So, here we are at an anniversary. It has been 4 years ago this week that we set out on our journey of discovery, both of ourselves and the world. 50 plane rides, countless buses, and a total of 110 different beds. The word so far is life is pretty bloody marvellous.
On November 7th, 2013 we headed out for Belize with a vague idea that we were heading west-ish and some house sitting may be part of our plans. We started in Central America, then after 21 months had a short visit back in Canada before heading across the Pacific Ocean.
The house sitting was out of control, in a good way, in Australia. And the success of that carried over into SE Asia. We get a lot of questions and comments about house sitting; “How do you find them? How can people just let you in their homes? I could never do that. I would love to do that.” All I can say is the vast majority of home owners are wonderful people who love their pets and recognize that having a house sitter come to their home is an absolute win/win situation. We have made some great friends and have been called to come back and do repeat sits. Without a doubt it has been one of the great discoveries of our travels.
With 25 house sits under our belt and well over 40 animals we have cared for we look forward to many more years of house sitting.
It certainly has been an eye opening experience and being out of the direct influence of North American media has given me a different perspective on world events. My go to news outlets are now out of Australia, China, Ecuador, and Britain.
The most difficult part of our lifestyle is being away from family. The comforts of a home and the tasks and responsibilities that come with that are not missed at all. But being away for birthdays, family gatherings or just stopping by for lunch are by far the greatest challenge.
All that being said, we are looking forward to years more of exploring, meeting new people and at least another 100 or so new beds to lay our heads on.