Creating Community: Colin Brownlee's Journey to Club Heasa in Costa Rica

Episode Transcript
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(01:13):
Welcome to the Where Do GaysRetire Podcast where we help you
in the LGBTQ community find asafe and affordable retirement place.
Join Mark Goldstein as heinterviews others who live in gay
friendly places around theglobe. Learn about the climate, cost
of living, health care, crimeand safety, and more. Now here's

(01:34):
your host, Mark Goldstein.
What if you could test drivelife in Costa Rica? Men only built
in community without buying ahome or committing long term. By
the end of this episode,you'll know exactly what a week or
a month at Club Heasa reallycosts, feels like and whether it

(01:59):
fits into your lifestyle.Today we have our special guest,
Colin Brownlee. I'll tell youa little bit about Colin joining
us from Costa Rica. Originallyfrom Vancouver, Canada, Colin left
behind a career in marketingback in 2004 to follow a dream. He
moved to the Caribbean coastof Costa Rica and built a hotel that

(02:21):
grew into a thrivinghospitality business with over 60
employees. After two decadesof success in hitting the milestone
of turning 60, Colin made thedecision to sell his hotel at the
height of its success, knowingit was time to pass the torch and
step back from the the dailystress of running such a large operation.

(02:43):
But Colin wasn't ready forfull retirement. And we know Colin,
he never sits still. He wantedto remain in Costa Rica and more
importantly, be surrounded byhis own gay community. With few gay
gayborhoods in the country,and even Manuel Antonio losing its

(03:04):
reputation as the top LGBTdestination, Colin decided if the
community he longed for didn'texist exist, he would build it himself.
That vision became Club Heasa,a project he has been dreaming for
about for 15 years. After twoyears of construction, Club Hesse
is now opening its doors onSeptember 1, offering a brand new

(03:28):
space where gay men canconnect, relax and really feel true
at home in Costa Rica.Welcome, Colin. Welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much for coming.
Good to see you again, Mark,and thanks for having me. It's great.
Sure. So folks, welcome backto the Where Do Gay Retire Podcast.

(03:50):
We're going to talk about.Club Hesse is a men only vacation
rental community in the LaGarita Atenas.
Yes, actually more peoplewould know Atenis, which is the actual
district we're in. Yes.
The tennis. Okay. Like playing tennis.
Yes.
All right, so let's get intothe the story of Club Hesse. So tell

(04:15):
us what Club Hesse stands for first.
Yeah, well, I'm glad you askedthat. Everyone wonders where, where
the name came from and it'sactually very important. I was about
15 years ago, I was inThailand with my then a late a Sponsor
and we were sitting on thebeach in Pattaya, Thailand, and we

(04:38):
were enjoying the gay beach.And there was. It was full of all
of these gay men. And most ofthe gay men were, you know, tend
to be like 40 and up. And itwas just a really relaxing time.
And I was in my early 40s atthe time and, you know, and just
sort of starting to enter, youknow, definitely well into middle
age and start knowing thefuture of, you know, getting older.

(05:01):
And I was looking around and Ijust thought, well, gee, if this
is what older, getting olderlooks like, this looks okay to me,
you know, that everyone'shaving a good time and everything.
And Jim's there on the beach,my friend, and he's getting his pedicure
done and he goes quite often.And he was really just taking it

(05:21):
all in. And I was watchingthis guy in front of me, and he must
have been well into his 80s,he looked a little frail, and he
was under one of the ranchosand just sitting there in the sun
and everything. And there wasthese three young Thai guys. And
when I say young, they wereprobably close to 30, but they looked

(05:42):
younger, you know, becausethey're just naturally younger looking.
And they'd all been drinking alittle bit, but not drunk, but they're
sort of. And they were dancingto traditional Thai music and, you
know, ordering food. And thisguy was just sitting there just taking
it all in. And everyone wasjust, you know, and I was just watching.
It was something like out of aFellini movie or something like that,

(06:02):
you know, And I just thought,wow, you know, you know, whatever
retirement plan this guysigned up for, you know, sign me
up, you know, I mean, good. Ifthis is what, you know, the end is
going to look like, you know,it. It's okay with me, you know.
And, you know, so I was justwatching it and I just felt like

(06:24):
I was really mesmerized on it.And I was thinking of, like Donna
Summer with the, you know,mirror ball on the dance floor at
the end of the, you know, andthat. That song comes on Last Dance
for Romance, you know, and Ijust thought, wow. Just all these
things were going through mymind. And I said to Jim, I said,
you know, Jim, we need tostart a gay retirement home and call

(06:47):
it Happy Endings. And he says,oh, yeah, that's a really good idea,
you know, and he says, I knowit would work. And then he says to
me, like about 60 secondslater, he says, what about Shameless
Acres? And I'm like, oh, yeah,yeah, that sounds cool. And so right
away, we decided, you know,what? It's gonna be Happy Endings
at Shameless Acres. So I neverlost that. You know, it was this

(07:13):
thing I always held onto. Andwe just both cackled and decided,
yes, that's what we're gonnado. And so here I am, you know. And
so, Heasa, happy Endings atShameless Acres is where the name
comes in. And so. And it'sreally, you know, taken on a, you
know, whole different meaningfor me and many different meanings

(07:36):
for me. Of course, you know,everyone loves a happy ending. You
know, reasons for choosingthat name. And that's a great name.
Yeah. And also, you know,it's. This is what Jane Fonda calls
our third act in life. Youknow, there's 1 through 30, 30 through
60 and 60 bless. And our thirdact. And so, you know, I want to

(07:57):
see it as our ending, but itis, you know, one of our closing
acts. And so we wanted to makeit as good as possible and get over
the, you know, the negativityof this, you know, part of your life.
And so, anyway, I just. Theother thing is, for me now, what

(08:17):
I'm really realizing, too,it's become the ending of my life
before 60. So it's anotherhappy ending of that chapter of my
life and embracing this newchapter of my life. And, you know,
the one great thing aboutgetting older is, you know, you just

(08:41):
don't care anymore if you'relucky. And I was just at the gym
yesterday, and my. Afterhalfway through my. My gym class,
my trainer said to me, hesays, oh, do you know your shirts
on inside out? And I justcackled. And he says, oh, we're in
this room. You can just flipit and change it. And I just laughed.

(09:04):
I said, I'm not gonna change.I don't care. And I just thought
it was so funny, you know,that I didn't even look in the mirror
or anything. And, you know,meanwhile, you know, years ago, I
would have been, like,preparing my face and everything,
you know, to go out, and heremy shirt's on backwards, and I'm
leaving it there, and I justdon't even care. So again, it's those
shameless anchors, like, wejust don't care anymore.

