The following is a guest post written by the fabulous international house-sitter, Sally Pederson. Sally and I have connected virtually a few times and she has house sitting stories that would make even the most experienced traveler jealous.
I was so excited when she agreed to share one of her most memorable house sitting experiences and offered us a look at a day in the life of a house sitter in Tenerife, Canary Islands!
Traveling for work as a freelance writer and international house-sitter, Sally has the true “Wanderlust Gene”. She was born and raised in Southern Alberta, Canada. However, in the past four years, she has completed 23 house and pet sits, mostly in Europe and the UK. To date, she has been to over 30 countries and 130 cities.
She believes adventure and excitement are found everywhere, a deserted beach, the base of a mountain, a new city, or a small village.
When she is not writing or out with her camera, she is either at the gym or outside running or most likely making her next travel plans. A few of her favorite things in life other than travel are pasta and seafood, cheese and chocolate, wine and whiskey. You can read more about Sally here.
Follow Sally on her blog www.JetSetterPetSitter.com and on Instagram and Facebook.
A Day In The Life Of A House And Pet Sitter In Tenerife
I feel the movement of the bed. I know exactly what or, I should say, who it is. It must be around 7:00 am. That’s when Rico wakes me up if I’m still sleeping. He usually just jumps on the bed then will stare at me until I start petting him.
If I don’t start quick enough for his liking, he will gently touch me with his paw to get my attention. Ronny sleeps on the bed and because he is a lot smaller, I don’t notice him as much.
Rico and Ronny are the two dogs I’m taking care of on the Island of Tenerife. It is one of seven Canary Islands of Spain.
My Pet Sitter Life
I started house and pet sitting in 2015. I first thought, if I could get one or two house sits a year, it would be a great way to travel and not have to pay for accommodation. House sitting and pet sitting are not free vacations, there are still responsibilities, sometimes a lot of responsibilities.
However, it is a great way to travel. In my first two years of house sitting, I went to 15 different cities and towns. My third year I only did one short cat sit as I was tired of the extensive travel schedule I had the two years previous.
By mid-August of this year (2019) I will have completed my 23rd house and pet sit. Most of them have been in London and the greater London area. I have also taken care of pets in Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain.
My job as a travel writer is the perfect match to go along with house and pet sitting. I write about the various cities and destinations that I travel to as a pet sitter and the places I visit in between my sitting. My lifestyle and travel schedule this year are not typical to most.
So far this year I have been in and out (and back in again) to 17 countries and its only July. I say this to you because the opportunities to house and pet sitting are limitless. You can travel as much or as little as you want.
A Typical Day in Tenerife
My days here in Tenerife are similar to my days in every city whether I’m house sitting or not. They are probably, for the most part, like everyone one else’s days.
I get woken up by the dogs around 7:00 am. They enjoy getting some pets and cuddles in bed before I get up. Then I open the door to let them outside. As it is the Canary Islands, the door stays open all day and evening so the dogs can go in and out as much as they want.
I make their breakfast for them, a mixture of dry and wet food. Whatever they don’t eat within the hour goes into the outdoor garbage as flies are an issue here and the food attracts them. After the dogs are fed, I have my breakfast and go up the ‘chill-out area’ and work.
I have some days that I do not leave the property. I don’t have to take the dogs for walks because the property is very large and there is plenty of space for them to run around and play. Since I’m here for a month, I go and do some kind of activity or go to a new town about every three days.
There are plenty of things to do and I’m glad I’m not in a rush to try to see as much as possible in a short period of time. I also work every day. With everything I need to write about and social media, my to-do list is never-ending.
Additionally, I work out regularly with ‘at home’ workouts. Staying healthy and in shape is very important to me.
Things To Do In Tenerife
As Tenerife is an island, I have spent some time visiting a few of the beaches and beach towns near me.
Playa de Los Gigantes
Some say this area of the island has the most sunshine hours. The resort area of Los Gigantes has several restaurants and shops. The small beach area has black sand and a backdrop of tall cliffs.
Fañbé
Fañbé is a bigger town. Here you will find numerous restaurants and shops throughout the town. There is a long boardwalk with the beach on one side and countless shops and restaurants on the other. Here is also several water sports and a marina to numerous boating excursions.
Gift Excursions is the best place to book your tours and money exchange in the area. They are very friendly and went out of their way to help me out.
Los Cristianos
Los Cristianos is a large tourist and residential area in Tenerife. The wide boardwalk along the beaches can take you from Los Cristianos to Los Americanos. There are several water sports companies, restaurants, bars, and shops throughout the area.
You can also find various clothes and crafts in the street market. Monkey Park is northeast of the city. It is an interactive zoo with iguanas, parrots, and primates.
Los Americanos
This upscale resort area is known for its beaches, both natural and man-made. Often you can see whales and dolphins swimming in the ocean. Avenida las Américas is packed with countless restaurants and shops.
Flamenco shows are held at the Arona Pyramid auditorium. A short distance away is the Siam Park, a popular water park.
Mount Teide
The volcano on Tenerife is located in a popular area full of walking and hiking trails. With an elevation of 3,718 m, it is the highest point in Spain. It is also the highest point above sea level out of all the Atlantic islands. The last eruption took place on November 18, 1909.
All the beach towns have countless boat tours, sunset cruises, sea-doo rentals, and other water sports. You will never be short of places to go to eat or have some drinks. I don’t how many restaurants there are on the island, but my guess is it is in the thousands.
If you want, you can also take a ferry over to Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, or Lanzarote from Tenerife. The ferry schedule varies from daily to some islands and weekly to others. Therefore, it is very important you check the sailing dates and times.
A Great Dog Sitting Opportunity
The Canary Islands have always been on my bucket list. I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to come and dog sit for a month. I was unable to visit the other islands, as I could not leave the dogs for that long. Hopefully, I will get an opportunity to house sit on one of the other islands soon. However, my next house sit starts in a week in the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain.
A huge thank you to Sally for providing this post about her life as a house and pet sitter in the Canary Islands! Remember to follow along with Sally’s adventures on JetSetterPetSitter.com
