Notes from the beach house | Week One
Posted on 06. Jul, 2012 by Jess in Accommodation, Destinations, Housesitting, Mexico, Yucatan
We are writing today from the shores of Mexico’s Caribbean coast, just three days in to a two-month house-sit. These are views from just about everywhere on the property:
The sun has burned away most of the morning cloud cover, and the wind rustling loudly through the palm leaves makes for a perfectly cooling sea breeze despite hot and humid temperatures. I alternate between typing and gazing out at the shallow water just barely covering the barrier reef that stretches 200m out to sea. I watch the waves crash way out there where the shelf drops off starkly and the deep blue of the ocean begins. We can snorkel right in our own backyard among the shades of azure, cobalt, sapphire, teal and navy blue water. The house-sitter staying a few doors down says she tries to go everyday. I imagine we will too, but the homeowner is still here and we have a lot to learn before he leaves us to our own devices for eight weeks.
Living out here in some of the most remote reaches of Mexico isn’t exactly just a day at the beach, and the level of responsibility is higher than other housesits we have had (this is our 11th housesit in two years). But the pristine beauty of the area is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and once the wheels were in motion, we could not turn the opportunity down. We applied for this through housecarers.com, with the application process beginning as they always do – on a whim; just a glimmer of possibility.
“Hey, wanna go down to Mexico for two months for a housesit after Tracey’s wedding (my best friend got married in Denver in June)?” Dani asked one day a few months back. She was going through the Housecarers notification emails – as she does every day – and out of the 30 or so choices that day, this one understandably caught her eye. She explained that it was a beach house, it was very remote, the ad mentioned snorkeling right off the private beach and that the house was almost entirely off the grid.
“Well, we have experience with solar power from our Bavarian housesit last year,” I answered, “and we do need some peace and quiet to get a bunch of work done…” As we looked back and forth between the ad and each other, there was no flooding of excuses, no ideas why we shouldn’t at least apply… Cut to two weeks later when we received an email and it turned out, of all the potential housesitters who applied (and this time, like all other times, there were dozens if not hundreds who had) Dani and I were chosen. Emails went back and forth, references were checked and plane tickets were purchased. We were committed to spending the summer months in Mexico.
Normally, a two day handover is required before the owners leave, but this case is different. Here, we’re learning how to maintain a house that runs almost entirey with solar energy in a very remote location. Though we didn’t step into this blindly, the word ‘remote’ can be a relative term. Someone from Manhattan might consider Iowa City remote, while a cowboy from Montana would apply the word to a 10 hour ride into the mountains reachable only by horseback. We are somewhere in between, but much more to the side of the cowboy. Several times on the ride down here, the owner would turn onto another perfectly straight road, flanked on either side with miles of sprawling green trees and mangroves and we would mutter another exasperated ‘Wow’, mesmerized by just how much wide open space laid behind, in front and on the sides of us.
“Didn’t Angela* tell you how remote it was?” Tom* asked each time. “Yes of course,” we would reassure him in unison. Truth be told, however, there was no way to know just what we had gotten ourselves into until we finally pulled in to the drive and brought our bags in to our temporary abode.
Luckily, it is better than we dared to imagine. The beach house has hot water (even a rain shower head, my favorite bathroom accessory), a full kitchen with a stove, fridge and freezer, a double bed, plenty of closet space, a couch and two tables inside, and a set of beach chairs on a patio outside, all with a clear view of the ocean, obscured only by palm trees. The property is kept clean and neat and seems much newer than its nine years. There is an outdoor palapa off to the side with a table, chairs and even electricity sockets to plug in and work, plus another gorgeous table and chairs fashioned out of driftwood down at the water’s edge.
“The hardest part of your morning,” Tom jokes, “will be deciding where to have your coffee…”
So far, we couldn’t be happier with the prospects of spending two months here alone with our guard dog and the three or four fellow housesitters in neighboring houses along this strip of beach. We will post about the highs and lows of housesitting and all our beach house adventures over the next few weeks, so stay tuned and please feel free to ask us any questions you have about housesitting in the comments below.