(09:25):
Right.
It's such, you know, a greatspace to be in life. And so this
is ultimately what, you know,I'm trying to create is. Is, you
know, this. This great spaceand place to be in life. And so.
And if it comes with a, youknow, what we know as a traditional

(09:46):
happening ending, you know,for a physical release.
Right.
And all the better.
That's it. That's it. Now, Iknow you, Colin. I know Colin for
our audience. I know Colin fora few years now. And Colin was the
owner of Hotel Banana Azul, correct?

(10:07):
That's right, yeah.
Viejo. Yes. And it was quitesuccessful. And I knew when Colin
was going to sell his hotel tosomeone, I knew that wasn't the last
we were going to hear fromColin. He's the type of person that
he doesn't sit still. He wantsto live the dream, and he's doing

(10:29):
it. So welcome. And let's.Let's get into a little bit more
about your new venture, ClubHeasa. So we know what it stands
for, and let's talk a littlebit about who will stay there and
what will happen and what thedress code is and all that good stuff.

(10:51):
So I understand it's open togay men only.
Yes.
Is that correct?
Okay.
Okay. And how did you come tothat decision?
Well, it's been quite ajourney getting there because I originally.
I originally decided I wantedit to be gay men only. And then I
thought, you know, times havechanged and, you know, I'm kind of

(11:14):
old school and, you know,maybe you should really open it up
to lgbtq and you have lots offriends who fit into all those different,
you know, identities, and. Andso why not just open it up? And then
as I got thinking about it, Ithought, you know, that, you know,
this is a small place, anintimate place, and this is my. Also

(11:37):
my home. And, you know, Iwanted it to really be amongst people
with shared experiences andshared histories and, you know, for
those. Us, like me and Mark,you know, who survived what we did
through the AIDS crisis andour civil rights struggles, and prior
to the AIDS crisis, too, wasno picnic either. And then to arrive

(12:01):
here and, you know, peopledon't understand when we want to
share our stories. Like, Idon't get this sort of. And yet with
a person my age andeverything, we immediately connect
on that and, you know, andbond, you know, and so for me, that's

(12:21):
really important. And I also,you know, I'm kind of old school,
and I've never really, totallybeen comfortable with the big umbrella,
you know, identity, because Ifelt like it's a bit of a shotgun
marriage, and we were nevergiven a choice about it. It's just
like, well, this is the newrules and you need to play by it.

(12:43):
And if you're not, you know,then off with you, you know, and,
you know, and I reallysubscribe to that we must unite in
our struggle for our equalrights and our place in the world.
And everything is absolutelywithout question. But I also think
it's, you know, okay to havespaces of our own. And the interesting

(13:09):
thing is, you know, I'vegotten some feedback from trans community
and women's community, youknow, really questioning my exclusivity.
And I've explained this tothem and I said, you know, one final
thing is, you know, if, if Ido not know one gay man, and I've
been out for over 40 years,almost 50, you know, that would ever

(13:31):
question a space limited towomen or just limited to the trans
community, would never evenquestion it and would be in full
support of it. So why is itthat when we choose to, you know,
have an exclusive community,that we're somehow excluding, you
know, we're not being, youknow, following the rule, the new

(13:54):
rule of inclusivity. So, youknow, so I'm very confident about
the decision and that's my,my, my feeling on the whole thing.
And, and when I put this withgay men and my actual demographic
of who I'd like, and there's arenowning support of that, you know,

(14:14):
that course for the project.
Well, first of all, and Iagree with you, and there are very,
there are qu. Successfulplaces that are considered gay men's
guest houses in the statesthat are totally gay. And put it

(14:35):
this way, if I went to a guesthouse that was gay or LGBTQ and it
was clothing optional, Iwouldn't feel comfortable.
Yes. And I was just going tosay our space will be clothing optional
as well. And, and, but not anew displace is just clothing optional.

(14:59):
And, and that was anotherreason I decided to go with gay men
as well.
I 100 agree with you becauseagain, it's not that I take off my
clothes in a clothing optionalplace either, but maybe I would,
but in a, in a mixed place, Iwould feel uncomfortable. So I think

(15:23):
you're doing the right thingand in hindsight, you'll see that
it really, that's the way itshould be. So kudos to you.
Thanks, Mark. I hope, I hopethat that's the way it also, I also
hope that we can be an exampleof a property that can inspire other
communities to create safe,inclusive spaces for them as well.

(15:43):
So. Because, because I thinkthat these times it's okay to be,
especially in our age, it'sokay to be a bit selfish and be with
your tribe. And that's whatthis is about.
So what was the spark actuallyfor Club Heasa, did you see a gap
in our community for gay men?

(16:04):
Well, yes, you know, our agebracket, a lot of the places that
we used to know as gay space,physical spaces are gone and displaced
hearing and you know, they'vebeen replaced by apps and virtual
spaces and you know, and, andyou know, even being a part of your

(16:25):
group, Gay Men 60 Better andWhere Gay men's retire, you know,
has really given me an insightinto where many of us are at in our
lives at this point. And Ijust really hear constantly, whether
you're coupled or single, thislonging for physical community and

(16:47):
you know, and it's just, it'sjust not there. And then we have
a couple micro examples of it.Well, not micro if you count like
Wilton Manors and FortLauderdale, that's hardly micro.
Or Palm Springs. These arevery big, you know, huge gay communities
and are very thriving and verysuccessful and people feel very comfortable

(17:08):
in them. But there's also likethe Ajic Mexico, you know, with Steve
Cross and his crew, you know,that is just absolutely unreal what
they have created in themiddle of what we would normally
call nowhere. And all becauseit started with a group of people
that got together that justdecided, well, we're just going to

(17:29):
put up the flag and inviteeverybody. And that's what happened.
So basically I'm using hisexample as a model and say we're
just going to put up the flagand build it and they will come.
I followed that samephilosophy with my hotel. I bought
a cow field on the beach onthe worst part of the country, in
the worst part of the area ofthat country. And we became the most

(17:51):
successful tourist business onthe whole coast of that country,
you know, and so I'm hopingthat I can pull it off again.
So yeah, I mean I always lookat Steve, I always tell people, Steve
started Ajijic. I mean hemoved there with his husband who
is now unfortunately deceased.But he came from Puerto Vallarta,

(18:15):
moved to Ajijic. It was alittle town. He started selling real
estate. But he has thatpersonality that everyone loves and
he brought the gays and he'sbeen very successful lately, especially
with people, Americans fromthe US coming there.

