My house sitting milestone moments

A 50th Housesit Milestone

I recently celebrated my 50th house sit! What a lovely milestone to achieve. And it is interesting that 13 of these sits occurred within the last 18 months during the pandemic.

When all my 2020 sits fell through I asked myself, "Where do I want to get stuck for the next however many months?" Mexico was the immediate answer.

I landed a 13 week sit in the jungle of Akuna (between Playa del Carmen and Tulum) the morning I touched down in Mexico and the next 18 months unfolded from there.

After the intensity of jungle life - humidity, scorpions, snakes, tarantulas, floods, clouds of mosquitoes - civilisation finally called and I was drawn to the beautiful colonial town of San Miguel de Allende (SMA), where I have spent most of my time.

It has been a delightful experience for 2 reasons. Firstly making a wonderful new bubble of friends, and secondly being part of the biggest meetup of house sitters outside of the fabulous International House Sitting Conference of 2019!

The last 6 months has seen so many house sitters arrive in SMA. It has been very special to connect, share stories and have lots of laughs - all with masks and social distancing of course!

Unique One of a Kind Experiences

It is hard to pick favourite sits, locations, pets, houses or experiences. They all add depth, colour and vibrancy to my life. There are some though, that seemed to imprint on my heart and speak to my soul. These are the ones I have chosen to share!

Mother Nature and unusual sits seem to find their way into my space. I am very fortunate to have experienced such a wide range of wonderfully unique homes and pets!

1) 300 year old Spanish Manor and Vineyard, Galicia, Spain

This house sit had it all ... 3 gorgeous Labradors, 2 rescue donkeys, a small flock of sheep that were lambing, lots of chickens, a luxury home, car, tractor, pool, beautiful grounds and a small vineyard to play with! Plus it was out of town in a small rural village in the mountains of Galicia.

Did I mention the fresh produce, as it had a lovely orchard too, raspberries, figs, kiwi fruit, pears, apples, oranges and asparagus!

I loved the physicality of all the work on the property and was grateful to experience it for 3 different seasons, 3 years in a row!

2. Off Grid on the side of San Pedro Volcano, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Lake Atitlan is one of those places you visit for a couple of days and then stay for weeks. Imagine waking to the sun rising between two volcanos and setting behind a third, with a massive lake in between! Simply stunning, plus the area is a renowned energy vortex, so the vibe is pretty magical.

The lakeside is settled with unique indigenous villages that each have their own native dress, character and produce (weaving, pottery, jewellery etc). Making the experience an incredible cultural immersion!

The biggest challenge was it was its accessibility. Everything came by boat - food, water, propane and fuel all delivered by local boat delivery men.

It was totally off grid and back to basics ... washing in a bucket, pumping water from the lake, juggling your power needs from a small bunch of solar panels / batteries, burning your own waste. It made you very conscious of what you bought, how it was packaged and how you could recycle or dispose of it!

3. Overseeing a Pitaya (Dragon Fruit) Plantation in the Jungle of Belmopan, Belize

Imagine lying on your couch, gazing out the full length windows watching the spider and howler monkeys swinging in the trees above you. Then grabbing a coffee or tea and wandering out to top up the humming bird feeders and wild bird feeding platforms with old bananas, mangos and pitayas. These fruits would attract the most vibrantly coloured Toucans, Motmots, Red Headed Wood Peckers plus an array of iguanas!!

Then it was time to round up the dogs and check the plantation. The manager and his family would pick the fruit each day and crate them so I could sort, weigh and prepare them for market! It was an incredible experience.

4. Playing Head of Herd for a Number of Horse Sits

I love caring for horses. They are amazing spiritual beings with incredible healing and revealing powers for us humans, making them wonderful personal development partners.

I have had the privilege to House Sit a number of properties with horses in Australia, Canada, France, Spain and Mexico. All are favourites, but my time looking after a ranch in British Columbia, Canada stands out the most, as I cared for a herd of 28 horses.

It was pure bliss to be accepted into the herd and to be able to spend so much time learning from them. This experience was so powerful for me I decided to become an Equine Guided Coach / Facilitator and incorporate “horse wisdom” and into all I do!

It’s interesting for us all to reflect on how house sitting has changed our lives - it is truly impactful at a heart, mind and soul level!

The greatest gifts

I am so grateful for the many gifts that flow from being a house sitter. It ticks the lifestyle boxes and lights me up in so many ways.

• Deep connections with like hearted people to create forever friendships.
• The love, intimacy and companionship you receive from your furry and feathered friends makes your heart sing.
• Unique “one of a kind” experiences that many don’t get to enjoy.
• Cultural diversity - new and vastly different locations, nature and exotic foods
• Experiencing the culture of a country through local living gives access and insight to a totally different vibe of life.
• Courage, confidence and capability – This lifestyle moves you from your comfort zone and plonks you firmly into your courage zone!
• We get to live outside the matrix of societal norms and conditions, which in turn gives us incredible flexibility and freedom!
• Being nomadic helps break our attachment to tangible things. Being minimalistic results in accumulating less and reducing our carbon footprint – a positive outcome for the planet.
• Letting go of attachments plus tuning into your intuition, allows you to live a more flowing and synchronistic life that has a natural unfolding of its own.

It is a privilege and honour to participate in the trust economy. The more we do it, the more it gives others permission to do the same. We create a ripple effect and humanity can certainly do with a big dose of this right now! So let's keep doing our part!