It’s been a while since my last blog post! During quarantine, I’ve decided to get back into journaling and blogging to keep us all entertained. It might feel like you’ve missed a lot, but I’ll try to catch up as we go along. In the meantime, stay safe and wash your hands!

Let’s get to Day 2. If you’ve been following this blog for a while (it’s our 8th anniversary!), you might be curious about what’s happened with my little guest house in Guatemala. Well, love happened. A guy started talking to me, sent me a plane ticket to visit him in San Diego the same night, and now we’re married. Don’t worry, I’ll share that story later.

So, we now live in San Diego in an RV with our Great Danes, Napoleón and Kodiak. I didn’t spend much time in Guatemala last year, so I started renting out my primary house in addition to the guest house. The primary house has three bedrooms, each with a private bath, a fourth bedroom in progress, and a huge 2-acre garden by the beach. With some updates to the guest house listing, I made both houses available to bigger groups, which has been a nice income source over the past few years.

March and April, depending on when Easter falls, and December for Christmas and New Year’s are usually my best months. Last year, both months grossed over $7,000. April 2020 was looking just as promising—until the virus hit. Guatemala went into lockdown in mid-March, and even though the official case count is low, it’s hard to see things magically improving in two weeks.

The lack of testing and general compliance among the population makes it hard for the government to tackle the virus effectively. I had a couple of inquiries from people stranded nearby, but they wanted to pay about $20 per day for a house I usually rent for $150. While I’d like to help, allowing one person to stay blocks the whole house, and the expenses add up to about $15/day with AC, electricity, internet, the housekeeper, and normal wear and tear. Plus, I’m uncomfortable bringing a foreign tourist into my remote village, just in case they spread the virus.

So, for now, I’m playing it safe. I feel bad for my housekeeper who’s out of work, but she didn’t complain when she left for a better job without notice. She lasted only a few weeks; then I hired her cousin, who’s now on a months-long “trip,” so the original housekeeper is back.

There have been many ups and downs with the houses, mainly because I haven’t been around to keep an eye on things. I’ve made some investments like replacing the palm roof of the main house ($2,500), the deck roof ($500), and buying new water pumps for each house ($1,000). I also hired an electrician to rewire both houses ($500), but the wiring is still problematic, which frustrates me. I’m always replacing hammocks, floaties, and kitchenware, as they never seem to last more than one booking.

Guests and Airbnb itself have changed. Airbnb used to side with hosts more, but now it seems like the guest’s word is final, no matter how unreasonable the requests. I’ve bent over backward to accommodate guests who were never satisfied, and even those who seemed happy still left 3-star reviews. I’ve been hosting since 2011, and I think my honeymoon phase with Airbnb is over. Nevertheless, I still need the income to cover taxes and salaries.

The area has developed a lot recently, with new Mayan ruins opening to tourism and more attractions like ziplining and horseback riding becoming popular. I love it there and miss it dearly. I miss waking up with the sun, walking the dogs, swimming in the lake, and being in nature.

San Diego is beautiful with great weather and friendly people, but it sometimes feels too polished for my taste. In Guatemala, we have a saying, “papá sin sal” (a potato without salt), to describe something that’s bland, like living in Pleasantville. I miss the raw beauty of the jungle.

Day 3 was good. We went on a socially distanced bike ride on the island, but we saw a large crowd at the beach. This prompted the mayor to issue stricter rules against any group gatherings. It seemed like everyone wanted to enjoy one last day before things got worse, and now we’re all facing tighter restrictions. At least our campground has a small beach on the bay we can still use.