(18:35):
So yeah, is he's attracted alot of like minded people so he doesn't
have to carry the torch. Youknow, all these other people are
just, you know, you know,filling in and just carrying the
whole community along. And Ijust think that's absolutely amazing.
And yeah, you know, andthere's nobody better qualified to

(18:58):
do this than us. That's allwe've done all our life, you know,
so, you know, we, we got this.
Yeah, we know. We're thepeople that create community.
Exactly. Yes. Because we hadno choice.
Right, exactly. So, all right,let tell us about the demographics.

(19:19):
So you're not going to haveany age barriers or any age restrictions,
I should say. You decided upon that.
Yeah, that's a good point. AndI did naively feel that in the beginning
that we would limit it to 55plus gay men. And you know, I got
all of these people writing meand saying, oh, my partner's under

(19:42):
55, is that a problem? And Iwas like, no, no, no, of course not.
And then I got other peoplethat were younger, even in their
40s and stuff like that andsaid, oh, we'd really like to come,
but unfortunately we don'tfit. And then I just thought, well,
no, you're still welcome tocome. It was just trying to let people
know that we're catering tothis demographic of mature gay men.

(20:02):
And I thought the best way ofdoing it was saying 55 plus. I've
since decided that it was bestjust to take the age off. And we'll
let our marketing and ourreviews and people speak for the.
Because we're really, we'renot trying to create an age specific

(20:22):
place. We're trying to createan environment that makes, you know,
middle aged to older gay menvery comfortable. And because that's
one of the big problems aboutus at our age is there's lots of
places out there and it's notbecause we're not welcome. It just
doesn't work for us anymore.You know, we don't feel comfortable

(20:43):
there and you know, themusic's too loud, you know, and all
of these other things andthere's too many young people and
you just feel like out ofplace and.
I get that word.
Yeah. But again, it's not,it's not that we're not welcome there.
You know, nobody has eversaid, oh, get the. It's just, it's,
we've changed. And theseplaces, you know, have, you know,

(21:04):
they're, they're catering totheir audience. And I get it and
respect it and so I feel thatwe need to. If we want these spaces,
we have to create them ourselves.
Yes, absolutely. Okay, so menonly, no age limit. And yeah, it
sounds good to me. So noleases. So it's going to be a short

(21:28):
term vacation rental, right?
Yeah.
So what's, what's the leastamount of time you can spend and
what's the most amount.
Okay. So the least amount oftime is two nights. Because we are
encouraging people to alsoconsider building our place into
a Costa Rica vacationitinerary. We're only 15, 20 minutes

(21:49):
from the airport, so we're theperfect place to take off from on
your customary journey aroundCosta Rica or end up and you know,
rest up for a couple days in arelaxed environment before you return
back to your home country. Sobut you know, running studio, there's
their studio apartments fullyequipped and very well appointed

(22:12):
to, you know, we, we have tohave a minimum nights just to make
it economically viable turningthose units over. Then we really
have sort of just capping sortof a six month stay as we really
do not are not really anappropriate accommodation for a permanent
stay person. And it'ssomething we might look into in future

(22:34):
with other units. But for thiswe've decided to, you know, limit
it to a capita at six months.
Six months is a long time.
Six months is a long time. Butthen there are lots of people that,
you know, live six monthsabroad a year. I mean in Canada you
can live six months abroad,you know, and not lose your health
care or anything like that.

(22:54):
Right.
Complications. But we expectpeople to be staying less than that,
maybe 1, 2, 3 months max sortof thing. And you know, my experience
in Costa Rica, running thehotel and living here and seeing
many people visit here andvacation here, you know, I hear so
many of them say, oh, I'dreally like to own a vacation home
down here. And I just crossedcringe as soon as I hear them say

(23:18):
that because it's like no youdon't. And because there's this whole
host of issues that they don'treally understand that they're going
to have to deal with of owninga home and being an absentee owner
in a foreign country. And youknow, also unless you're really a
professional at this andreally know what you're doing, you're

(23:40):
not going to be make anymoney. And your best you could hope
for is that it will cover thecost of running it and upkeeping
it. That's your best scenario.Okay. If you made any money on it,
it would only be if itincreased in value. And given the

(24:00):
way real estate markets areheading these days, I think now it's
a declining asset. So I gentlyjust try and give people the reality
of that and I just tell them,look at, you know, there's so much
nowadays for rent, you know,and yes, it's a little expensive,
but if you run the math andsay you rent it two months A year
and just build it into yourbudget and everything. It's ultimately,

(24:24):
you know, cheaper than owningand way less headache. And you're
not saddled with somethingthat in a crisis, financially or
physically or whatever, thatyou have this issue that you have
to deal with, you know, andalso, you have total freedom to go
to another place, go toanother country and. And not worry

(24:46):
about, you know, when thetoilet backs up and, you know, or
the grass needs cutting or.
Or it could be a springboard.Staying at your place for a few months
while thinking aboutrelocating permanently to Costa Rica.
Stay at your place threemonths, four months, five months,

(25:06):
whatever, until you find theright place to buy and then make
the move.
Yes.
To your place.
Yeah. And that is anothermarket we are going after because
there are so many people,especially these days, from the LGBTQ
community who are planning onthinking about the possibility of

(25:28):
a second, another Plan B. And,you know, Costa Rica is one of those
destinations that they arelooking at. And, you know, we are
big, you know, you know,really take a test drive, do your
research, and don't buyanything. You know, rent, rent, rent,
and. And really scout it out.So we are really well located in

(25:53):
an area where a lot of these.These people that have come to live,
who didn't. Who chose the. Thecooler mountain temperatures over
the beaches. So we're a greatlocation to explore all these different
areas, you know, andcomfortably, you know, and decide
what town might be best foryou, or would this, you know, city

(26:16):
be better best for you or. Andnot feel pressured and, you know,
be able to get a really goodoverview while just also remaining
in comfort and security, youknow, not renting someplace where
you have no sort of supportaround you, you know, to ask questions
and, you know, get goodguidance and referrals and things

(26:39):
like that. So we think we'llbe a great resource that.
So. Okay. It's by the airport.Tell us a little bit about the climate.
Is it a microclimate? Do theyhave microclimates? Is it dry? Is
it humid? Do you havehurricanes? Tell us. A little bit.
Well, you know, Mark, that'sone of the best things about this

(26:59):
new place of mine is I livedat the beach for 20 years, and I
loved it. It was a wonderfulexperience. I came from Canada. I
lived on a tropical beach withall the palm trees and the monkeys
and everything. It was likejust right out of a movie, you know,
And. But in the end, as I gotolder, I got more sensitive to the
heat, and. And I just. And Ialso got really tired of tourists.

