to be on a call, work on a project, study, or whatever else.

It’s a small room perfectly tailored for one person, so it’s a great place to have a video call, an online presentation, or maybe an interview of some kind.

If this room is occupied, or if you’re just looking for a cooler place during one hot afternoon, Cactus has another conference room that you might fit better, and it will surprise you what it is!

The wine cellar

Do you remember the story about the water tanks from this and the other two houses that date back to the early days of the town?

Well, the one water tank left in the Cactus house after the house separation is still there but with a new purpose – it’s converted to a wine cellar… and some other things.

This chilly room provides a downright space for keeping local wine and having wine workshops, but it can also work as a cool and peaceful working area when the house is too crowded or the temperatures are too high.

The booking principle is the same as for the small conference room inside the house.

The only difference between the wine cellar and the conference room is that the wine cellar can fit more people, so it might be the best place in the house for in-person meetings.

Other than that, when it’s not booked (and rarely is), everyone is free to go down and chill, work, or have a conversation down there.

Other working spaces

Besides the official working spaces, Cactus has a lot of other corners that you can go to with a laptop.

For example, one of the more casual but popular places for working is the hammock in the front yard. There is a tall coffee table in front of the hammock that you can move around, but it’s the perfect height for sitting in the hammock and having the laptop on it. This nook is also in the back of the front yard behind an avocado tree, so it gives you some privacy as well.

Another place where you could either go to work or have lunch is a table with a bench behind the kitchen. People often choose the long table on the main porch for either eating or working outside, but if you’re not in the mood for being around a lot of people, this place behind the kitchen can be equivalent.

And of course, while we’re on about outdoor places, another option for early morning or evening work is on the rooftop. During the day, the rooftop gets super sunny so it might be hard to see the screen, but when the sun is already down, or not yet fully above us, there are a few spots where you can chill and work from. In fact, I’m in one of the rooftop corners as I’m writing, chilling in the hanging egg chair and overlooking Roque de Jama. 🙂

Lastly, all rooms have a desk with a chair, so if none of these spaces work for you, you can always work in your room. The wifi is reliable, strong, and fast throughout the property, so it doesn’t really matter if you choose the rooftop, the coworking, or the wine cellar.

The activities

Every week, a new set of activities is pinned on the bulletin board in the kitchen, as well as sent out in the Slack group.

The bulletin board works great as the first announcer since Slack sometimes doesn’t push notifications, but also as a reminder throughout the week.

Every time you walk into the kitchen, you’ll notice the board, and if you need to remind yourself when the activities are happening, this is a good way. But, signing up for the activities is through Slack.

Of course, Maria or the volunteers send a kind reminder to the group a day before a big activity or on the day of the smaller ones. What we loved about the activities in Cactus is the fact that they are very simple but very enriching.

Maria really provides you with a value that you probably wouldn’t be able to have without her because they are not classical tourist activities but something that keeps you in touch with the local culture and surroundings.

Being a local, Maria can show you places that only locals know.

Maybe some secret shortcuts and cool spots that tourist agencies don’t know about, but above all, Maria works hard to connect with local businesses, organizations, and the community, and that’s what makes these activities so unique and valuable.

So, even if it would be easy for Maria to quickly organize something for a group that doesn’t know anything about the Canaries, she puts a lot of effort into it.

With every activity, you can tell that she did her best to make the experience most worthwhile for the colivers but also the area.

Here are some activities that we participated in during our stay, and some that you can expect if you come:

Local-cuisine workshops

One type of activities Maria loves to organize bi-weekly or monthly so that everybody can participate at least once are these local-cuisine workshops.

Mojo (Rojo and Verde) workshop

The Canaries have quite a few typical dishes, but one of the most famous ones are tasty spreads Mojo Rojo and Mojo Verde (the typical red and green sauces).

These spreads either go with the bread as an appetizer or as a sauce with the main dish, and they’re super tasty!

Barraquito workshop

And when it comes to traditional drinks, Tenerife has a typical coffee drink called barraquito. This is a sweet coffee-based drink with citrus liquor. It’s a delicacy and the locals drink it as much as the tourists.

