The House Sitting Life & a Great Camino #2

A surprising number of house sitters travel full time by housesitting. And they adopt a house sitting life for various reasons. In this article one of our seasoned housesitters Tiera St Claire tells us about walking her second Camino Santiago pilgrimage and how it prepared her for her housesitting life.

A House Sitting Life: What I Learned About Trust Walking 500 Miles Without Money 🏡✨
Tiera on her first day of the second Camino pilgrimage
The first day of my second Camino was breath taking and inspiring

Photo courtesy of Tiera St Claire

What is house sitting life really like? It’s a question I get asked often. The truth is, the house sitting life isn’t just about caring for homes and pets—it’s about learning to trust. This is the story of how a penniless pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago taught me the philosophy that would sustain two decades of house sitting adventures.

🏡✨ Discovering the House Sitting Life and Respecting the Camino

🤔 Can you really live without a permanent home? Will the next house sit appear when you need it? What if the money runs out?

These are the questions everyone asks about the house sitting life. And 19 years ago, I answered them all by walking 500 miles across Spain without a single Euro in my pocket.

At the end of my first Camino in 2005, I began my pet sitting adventure. One of the biggest lessons I needed to learn was trust—especially concerning money.

After divorcing, I had very little. Once I began the house sitting life, where it’s often a barter situation rather than a paid one, I wasn’t making any money. It has taken me a couple of decades to truly surrender to the awareness that Life provides for me. When I worry, chase after, or try to manage a situation to get money, it becomes more and more elusive.

It was on my second Camino that I began the journey toward freedom in my relationship with money itself—a freedom that would become the foundation of my house sitting lifestyle.

Whereas my first Camino was the Camino of Freedom, this became the Camino of Trust.

❤️ 💔 Returning to Spain: A Love Story and a Mountain

I left Maui and returned to Spain in the summer of 2006, flying into Zaragoza where I was met by Michelle and Nicolas—a Camino love story. They’d met on last year’s Camino with me and had been living together in northern Spain.

Michelle is Irish, Nicolas Belgian. They were living in a small town called Broto, near Ordessa, a stunning National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees, two hours north of Zaragoza, renowned for its mountains.

Michelle one of Tiera's walking companions
This is Michelle, one of my walking companions

Photo by Tiera St Claire

I was on my way to walk the Camino for the second time, and Michelle decided to walk with me for the first week.

⛰️ Part One: Over the Pyrenees

The following emails and journal entries take place in August 2006

Lorca – Email: Hola mis buen amigos

I’m in a lovely little Spanish town, drinking café con leche. I think I should begin this narrative at the beginning, so I don’t forget the details as I go along…

Darling Michelle and I walked from her flat in Broto up and over the Pyrenees and onto the Camino. The first day we walked 12 hours and stayed in a pension that night. The scenery was simply stunning.

We then walked four more days on the Camino Aragonés, which runs parallel to the stretch of the Camino from Roncesvalles to Puente la Reina.

Puenta de la Reina
Stopping in Puenta de la Reina was simply beautiful

Photo by Tiera St Claire

🌲 Part Two: Walking Through Cathedral Trees

A couple of days later, Michelle awoke early and began walking before me. That morning I walked alone through a forest where the trees formed a canopy overhead. Every once in a while the foliage opened up and I was treated to an amazing vista of a beautiful turquoise lake surrounded by mountains.

🥾 Part Three: The Pilgrimage Becomes Real

Here’s where my journey took an unexpected turn—and where I learned the first lesson about living the house sitting life.

I didn’t have the funds to pay my way as I had last year. Michelle and I discussed this and came up with the idea for me to offer service and work in exchange for staying at the albergues, as well as being open to receiving help along the way.

In sharing my thoughts and feelings with her, I realized I was now on a pilgrimage of Trust.

Pilgrimage of Trust, Just Like a Housesit

Sound familiar? This is exactly what the house sitting life asks of us every single day.

The first time I offered my service as barter, I was turned down. I looked around and saw a Spanish man I’d seen at the previous albergue—a very dour, middle-aged fellow. I told him I didn’t have enough money and asked if he would help me. He said of course he would, and if I saw him in 40 years, I could return the favor.

Later, he was talking to Michelle and asked her if I was stupid. Didn’t I know that the Camino cost money? Had I never heard of the Internet?

I realized I must talk to him and share my process, but wasn’t sure how to do so without going into lengthy explanation… in Spanish. I finally told him: “I am on a pilgrimage to learn to trust.”

He looked like he wanted to argue and started talking about the value of hard work… and then he stopped. I think he couldn’t refute the sincerity of my words and what he saw in my eyes.

