Going remote is spreading quickly, and it is not a shock. Seeing your acquaintances traveling while working makes everybody think: Why would I wait for a vacation to see the world?. And people are right. With so many jobs being online these days, there are no reasons why you would sit in an office if that is not what makes you productive.

While working remotely, people have more freedom to choose how they create a life-work balance that suits them, and coworking and coliving places exist to make that easier.

With that exact philosophy, five friends, Ben, Domi, Lucca, Alex, and David, united around their love for surfing, nature, balance, and Tenerife, and decided to create a coliving and coworking space made for a perfect workation. And that’s how Maraya was born.

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Supporting the island’s philosophy

Tenerife just might be one of the best places to find this work-life balance, slow down from the fast-paced world, and find your inner peace in nature and by the water.

But Maraya’s house complements this lifestyle and what the island has to offer even more.

Their story is quite unique, and the creation of Maraya is a story in itself. Today, we’re safe to say that this is a perfect spot for somebody looking for a month-long workation escape.

With carefully designed outdoor spaces, dozens of areas to work, chill, or hang out, and an energy that just flows through the whole property, Maraya will inspire you to be in the moment and pamper yourself a bit.

How to get to Maraya Coliving

Maraya is in the small town of Candelaria in the north of Tenerife, a region known for beautiful landscapes and black volcanic beaches.

The town is only a 20-minute drive from the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 30 minutes from the Tenerife North airport, and 40 minutes from Tenerife South airport.

To get to Maraya from the north airport, you can either take a taxi for about 35 euros, a bus, or have Maraya staff pick you up for 30 euros.

The bus is the cheapest option, but it is also the longest. You will have to change one bus, and it takes about an hour altogether. Still, it’s not bad at all, and Maraya’s team will pick you up at the bus station.

Candelaria and the neighborhood

In Candelaria, there is simply everything you need: a small mall, a supermarket, a barbershop, etc. Since Maraya’s house is a bit out of the city center, it will take about 20 minutes walking the town and just 5 minutes by car. Either way, it’s pretty close.

The closest shop is 10 minutes on foot, but it’s a small one. For bigger purchases, it’s better to go to the town, but not to worry too much about logistics—Maraya has two cars that colivers can borrow, and they often carpool to the supermarkets, beaches, etc.

The neighborhood is cozy, quiet, and homely, so being tucked away but also close to the bigger town and cities kind of makes it a perfect nook.

How it all started

As the guys tell us, preparing the house, the yard, and the garden was a process in itself. Of course, every house renovation takes time and energy, but in Maraya’s case, they took it as a project on its own and poured their souls into these renovations.

Imagine five friends taking on this huge project on a super fun island, inviting a bunch of friends to help out, and just experimenting on the way. It sounds like a movie plot, right?

We can only imagine how it was, but the complete renovations took nine months, and about 30 people gave their contributions. In Maraya’s official video, there’s a special thanks to all the folks who helped build it.

These renovations gathered an awesome group of people and created new relationships, friendships, and even love. The whole building team was super international, and you could say it kind of set foot on what Maraya’s community will be like.

When we say they put their souls into it, we don’t only mean their focus, sweat, and hard work. We mean that every corner of the house has a unique story, and carries a special moment and memory of why and how it came to life.

Typically, when building a coliving, a hostel, a hotel, or anything like it, renovations are only one step towards the goal. What you can feel in Maraya is that working on the house was a goal in itself.

It’s kind of comparable to building a home. The process is completely different when you’re building and decorating a rental versus doing this for your home.

The coziness of a home is created only when people leave their personalities on every step, and that creates an energy that no rental can ever compete with.

Well, Maraya has this exact energy, and you can truly feel it the first step you take onto the property.

The rooms

The house has nine rooms, eight private and one dorm, with four shared and two en-suite bathrooms. Every room has a unique theme that goes with its name. You will find descriptions of each of the rooms on Maraya’s website, but, interestingly, as we learn, the names and themes were not planned at first.

