Housesit in Argentina: Adventure housesit

19 Jul, 2023

Housesit in Argentina: Adventure housesit

Affordable travel, Blog Only, Full Library LamiaW
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While many homeowners on HouseSitMatch chose a new path after the Covid pandemic, few moved to the other side of the world and adopted a radically different lifestyle. Angela a keen traveller, relocated from Europe to the Andes! Read on to learn how relocation, touring on horseback and this housesit in Argentina became a reality.

Fancy a housesit in Argentina, actually in the Andes?

housesit in Argentina
We really have the most incredible views over the Andes

 

1.  Where are you from originally?

I’m from Poland, my partner is half French, half Indian.  Before coming to Argentina for our new life in the Andes we both did a lot of different seasonal jobs mostly working in restaurants, hotels, campsites. I worked with horses for some time before having children and now I teach English.

The ultimate adventure housesit in Argentina

 

2.  How and why do you happen to live on a farm, with a housesit in Argentina?

Our decision about settling down in Argentina was somewhat spontaneous and caused by the pandemic. We both traveled a lot before we met each other through Couchsurfing, where I read about his horseback trip crossing Mexico.
As I grew up with horses and studied horse breeding, I was very interested in his adventure, as it never crossed my mind that you can travel on horseback. We met, we became friends, then slowly developed feelings for each other and were planning together horseback expedition to cross the whole South America on horseback.
After we got together the children came along quickly. So we had to postpone our plans and finally, in 2018 we started our expedition.

Travelling the landscape on horseback

For 2 years we were crossing Argentina with horses, covering almost 3000km along the Andes mountain range, when the pandemic started and we couldn’t travel anymore.
We were waiting for a long time for borders to open so we could continue our travel, however after 6 months we just had enough and started thinking about different options. We already had horses here, a dog, a motorhome, we knew the country quite well and we saw a business opportunity for the future.
With the money we had, we would never be able to buy land in Europe, but here we could do that, so we bought a piece of land in the middle of nowhere and started developing a tourist complex.

Our location is good

If you are considering our housesit in Argentina then you need to be aware of our location and nearest amenities. The nearest airport is 60km away in the city of Mendoza. Guests can travel to the property by public bus that leaves every 3-4h from bus station in Mendoza or by taxi.

 

Building a destination for touring with horses in the Andes

Our plan is to have a few cabins for rent, all very unique and different styles, build a restaurant and offer multi-day horseback tours across the mountains. That’s what we’ve been working on for the past 2 years.
The tours we offer vary from 3h to 5 days. 1 day treks we run all year round, multi-day tours from spring to autumn in Argentina due to the weather conditions. We only take 2-3 people maximum on a tour, so you get very personalized experience and full attention of a guide.
Our approach is focused on you learning how to communicate and control your horse, understanding his behavior and nature and connecting with him.
You can be a complete beginner and still do multi-hour or multi-day trek if you are physically fit and not afraid of horses. We teach everything from basic horse care, grooming, and saddling up, as this is an important part of bonding with the horse.

3.  What is the best thing about where you live and why is it good for a housesit in Argentina?

housesit in Argentina
The Lake view on one side of the property is breathtaking, a real bonus for our housesit in Argentina

 

The best thing we have here in our unique setting are the views of the Andes. For a keen traveller and housesitter drawn to stunning vistas of the world, this is it. You feel you are at the top of the world looking around. It’s breathtaking every day! And while this is not house sitting Buenos Aires our housesit in Argentina really offers an incomparable view.
Snow-capped, 6000m+ mountains are visible from our terrain on one side, and a lake view on the other side. There are no neighbors around, just vast open spaces leading up to the mountains. You feel absolute peace and freedom.

Seasonal weather for your housesit in Argentina

  • Summer season in Argentina – runs between December and March. It’s very hot and if we have a few hours rides we do them early morning or late afternoon. For multi-day rides schedule is similar, you leave early morning, get to your lunch break spot and spend whole afternoon there, waiting for the biggest heat to pass, before you can continue riding again in the late afternoon/evening.
  • Autumn starts in March and finishes in May – It’s a pleasant time to ride, but it starts getting dark earlier, so we finish rides around 6/7pm.
  • Winter starts in the end of May up until the end of August – It’s very cold at night, but during the day it’s usually sunny and we start our day later if we have rides. In the morning water and everything tends to be frozen.
  • Spring runs from September to end of November – another short and really pleasant time of the year. Rides are done throughout the day.