(27:22):
And even though I ran atourism business, I just got really
tired of that, you know, thetransientness of people.
Yes.
And also the expense. All ofthe beach locations are very expensive
in the way of cost of housingand food and everything is just,
you know, easily starts at 35%more and goes up, you know, so 35%

(27:44):
more is the bare minimum.Okay. Like my rooms that I have would,
would be easily double in offseason and triple in high season.
You know, so that's just whatthe, what the reality is. But my
friends that come to the beachvisit me here and they go, oh my
God, I cannot get over thetemperature, the difference.

(28:06):
So what's, what's a typical.
A typical day is like 85 to 90degrees with a light breeze and low
humidity. Exactly. And youknow, I'm a person that likes a comfortable
temperature. And, and even inmy room right now I, all day, I don't
have ac. I do have ac, but Inever use it. I only use it at night.

(28:29):
And the reason I like to useit at night is I'm from Canada and
I used to, I like to sleep ina Canadian cold, cold. And so I have
it at a nice low temperatureof, you know, 70 degrees, 68, 70
degrees. And for those inFahrenheit, in Celsius, that's 21
degrees somewhere aroundthere. And so, and I can still pinch

(28:49):
myself about the temperature.And the other great thing too is
I have, we have a nice pooland. But I wouldn't go in because
it was just too cold. And it'sbecause the breeze constantly kind
of sucks the heat out. And I'mone of those people that's very sick
sensitive and I just like awarm pool. Yeah. So I recently decided

(29:13):
to bite the bullet and investin a solar heating, a heater and
oh my God, I just cannotbelieve it. So you know, my friend
and I were visiting and it was8:30 at night the other night and
we went in the pool and therewas even steam coming off the water
because it cools down atnight. And I looked at the thermometer

(29:34):
and it was 34 degrees. I'm notquite sure what that is in Fahrenheit
because I've lost that becauseI'm Canadian. But just so you know,
you know, body temperature iswhat, 38.6. So we're almost at a
body temperature, you know,and it just felt like this warm bath.
And so, you know, combinedwith the temperature here and now

(29:56):
with, now with this new poolheater which was expensive and I
didn't know if it wouldachieve the results I wanted, but
I didn't want to go to gas orelectric because it's just cost prohibitive
in the way of operational. Andso, yeah, the temperature is something
that's really amazing. And,yes, we go through a rainy season,
which we're gonna ask. Yeah,we're actually in right now, but

(30:20):
I don't know what it is. Youknow, we get these weird microclimates
because of mountains andeverything all over, but we just
do not get near the rain thatso many other places around us get.
And I think it's because we'rein this open valley area and the
mountains are off to the side,and so we get, you know, way less

(30:41):
rain. So, you know, for it torain for a whole day here would just
be rare. Very rare. And then,you know, the rain tends to come
at, you know, two in theafternoon and rains for three hours.
And, you know, it takes twodays to suck all the heat out of
the pool with no sun. So we'reusually. So far we've been good.

(31:01):
It hasn't. It was only once.Sucked all the heat out of the pool.
That's how I. That's how Imeasure it anyway.
Right. That sounds great. Sogreat climate. It does have this.
So the summer is the rainyseason, correct?
Yes, yes. The rainy seasongoes from kind of like May to the

(31:26):
end of October is when therainy season. Yeah, May through October
is the rest. Traditional, therainy season. And, you know, this
year it's been drier thannormal. And I'm seeing that. And
it's a little concerningbecause we do need it and it keeps
everything green. Then we gointo a dry season where we have a

(31:47):
lot of intensive landscaping,which we will have to water and irrigate
to keep it green and lush. Andso, yeah, that's how it tends to
go. But all year round, it's acomfortable temperature. And for
me to use AC in the daytime isjust really rare.
Would you call it semi tropical?

(32:08):
Yeah, semi tropical would be.But, you know, the beaches are. Because
they have more rain and moreheat. Yeah. So they have the most
monkeys and the toucans and.
Right. You don't have monkeys.
No, we don't have monkeys. Andbecause we're not. We're more in
the country, we have tons ofgreen. Everything's green, rolling
hills and everything likethat. But we just don't have the

(32:28):
jungle canopy.
Do you have bugs?
Very little.
Like Florida bugs?
No, no, no, no. Nothing like that.
Okay. I wanted to make surebecause they, they get me first.
Yeah, very few mosquitoes andvery good.
Tell us a little bit aboutwhat a week costs at Club Heasa,

(32:51):
what a month cost and how your pricing.
Yes, our introductory pricing.Remember they're fully equipped studio
units and with, with your,your outdoor space, every unit has
a patio and the, the deluxeunits have two patios front and back.
So a standard studio would beabout just under 400 square feet

(33:16):
and it has everything and itwill run 99 introductory rates at
99 a night, 600 a week and1800amonth. And then the deluxe will
run at 1, 29 a night. I can'tremember the, it's six, six times

(33:38):
six nights. And then themonthly rate is you know, three weekly
rates. You know, it's myformula for pricing. So those are
all on the, the, the website.So yeah, it's very affordable. However,
to be totally honest, youknow, for that price people could
rent a decent condo here fullyequipped, you know, for probably

(34:03):
less than that. And however,you know, you wouldn't be in an environment,
gay environment. And, and alsoours is a very boutique environment
as we're starting with only 12units. So, so yeah, and these are
the rates that we need tocharge to provide the services and
the facility that we want togive our guests.

(34:24):
How do you think you could getyour guests together like in the.
Is there a central place likeby the pool where people could just
gather and other common areasthat you can like have drink or food
or.
So for me the common areas arethe most important part of the whole

(34:48):
space. And so around the poolwe have a big beautiful pool lounge
with a bathroom and alsolounging furniture and a communal
dining table and then alsoseparate couple separate dining tables
for couples and then also selfserve self use bar that people could
you know, bring a blender andmake drinks for people or whatever,

(35:11):
you know. And so that's ourmain common area. Then we have two
beautiful rooftop decks thatoverlook that with seating and around
deck chair seating and plantedthat overlook the mountains and our
property and, and justbeautiful sunsets and views and breez
breezes and you know it'sjust, it's breathtaking when you

(35:33):
get up there. And these arecommon areas, there's two of them.
Then throughout the gardenswe're introducing common areas as
well where people can just goand sit and hang out. Phase two of
Club Heasa is next door whichwe are going to open a restaurant

(35:54):
bar and second pool whichboth, all of this is already there.
It's an event space that wasnext door that I purchased and what
that will be. I want people tothink of it as a country club and
where people can come for aday pass. And we're going to open

(36:14):
that up to full LGBTQ andallies and it's going to be a really
fun space. And, and we reallywant to make it just our own little,
you know, think of it. Youlive in the city, you can go, you
can go 45 minutes and be in abeautiful country and in the space,
then hang out for the day atthis sort of country club that caters

(36:38):
to you and people like you andyour friends.
I was also going to say, evenon your deck overlooking the mountains,
if you get people together,people always like to eat or munch
on something. I would love tohave some munchies out there or something
that people will get togetherand just, you know, drink and talk.

