Ella’s companions for the Dieciocho holiday were Marca, Ashley, Evan, and Kieran, a family we found on the Trusted Housesitters website, which matches pet lovers looking for a free place to stay with pet owners looking for housesitters while they travel. Marca and Ashley were international teachers in Thailand and Saudi Arabia, but they’ve taken off for at least a year of travel and “world schooling” with their two boys. We gave them a tour of our school (in case they ever want to settle down again) and took them out to dinner before heading off to San Pedro de Atacama.
We knew we had found the right family when the younger boy showed up for dinner with a T-shirt reading “Purr-ito” and a picture of a cat face sticking out of a burrito. My kind of people.
I asked them to take a family photo with Ella. No small feat. She is terribly uncooperative.
I’m glad we told them about Ella’s secret hiding place! They sent this pic when she disappeared for awhile.
It seems Evan was Ella’s BFF.
When we got home, Ella was more interested in playing in the luggage than actually reconnecting with us.
Not only did this family treat our baby with love and kindness, they also left our home in perfect condition. Actually it was even better than we’d left it; Ashley fixed our broken kitchen faucet. Everyone said they enjoyed their stay in Santiago, so it sounds like a win-win!
Loved reading about your cat, Ella. She looks like our neighbor’s cat who visits us every day and wants pets non-stop!