For anyone who is interesting in housesitting – we found this housesitting gig through housecarers.com.
*Names of homeowners and certain details of our location will be changed to respect their privacy and maintain anonymity during our stay.
43 Responses to “Notes from the beach house | Week One”
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July 24, 2012
[...] in South East Asia and India and after a month-long house-sit in the U.S. last month, we are now house-sitting on Mexico’s Caribbean Coast for two months before heading to South [...]
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The GlobetrotterGirls: About Us
We are Dani and Jess, a German-American lesbian couple who decided semi-spontaneously to take our work on the road and travel the world in April 2010. Digital Nomads, Street Food Junkies, House-sitters, Vegetarians, Street Art & Photography Lovers, Hotel Enthusiasts. Find out more about us here
Laura
06. Jul, 2012
Oh you lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky gals! You are near my second home (the one in my heart at this point) and are going to fall in love with this part of Mexico. I am dying to know where you are: closer to Tulum, or Belize? Hmmmm…
Did I mention how lucky you are? I have tears in my eyes…that’s how much I love this place.
Jess
07. Jul, 2012
Haha Laura
we shall reveal our roundabout location later on in the summer- but don’t cry! We were in the area two years ago and are back now, and you know what? It hasn’t changed one bit. It’ll all still be here when you get back down here! 
Bobbi Lee Hitchon
07. Jul, 2012
That is the dream house sitting experience. I still have yet to try that. But it’s definitely on my list. Hopefully I get a place as good as this.
Bobbi Lee Hitchon recently posted..From Backpacking Matt to Go Backpacking New Zealand: an interview with Matthew Kyhnn
Jess
07. Jul, 2012
These are harder to come by, but honestly we’ve had housesits everywhere – rural, urban, suburban and beach – and they all have their own amazing aspects as well as their challenges! Just be ready to apply for five or more most likely before you get your first one, after that, it’s easier. You know where there are loads of housesits? Australia and sometimes New Zealand…
Laurence
07. Jul, 2012
Looks amazing! Hopefully it come with some sort of internet access for you guys though
Laurence recently posted..Capture the Colour Photo Contest
Jess
07. Jul, 2012
The internet is there, but it’s patchy. It’s hard to think and work on a restricted daily limit. It’s not slow like dial up, but when you exceed your limit, it’s done. It’s like an internet diet…and we’re not sure how we feel about that yet
Alex
07. Jul, 2012
You guys have absolutely inspired me to try to do housesitting at some point in my travels! I can imagine I wouldn’t be the most attractive candidate on paper, being so young and single, but I’d love to make it work!
Alex recently posted..That Time with the Tigers in Chiang Mai
Jess
07. Jul, 2012
Oh Alex, you should definitely do it! Being young and single is definitely a harder angle than, say, a retired couple, but the most important thing is being able to show experience. Do some housesits for friends or friends of friends first so that you have good references and then when you apply, just be really thorough – you’re bound to get some. There are really tons out there for the taking!
Bethaney Davies
07. Jul, 2012
That looks like one incredible house-sitting location!! You’re very lucky… and a wee bit brave too!
Bethaney Davies recently posted..Living a Free and Meaningful Life
Jess
07. Jul, 2012
Hi Bethany – it is pretty incredible, but you’re right. There is an element of bravery in this housesit in particular. We have alarms and mace just in case, but even the tiny bit of crime they get over here is petty theft, nothing more. Let’s just hope we don’t have any scary posts in our future!
Jaime
07. Jul, 2012
Have I mentioned how much I hate yall for this? Ahh it sounded amazing when yall told me and now… looking at these photos OH MY!!! I hope the two months yall spend there will allow you to catch up on everything and then you can hit the floor running when you leave. So where after this???
Jaime recently posted..Oh India I hate you… I hate you not!
Jess
07. Jul, 2012
Ah, dear Jaime, you ask the $1 million dollar question! We have no idea where, but we are loving speaking Spanish again, so…ay, quien sabe!