(37:02):
And until we get ourrestaurant open, they're going to
have to get together and dolittle potlucks and I'm sure they
will because they all havekitchens and everything. But we won't
have any food service until wedo with phase two. But we are also
in the beginning going to beallowing some day passes for this
facility, but bring your owndrink and food. And also we are going

(37:26):
to be hosting some parties aswell, some social gatherings. And
also the environment we'retrying to create, you know, demand,
you know, permitting. We alsowant to provide excursions for people
where we get together and goto different places as a group and

(37:47):
a small group and informal andmaybe even more formal, depending
on what, what people want. Butthere's just no, we're kind of in
the center of the country andthere's three main arteries and we
are five minutes away fromeach artery. So we can get to anywhere
and do a day trip anywhere. Wecan get to one beach location within

(38:10):
an hour. Yeah. So, you know,the more popular ones that are further.
But, but just. There is onepopular one that is just over an
hour away. So there's also allsorts of, you know, other things.
There's an animal rescuecenter where also Lagarita is very
famous for nurseries. It'smiles, probably about a five mile

(38:32):
stretch of competing nurseriesand all the tropical plants, so even
just going to. Are kind ofinteresting because if you looked
at these plants in the UnitedStates or Canada, they would cost
you a fortune. And herethey're two and three dollars, you
know, and what you could buy.And they're also just fun to go and
then go take in lunch at thesame time. At some simple Costa Rican

(38:54):
place. And so. And thenthere's the La Paz waterfalls. That's
not far. And, you know, thenthere's the coffee plantations. And,
you know, there's just. No.
Is there a town, like, do theyhave, like, a little town with any
restaurants before yourrestaurant opens? Is there anything
that people can go to? Coffee shops?

(39:16):
Yeah. Where we are, we're inthe country, so unfortunately, we're
in a little bit of a fooddesert. There is some local places
when I say that they servelocal food, which is okay, but most
foreigners get tired of thatvery quickly. We do have a nice Italian
restaurant that's a few milesaway that's very American standard
and. And considered reasonablypriced, and I like to go there. Then

(39:37):
there's the town of Atanas,which is very popular among foreigners,
which is about 25 minutesaway, and it's got everything you
could possibly want. There'salso another popular town with lots
of LGBT expats, which iscalled Grecia. And it tends to be
cheaper than Atanas and ismore located in the mountains, so
it's also a little cooler. Andone of the excursions I would want

(40:01):
to do is Grecia on Fridays tothe public market, because it's so
cute. And you can have lunchthere and just going to the public
market there, the vendors areall just really great and really
friendly, and they sell allsorts of interesting local stuff.
And I want to make. Thatreally is my goal, is that that be

(40:21):
an every Friday event is just,you know, whoever wants to go to
the public market, just, youknow, get in the van, you know, we're
leaving, and. And it's lessthan 45 minutes drive from where
we are.
How would somebody get fromthe airport to your place? Is it
cab? Uber?
Yeah, ideally Uber. I'm a verybig Uber fan because I like the convenience

(40:44):
and the safety of it andeverything. So I'm a very big Uber
fan. And so. But, you know,also with our place, if you're going
to be staying a while, itmight be ideal to rent a car because
you could, as long as youdon't plan on going far, you can
also stay and just Uber it.You know, go. If you're not planning
on going many places, youcould also stay without a car as
well.

(41:04):
Okay. And you can rent a carat the airport, right?
Yeah. I would suggest notrenting it at the airport because
it's more expensive. But youcan come to our place first, then
rent a car, and you couldprobably save about 25% of the cost
because. Okay, at the airportare always very expensive.
Good to know. So tell us, whatare the rules and regulations that

(41:26):
you have? Is there anyspecific rules? Well, you'll have
to.
One thing I learned at theBanana Azul, my hotel, all these
years is, you know, you reallydidn't have to have a lot of rules
that most people are justrespectful and, you know, and to
have all this big list ofrules was very intimidating and it

(41:50):
was unnecessary. It was like,you know, to give you an example,
it was like everybody thought,oh, well, they used to the pool should
close at 9 or something likethat. And it's like, I never closed
the pool and people could goin at midnight if they wanted. And
you know, if they made toomuch noise because they were drinking
or something, the guard justwent over and went. That's from it.
You know, it was never anissue. You know, I think in the 20

(42:14):
years I was there, you know,there was maybe one or two incidents
in the pool that were hardlyworth mentioning. You know, so we
just, just that we want peopleto, while we're clothing optional,
to be culturally sensitive.And so clothing optional is new for.
And it's not something thatLatin Americans are really used to.

(42:34):
So, you know, we ask forpeople going to and from your room
to be, you know, wear a towelor shorts or something like that.
And, and the clothing optionalarea is limited to the pool. In the
pool lounge and clothingoptional spaces. We're also hoping
to have a hot tub area and ofcourse that will be clothing optional
as well. And. But the rooftopdecks would be, you know, not clothing

(42:57):
optional because we're ourneighbor. We have a very private,
private compound, which iswonderful and everything. And it
has like 10 foot high wallsall around the compound. But, you
know, we want to be veryrespectful to our neighbors. And
I'm always very consciousabout being a good neighbor.
Sure, sure, definitely.
And we want, we don't wantpeople playing loud music and things

(43:21):
like that. And we, you know,we will have a smoking area, which
is actually violation of CostaRican law, but I know people still
smoke, so we will provide somearea that people can smoke. And most
smokers are, you know, veryrespectful of that. And you know,
so I don't have that as aproblem. Oh, you know, if you bring
somebody back to the property,you know, they must be registered.

(43:44):
And this is for your safetyand everyone else's safety and, and,
you know, so it's not tryingto intimidate anybody or anything.
It's just to, to, you know,have security around you and the
guests.
Sure. So besides thekitchenettes that you have, do you
have laundry access? Could wedo laundry?

(44:06):
We don't. We, they would haveto request us to do the laundry.
So we will have laundry service.
So you will have laundry service?
Yes. And if at a fee. Yes, ata fee, yes. And if, when not if we
add more rooms, we might lookat having a machine dedicated for,
for people for longer termstays. Yes. And, but right now we

(44:30):
just don't have that realpossibility. And we'd have to provide
laws at a reasonable price.It's not, it's not going to be a
profit center.
Gotcha. Gotcha. And what arethe beds? Are they single, doubles?
They're all queen.
All queen size beds? Yes.
Queen for queen.

