Mayday Algarve

Our mission is to create a safe haven for dogs and cats whilst they wait for a new loving home. We take in any dog or cat when we have space for them and make sure that they get any medical treatments needed and regular treatments such as deworming, flea and tick prevention and vaccinations.

We clean the pens daily and provide fresh bedding in the dog houses if needed. When necessary, we also bottle feed puppies/kittens and socalise them as they grow.

Weather
It is generally warm here in the day for most of the year although the evenings and mornings can be a bit chilly especially if we have clear skies at night and the North-West wind blowing. This wind keeps us cool in the summer and is our natural air-conditioning! The coldest months here are usually January and February. We get little to no rain from April to end of September usually but we can get misty mornings and evenings, sometimes all day as we are next to the coast. We live in a micro-climate here which is nice in the summer as this also keeps us much cooler than the rest of the Algarve.

Accommodation
There is a main house where we live. In addition, we now have two large, renovated caravans with toilet facilities and a small renovated caravan without toilet facilities. The pet-friendly caravans both have caged/fenced areas by the entrance where pets can be outside and safe. If you are booked into a pet-friendly caravan and do not have your own pet with you, you may be asked to look after a dog in that caravan. If this is not ok for you please let us know. All of our caravans have electricity, beds, kitchen facilities including a fridge and cooker and places to sit.
We have one large tent now with a double bed and a wooden house with two single beds. All the beds have good orthopaedic mattresses. There are chests of drawers and electricity in both tents. We provide you with warm duvets and bedding so you will not get cold (you also get all the bed linen and towels you need too). The these have extra weather protection around them, they are built under a proper roof and have a fence around them.

We have a communal lounge with sofas, tables and chairs between the two large caravans for everyone to use. There is a kitchen area, shower room and separate toilet on site as well. Sometimes people of the same sex are asked to share accommodation so please let us know if this is a problem for you. All of the bed linen and towels you need are provided if you are staying in any of the above mentioned accommodation, so you do not need to bring them with you. Beach towels can be provided upon request. We also welcome people staying in their own camper van provided we have space. We have four fenced in areas for campervans which is nice for those people travelling with their pets. We expect all accommodation to be respected and well looked after while you are here, and left clean and tidy with the bed stripped of the bedding you have used when you leave so that it is ready for the next volunteers to move into.

Food and Shopping
Food is not included because unfortunately we do not have the funds to do this. Often volunteers meet up at lunchtime and in the evenings to cook and eat together in the communal space between the 2 large caravans. This is a nice social way of eating. If we meet you in the village when you arrive, we can take you to Lidl or Aldi to get some shopping. Additionally, we usually go to the local village quite often to get our shopping and you would be welcome to come with us. Alternatively, walking there is about 20 minutes - it is only 3km away.

Being a vegetarian or vegan is not a problem over here. We have a lot of vegans who come here, the supermarkets sell vegan food. We have a lovely fresh vegetable and fruit market here every morning from Monday to Saturday and even a vegan restaurant in the village!

Laundry
Because we are based in the Natural Park we have to be very careful about our water usage because, unless it rains and we do not usually get rain between May and October, the firemen have to bring us water. This can be problematic if there is a big fire anywherein Portugal. Therefore, we do not provide a washing machine, however, there is a self service laundry in the village. They have dryers there too but washing usually dries here very quickly outside on the line in our sunny weather. We can take you there when we go to do our shopping as it is near Lidl.

The Help
We start early in the mornings, when it is cool:- 08:00 am in the autumn, spring and winter months and if it gets hot 07:00-07:30 am in the summer months. We always feed the dogs at this time, give them fresh water and clean their areas. The dogs are lovely and fun to be with. Every day can be different depending on what happens so flexibility is important. The tasks can be hard but very satisfying. An average day goes like this:- we start with feeding the dogs, cleaning their areas and making sure they all have enough clean water. Then we have a break of about 1 -1.5 hours for breakfast. After this we meet at 10:30 and do anything else that is necessary on the day or exercise some of the dogs. Then we break until about 16:00 in the winter and 17:00 in the summer, when we do the evening medications, feeding and checking on their water to make sure the dogs have enough for the night. More dogs can be walked then if there is time and if you want to. We need people who love animals and want to take care of them, walk them, socialise with them and help them. You can walk as much as you like with the dogs every day if you wish once the daily tasks are done and you check with us first. We also have a few cats so they also need taking care of and like people to sit and be with them. We also need people with social media, administration, building, maintenance and gardening skills.