➡️ Part Four: The Decision That Changed Everything

The next day was a lovely long walking day with Michelle. As I tuned into my purpose, I felt myself being asked to do the whole Camino without money as a testament and expansion of trust.

I felt stunned and daunted by the idea. I spent a good deal of the day’s walk talking with Michelle, receiving support to go forward and trust the process.

This is what the house sitting life demands: the courage to leap without knowing exactly where you’ll land.

walking and walking on the camino
The long days of walking the Camino were part of my learning to trust the process

Photo courtesy of Tiera St Claire

 🎵 Part Five: The Vision of Song

We arrived at the next albergue at about 7 PM, very tired, having unwittingly taken the longer (though more scenic) route. I told the hospitalera that I was walking the Camino to learn trust, had no money, and could I stay?

She tried to get Michelle to pay for me, but I explained Michelle only had money for her Camino, not mine. She was reluctant, so I asked if she would loan me a blanket to sleep outside (it was too cold with only my silk sleep sack).

She looked me very deeply in the eyes and said I could stay.

The dour guy was in the room, listening. In that moment, I had a vision of him singing.

After I’d showered and changed, I found him and told him that spirit had shown me a vision and asked if he wanted to hear it. He said yes, but he would make up his own mind. I told him I saw him singing.

He said he didn’t know how.

I smiled and said he better learn.

And he started to laugh.

At first it seemed like his face had forgotten how even to smile. From then on, every time I saw him, he was smiling or laughing. He said he was going to practice singing in the shower!

Later, Michelle and I were talking to two other Spanish pilgrims, sharing my pilgrimage for Trust. They were very positive, and the woman said she was sure I would experience miracles.

In the house sitting life, these small miracles happen constantly—if you’re open to receiving them.

😇 🌧️ 🌩️Part Six: The Coffee Shop Angel

The next day dawned cold, rainy, and windy. Michelle left early, so I walked alone for an hour or two. When I saw that the path was another 14 kilometers of what looked to be even worse weather—feeling wet, cold, and verging on misery—I decided to hitch a ride.

I ended up in Pamplona, and my conviction started to waver.

I wanted a hot coffee. I REALLY wanted a coffee. I knew I could go to a cash machine and get some money (I really had no cash at this point, though I had enough in the bank for a coffee).

I just wanted to get out of the rain and have a coffee… and that was when I realized that the dour guy and the Spanish woman would somehow feel disappointed, whether they knew or not. My journey had become more than my own—what had started as a way to save money had become a spiritual journey that was impacting and inspiring others.

Yellow arrows along the Camino to show you the way
There are always yellow arrows along the Camino to guide you You learn to trust these small signs

Photo by Tiera St Claire

A Reprieve

I still felt tired, cold, wet, and shaking in resolve. I decided to see if I could find a place to buy some minutes for my phone, and lo and behold, there was a phone store right across the street.

An aside: For those feeling concerned for my welfare, please rest assured that I was taking care of myself and would bring out the credit card if I needed something for my health or safety. The phone minutes came into this category.

The guy in the phone shop was new and had to get help. We finally found a plan, and then—wavering once again—I asked if he could put another couple of Euros on my credit card so I could use the Internet and get a coffee.

He said he couldn’t do that, but I could use the email without charge and he would buy me a coffee from the machine!

My resolve came back. Somehow, even though I hadn’t told him my story, he helped me with exactly what I needed. My journey took on even greater meaning.

💸💰 Part Seven: Really Doing This

That night at Puente la Reina, the hospitalero didn’t even bat an eye but let me stay for free.

And that day, I realized: I am really doing this. I will walk the entire 500 miles of the Camino de Santiago without money.

Just as, years later, I would realize: I am really living the house sitting life. I am really doing this without a permanent home, without a guaranteed income, trusting that the next sit will appear.

💰❓ My Mind Has So Many Questions

From the Journals – Estella

How can I do this? It’s like I’m throwing myself into the void, trusting that somehow I will move through the darkness of my own fears to emerge into the light of possibilities. And that I will have the courage and clarity to make the right choices along the way.

Knowing that I could fall, that I could crash and burn, I still feel compelled to seek the freedom of the unknown over the safety of the familiar.

I choose life.

I choose this intensity
Rushing through my nervous system
Tingling in my blood
Breath coming now fast, now slow
As I surrender to who I am
And the sweet nectar of my dreams
Unfolding in perfect harmony
With the ever-changing
Always-unfolding symphony of creation

📝📓✍️ From the Journals – Logroño

I’m feeling rather bland. I remember last year when I was overflowing with joy. I felt so alive and free. I wonder how much of my life I live in response to what has come before, and how much I’m really in the moment.