(44:51):
Yeah. I mean, king is nice,but when you're working with studio
units. Yeah. And also, I, Idon't know, you know, how many of
our guests are going to besingle and how many are going to
be couples? So, you know, I'm,I'm pretty single. You know, I have
a, you know, a special friendof 14 years, but we don't live together.

(45:14):
And so I always never knowwhat, what kind of guests we're going
to attract. But I assume a lotof singles. But I also assume couples
as well, you know, because,you know, in my experience here with
LGBT travel and the hotel andeverything, we just have and tons
of gay couples, you know,middle age and up, gay couples traveling.

(45:36):
How about housekeeping?
Yes, housekeeping for, youknow, nightly stays will be, you
know, on the nightly will be,you know, as like normal sort of
hotel style. Weekly stayswould be twice weekly and monthly
stays would be twice weekly.
All right. Do you offer anystorage if somebody needs some extra

(45:59):
room somewhere and they'restaying a month?
We will do our best.
Okay.
We have spaces that we could,you know, come. I'm, you know, I'm
hoping it is really my hope,you know, watching trends in Florida
and Phoenix, you know,Arizona, where you're from, and that,
that, you know, you know, the,the, these types of properties tend

(46:24):
to attract reoccurringcustomer stays. You know, same people
coming year after year, youknow, and we're expecting people
to ask us about storing stuff,and we're also expecting that people
might even, who come for,might even buy a car and ask us to
store a car for them. So we'restarting to think of these kinds

(46:44):
of things and, you know, inadvance. And it's like, how you can,
can we accommodate this?Because these are not unrealistic
expectations by these types ofPeople. And it is what we're trying
to attract. So the more youcan accommodate them, the better.
How about pets? Like somepeople, if they're staying long,
they may bring their pets.
Yeah, yeah. For now, we'regoing to be not offered pets. No

(47:10):
pets. But the jury is stillout on that, so. And give a firm
answer.
Gotcha.
Yeah, I had a no pets policy,and. But I was. It was a full hotel,
and it was very busy in that.But however, you know, in my restaurant,
you know, people could. Youknow, my neighbors, they always brought

(47:31):
their dogs, and it was like,yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, and my
dog lived in the restaurant,too, so.
Are there any. Is there anyLGBTQ seen in the area that you're
in or. Pretty much. Is thatwhat you're aiming to do is just.
Yeah, well, actually, now thatyou mentioned that, I should. There
is a place called Rick's Barthat's in Alauela, which is right

(47:54):
by the airport. Ala Wayla isa. Is a city that is right next to
the airport. And then you haveSan Jose, which is about, you know,
30 minutes away from theairport. So they almost sort of bleed
into to each other, you know.But Alaea is its own city, and there
actually is a new bar therethat's been there for many years
and is quite successful. Idon't sure about how many people

(48:16):
our age like to attend it,because, like, many of the bars,
they've gone to a much youngeraudience and tend to be, you know,
lots of drag shows and dancingand things like that and just stuff
that we just don't. Most of usjust don't go for. However, on another
note, one great thing is thereare some active people around here
who do LGBT socials, andthere's at least one a month in the

(48:41):
area, and they're quite wellattended and really good group of
people and very big cross andusually 40 plus, you know, and people,
they're great for expatsmoving here or, you know, to really
sort of connect with otherpeople. And I just love going because
it's exactly the atmosphereI'm trying to. To create. And you

(49:02):
can just see how people arejust like, oh, my God, we're in physical
space together and everybody'sso respectful and so nice and everything.
And you're just thinking, whycan't the world be like, seriously,
Nobody's saying any comments,and everyone avoids politics and.
And, you know, and it's justlike. And I just think, wow. Yeah.

(49:25):
Yeah.
It's something people dream about.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So that's Great. How easy isit to make friends?
Like.
Do you have many friends?
Yeah, I do. Yes, I do. Butthen remember, I've lived in Costa
Rica for 21 years, so I betterhave some friends. Yeah. I'm a really

(49:47):
outgoing person. And I've alsofound as I've gotten older, it's.
Some people say it's harder tomake friends, and I. I actually feel
the opposite because I justdon't care anymore. Like, I'm not
afraid to go up and talk tosomebody, and if they don't seem
interested in talking to me, Idon't take it personally. I'm just
like, oh, they're not allright, this is not happening, you

(50:07):
know, and move on to the nextperson, you know, and don't think
it was something about me, you know?
Right.
And. Whereas when I wasyounger, of course, it was all about
me. And, you know, and so is it.
Mostly expats or is it. Localsare called tikas.
Yeah, ticos. Yeah. CostaRicans are known as ticos. Women
are known as ticas. And so.And we also expect to have Costa

(50:32):
Rican clientele. In fact, oneof our first reservations that we
got was a tico couple, andit's. They saw our ad and he said,
oh, it's our anniversary andwe're actually from the city. We're
only 30 minutes away from you.But we just, we saw the clothing
optional and I wanted to gosomeplace special to take my husband,
and we know it, and we warnedhim that it's a quiet place and this

(50:54):
and that. And he says, oh, no,we're in our late 40s, and. And we
want something really quiet.And, and. And so I thought, oh, wow,
isn't that interesting? Our,you know, first class and there are
lots of ticos like that, youknow, and they found that. That at
my hotel as well. We would geta lot of those kinds of customers
as well. Yeah. We also expectto get ticos with the day pass, you

(51:15):
know, who just, you know, it'slike, oh, wow, you know, here's a
space I can go to thisclothing optional and I hang out
with people and. And socializeand have a drinks or whatever. And.
And it's easy to access andhave fun and it's not a bar, you.
Know, and be yourself.
Yeah, and be yourself. Yeah.And get out of the city into the
country, which is a really bigdeal for people who live in the city.

(51:38):
Lots of them live with theirparents and things like that. So
it's. So it's a good escape.
How about. Are you close toany just in case you need one? I'm
not saying people would needone, but how about hospitals or doctors?
Yeah, that's a really goodpoint. And another reason I chose
this location specifically,you know, being I'm now 63, coming

(52:01):
up, 64 years old and living ina developing country and getting
older and thankfully I've nothad any real serious health issues.
But definitely, definitelyI've had the need for doctors and
specialists as I'm gettingolder and living at the beaches.
It was really complicated.First of all, like the, no matter
what they tell you, thehealthcare that's available at these

(52:25):
beaches is very limited. Andyou know, and I just don't take it
that seriously, you know,outside of just a general GP or whatever,
you know, and even then it'slike so, you know, you're constantly
trying to navigate from thebeach to the city, these appointments
and everything like that. It'sjust very cumbersome because it has
to include an overnight stayusually and you know, and this and

(52:49):
that. And also, you know, inthe event of emergency, especially
where I was in Puerto Viejo, Iwould get people that were 60 plus
and who were thinking, oh, youknow, I'm thinking, I love this place,
I'm thinking about livinghere. And I'm like, okay, listen,
you need to know that in theevent of an emergency, you're going

(53:13):
to be very limited with youroptions. And the only place I would
feel safe in an emergency isSan Jose and not the Limone Public
Hospital. And so you need toknow that and accept that as, you
know, the reality of living here.
That's very important.