But, most tourists come to love both the mojo and the barraquito, so Maria decided to organize workshops and teach Cactus colivers how to make them.

It’s not only a fun activity, but it also lets travelers bring a part of the Canarian culture home. It’s a way of spreading the word about the Canaries that’s beyond the tourist attractions.

Hiking Tenerife

The area is full of amazing hiking spots and luckily, Maria is a knowledgeable hiker.

Every week, there will be at least one hiking activity in Cactus that Maria will take you to. Most hikes are beginner-friendly, and, like Jasper, Cactus’ longest coliver, says, hiking spots are different almost every time.

Hiking in Roque de Jama, Tenerife South

The only hikes that will happen from time to time are the hike to Roque de Jama and the hike on Teide.

Roque de Jama is the closest rock to the Cactus house. It’s a very local hiking spot with not many people around.

Maria loves to take the colivers there and share a bit of her knowledge on the geography of Tenerife. She likes showing what is where from looking from the top of the rock and just giving a fun lesson on the area while you’re enjoying the hike and the views.

It’s a very fun hike and super beginner-friendly, and you get bonus points if you spot the Cactus house from the top! 😀

Hiking in Teide

Subsequently, hiking on Teide is one of those must activities when coming to Tenerife.

Teide is the highest point in Spain, and that said, you can choose trails for beginners or more advanced trails. When Maria organizes the activities for the group, they will normally be light enough for everyone to join so it can suit the group.

For example, we went this May with Maria to see the blooming of a beautiful flower, tajinaste native to Tenerife. It was a light, but worthy hike. And yes, if you were asking yourself, one of the rooms in Cactus is, in fact, called Tajinaste.

Of course, if you want to go to an advanced hiking trail, you can ask Maria to give you some tips, or maybe join her when she’s doing it outside the group activities.

Daily yoga

Cactus has a few volunteers, and most of them are here to help out with the house maintenance but also to teach yoga.

Many colivings offer yoga lessons as one of their selling points, and even though Cactus doesn’t emphasize this because there are many other things to experience there, they too organize yoga every workday.

Sometimes, the yoga lessons are on the rooftop, sometimes in the garden, and sometimes in a nearby calisthenics park.

Connecting colivers with the local community and culture

One of the biggest goals that Maria wants to accomplish with Cactus is to promote the real Canarian culture, show the colivers what the area is really like, support small business owners, and showcase the need of practicing sustainable tourism in the Canary Islands.

As previously mentioned, she connects with many local businesses and organizations that help the island (Canary Green, Rotary, etc.) as well as local shop owners, farmers, etc., to build a unique and sustainable experience for Cactus’ visitors.

One of the many ways she inspires travelers to participate in sustainable tourism is by providing them with locally grown food, and taking them to the local farmer’s market every week.

She also wants the colivers to connect with the local culture, so she always tries to show them local events if there are any around.

For example, during our stay, there was a town festival that we visited all together and went to with Maria’s family and friends all dressed in traditional costumes that she got for us. It was such a wholesome experience.

These experiences will always be different because they depend on what is around the time you’re visiting. But, Maria will make sure to be informed and allow colivers to participate in something like this.

Connections with other colivings

Cactus is also well-connected with other colivings in the area, so by staying here you will have the opportunity to participate in events with other colivings and the digital nomad community in Tenerife.

This can be an amazing way to meet new people, share experiences, and just have fun.

During our stay, we had two events that other colivings organized that we were invited to because we were in Cactus.

So, if you want to explore other places as well, Cactus is a great place because it nurtures support and collaboration with other places rather than competition.

Community

Lastly, the community in Cactus is very diverse, both age-vise and country-vise. But, somehow, the people find that they’re connected here because they were all searching for something like this.

Maria herself doesn’t live in the house and is not a core part of the community, but more of an external link. The volunteers, however, are a part of the community that, in a way, feels like a family.

The reason for that might be the house itself and how the rooms are laid out. The communal areas inspire spontaneous and casual conversations but the house is big enough to find your safe spot where nobody will impede you.

Some people came to Cactus, went on to other parts of Tenerife, then came back to Cactus because they liked the atmosphere.

