Long time no see! I’ve decided to use this quarantine time to get back into journaling and blogging with a friendly, first-person tone. Hopefully, this entertains both you and me. You might feel like you’ve missed a bit, and honestly, you probably have! But I’ll get you up to speed as we go. For now, stay safe and remember to wash your hands.
Day 2 is here. If you’ve been reading this blog (we’re turning eight this year!), you might be wondering what happened with Guatemala and my guest house. Well, love happened. I started talking to a guy who sent me a plane ticket to San Diego. Long story short, we got married, and now we live in an RV in San Diego with our Great Danes, Napoleón and Kodiak.
Last year, I wasn’t in Guatemala much, so I started renting out my primary house there as well. It has three finished bedrooms, each with a private bath, a fourth bedroom in the making, and a big two-acre garden on the beach. By tweaking the guest house listing, I made both places available for bigger groups, which has been quite profitable.
March or April and December are usually my best months, depending on when Easter and Christmas fall. Last year, both months brought in over $7,000 each. I was expecting April 2020 to be just as good, or even better. But then the virus hit. Guatemala went on lockdown in mid-March, and despite having few official cases, I don’t see things improving in just two weeks.
The lack of testing, the poor population, and general non-compliance make it hard for the government to tackle the virus effectively. I got a few inquiries from people stranded nearby, but they wanted to pay only $20 per day for a house that usually rents for $150. While I’m happy to help, letting one person stay blocks the whole house, and costs add up quickly—around $15 per day just for utilities and maintenance.
I’m also hesitant to bring a foreign tourist into my village, fearing they might spread the virus. So, for now, I’m holding tight. I feel bad for my housekeeper who’s out of a job, but to be honest, she once left me abruptly for a better-paying job. She didn’t last long there either, and now she’s back after her cousin, whom I temporarily hired, disappeared on an indefinite “trip.”
There have been many ups and downs with the houses, mainly because I haven’t been around to oversee things. I’ve made a few investments like replacing the palm roofs, buying new water pumps, rewiring the houses (though the wiring is still not great), and constantly getting new hammocks and kitchenware since they wear out quickly.
Guests and Airbnb itself have changed over the years. Airbnb used to side more with me when guests tried to take advantage, but now it seems like the guest is always right, no matter what. Some guests are never happy, or they’ll say everything is amazing but still leave a mediocre review.
I’ve been hosting since 2011, and my enthusiasm for Airbnb is waning. But I still want to earn some income to cover taxes and salaries. The surrounding area has developed a lot too, with new Mayan ruins open to tourists and other attractions like ziplining and horseback riding popping up.
I love Guatemala and miss it deeply—waking up with the sun, taking the dogs for walks, swimming in the lake, and just being in nature. San Diego is beautiful, with amazing weather and friendly people, but sometimes it feels a bit too polished for me. In Guatemala, we’d say it’s like a “potato without salt.” It can feel like living in Pleasantville, and I miss the jungle.
Day 3 went well. We rode our bikes around the island, maintaining social distance, but tons of people were gathering at the beach. So much so that the mayor issued a stricter order banning groups of any size. It seemed like everyone wanted one last day out before things got worse, and now we’re all facing tougher restrictions. Oh well, at least our campground has a small beach on the bay that we can still use.