(53:33):
Yeah. And now where we are,first of all, Ala Wala is a city.
And so there is a hospitalthere. There is, you know, doctors
and clinics and everything.However, the best, you know, hospital
and medical stuff is in SanJose. That really can rival North
American, you know, service.And I use it all the time.

(53:56):
And how far is it?
Well, San Jose is about, onaverage about 45 minutes. If you're
going downtown, maybe youwould say 55 minutes because most
of them are downtown. But youknow, but so that, you know, it's
easy to make appointments and,you know, access medical care. Also
unlike a lot of people, usemedical care here and just pay for

(54:20):
it out of pocket.
Out of pocket.
You know, a standard doctor'svisit for a specialist is about $100,
which usually includes afollow up as well. So it's, you know,
by American standards that'snot expensive.
Inexpensive.
Yeah.
Okay, how about travelinsurance? Do you Recommend people

(54:42):
take travel insurance.
You know, personal, you know,thoughts around that, you know. Yeah,
I think if you could affordit. Yeah. And especially if you buy
the travel insurance thatdoesn't include the United States,
it's not that expensive. Butas soon as you buy travel insurance,

(55:03):
like me as a Canadian, if Ibuy travel, or now I'm Costa Rican,
if I buy travel insurance thatincludes traveling in the United
States, the price just goesthrough the roof where, you know,
I'm going to Buenos Aires fortwo weeks. And I think that my travel.
Travel insurance was, youknow, $150, you know, so. And I'm

(55:24):
63 and, and, you know, so. Soit's not that expensive. But again,
if you do include, you know,developed countries, then it gets
more costly.
More. Yeah, yeah. So do youhave dual citizenship between Canada
and Costa Rica?
Yes, I do. Yes.
When did you become a citizenof Costa Rica?

(55:45):
I would say about 12 years ago.
Wow.
And it's not necessary.Permanent residency here is really
strong and gives everyone thefull rights of everything in the
country except for voting. Ichose to get it because I qualified
for it. And also I hadmultiple businesses running and people

(56:07):
just took me more seriouslywhen I with plop down identification,
that was. I said I was acitizen. They were like, this guy's
the real deal. Yeah. And youknow, and treated you differently.
Right. On your premise, do youhave, like, security as far as locked
out from the public? You haveto put in a code. How do you get

(56:30):
in?
Yeah, we have a coded gateentry and so people get a code to
enter. Thankfully, we've notpassed. Felt the need here for a
security guard. And our, youknow, we've not had a problem and
Whereas at the hotel, youknow, I had one, but I also had a
very busy operation. And itwas just standard with any hotel
to have a security guard.Hopefully we won't, you know, feel

(56:51):
the need to have one. Andwe're, we're, you know, living here
for 21 years. I'm very awareand security conscious, so, you know,
I don't hesitate to, you know,act. Act accordingly when needed.
All right. Okay. How about. Doyou guys have Amazon? I had to ask.

(57:16):
Yeah, well, no, it's a reallyimportant question. Well, right now
with the tariffs andeverything, TEMU is the new Amazon
because it's coming directlyfrom China and. And it's a way better
deal. And I actually, youknow, some of the deals are just
too good to be true, but Iactually tested a few and it was
like, oh, my God, it's prettymuch offered. Yeah. And so yes, they

(57:38):
do have Amazon, but Costa Ricahas its own huge tariffs and has
had them for many years andthat's part of what the country runs
on. So you have to pay thoseand then plus you have to pay the
shipping, you know, sobasically whatever you're buying
on Amazon, add 50 plus.

(57:58):
Wow.
Yeah. Yeah. And well, peopledo. And, and also it won't be same
day or next day service. Youknow, it was a week, you know.
Okay, I could deal with that.
Yeah.
How about natural risks? So doyou get earthquakes or hurricanes?

(58:19):
Yeah, we just had one theother night and did you feel it?
Did you feel it? You know,that's always the talk the next day.
We had a little shake theother night and, and I woke up and
I, I just thought, oh, I thinkthat's an earthquake. Yeah.
Oh, I'm dizzy.
Yeah, yeah. It was just, youknow, I've never been through a big
one here. You know, the lastreally big one I think was there

(58:40):
was in 2008, was in onesection of the country. It wasn't
catastrophic or anything likethat, but the one that did a lot
of damage was in 92 and was onthe Limone coast.
And.
But yes, it is. We. But youknow, as far as like, you know, compared
to Vancouver or California orsomething like that, no, we just
get shakes and, and they feela little unnerving. But you know,

(59:04):
in fact, I had a great storyrecently about an earthquake. I have
a condo in San Jose as well, anew condo. And it was like pouring
rain. And I'm right on a riverand going into this river is this
kind of dry creek. Right.Right up my window across. And it
was like turned into a river.
River.

(59:25):
The river, you know, like amajor river. Oh my God. You know,
so much for that dry creek,you know.
Right.
Anyway, and it was also likethey were just built this condo and
it's on the edge of. Of thisriverbank. Right. And I'm just wondering,
you know, this is LatinAmerica, you know, they can cut some

(59:45):
corners. I hope this thingdoesn't slide into the river high
and there's, you know, andeverything and that. Right. And so
it was, I was up there and I'mon, on the 11th floor and I'm a stunning
view of three volcanoes andeverything and watching this massive
rainstorm. It was justbiblical what was happening.

(01:00:06):
Wow.
It was also very cool, youknow, but it's also very kind of
unnerving. So that happenedand of course it kind of let up because
these Things tend to go veryquickly. Right. And then about 30
minutes later, the buildingstarted shaking and I thought, oh,
my God, it's going into theriver. No. And here it was. I got

(01:00:30):
online immediately and it wasa small earthquake. So we, you know,
and that was the only timethat I've been here that I was ever
actually freaked out about an earthquake.
I don't blame you. I would be, too.
Yeah.
So, so tell us, if we weregoing to visit your place for a couple

(01:00:52):
of months and how actually,what is the limit that you could
stay in Costa Rica without.Without a visa?
The limit is up to a maximumof six months. And, yeah, it used
to be three months and theyupped it to six months. And. But
to get the six months, youneed to show a return plane ticket

(01:01:14):
that shows your, your, your.Usually they just give you automatically
six months, but just don'tassume it. But, you know, if you
have a plane, you know, sixmonths, then they will, you know,
sometimes they'll ask youabout your return ticket actually,
to enter Costa Rica, to get onthe flight, wherever you're coming
from, you, if you're not aresident, you must have a return

(01:01:35):
return ticket. Yeah. Or someway to show that you are leaving
Costa Rica.
Got it, Got it. All right, sowe covered pretty much everything
except for, I guess, the foodscene. Is that you, you mentioned
one Italian restaurant. Isthat about.