Even though you can stay for 10, or 15 days, Cactus is a perfect house for long-term stays like 4, 6 months, or even longer. Maybe the best one yet.

We appreciate your support!

Thank you for reading our content and following our journey! We are working towards becoming full-time content creators and being able to share stories with you even more frequently. If you’d like to support us to be one step closer to that goal, you can do it through Ko-Fi! 👇🏽

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Learn more about coliving

• • Interviews with Coliving Operators

Cactus Coliving – Tenerife’s gem for digital nomads

• ByMarko
• May 12, 2022

• • Coliving Movement

Why Spain should be your first coliving experience?

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The post Coliving Spain 2022: #5 Cactus – The perfect long-term coliving experience with a local impact appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

Rich in so many different activities such as meditation, wine tasting, and skill-sharing, Cactus Coliving makes a perfect destination for a digital nomad or a remote worker looking for new experiences and new connections.

Read our interview with Maria, the owner of this unique experience, and find out the story behind it.

How it all started

“In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for constructive use of solitude.”

–Rollo May, American psychologist

1. When and why did you decide to open a coliving space of your own?

– I was working for the American Online Travel Agency, Expedia Group, in the Malaga office and the lockdown came. At that moment, I decided to move to my childhood house in Tenerife South (a historical house more than 200 years old).

The house was uninhabited for more than 10 years and I worked remotely from there. Due to the situation, I decided to think about a plan B. Thanks to an article I read in an economist paper about the concept of coliving, I realized that I had my plan B for the house and me.

2. Have you ever stayed in some other coliving space or any shared accommodation before you decided to open your own?

– Not before I decided to open Cactus, but I had the opportunity to experience other colivings before Cactus Coliving was officially opened.

3. Do you remember beginnings and what was the most difficult for you when you started your coliving?

– The construction and refurbishment was the most difficult part.

4. Is there something that you wished you knew when you started with coliving?

– I would like to have known the dynamic of a growing and changing community.

5. Have you had the opportunity to visit other coliving places since you opened yours?

– Yes. I visited most of the colivings in my surroundings.

6. What is the story behind you choosing Spain as the location for opening your coliving space?

– Tenerife South is my home and the lockdown gave me the opportunity not only of coming back but also to develop an idea that links people with my home place.

Tenerife is in Spain, and the Spanish people are friendly and easy-going, which is another reason that I chose this location.

7. What are the advantages of having coliving at a remote rural place, and are there any disadvantages?

Adventages

– From my point of view, the location of Cactus has many advantages such as being out of the touristic zones of the south, the peace of the rural area, easy access to bio and eco fruits, veggies and eggs from our neighbors, walking distance to the mountains, etc.

All this doesn’t mean that we are not well communicated because we have a bus stop 2 minutes walk from our place.

Disadvantages

– If I had to choose one disadvantage, I would say that there is no nightlife or many cultural events in our village.

Our community

“At 30 you finally start to catch up to those dreams you’ve been chasing for the last 10 plus years.”

–Bonnidette Lantz

8. What is the profile of people who are most likely to stay at your place?

– We are primarily aimed at entrepreneurs, digital nomads, freelancers, and those who want to become one.

9. What is the average age of people who are visiting your accommodation?

– Mainly our colivers are from 33 to 40 years old but we also have younger and older.

10. How long do people usually stay at your place?

– The average stay in Cactus Coliving is 1 month.

11. Do your visitors have the tendency to return back to your place?

– Yes, very often, as the connection they get to the Cactus community is very strong.

12. Is there some trend where people from specific countries come to your place?

– The trend varies depending on the colivers that are staying.

13. What additional activities are included for people who stay at your coliving?

– Daily yoga, hiking, different workshops, family dinners, surfing, skill-sharing, etc.

14. Do you have some special offers for startups and group bookings?

– We organize workation meet-ups for groups depending on their needs.

About the Coliving Movement

”Surround yourself with those on the same mission as you.”

–Anonymous

15. Do you think that coliving is only dedicated to a specific group of people such as freelancers, digital nomads, and startups, or do you think there is a possibility to gain popularity beyond that group of people?