As Ben, one of the 5 co-founders, explains, they were deciding whether they should name the rooms at all because they were struggling a bit to come up with names naturally and didn’t want to force it. Then, one day, David, another co-founder, came from Germany with a collection of artwork. It was a bunch of paintings and pictures with all kinds of different vibes.

So, they sat down and decided to categorize the artwork according to the themes and overall feelings they gave and add them to the rooms; and that is how they ended up attributing the themes to the rooms.

Even though the whole property has a certain focal design, something that I would describe as a mix between retro and boho, the subtle decor on the walls, desks, and bedding, is what gives each room a unique personality, so we suggest asking the founders about your room when you book it. The stories, inspiration, and work behind it are what will make it special.

A tribute to the Canaries

Throughout the whole property, the guys left small tributes to the Canary Islands. After all, they wanted to show their appreciation for their new home island.

The most notable ones are the San Borondon Room and little a something that you will discover in Room 1968. Keep reading, but remember – once you’re there yourself, asking questions will open you up to all sorts of secrets like these.

San Borondon Island

The room San Borondon is proudly named after a legend of a mystical island in the Canaries that seems to appear and disappear throughout history. Not only do some people actually claim to have seen the island but there are also representations of it on some maps. Although many people have sailed west to try and discover it, up to today, it’s still only a legend.

So—to go with the theme—the room San Borondon was not supposed to be a room at all! It was planned for the house to have only eight rooms, until one of the co-founders’ parents came to visit, and while receiving a tour, recognized that one of the empty spaces would make an amazing room. With ocean views, they thought it would be a waste not to use it.

The guys agreed, and, inspired by the story of an island that appears and disappears, they named it San Borondon. Also, being the only room overlooking the ocean, it was meant to name it after the island and subsequently, after a legendary surfing wave that carries the same name.

Room 1968

Another room that honors the islands’ culture is the dormitory, or room 1968.

This six-bed mixed dormitory is equipped with locally custom-made bunk beds, made from a special type of wood found only in the Canaries. The shared space evokes the period when community and communal exploration were at their prime – the late 60s, but also gives privacy and provides a cozy space for people to make their own nests.

All beds have an built-in storage space, a cozy lamp, and curtains made from traditional Canarian festive costume material that give you privacy.

We spent some time in this room ourselves and, honestly, it felt like how I imagine being on a transatlantic ship (just without the rocking ha-ha). It was truly a unique and super cozy experience.

The garden

The garden is another typical Canarian thing Maraya incorporated, and it actually had a significant role in their property choice.

They were already thinking how it would be cool to have a garden with their own produce that they and the colivers could use, and this property just had an amazing space for that. It needed work, of course, like everything else, but it was also something that the guys enjoyed doing.

During the construction of the property, many locals came just to see the garden and share their tips on how to care for it, what to plant, what not to plant, etc.

One of the biggest influences on their decisions came from a permaculture veteran, a lovely Cuban named Sergio, who helped the team understand how to sustainably grow fruits and veggies. Sergio passed away recently, so having this amazing garden today that feeds Maraya’s community is something like a tribute to this genius man.

The central area

The outside kitchen, which is also the main kitchen, is truly the focal point of the house and the community.

The fully equipped kitchen with cozy yellow lights for the ambience, good speakers to play music in the evenings, a big table to gather the community, and all that right next to a pool, is what makes this house alive.

This is the place where all 20-25 people come together four nights a week for the family dinner, share breakfast every morning, or just come to have a coffee together and hang out.

As Ben says, the outdoor kitchen is the place you should come to if you care for some company. Just go there, sit and relax, and someone will join in minutes.

Maraya’s Community

Maraya’s community is pretty big. As we mentioned above, there are typically between 20 and 25 people co-living at a time. A portion of that number goes to Maraya’s team and volunteers who help the place run and keep the community engaged.

In the one week that we were there, there were a few changes in the team: a few people going, and a few coming in, so I would say we met between 25 and 30 people in total.

Of course, you should not expect to connect with everyone, especially if you only spend a few days together, but normally, there will be at least 10 people with whom you can spend at least a week or two so you can make some workation friends.

Colivers

Most people who come are indeed working remotely, and they mostly stay 3-4 weeks.