After having felt trapped in Oregon for five years, I felt free last year on the Camino. Now, having been free and rootless for a year and a half, I feel uncertain.

I’m ready to meet my people, to connect with the spirit of the Camino, to stop thinking of my own survival and move toward connection.

I sometimes feel lost and don’t know why or what I’m doing. I just have to keep going and trust.

And alone again

Michelle has left to go back home but still seems to be holding the vision for me. That helps. I’m finding out how much people mean to me. I’m so grateful for my friends.

Have I surrendered? Is that what this is? Is it surrender to my destiny? To Life? Does surrender mean a cessation of fighting?

Do I think too much? Am I asking the right questions? Would the Camino feel easier if I were truly surrendered, if I were less driven by pride?

Tonight I will not go to sleep hungry. For that I am grateful.

Ditched: Laughing and Crying

Literally Ditched

Email from Ventosa

I’ve now been three days without Michelle. I call her my Freedom and Personal Power Coach.

After I left her in Viana, I began walking toward Logroño and stopped along the road to pee. I had just begun when I took a misstep and fell in a ditch. I won’t go into the details—suffice it to say I was glad it was a sunny day so it didn’t take too long for my shorts to dry.

It was a very humbling experience.

🤝 A Gift of Healing

Email from Ciriñuela

Last night I did my first Insight Healing in Spanish for a lovely woman from Barcelona named Carmen.

Insight Healing is a term I created for the gift I have of Inner Vision and healing hands.

She gave me 30 Euros. Having done my work, I was filled with love and joy again.

I was lying in bed wondering what to do about having some money after having none since I began… and thought I could buy postcards to send to my daughter, Tali.

And I burst into tears.

So I was laughing and crying and feeling humble and vulnerable and strong.

Day has dawned. I better start walking.

Ditched Again!

Email from Belorado

While walking yesterday, I took a wrong turn and ended up on an asphalt road instead of the lovely dirt track of the Camino. Because I really don’t like backtracking, I cut through a wheat field to meet up with the Camino. I have a good sense of direction and found my way by looking at the sun.

I had to jump over a ditch and did very well except I ended up in a patch of nettles. My left leg was stinging the rest of the day.

My friend Thomas told me there’s a plant that always grows alongside nettles which is an antidote, but I wasn’t sure which one it was. I just let the stinging be. I hear it’s good for the circulation.

🌬️ 💨 ☀️ Fierce Wind, Ancient Power, and Suspicious Eyes

rare night in a lovely hotel
A rare night in a lovely hotel

Email from Ledigos

This will be a quick update as I’m usually able to get online for only about 15 minutes at a time.

Thank you all for your loving responses. Especially today I feel warmed by your love, as it is COLD. About 9 or 10 degrees Celsius (49°F) and with a fierce wind.

Since last I wrote, I’ve witnessed a ceremony of ancient Celtic power, received the allyship of hawks and ravens, and been given 50 Euros by a Spanish woman tourist who saw me when I was exhausted, hungry, and trying not to cry.

A few days ago, with her money, I spent the night at a lovely hotel in Carrión de los Condes, which had been converted from a huge monastery. I had an actual hot bath and a real meal!

Photo by Tiera St Claire

The Hardest Ask

Last night was the most difficult time I’ve had asking for a place to stay.

The woman hospitalera at the albergue where I stopped—after walking through the desert for seven hours—told me she was running a business and everyone had to pay. No, she didn’t need my help as they were very well organized, thank you.

She looked at me with suspicious eyes.

Though I felt tears prickling behind my eyes, I did not cry. I thanked her very much and walked out with as much dignity as I could muster in my exhausted state.

I was standing in the courtyard outside the albergue, tired and hungry, trying to gather the energy to begin walking down the road…

walking in the desert sunI
I walked for seven hours in the desert sun

Photo by Tiera St Claire

And then the hospitalera came out and beckoned me to follow her.

She led me into the albergue and showed me where to shower and where I could sleep. Even though she was offering me a place to stay, she acted very put out and never smiled at me.

I sat on my bed, feeling pitiful. A beautiful French woman pilgrim gave me a pear and an apricot health food cookie along with a smile and words of encouragement.

That night, after taking my shower, I did not leave my bed. I felt bereft and unable to socialize. I knew I would feel better if I went out and joined with the pilgrims, offering love, healing touch, or even simple companionship, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave the safety of my cot and risk seeing the woman with the suspicious eyes.