Bret @ Green Global Travel
07. Jul, 2012
3 thoughts immediately sprang to mind:
1) Wow, that looks like the perfect sort of place for a Green Global Travel story (pssst… maybe you’d like to do a guest post about the benefit/challenges of such green accommodations?)
2) We need to look into this housecarers.com business.
3) Where the heck do you get your groceries???
Bret @ Green Global Travel recently posted..DESTINATIONS: Hiking The Annapurna Circuit– Why It May Be Now Or Never
Jess
07. Jul, 2012
Hey there Bret, so 1. We will definitely take you up on the guest post – we have learned an incredible amount already re: green accommodation. 2. We can refer you to other sites we use as well, but this is a fantastic way to really immerse yourself in a place without any of those pesky nightly hotel rates
3. Groceries can be purchased at bigger ‘tiendas’ 80 minutes’ drive from here, or a three-hour drive to bigger grocery stores. We bought a load of groceries this week and hope they will last roughly three weeks!!
Turtle
07. Jul, 2012
A.M.A-zing!
It looks like an absolute paradise! I’ve never considered doing housesits before because I’m never organised enough to plan anything more than a day or two in advance but your photos are starting to make me rethink things!
One question – when it comes to you being chosen, what do you think helps set you apart from the hundreds of other people who apply?
Turtle recently posted..How to visit Tuscany cheaply
Jess
07. Jul, 2012
Hey there! We get daily updates from various housesitting websites and apply. That’s all the effort we give until someone actually comes back and says yes. Then all we have to do is buy the plane tickets for what is usually one or two months in advance. It’s not all that much planning to be honest, and once you’re there, it’s a great way to slooooooow down – which is right up your alley. Housesitting allows you to immerse yourself in a place and meet locals in the most private/personal way possible – as their neighbors. What sets us apart? Well…We have a lot of experience at this point. This is our 11th housesit in two years. But in the beginning what we did was give as much detailed information as possible in terms of our experiences housesitting as well as owning and caring for pets. We make clear that we are truly animal people, and also that we work full time. That way people realize that we are completely responsible and not just freeloaders, if you know what I mean. Let us know if you want to actually apply and we can help you out more if you’d like!
Scott - Quirky Travel Guy
07. Jul, 2012
Sounds like paradise. One of the first long-term travel experiences I want is a beach house in Mexico, to have a chance to relax and take it easy for a while. How’s the internet access? Are you dependent on the sun for the ability to fire up your computer?
Scott – Quirky Travel Guy recently posted..Lost luggage and frozen tents: lessons in perseverance from Alaska
Jess
07. Jul, 2012
It’s pretty great Scott. We’re not entirely dependent on the sun for access. The solar power doesn’t quite work so directly. There are batteries that the solar power feeds into, and there is a generator to use when the batteries lose a certain amount of charge. The internet does eat a lot of power, actually, but so far the only issue is the limited data plan
apparently people who live on the beach don’t need to slave away on their computers for 14 hours a day. Understandable 
Karen @ Trans-Americas Journey
07. Jul, 2012
Yeah for housesitting, the long-term travelers sanity stop! We’ve been working with Trusted Housesitters to find housesits in Central America. Enjoy!
Karen @ Trans-Americas Journey recently posted..Staying Connected in Wild Places: Yeah or No Way?
Jess
07. Jul, 2012
Definitely let us know how TrustedHousesitters works out for Central America. We had one request to housesit in Guatemala but are fairly certain we won’t take it. If not, we’ll pass your names on if you’re interested. We just recently signed up with TrustedHousesitters and really like their whole ethos and the way they run the site. We’ve still gotten most housesits through housecarers.com and mindmyhouse.com though!
Talon
07. Jul, 2012
I just may have to hate you a bit. Just a bit. Or more.
Talon recently posted..What Death Taught Me About How to Live
Jess
08. Jul, 2012
Ouch! Hope we can make it up to you somehow. If it’s any consolation, it’s pouring with rain today…
Ryan at Travel and Graphs
07. Jul, 2012
I don’t know how I would handle being on a restricted internet diet, so much pressure!