During the workweek, the atmosphere is quite tranquil because most people work remotely, and in the afternoon hours, people are ready to disconnect. And that’s something that most colivers here have in common.

Most evenings, people often gather around the ping pong table or have some drinks and play a few board games. It’s something that connects the community and helps relax the group after a long day.

Maybe a bit different from other colivings is the fact that, other than individuals, many people come here as couples or friends. It might be more suitable given the number of colivers, so when you come with a friend or a partner, you won’t disrupt the group dynamics which can happen in smaller colivings with only 6-8 people.

Volunteers

As mentioned, another part of the community are the volunteers, and their presence definitely gives a special energy to the place. They also feel like a constant in a changing place. There will always be at least one of the volunteers outside, happy to have a conversation, help you out, share a laugh, etc.

Community building and activities

Maraya’s community is big, and there are sometimes people coming with their friends. And for some, it might feel hard to spark that connection with others because it might seem that everyone has a group.

Because of that, but also for the ultimate workation experience, Maraya’s team organizes activities that help people connect, strengthen their relationships, and just help the colivers have a fun and relaxing time.

Working 8 hours in today’s world, then relaxing with, again, your computer, makes it hard for some people to think of ways of relaxing without phones or laptops, and Maraya does a great job helping with that.

They stay organized and inform their colivers about the activities via Slack, but also by writing and updating the weekly schedule blackboard with activity names and staff members who will manage them.

Every week, a new weekly schedule is put in the kitchen area where everyone can see it, and the weekends are left so the group can decide together or guests can propose their own ideas.

Some activities are in the house and some outside like a road trip to a nearby town, a picnic on the beach, a hike, or similar.

Besides these unique group activities, there are also free yoga classes 5 days a week, and sometimes on the weekends.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t make time to join the sessions for the one week we were in Maraya, but others have told us it is quite nice. They do it on the rooftop so it’s quite lovely in the early mornings as a way to start a day, or in the evenings before dinner as a way to slow down.

Here are some of the activities that were scheduled during our time in Maraya:

Group ping pong

While ping pong is something colivers play with or without it being organized, having a dedicated ping pong night was also very exciting.

There are some games that you can play as a group, like standing in a circle around the table and playing until you drop the ball. The last man standing is the winner. Instead of playing two people at a time, or two doubles, everybody can join and experience the vibe. It can get pretty funny and competitive in a good way.

As previously mentioned, ping pong is such a simple activity that has shown so many benefits for after-work relaxation, group bonding, for shy people to loosen up a bit, and just as a good activity before going to bed.

It’s probably because it is an activity that disconnects your mind from the screen, your work, and your problems, and connects you to the moment, letting your mind have a rest.

That is probably one of the reasons that many companies also have ping pong tables in their leisure rooms, and that a lot of people in Maraya also choose to play a few games on their lunch breaks.

Backyard bonfire

One other community-building activity that we had was a bonfire. One of the volunteers made a bonfire, and we all relaxed around it, chilling and listening to music.

For the staff, it was quite a special night because two of their members (one was David, one of the founders) were leaving their positions in Maraya. It was a very intimate atmosphere. There’s something special in sitting and just listening to the fire crackling, looking at the flames, and warming up against it.

In Maraya, the activities are mostly like that—organized but very casual. The point is to relax and disconnect, enjoy the moment, and have a good rest for the next day. Everybody harvests the energy differently, so Maraya tries to spread out activities throughout the week that can answer different needs.

Someone needs a silent sit-down next to the warmth, and someone enjoys an active game of ping pong. For someone, that will be a hike, and for another person, a session of team-building games.

We’re all different, and with that many people, finding a balance can be challenging. But, that’s why Maraya has many volunteers who bring a unique energy and can offer different activities to the colivers.

Team building on the rooftop

Team building, or as Juli, one of the lovely volunteers, likes to call them—community building—is a great activity for people to get to know each other, loosen up a bit, and work together.

One night after dinner, a bunch of us got up on the roof and Juli led the community-building with some super fun activities that made us feel like kids again and helped us get to know each other through questions and answers, word games, and pairing up to resolve some small quests.