(01:01:56):
Yeah, you know, we're. That'ssomething if that. We're really.
We're in a food desert. Idon't want to mislead people. And,
you know, I look forward tothe day when our phase two will open
and we're going to have a verycomfortable. Yeah, but we're going
to be sort of upscale.Countersp service is what we're really

(01:02:16):
going to kind of go forbecause we want to keep it casual,
tasty and affordable. And bydoing away with the service staff,
it's going to make things alot more accessible financially.
And are also some laws thatyou could skirt by having not having
service. And if there'ssomebody that needs, for whatever
reason, stuff brought to thetable, there's no reason that, you

(01:02:38):
know, people behind thecounter can't do. Right.
When is phase two planned?
Is there a plan? You know, Ihave some, you know, financial realities
that have come to me, and so Ineed to sell another property. I
have some other propertiesthat are for sale so I can realize
phase two. Yeah. But I thinkwithin the year. Yeah, it's realistic.

(01:03:01):
Yeah.
How about Internet?
Already there. It's just in aVery sort of primitive state. And
it needs. We need to bring itup to. Yeah, we want it to screen,
you know. Yes. You saw theproperty and so it has to meet that
level, you know, and we won'taccept anything less.

(01:03:23):
Got it. I mean, you're. You'reon the Internet now. What is Internet
like in the units?
Pretty good. We're testingnow. Just recently starting to test
in each individual unit andseeing where we might have to put
boosters. I. As, you know,once in a while we'll get some slower

(01:03:45):
Internet in my unit here and.But one of the issues is we have
all cement walls and that andcement ceilings.
Oh, yeah, that's a problem.
Yeah, yeah. It's great,though, for keeping things cool and
quiet. And quiet. But it doesnot make for, you know. But. But
I. We've had no. Nothing thatpeople can't deal with, you know,

(01:04:10):
Free WI fi. Oh, yeah.Absolutely free. Yes. Yeah. If people
are remote working andeverything, I will make sure that
they will be in one of theunit that is one of the best connections.
But I watch my Netflix and allmy other programs and, you know,
I would say 90, 95 to 98%, Ido so without issue, but once in

(01:04:32):
a while I'll get a lag and Idon't know. And I don't even think
it's my space. It could justbe the community or whatever, you
know, the provider. I have no idea.
As long as I can record apodcast there, I'm fine. Oh, yeah.
We'Ve only had one hiccup, sothat's pretty.
Right. That's fine. All right.Anything else that we haven't covered

(01:04:58):
that you'd like to talk about?
Yeah. First of all, to anybodylistening to this, I just want to
do another shout out to Markfor doing these podcasts and his
groups and everything. And Iencourage you to go and enter, if
you want to reserve, to enterthe LGBTQ seniors promo code code

(01:05:23):
into when you make yourreservation. Because Mark gets a
commission to help support themany initiatives that he is doing.
And I know Mark for a fewyears and I know this is a project
of love and he finances a lotof this out of his own money. And
I'm only too happy to help,you know, help offset some of these

(01:05:48):
costs because I'm well awareof. Of, you know, what things even
like doing this podcast costs.So I encourage people, if you're
feeling like reserving, toenter that. That promo code and let's
help each other out and keepall of our projects going and. And
Financially viable. And, youknow, also, you know, we give commissions

(01:06:12):
to, you know, platforms likebooking.com and Expedia. Well, why
wouldn't we give them to.Prefer to give them to Mark? So,
so I encourage anyonelistening to that. I think that's
very important.
Thank you, Colin. And yeah,for people listening and watching
out there. So our website,LGBTQ seniors.com has a buy Curious

(01:06:36):
marketplace in there andwithin there you'll see Club Heasa
and Collins Place withpictures and, and it will. Will automatically
connect you to Colin's websitefrom my website. And if you put in
that code, I'll get thatcommission and we'll all be one happy

(01:06:59):
family.
Yes. Even if you want toinquire, you know, and just send
us an email, just, just say,you know, I, I would like to do the
LGBT seniors, you know, justmake a reference and we will make
sure that Mark gets credit forthat reservation. So if you're not
ready to book and you justwant to inquire, just make a note

(01:07:20):
of that so that we can followit up.
Yeah, that's great. Anythingelse that you'd like to add, Colin?
You know, I'm, I'm. I have tobe honest, I'm really nervous because,
you know, like, everything.I'm all in, and that includes financially.
And so this is my retirementplan. And, you know, I'll be okay

(01:07:42):
if it all doesn't work out,but it would be a lot better if it
does. And I just feel that,you know, through my intuition has
served me well through mylife, and I've never felt stronger
about something I'm doing thanthis project, you know, and I, you
know, holding on to myexperience, which is build it and

(01:08:04):
they will come. So, you know,we will see. You know, I expect things
to be slow in the beginning,but I, I think within, well, within
the year, we'll be. We'll beup and singing.
We'll make it work, Colin.
Exactly.
We'll make it work.
That's one of, one of my.
Yeah, we'll get the gay boysto come visit. That's for sure. I

(01:08:26):
definitely want to come visitas well.
Well, I'm expecting you andyour partner and we've talked about
that, so. Yeah, there's no excuse.
That's right.
Yeah. And there's like,there's direct flights from Arizona,
so.
Oh, there is. Oh, I gottacheck that out too. Oh, and what's
the airport that we fly into?
Sjo is the most convenient,which is close to my, My place.
Sjo. Okay.

(01:08:47):
Making San Juan de Maria got it.
Making a note. Well, Colin,thanks so much for being a part of
the podcast. I know you formany years now and and every time
it gets better and moreinteresting and I'm wishing you the
best of success and I am goingto watch and pay close attention

(01:09:08):
and get the word out toeveryone as well.
Well, likewise, Mark, and it'sbeen great being on this journey
together, both of us at thisstage in our lives, and it's been
great to meet you and youknow, stay connected with you. So
thanks for your support. Itreally means a lot to me.
Absolutely. Same here. Allright, take care now.

(01:09:30):
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