Clothing to Bring
Bring clothes with you that you do not mind getting dirty and bring trainers or boots to work in. It can get wet sometimes outside of the main summer months so waterproof foot wear would be good to bring with you. It is usually cool in the morning and evenings, even in the summer, so warm clothes are a must too.

Transport
The nearest airport to the shelter is Faro, which is closer than Lisbon. There are no direct buses to Vila do Bispo from Faro so you usually need to change in Lagos and the journey takes about 5-9 hours in total. This means that on the first day that you arrive in Faro, you could not work in the morning as you could not get here for an 8am start but you could meet the dogs later in the day. Also, if you have an early flight home, you would need to leave here the day before and stay overnight in Faro to get your flight. Therefore taking all this into account, we ask that you arrange your transport so that you can be at the shelter for at least 28 days.

From Faro:- You can get a bus or train from Faro directly to Lagos. Eva buses run a service from Faro and there are some buses (Flixbus) from the airport which go to Lagos bus station. You can see the Eva timetable at:- https://eva-bus.com › pdf. The Faro bus and train stations are away from the airport and the train station in Lagos is a little bit away from the bus station, about 10-15 minutes’ walk. Once you arrive in Lagos you need to get another bus from the bus station to Vila do Bispo as there are no trains to Vila do Bispo. Please note that if you miss the last bus you might need to spend a night in Lagos, which is a lovely, beachside town where there are many clubs, restaurants, cafes and hostels.

From Lisbon:- You can either get a bus from Lisbon to Lagos and then another bus to Vila do Bispo or catch a bus that goes to Vila do Bispo from Lisbon which go via Lagos. There are also trains from Lisbon to Lagos and usually you need to change trains at Tunes.

Karen or a volunteer would usually meet you in Vila do Bispo and bring you to the refuge.

Water
As we are quite isolated here we do not have mains water so we get our water from the rain in the winter and it is stored, or it is delivered to us in the summer. This means that we are very careful here with water usage and we ask you to keep showering times to a minimum and to turn off the water when you soap up. Also you can't drinkthe water here so for drinking water you need to buy water in the local supermarket - it costs less than 1€ for 6 litres so is quite cheap.

Keeping in touch
We have had a fantastic response from you lovely volunteers. We look forward to meeting and working alongside more of you! However, if we have availability for the dates you have requested, please contact Karen and do reply quickly and confirm the dates to us as soon as you can because we do not want to disappoint people who would like to help us. Also, we get a lot of enquiries and do not want to find we are short of volunteers because people haven't told us they can no longer come. Often we have turned away potential volunteers only to find that the ones who booked are not able to come and didn't inform us. If you can't come, please let Karen know as soon as you are able so she can get another volunteer to help us.

Since Mayday survives 100% from donations, we are very grateful to anyone who decides to help us. Without this help, our animals couldn’t have the life they have.

If you are interested in volunteering, you can help us with our daily tasks such as feeding the animals, cleaning the pens, walking the dogs and just spending time with our lovely animals. We meet before every shift to discuss and allocate the tasks that need to be done. You will work alongside a manager and other volunteers so you learn as you go and a check list is provided for each area to help you.

During your free time and days off you can go to the beach, get any shopping you need or visit other in the Algarve.

There is a volunteer lounge between the two caravans with sofas, tables and chairs where you can relax with other volunteers. There are also sunbeds in the garden if you would like to have some quiet time to yourself.. The beach is walkable in about 30-40 minutes through the national park which is very beautiful.

People who have their own vans are welcome too provided we have availability. Contact us for further details.