Chilean board game night

As we said, it’s best if the activities that are happening in a week have some uniqueness to them so that people can join the activities that really match their energies and that suit them.

Board game night was one of the activities for people who like to relax by switching their brain effort to a fun game, try to compete and win, and just experience a bit of that board-gaming adrenaline before going to sleep.

On one quiet Thursday night, another volunteer, Ramiro, decided that he would teach us a game that is very often played in his home country—a game called Cachos. It turns out that many countries have their version of the game. In English, it is known as Liar’s dice.

If you know about Liar’s dice, then you might guess that the quiet night became a bit crazy and that it was unclear until the end who would take the winning title.

The game was super-fun and the perfect activity to end the night with. There are also other board games available in Maraya, like Bang! and Catan, and many others. There’s plenty of room for board gaming, and if you have your own with you – you can add some spice yourself!

Showing other countries’ traditions through games (like the one with Ramiro) also seems like a great idea, but also simply sharing a game that you love. If people love it, it will be a nice memory to remember you by.

Day trips

As a part of their activities, the Maraya team often organizes day trips to nearby beaches, restaurants, towns, or other places on the island that are great for experiencing things like diving, snorkeling, watching the sunset, etc.

Of course, going to a restaurant or on a surfing trip will not be completely free, but you do get a free local recommendation, which is something of enormous value in a tourist place.

The guys have gone through the island from length to breadth, so they have some true recommendations of places they love and are willing to share them with you.

It’s a great way to explore the island and avoid tourist traps that are everywhere, especially in the south.

Get inspired for coworking

Now, if you’re coming to Maraya with your laptop, you’re probably wondering if the working environment is good enough for you to keep your routine. We’ll tell you—Maraya is truly such an inspiring place if you want to dive into this world of remote work and coworking, as it gives just the support you need for it as a newbie.

Just as an example—let’s mention food. Having ready-made breakfast every morning, and a fresh, healthy dinner four nights a week, is something many people said saves their time, helps them stay organized, and lifts the pressure off them.

Sundays through Wednesdays, everyone knows that around 8 or 9 PM, everyone will gather around the kitchen table and enjoy a nice home-cooked meal prepared by the staff.

Small things like these make this space a perfect workation spot. During the day, people focus on working, personal projects, or just some alone time, but after work, connections spark, nobody talks about work anymore, and stress gets lifted almost immediately. And that’s exactly what Maraya wanted to accomplish.

Maraya lets you stay connected to the modern world around you, but helps you reconnect with your inner child and find peace in slowing down and sharing your life more intentionally with others.

So—don’t wait too long to try Maraya out yourself—you know your soul needs it!

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

Maraya Coliving – The house of community, good vibrations, and ocean views

• ByMarko
• May 3, 2022

• • Coliving Movement

Why Spain should be your first coliving experience?

• ByMarko
• November 18, 2021

The post Coliving Spain 2022: #4 Maraya – An oasis for remote workers in Tenerife North appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

Located in a beautiful Tenerife North, Maraya is made to inspire you to experience life to the fullest while being at peace with yourself.

Check out the interview and meet Maraya, a nest for digital nomads and remote workers built by five creative friends – Ben, David, Alex, Lucca, and Domi.

When it comes to community, these guys understand better than anyone the importance of connecting with the right people to create something amazing. Their experience definitely shapes Maraya’s energy, making its community one of its strongest points.

We did this interview as a part of our second set of interviews with coliving owners in Spain. In case you missed other interviews we did in this or the first set, you can check them all here. 

How it all started

“Three keys to more abundant living: caring about others, daring for others, sharing with others.”

–William Arthur Ward Dare

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

– We decided to open a coliving space at the end of 2019 / beginning of 2020, before the covid pandemic made it such a popular form of finding a balance between work life and travel life.

We decided upon a coliving because we always liked this approach to life. Sharing spaces, utilities, stories, dinners, and new experiences. We also always imagined a coliving would attract a varied group of guests from all over the world.

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

– All of the team have spent a lot of time travelling and living overseas in some form of coliving or shared accommodation. This gave us a lot of experiences on the things we liked or disliked about spaces, facilities, structure, and the communities.