– The coliving can be as strong as the community gets, meaning that it can be extrapolated to any human activity.

16. Do you think that coliving cannot exist without coworking?

– I think that it can, as coworking could be replaced with the fulfillment of other needs.

17. One of the main selling points for coliving is the possibility to meet new people, share experiences and maybe even develop new partnerships. Is that really the situation?

– Yes, that is one of the strongest advantages of living in a community.

18. Do you have some examples where people who had the opportunity to meet at your place later managed to develop successful partnerships or relationships?

– Yes, we have several colivers organizing a vegan cafe, others helping each other with their works and projects, and many relationships developed thanks to all the activities we organize together.

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Disclaimer: This article contains some affiliate links.  At no additional cost for you, we can earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase.

Coliving places in Spain

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The post Cactus Coliving – Tenerife’s gem for digital nomads appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

Activities, events, and hobbies are a usual feature of coliving places, and the same goes for coliving places in Spain. Some of the most common activities you can expect to find are daily yoga, surfing, Sunday BBQs, etc.

However, we wanted this list to be a little different. That’s why we did some digging in order to find some of the most unique activities that coliving places in Spain have to offer.

If you are still new to the coliving concept, we got you covered! Check out our main article on this topic and find out why Spain should be the first place for your coliving experience.

These are just some of the first unusual coliving activities we are including in this list. Don’t forget to come back once in a while and check for new entries!

We will try to update this list whenever we find something new and unusual since the coliving trend is booming all over Spain and new places are opening daily.

If you are not new and have some unique coliving activities in Spain on your mind that you think we should cover, feel free to send us an email. We would love to hear about them.

Until then – let’s dive in!

1) Rock Climbing (Roca Aguilera) – Coasis Coliving

We start our list with something that may sound a bit extreme for many people and something that will take you out of your comfort zone, and that is rock climbing. To be more specific climbing Roca Aguilera!

It is one of the numerous activities you can experience while staying at Coasis Coliving. Located in the port city of Tarragona, less than 100km from Barcelona, Coasis is one of many coliving places you can find in this area. On their website, you can find a dozen activities that you can expect to participate in if you choose to stay at their place.

We chose this activity among all the others because it is something that not many people can brag about they’ve done, and that’s why we think it is perfect for our list.

Roca Aguilera is a rocky mass where you will find many routes of varying difficulties.

But even though it sounds very demanding at first glance, this rock is actually not too difficult for beginners and is the perfect place to experience your first rock climbing adventure!

2) Wine workshops – Cactus Coliving

For the next place from this list, we need to travel almost 2500km south and almost leave our continent since it is located in one of the most popular areas for coliving in Spain, the Canary Islands.

The second on our list is Cactus Coliving and its very own wine cellar where wine-tasting workshops take place once a month.

The main idea behind this is mixing colivers with the locals to enrich their knowledge of local wines, culture, and customs.

The workshops take place in a historical underground water tank that was originally used to water vineyards and avocado trees hundreds of years ago.

Many years later, it got transformed into a winery where the Cactus Coliving owner María’s family kept their wine bottles. It is the ideal space for preserving wine, having a temperature between 13-17 degrees throughout the year.

Cactus Coliving has an ongoing collaboration with a local enologist so that colivers learn the different grape varieties in the Canary Islands vs. Mainland Spain.

During these workshops, you’ll have the opportunity to learn all about the production process, conservation, the evolution of Canary Island wines, and other interesting details on Canarian wines.

We promise that after this experience you will be able to consider yourself a true sommelier… or you can just use this opportunity to taste all the different types of local vines available on the islands 🙂

3) Vinyl listening session – Maraya Coliving

Don’t worry, this time we don’t have to travel a lot, actually we don’t even have to move from Tenerife.

Maraya Coliving is one of the newcomers when it comes to the coliving movement in Spain. Even though they have just recently opened their place for the public, they already have to offer many unusual activities that can be included on our list.

For that specific reason, we reached out to one of the owners, Ben, to help us with our selection and to choose one activity that he considers the most unique for their coliving place.

“I would say one of the most unique activities we offer at Maraya is a vinyl listening session. We usually do this once a week and encourage everyone to disconnect from their digital lives and embrace the analog world. It’s no phones and no distractions.”

