House Sitting Abroad

Cultural Immersion on a Budget

By James Robert Daniels

I was well away from Zona Dorado, the Golden Zone in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. Here in Old Mazatlan’s Historic District, I was a block from the beach and next door to the National Museum of Art. Around the corner, I found the Archeological Museum, a lending library, a corner store, and Internet access. Walking two blocks brought me to the Panama, an excellent bakery turning out everything from my breakfast to wedding cakes to provisions for local caterers. Another block on was Plaza Machado, the social hub of the city. This is the old city, here long before the tourists, and perfectly fine now with or without them. This is what life is like, not as a tourist and for a time not even as a traveler, but as a house sitter.

Watching people is always interesting at the Plaza, whether it is the art and dance students from the school next to the historic Angela Peralta Theater, the parents and kids playing or the shoppers wandering. There is always something going on at the Plaza. A massive transformation to concert stage or carnival booths for one day is a common occurrence. Meeting people is a real plus. One day, I meet Raul, a local poet. Raul shares his poetry. Much of it seems so sad, so dark. Then, one day, there is one that is different. 

“It would feel good to have someone read it,” he confides. “Communication is important.”

While he is inside the cafe, the waiter asks me, do I understand him? They wonder how I “understand” Raul. They do not, whether in his native Spanish or in his quite fluent English. I will write in Plaza Machado too, I think—it is a good place to observe. Collecting “histories,” as my friend calls them, the stories of all the different people.

Walking is the way to go in Old Mazatlan. From Olas Altas, the boulevard along the Old Mazatlan beach, we climb Lookout Hill and wind along the bluff enjoying matchless vistas. The tourists on the other end of the bay might never see this scenic route, and those few who take a pulmonia—an open-air taxi—across it are still missing the true experience of the place. You are not likely to meet anyone else walking this way, and that is too bad for many a visitor.

On the other side of the hill, we pass under the beam of the world’s highest lighthouse and descend to the city’s port. Between the trawler fishing fleet and freighters on one side and the gigantic cruise ships on the other, a sandy beach is the landing for a little fleet of local fishermen’s 20-foot open boats, watched over by the pelicans between excursions.

From a nearby dock, a 5-minute ride aboard a similar boat takes us to Stone Island and a reprieve from the bustle of the city. Unlike the beach stretching in front of the posh resorts, Golden Zone hotels and Historic District, this side is protected from the breeze and swells of the open ocean, matching the placid life upland. There are no high-rise hotels or plush facilities here, but there are fantastic, authentic restaurants. We ask for the catch of the day. The restaurant owner, Cruzo, fishes every morning to keep his menu as fresh as you like.

On House Sitting

House sitting allows you to live in such a community, where you can experience the kind of familiar discoveries every day that your old neighborhood may have offered you when you were a growing up. If you decide to buy anything, it is less likely to be a souvenir, and more likely to be an original artifact. You are not a guest or a paying customer. You are a neighbor. You can grab a cup of coffee in the kitchen in the morning without bothering to dress first. You can choose to go out or to stay in. There is always something to eat in the fridge if you like to shop at the mercado.

The concept of house sitting is like the job of a caretaker, differing only slightly. A caretaker is generally a “permanent job” and is likely full time, requiring duties ranging from serious property repairs to landscaping to domestic services. A house sitting position may be long-term or even open-ended for years, but in most cases, it is taking care of someone’s home while they are away. As a result, the off-season offers many openings for house sitting, such as summer in Australia, or winter in the North. The converse is also true, as Snowbirds who live in the South go North in the winter to ski. While a caretaker might receive a salary for much of their work, most house sitters do not get paid much, if at all. House sitters are in it primarily for the house. In exchange for a place to live for days, weeks, months, or even years, they mind the property, keep it clean, provide security, and that important lived-in appearance day-to-day. House sitters offer other benefits such as feeding a pet, watering plants, mowing the lawn, or perhaps fixing up little things the owner does not get around to doing themselves.

The benefits can be great: A beautiful home. Utilities negotiated, but often included in the exchange. Perhaps even Internet access, a computer, and cable TV. Sometimes there is a bicycle or a car that the owner is happy to let a house sitter use. Many home owners want a pet sitter more than a house sitter, and this kind of a commitment can mean negotiating better benefits or some payment for services.

The relationship between a house sitter and a home owner is not based on money; it is based on trust as well as the free exchange of services for accommodations. Still, as a house sitter, you are working for that home owner. If you trust and you can be trusted and if you are willing to be responsible (even on holidays), house sitting can offer you cultural immersion on any budget during all seasons. As a home owner, consider a house sitter while you are abroad. The peace of mind will allow you to focus on where you are at the moment, rather than wondering what is going on back in your empty house. 

James Robert Daniels has been a caretaker and a house sitter of properties ranging from a 300-acre estate with a mile of beach to an apartment in a rural village. A professional writer since the 1970s, he’s published in books, magazines, webzines, newspapers and other media internationally. Jim has been traveling and house sitting non-stop throughout 2008. His home is virtually at www.writers.net/writers/Jim.