Latin American Adventure: Caretaking, housesitting, and learning a new language

I recently received an email from Julia, one of our subscribers who recently embarked on what she calls her "Latin American Adventure."

Julia: Gary, I responded to an ad that ran in The Caretaker Gazette and accepted a caretaking position on a finca (farm) in Costa Rica. That was the start of my Latin American Adventure. I had originally planned to fly down to Costa Rica just for vacation. But, after talking to the property owners, a retired couple from the U.S., I changed my plans. I decided that I would spend about a week caretaking at their finca as part of my vacation.

I flew into San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica and, upon arrival, I was met by the wonderful owners of the finca. The place was so lovely and the people such good, like-minded souls, that I ended up spending my entire vacation there! The whole time, the owners and the other people on the finca made me feel so welcome and at home. An added bonus to my experience was being able to learn enough conversational Spanish to make myself understood in town, at the market and post office, etc. At the end of my stay, I knew that I wanted to make Costa Rica my semi-permanent home. So, I began the process of making a temporary move there. In order to keep my current status as a tourist, I have to leave Costa Rica every three months. That's fine with me because I have been exploring and discovering other Latin American countries. I have learned quite a bit more Spanish. I have found out that it is so much easier to learn while living and traveling in a place long-term instead of sitting in a classroom. Caretaking and learning a new language. When I first decided to take a vacation to Costa Rica, I never dreamed where it would lead me. So, thanks to The Caretaker Gazette, my Latin American Adventure continues!

Gary: Thanks for sharing your the story of your "Latin American Adventure" with us, Julia. Like you, we have many other subscribers who start out taking a short-term caretaking or housesitting position as part of their vacation and find that they love it so much that they end up in a long-term position in new part of the world.