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

– Our beginning was only recently (we opened in October 2021) and I think our most difficult challenge at the beginning was the overwhelming demand mixed with still figuring out our structure and community.

We also renovated the entire space from the ground up by ourselves, that was also quite a challenge 🙂

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

– It’s still almost too early to answer this question as I’m sure there are many things we still don’t know and will have wished we knew in the future! But for now, I think the knowledge we’ve gained that’s been the most valuable has been related to our community.

We started with a lot of ideas and experiences but have learned so much about our community and in particular what a Maraya community looks like, but I’m also happy we didn’t know this before because it’s been a fun journey to figure it out!

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

– We have, in fact. We have a good relationship with the other colivings on the island, we all feel working together to grow the entire digital nomad and remote worker community on Tenerife is by far the best possible experience for guests.

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

– The reason we choose Spain, and in particular Tenerife is for the sunshine, the surf, the culture, the pace of life, the language, the food, the diversity – so many things to list!

We love it. And we’re super happy to have our coliving on Tenerife.

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

– We’re quite fortunate that although we are surrounded by nature our guests can also be at the beach, or go to a supermarket in only a 25-minute walk. Of course, being in a city guests would have immediate access to conveniences but being rural provides a new experience, or reminds them of a childhood experience.

Many digital jobs pull people into the cities and being rural allows our guests to reconnect to nature. Be it sitting around the bonfire, star gazing, harvesting fruits and veggies from our garden, jumping in the ocean, or just breathing the air here. It’s different and it helps them to reconnect.

Our community

“You don’t have true freedom until you allow a diversity of opinion and a diversity of voices.”

–Don Lemon

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

– Our guests fall into two main categories, digital nomads (travellers who work online) or remote workers (workers who have had their jobs moved online and decide to travel).

These two groups bring a different set of experiences, ideas, and energies. This diversity is by far the number one positive aspect of owning a coliving/coworking space.

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

– The average age of our guests is 25-35, but we’ve had a variety of ages, and often the more diverse the number the more interesting the connections!

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

– Guests usually stay 1 month. Shorter stays mix up the energies more, but longer stays allow for deeper, more meaningful connections to be created, either to other guests or to the space/island.

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

– We’ve only been open since the beginning of October, so it’s a bit early to say, but we’ve already had quite some repeat guests, so it looks like it could be – which would be awesome!

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

– We tend to see the trend that winter attracts guests from northern Europe and we believe summer will attract guests from southern Europe, similar to the trend throughout the Canary Islands. But we’ll have to wait and see if this is the case for Maraya!

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

– We offer a number of activities for guests during their stay. From family dinners 4 nights a week, daily yoga, surf lessons, movie nights, game nights, skill-sharing, listening sessions, hikes, workout circuits, trips to the beach, trips to the volcano, this list goes on and on and on 🙂

We believe activities build a stronger, more connected community, plus we love being active!

About the Coliving Movement

”Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”

–Seth Godin

14. 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?

– We don’t believe colivings are just limited to such a small group. We’ve had a number of creative guests (authors, artists, and even a musician) as well as a number of remote workers who are performing more typical office roles, simply remotely, along with the more typical groups.

We believe as technologies advance, so does the ability to work remotely however work looks for you.

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

– We think without the coworking aspect, a coliving could simply be a short-term rental or a shared house/hostel. The coworking aspect definitely connects guests and is something special and unique.

16. 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?

– These are for sure important aspects of why people choose a coliving. A community brings energies and ideas together, and provides possibilities to either work or play together!

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

– I hope that this time next year we’ll be able to provide many examples of this because for sure this is one of the outcomes of a healthy community! For now, we’ve experienced people partnering up to share skills and experiences, meetups in different locations, and even some romance! Watch this space because I think it’s just the beginning at Maraya 🙂

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

• • Coliving Movement

Coworking nomads – How the world is adapting to new philosophy of work

• ByGala
• February 10, 2022

• • Coliving Movement

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

• ByMarko
• February 8, 2023

The post Maraya Coliving – The house of community, good vibrations, and ocean views 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.

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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.

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