Home comforts

Huanchaco, Peru

I own my house in Brazil, but do not have permanent residence there so can only stay - as a tourist - for 6 months of the year. The remaining 6 months I stay in a small seaside town in Peru, Huanchaco, where I rent an apartment for the duration of my stay.
The first year here (7 years ago now!) I found a decent, spacious one-bedroomed apartment close to the seafront in a nice location which was well within my budget, so rented that for the 6 months. The apartment has a separate bedroom, small kitchen, and a large sitting/dining room, leading to a good balcony, there is also a laundry area (hand washing sink), and a staircase leading to the shared roof terrace, which has a drying area.
The cooker and fridge were old, but serviceable, as really were all the furnishings, and the provided sheets (one set) and towels (one bath and one hand) were again just "adequate". The kitchen equipment, however, was dismal! One plate, cup, knife, fork, spoon, and so on, and not very good quality.
I decided that I needed to buy what I required, so made a trip to the local supermarket and stocked up with a set of cutlery, a set of crockery, a set of glassware, storage containers, some kitchen utensils, a kitchen knife set, and a few extra odds and ends (tea towels and the like!) - they were from the supermarket's economy range so not that expensive, but did make the apartment feel more like home!
Over the course of my stay I also bought some new pillows (the provided ones were lumpy and smelled a little musty), another set of towels, and a sheet set, as well as a new frying pan! I had met a lovely Peruvian family while here, who as well as two of their own children were fostering 6 others, and got to know them all very well, and as my departure approached I asked if I could leave some belongings with the, and would collect them on my return. (I did pay them a small storage fee, which helped them enormously, but they were glad to help) I packed up some of the new things I had bought, but did leave the crockery, the pillows and the frying pan in the apartment.
The following year the apartment was not available until a month after I arrived so I managed to find a different one. This was a brand new building, and I was the first tenant in that apartment - which was three-bedroomed, so much too big (and expensive!) for me on my own - which was beautifully appointed! The furnishings were top quality, included two 48" flat screen TV's (one in the lounge and the other in the master bedroom), and the kitchen items brand new and more than adequate - and included a rice cooker, liquidiser and microwave. The only downside was that the rent was almost double what I had paid the previous year, and ate into my savings.
At the end of my stay I went to see the previous landlady to see if the first apartment would be available the following year, and she hummed and harred and said she could not guarantee it that far ahead in case she got a long-term tenancy offer, but if I cared to pay a deposit now she would ensure it was available - so that is what I did.
Upon my return I was surprised to find that almost all the crockery I had left had disappeared - she said it had been broken by intervening tenants - and the pillows were also gone, with lumpy ones back in their place! The frying pan was also battered out of shape, so utterly unusable! So once I had reclaimed my belongings from my friends here so could see what I needed it was another trip to the supermarket - more pillows, glasses, mugs, frying pan and a kettle, as the handle was falling off the one supplied! I also bought some cushions - the first year I was there I was impressed by the number of cushions scattered around the living room seating, but this time there were just two lumpy ones, so I bought 4 more!
The plug for the laundry sink had also vanished, and despite my and her efforts we could not find a suitable replacement (it was a non-standard sized brass one!), so I bought some large bowls to place in the sink and do my washing.
At the end of that stay I again had to pay a deposit to guarantee it was available the following year, and yet again on my return many of the things I had left had disappeared or were damaged - bowls for laundry, pillows (more lumpy ones had materialised!), frying pan, crockery numbers had diminished again, glassware, mugs. She told me that the other tenants had broken things, but that as there were still "sufficient" for a single tenant she did not replace anything! This time I bought a better quality frying pan, and this one got added to my stored items, and not left behind!
It was a similar situation the following year as well, and, of course, things like the cooker and fridge were also in a poorer state of repair every time I returned! You may ask why I kept returning to this apartment, but it was a matter of convenience, as the location was ideal, there was secure parking for my motorbike, the price was reasonable (though the rent did go up every year!), and I had looked around and not been able to find anything else that ticked all the boxes!
As the end of my 4th stay in the apartment, and 5th in Peru, the landlady told me that there may not be any parking the following year as she was looking to let the whole ground floor as a grocery shop! I was as much concerned about noise as losing the parking, so decided to look elsewhere for the following year. The landlord I had stayed with during year 2 had built a few more small apartments so I went to see him, and provisionally booked with him, though the apartment I really wanted was unavailable, but could become free, so we left it like that.
Once back in Brazil I started worrying that if I didn't make a firm booking I could find myself without a place to stay, so booked a different small one-bedroomed apartment with him. Fortunately, though, shortly after that the preferred apartment, on the top floor, became available so I swapped to that one. Again the apartments were beautifully finished and appointed, and had access to a washing machine, but the 5 flights of stairs were a challenge to me at my advancing age, especially on arrival/departure carrying luggage, and with the weekly shopping!
At the end of year 6 I asked about availability for the next year, and unfortunately he already had nothing until 6 weeks after my arrival (there were by now 4 long-term tenants in the building), but offered me a 3 bed-roomed apartment in a building nearby he was managing for a friend for the interim. I was not enamoured with the idea of having to move, and also the rental, albeit only for 6 weeks, was very high, so I said I would think about it and get back to him, however two weeks later he emailed me the large apartment was no longer available!
I did manage to find and book another smaller apartment with someone else, but upon my arrival was shown something totally different to the one advertised, and totally unsuitable, so was at my wits end - especially after over 30 hours travel with no sleep! I called the previous landlord out of desperation, and he did have another (3 bedroomed!) apartment available (another he was managing!), but only for 3 weeks, but should have something else available in his own building after that, but that might also be 3 bedrooms! I was once more on the 5th floor, and this year was struggling much more with the stairs, so again reverted to calling my old landlady - the grocery shop idea hadn't materialised and she had been messaging me to see if I still needed somewhere. "My" apartment would only be available in 10 days, but she did have a bedsit that I could have in the meanwhile, so I took that.
Once again the lumpy pillows were back, and this time the pots and pans in the kitchen were in a poor state, so again it was a trip to the supermarket! The bowls I had previously bought for the laundry area were gone, and still no plug, so I decided this year to take my stuff to a laundry for cleaning rather than buy more bowls and buckets! The bathroom and kitchen, though, had waste bins that were so tiny (and damaged in the case of the bathroom) so I replaced them as well, and bought a set of saucepans, including a kettle, and even a draining board, and chopping boards - as well as, of course, more pillows!
Upon arrival all the provided cutlery and kitchen utensils go into a plastic bag, where they remain until I leave, and this time the pots and pans joined them too - so basically the only "supplied" things I am using this year are plates, everything else (mugs, glasses, cereal bowls, cutlery, kitchen knives, kitchen utensils, and all the pots and pans) is mine! Wear and tear on her things is minimal when I am here - I still have my own sheets and towels, which I alternate with hers when they are being washed - and I don't even use the supplied TV as I use the internet for my entertainment (in fact she removes the TV if I am not going to use it!!) - I must be the perfect tenant (I even pay the rent early if she is here a day or so before the due date to save her making a special trip out!), as I even do small repairs myself (in the past I have replaced a broken light switch - was broken when I arrived - and a leaky toilet valve!), but I treat this place as my "home away from home" and do like to maintain certain standards of comfort while I am here!