Housesitting: The Right Place at the Right Time
Volcan Agua -view from house
We met Mike in March, a few days after we arrived in Antigua, at a local restaurant. After meeting him a second time a couple of days later he invited us to his house in Santa Ana, a little community contiguous to Antigua, the following Sunday to see the Lenten procession which the church in Santa Ana was sponsoring. Since we were anxious to learn about these processions and the whole Lenten experience, we gladly accepted.
La Iglesia (church) in Santa Ana
The following Sunday we followed the Alfombra carpets laid out on the cobblestone roads and walked to his home. Sure enough we had an unobstructed view of the event. 
Mike’s is a beautifully renovated colonial house at the end of Calle Real, the route of the procession, so all of the marchers, the bands, the andus (the elaborate wooden platform holding the religious statues that the marchers carried) , the hawkers, everything and everybody trooped by his front door.
Mike and Dawn’s Alfombra
Mike and his wife, Dawn, and friends had spent the early morning hours creating their own alfombra in front of their home, using a custom-made plywood stencil and colored sawdust. Their participation in this annual religious ritual endeared he and his wife to their neighbors and further tied them to the community.
During our visit we found out that Mike and Dawn split their time between two homes, one in Santa Ana and one in Canada. We discovered that they would soon be departing for their home in Canada and that they were looking for a “house-sitter” for the Santa Ana casa. After some discussions they extended an offer for us to care for their home after we finished our volunteer work commitment teaching English at the end of April. We decided to prolong our time in Antigua for an additional three months, accepted their offer and the deal was sealed.
The house-sitting has been a fantastic opportunity to further acquaint ourselves with the city of Antiqua, learn about the pulse of the small community of Santa Ana and spend more time exploring Guatemala. After living in fairly basic accommodations, we are thoroughly appreciating a pampered lifestyle. We have 1) a coffee pot ! 2) a hot water heater which provides a hot shower with full water pressure ! 3) good Wi-Fi ! 4) a washing machine ! 5) a kitchen where we can cook both comfort foods and experiment with some local cuisine 6) a home to spread out in!
2nd floor terrace
Our contribution is to provide a visible, lived-in presence at the house, pay the monthly salary for a lovely lady who comes in and cleans daily (far less than what we would be paying for rent) and make sure that things operate in good order.
This experience has led us to enroll in an on-line international house-sitting website. So if the planets are aligned favorably, we may be able to care for another home, in another country, at another time. It sounds good in theory; don’t plan too concretely or too distant and be available to respond to opportunities when they present themselves. We shall see…
By Richard and Anita, June, 2013
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Thank you. We’re glad you’re enjoying it!
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Very nice article, exactly what I needed.
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Thanks for visiting our blog and for your kind comment.
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Thanks for visiting our blog and we’re glad you like the platform. We’re using the free version of WordPress theme 2011. There are some things we’d like to change and improve (future project) but, for now, we’re happy with it.
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Dicko this was fascinating! Well written and interesting. Thanks Bill and Cyndi Stein
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Hola Bill & Cyndi-Thanks for your comment. Good to hear from you and, as you can see, we’re having a great time! Keep in touch and follow us if you’d like to find out what happens next (along with us…)
Nita
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Housesitting!! That is fantastic. I love keeping up with your travels.
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Thanks Linda for your comment. The housesit has been amazing & has let us see a lot more of Guatemala than we had originally planned plus allowed us to make trips to El Salvador and Honduras. Right now we’re scouting around for our next opportunity…cross your fingers! Nita
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Wow what a experience.
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Thanks for your comment, Terry. Antigua has been an amazing city to live in and Guatemala is a beautiful country. Having the chance to housesit let us explore the city and Guatemala at a slower pace which helped us appreciate it even more! Anita
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