 

4.  What is the main challenge of living where you do?

Hammocks with a view – a big benefit to this housesit in Argentina

 

As much as we love the landscape, it comes with many climate challenges. First of all, there no natural water source, we have to buy water from the village that comes in a truck and store it in big tanks. Growing any trees or plants is also difficult, it’s a semi-desert area with native shrubs, bushes and cactuses.

 

Running on solar energy means low impact on the planet

The place is run on solar energy and in winter when it’s cold we don’t get enough sunlight to charge our batteries and keep them warm, so then we’re left without electricity.

Weather is usually extreme, in the Summer it’s usually too hot, in the Winter too cold and on top of that periodically we have very strong wind (Zonda), that broke so many things.

Every time after that we think about how to rebuild the damage in a stronger way. It’s also far from shops (10km to the nearest village), so you need to plan your shopping carefully.

 

5.  What animals do you keep on the farm and who helps you care for them?

    We keep a few sheep on the farm.

We have various animals and their quantity changes, but at the moment there are:

  • 3 horses
  • 5 dogs
  • 2 cats
  • 2 sheep
  • 2 chickens
  • 2 ducks.

We have 2 employees who take care of the place 4 days each.

 

6.  What is your home like and when was it built?

housesit in Argentina

    There’s a tree house on stilts on our land where guests  stay

 

Our home is not built yet, we just started the construction.

In the meantime, we live in a converted bus, that has 3 bedrooms, kitchen, toilet and shower. We use the bus as a common and shared space between us, employees and guests who are staying in the cabins.

Apart from the bus we have 2 cabins for rent:

  • Mongolian Yurt
  • Treehouse on stilts.

Once we have our house ready, we plan to use a bus as a hostel.

 

7. Why housesit in Argentina for us in our location?

It’s a place for mountain lovers, as there are various hikes you can do even starting from our property. One of the most popular hikes leads to crashed airplane in the mountains and it takes only 3h up and 2h down starting from our property.

Great places to visit while you housesit in Argentina for us

About 140km away there is Aconcagua National Park with the highest mountain outside Asia. Even if you’re not planning to climb Mt. Aconcagua there are various hiking routes you could do in a day.

In Winter it could be good idea to visit hot spring in Cacheuta, 20km away from the property. It will be busy on the weekends, so it’s better to go there during weekdays and book tickets in advance.

The City of Mendoza also has a lot to offer, I recommend doing a free walking tour there that gives you some insight into the history and geography of the place. Apart from that, a visit to one of the bodegas (vineyards) is usually a must for a lot of travelers.

 

Final thoughts on this housesit in Argentina

We love our location and want to share the joy and splendour of the landscape. From time to time we need to visit family in other countries and need to find people to housesit in Argentina for us, well our little corner of it.

It really is a stunning location and offers fantastic experiences to anyone with a sense of adventure, a wanderlust and a love of animals. While it is not one of the regular house sitting jobs you’ll find in most housesitting platforms it offers housesitters a wonderful slice of adventure and spectacular views from the top of the world.

View the INSTAGRAM account for ToursInExpeditions to take inspiration for your housesit in Argentina.

Search via FIND A HOUSESIT to find this housesit in Argentina, and other new and exciting housesitting adventures on Housesitmatch.com.

 

FURTHER READING FOR ADVENTUROUS HOUSESITTERS & PETSITTERS

While a housesit in Argentina and in the Andes may be an unusual opportunity on Housesitmatch.com we like to help our housesitters and homeowners prepare for the opportunities that present themselves. Please refer to some of our published blogs to learn more about housesitting and petsitting on our platform.

Cycling and housesitting around the world 

The Affordable Alternative to Dog Kennels

What is House Sitting?

 

 


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LamiaW

LamiaW

Founder and Director of HouseSitMatch - I'm a hands-on Admin on the site. Please ask any questions and as soon as I can I'll happily answer and assist where I can.

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