It is hard to ask for charity, but even more difficult to feel less worthy than others

One of the lessons of the Camino journey and hardship of the route, especially without money, was to think of those worse off than yourself. And I was feeling so much compassion for those who are without the basics, that it was very upsetting. To be worthy of our lives we must live good lives.

This is something every house sitter must face at some point: the vulnerability of depending on others’ generosity and trust.

The Way of the Camino

From the Journals

I reached another low point today. The cold and rain are so hard for me. I couldn’t remember what I was doing or why.

I made it 23 kilometers to the next albergue, which was run by donation, so I didn’t need to ask for charity.

I took a nap. When I awoke, I went into the dining area where the pilgrims were just finishing eating. I had some olives and rice cakes that someone had given me and began eating. Someone gave me a glass of wine, another person a bag of fruit.

Camino Pilgrims at the albergua
The Camino Pilgrims at the albergua were generous and welcoming

Photo by Tiera St Claire

This is the way of the Camino.

Then I was talking to an Irish lass and a German lad, sharing my journey and theirs. They told me to keep going. To keep the faith.

I was feeling peaceful now. I hoped it would be hot tomorrow.

The Joke Is On Me

Email from Samos

I think I’ve lost the plot. I’m sure it’s a good story—maybe that’s all it is. I decided a while ago that if my life is a movie, I would like a Romantic Comedy: lots of fun and laughter, uplifting dialogue, a few tears, good friends, and a happy ending.

I suppose I’m on what Joseph Campbell would call a Hero’s Journey. Journey of Power, Quest for Meaning. A blending of the Spiritual and the Material.

🤝 A testament of trust

But trust in what? Life? That I’m an integral part of something that is important?

What if it doesn’t matter? Maybe the joke is that I want so much for it all to matter, and I’ve thought matter itself doesn’t matter.

I can tell my story as a Spiritual Journey, filled with meaning and high holy imaginings.

Or as the life of a woman:

  • Married
  • Divorced
  • Left with nothing after 18 years of marriage (except the very valuable commodity of freedom and a wonderful relationship with my fabulous daughter)
  • Taken care of, very well and lovingly, by friends
  • Letting go of my old life
  • Hanging out in ambiguity
  • Allowing a new life to be born

Soon I would be in Galicia, where all the albergues are run on a donation basis.

My friend Sarah from Maui was coming to walk the Camino. She was going to meet up with me, but I was so far along now…

I wondered: Should I stop where I am and go back to the beginning to start her off on her Camino? Would this interfere with my process somehow? Is there more for me to do on this, my Camino of Trust?

🐈🐱 Cat Logic

That night I had the following dream:

I saw someone talking to a big old scruffy white cat. When the person left, I went up to the cat and asked if I could ask it a question.

The cat looked me up and down and said “No.”

I then asked if I could pet it and it said yes and preened a bit.

After I had been petting him for a while, he looked me in the eye and said to ask my question. I asked if there was anything else important I had to do here on the Camino.

He thought a bit, seemed to look within, and said “No.”

Then he shook his head and said, “Humans, you always think you’re so important!” And with a flick of his tail and a toss of his head, he walked away.

🔄 Full Circle

The next day I walked to Portomarín, crossed that long, lovely bridge, and walked up the stairs into the town.

I then took a bus and another bus and a train to Pamplona, where I met up with my dear friend Sarah.

We stayed together at a small hotel, and in the elevator we met a woman who had just been married. She invited us to her reception! We spent the evening dancing and mingling with lovely Spanish people—did the bunny hop around the hotel room.

I walked three days with Sarah along the stretch of the Camino I didn’t do this year because of starting in Broto. It was so rich and wonderful to be with this dear sister and introduce her to the life of the Camino.

I then returned to Broto for another week with Michelle and Nicolas. While there, I had a very intense dream where I was a Cathar in southern France. When I awoke, it was completely dark in the room. I lay there for quite a while not knowing who—or even when—I was.

Surrender
Is this moment

Surrender
Is this moment
Doing what I am doing

Surrender
Is this moment
Doing what I am doing
With all my heart

🐈🤝🏡 What the House Sitting Life Really Teaches You

It took me a while to recover from this Camino. Thank heavens for the house sitting life. Not only does it offer me places to stay, but pet cuddles are often part of the package—and my nervous system needed both.

the Camino prepares you for the house sitting life
Walking the Camino prepares you for the house sitting life

Photo courtesy of Tiera St Claire

It has been 19 years since I walked that Camino, and I can see clearly now what the house sitting life has taught me: when I do things just for money, though I may get some, it is not in the spirit of abundance that feels enriching.

