About us
Who are we?
We are Maarten and Celina Schiphorst-Ongenae from the Netherlands. Celina is a true Brabantian and Maarten worked for more than 40 years at the municipalities of Aalsmeer and Amstelveen. Our three sons, their girlfriends and granddaughter live in Amsterdam.
Guests bring excitement to our retired life. How nice it is to let our friends, family and guests from all over the world enjoy the Mediterranean life here in Portugal! Maarten regularly cooks (often Indonesian) for our guests.
Photo: in the background the town of Olhao with its small harbour
How did this happen?
Quite by chance, during a holiday in the eastern Algarve, our eye fell on this piece of land with an old Portuguese house on it near the village of Moncarapacho.
We were immediately enthusiastic about the location, the view of the Atlantic Ocean and the possibility to build there. The plan to build three rental accommodations, a swimming pool and a jeu de boules court after retirement was born!
Photo: old Portuguese house ( Casa Pauline ) before renovation
Volunteer work
In addition to our hobbies such as reading, gardening, yoga, computing, cooking, Portuguese lessons and good food and drinks, we are all involved in volunteer work in our own way.
Rotary
Maarten has been involved in the Seahorse project and other initiatives through his membership of the International Rotary Almancil. The seahorse lives in the lagoons and was once the largest population here in the Ria de Formosa nature park. Unfortunately, the population has declined dramatically. It is great to be able to contribute to this project as a volunteer. Read more in our blog seahorses .
Photo: Winter Carnival in Moncarapacho
House of Povo
Celina volunteers on Mondays in the center of the village of Moncarapacho. And that at Casa do Povo or "the house of the people". A lot of attention is paid to the elderly people in the village who are often lonely.
During the week you can participate in all kinds of activities at Casa do Povo. These vary from Portuguese conversation lessons, Somatics, yoga, senior gymnastics, tap dancing to lunch.
On Sunday afternoon there is plenty of dancing, eating by the Portuguese but also by people from outside. In the summer there are also various festivals organized. And there is both a summer carnival and a winter carnival!
Open July 1, 2025
We started construction in March 2024 and will open on July 1, 2025. In the meantime, we are enjoying the beautiful weather, our sea view, the nice little villages, the beautiful beaches and the delicious food and drinks in our caravan. In short, the wonderful Mediterranean life!
Do you want to experience what eastern Algarve has to offer from 1-7-2025? Then you can book a holiday accommodation with us from now on. Bem vindo or be welcome!
Photo: impression Boutique Guesthouse-Moncarapacho 
Photo: drone shot December 2024
This is our own website with the best price. Click here for our accommodations or ask us your question.