“We pick an album, by physically flipping through our collection and all lay back and enjoy it. From start to finish, the musical journey as the artist intended.”

“After we discuss the experience and we have found that people are blown away by the meditative state they felt and parts of the song they’d never experienced before. Or new tracks they didn’t even know about.”

“It is also a great way to connect with each other, and an experience I really believe our guests remember long after they have left.”

4) Solfami Association – Weekly events organized by locals – Anceu Coliving

Our next activity is truly a unique and authentic experience, which many colivers who had the opportunity to stay at Anceu Coliving can confirm.

Anceu is a rural coliving place located in the small municipality of Ponte Caldelas in the province of Pontevedra, in Galicia, Spain. They offer many original local activities that represent the true living in Galicia, but one we think best suits this list is Solfami Association.

Solfami Association is an association created by locals of Anceu, Pontecaledalas, and other nearby villages that organizes weekly events with local artists. Sometimes, this is a live music concert, sometimes a theater show, or a humoristic play, and sometimes it will be a special cooking night or an interactive artistic event. 

Colivers and visitors of Anceu Coliving can enjoy these magical nights and use the opportunity to connect with the locals and feel like a part of their community. These events will share the knowledge on local food, music, language, folklore, and culture in general. This experience can help colivers to connect even more with the rural vibes of Anceu coliving and help them truly feel the rural life during their stay. 

If you are foody, we especially recommend attending these events! The organizers invite chefs and put a lot of thought into creating delicious local dishes, so it would all fall into a perfect experience. 

No event is the same, and colivers love coming back every week. 

This is just one of many things you can experience while staying at Anceu Coliving. If you would like to find out more about what it looks like to co-live in this rural place and discover the story behind it, feel free to read the interview we did with their owner Agustin.

5) A language exchange with a local impact – iSlow Coliving

This impactful activity differs from the others because it is not only meant for you but also for your kids.

iSlow Coliving is a new awesome family-friendly coliving in Galicia that wants to make an impactful change in its rural community, but also provide a safe nest for traveling parents and their kids.

The adult language exchange activities will help coliving parents connect with local parents, learn from one another, and share their language knowledge, and for the kids, it will provide a totally new community experience.

The idea is to connect the little colivers with the local children and participate in the guided language and culture exchange through games, songs, walks, and being in nature.

Growing up in a rural area can be very beneficial for children, but it can also put some limits on their access to the outside world. iSlow wants to bring the outside world to these kids’ doorstep. In return, the visiting children will be able to explore the amazing growing-up experience in rural Galicia and learn Spanish and Galician.

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, so learning it can be as beneficial as learning English.

This activity will be flexibly organized to fit the group, the weather, and the occasion. For instance, in the summers, activity coordinators can take the children to the beach and have a fun and ocean-inspired language exchange. During rainy days, the kitchen area can become a classroom, and cooking and kitchen utensils are an inspiration.

iSlow chose this activity because of its multiple impact opportunities.

• First, there is a huge space for making an impact in the local community. Providing the local children opportunities to meet and learn from foreigners at such a young age will help them develop new skills and gain confidence. The same goes for their parents who are eager to learn the language and explore other cultures.
• Secondly, it will be beneficial for the visiting children to explore a new way of growing up, being a part of a small community with children of different ages, learning their language, and learning their games.
• Third, parents will have the opportunity to take some time for themselves while the kids enjoy the guided activity.

We appreciate your support!

Thank you for reading our content and following our journey! We are working towards becoming full-time content creators and being able to share stories with you even more frequently. If you’d like to support us to be one step closer to that goal, you can do it through Ko-Fi! 👇🏽

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

• italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Disclaimer: This article contains some affiliate links.  At no additional cost for you, we can earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase.

Coliving in Spain

• • Coliving Movement

Why Spain should be your first coliving experience?

• ByMarko
• November 18, 2021

• • Coliving Movement

Why are the Canary Islands one of the most popular places for coliving?

• ByMarko
• February 8, 2023

The post List of most unique activities that coliving places in Spain offer appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.