I can look back at my life before the Big Change in 2005 when I divorced and embarked on this house sitting adventure. Whenever I went after something to make money, it was not satisfying, whereas when I let Life make the first move, so to speak, and I responded naturally, money flowed naturally.

The house sitting lifestyle isn’t easy for the mind to accept. Living as a house sitter means living with uncertainty. Throughout this time, I learned I had to educate my mind on what it was allowed to talk to me about.

After years of hearing it tell me how I was going to end up in the gutter, lost and alone (seriously), I virtually sat my mind down and asked it to look back at all the times I had been without… Did I end up in the gutter? No. Was it likely I was going to? No. Had Life somehow always provided? Yes.

🐶🐈🐕 Training Your Mind for the House Sitting Life

So Mind, here is what you are allowed to talk to me about: Commentary.

Darling mind of mine, you can make as much commentary as you like about what you see.

For example, I was on the Camino last year and stayed a night in León. The day’s walk out of León, after the first half hour, is not very nice—along a road with loads of cars and ugly buildings. I often take a local bus and skip this part.

Upon awakening, my mind began inundating me with thoughts about not liking the walk and “let’s go to the bus stop.”

following the yellow arrows of the Camino Way
Following the arrows of the Camino Way kept me on track

Photo by Tiera St Claire

I said, “Let’s see what we respond to as we walk through the Old Town, by the Parador and across the river.”

Here is what my mind saw:

…walking along, looking at buildings, oh you took a photo, you’re looking for the yellow arrow, oh there’s another pilgrim, now you’re talking with her, now you’re walking with her, walking along the boring parts but talking and laughing, oh, stopping for coffee now…

That is my mind being entertained and entertaining rather than trying to bully me, worry me, or scare me.

This is exactly what living the house sitting life requires.

Is the House Sitting Life for You?

The biggest lesson of that Camino is that Life provides.

And one of the premier ways it does so for me is through the house sitting life.

When you choose the house sitting lifestyle, you’re not just exchanging services for accommodation—you’re participating in an economy of trust. Homeowners trust you with their most precious possessions: their homes, their pets, their peace of mind. You trust that the next sit will appear when you need it. You trust that by giving excellent care, you’ll receive excellent opportunities in return.

Living as a house sitter isn’t about being reckless or irresponsible. It’s about knowing the difference between fear and wisdom, between hoarding and receiving, between controlling and allowing.

🏠️🌍 What the House Sitting Life Has Given Me

For nearly two decades, the house sitting life has given me:

  • A home wherever I go – From Spanish villages to Hawaiian beaches and European capitals, love it all
  • The gift of animal companionship without the burden of ownership
  • Freedom to move when I need to move
  • Permission to stay when I need to stay
  • A life rich in experience rather than possessions
  • Daily practice in trust – trusting homeowners, trusting myself, trusting Life

The Camino taught me to trust. The house sitting life lets me live that trust every single day.

The Real Question About House Sitting Life

People always ask: “But how do you manage? What about security? What about money? What about… everything?”

And I want to tell them about that scruffy white cat in my dream who said, “Humans, you always think you’re so important!”

The house sitting life isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about being willing to walk forward anyway. It’s about training your mind to be your companion, not your warden. It’s about discovering that when you stop trying to control everything, Life has a way of providing exactly what you need—often in ways you could never have planned.

Is the house sitting life easy? No.
Is it predictable? Never.
Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Ready to explore what the house sitting life could mean for you? Whether you’re a homeowner looking for reliable, trustworthy care or someone curious about this nomadic lifestyle, Housesitmatch connects people who understand that the best exchanges are built on trust, not just transactions.

Create your profile today and discover where trust—and the house sitting life—can take you.

This is Part 2 in a series about one woman’s house sitting adventure. Read Part 1: First Camino: Pilgrim Discovers House Sitting, to learn how this journey began, or continue to Part 3 to discover what happened when trust was tested even further.

👩‍💼 About the Author Tiera St Claire: After completing her first Camino de Santiago in 2005,Tiera has spent 20 years as a housesitter, caring for pets and properties across 30+ countries. Her journey proves that midlife can be the beginning of your greatest adventure. Follow Tiera’s ongoing travels and housesitting tips at House Sit Match,

Further reading on travel, housesitting and housesitters

At Housesit Match we like to share useful blogs and practical advice about travel, housesitters, housesitting and pet sitting such as this one, one house sitter’s perspective on her house sitting life. We hope you find this small selection of our blogs useful, such as this one on Tiera’s second Camino.

More blogs to view:

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