Jess
08. Jul, 2012
I don’t like that aspect of it. It’s like being on a diet, which is probably good, but it’s also like kicking an addiction AND not being able to do your job at the same time. We’re getting through it
Lawrence Michaels
07. Jul, 2012
Nice secluded little spot you found there. I really love beaches like that, where you can just sit back and gaze out at the coconut palms and the rolling waves of the sea.
Lawrence Michaels recently posted..Phuket Beaches Guide
Jess
08. Jul, 2012
Totally Lawrence. The great thing about housesitting is that we didn’t even really ‘search’ this place out, the opp just popped into our inbox one day a few months back.
Jeremy Branham
08. Jul, 2012
Wow! Admittedly I am not a huge fan of beaches. However, I think I could hang out here for a couple of months! Yes, it’s remote but honestly I like that. I really do need to get away as I am tired and burned out. So give me your address and you can take that second month off. I will take care of things for you
Jeremy Branham recently posted..9 life lessons I learned as a travel blogger – Travel Confessions Part III
Jess
08. Jul, 2012
Never! Muahaha. Unless there is a hurricane, and then we might just allow you to come on over
Cole @ Four Jandals
08. Jul, 2012
That is a dream location! We are trying to get in to house sitting but so hard to get that first one locked in. Any tips on the best email to send would be great
Ekua
08. Jul, 2012
Ah, I can’t take it, this place looks unreal! If you get bored and need a replacement housesitter, let me know
Ekua recently posted..My Happy Days in Neukölln
dtravelsround
10. Jul, 2012
This house sitting sounds like pure bliss!! What luck!!
dtravelsround recently posted..Daily Wanderlust: World’s Largest Baseball Bat
Dani
12. Jul, 2012
It is pure bliss indeed, Diana! We were looking for something truly remote, and this is exactly what we got. I don’t think we’ll leave our little beach often while we’re here…
Bohemian Trails
11. Jul, 2012
Ok, I officially want to be at the beach! Loving this post
Bohemian Trails recently posted..Cultural Highlights from Germany
Dani
12. Jul, 2012
Come visit us, Megan
We’d be happy to have some visitors while we’re here! 
Cam @ Traveling Canucks
23. Jul, 2012
Oooo La La… that looks fantastic!
Cam @ Traveling Canucks recently posted..Photo Essay: Heli-tour of West Maui & Molokai
Dani
23. Jul, 2012
Yes, when we saw the photos of the house, we agreed immediately on the housesit
Izy Berry
24. Jul, 2012
that looks like PARADISE! You’re making me hang out for the beach. Only 2.5 weeks until I hit portugal and explore their lovely beaches.
Izy Berry recently posted..Places I’ve been
Dani
24. Jul, 2012
Izy – that’s exactly why we accepted this housesit – we just wanted to hang out on the beach
A great time to visit Portugal though and you will love the beaches there!! Enjoy 
Andi of My Beautiful Adventures
29. Jul, 2012
OMG amaaaaaaaazing!!!!!! Look at your backyard!
Andi of My Beautiful Adventures recently posted..Hong Kong: Plateau Spa At The Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
Dani
31. Jul, 2012
Thanks, Andi! Still can’t believe that we can snorkel out to the reef right from our backyard!!
Sue
08. Sep, 2012
Hi Dani and Jess, what a great time you have. I have done quite a bit of house sitting myself, one of my favourites was in Nashville (but I know that would not suit everyone)!.
Currently I am in Boston and travelling around sitting wherever I can find a good place. I come from Australia originally and the beaches there are pretty special although I think the Mexican Caribbean is now on my list.
Great blog you have, I loved housesitting so much I started doing my own thing – [url=http:/mindahome.com]House Sitting[/url] I will be following your travels from now on!!
Dani
09. Sep, 2012
Hi Sue, thanks so much for your comment! I’ve always wanted to see Nashville, so I think that would be a housesit that we’d enjoy! Boston is also a great place – we only spent a day there and we’re both itching to go back. Did I understand it right that you are the owner of mindahome? Because if so, we’d love to chat with you about it in more detail. Best, Dani & Jess