From the Heart of Gran Canaria-Raquel Rojas on LGBTQ+ Life and Island Living

Episode Transcript
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(01:13):
Welcome to the Where Do GaysRetire podcast where we help you
in the LGBTQ community.
Find a safe and affordableretirement place.
Join Mark Goldstein as heinterviews others who live in gay
friendly places around the globe.
Learn about the climate, costof living, health care, crime and
safety and more.

(01:33):
Now here's your host, Mark Goldstein.
Have you ever wondered whatit's like to live in Gran Canaria,
Spain?
Stay to the end and find out.
Today we have our specialguest, Raquel Rojas and I'll tell

(01:55):
you a little bit about Raquel.
There's a lot to tell aboutRaquel, by the way.
Raquel is an award winningmedia and TV executive with a large
experience in children andFamily Entertainment.
PhD in Cinematography,Broadcasting and Communication at
Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

(02:18):
Various audiovisual diplomasfrom prestigious institutions.
MBA at Universidad deBarcelona and certificate in Entertainment
Law at New York University.
Dr.
Benitez has worked in avariety of academic and professional
positions.
Positions in the UnitedStates, Asia, Canada and Europe.

(02:42):
Member of the Canadian PicturePioneers, WAWA SGAE and asifa E G
E D A E C R E A.
That's a lot of letters.
Amongst other internationalaudiovisual organizations.
Members of the CognitiveScience Society, Editorial board

(03:05):
member of the GlobalConference on Artificial Intelligence
and Robotics, Curriculumdeveloper, guest speaker and instructor
in the most prestigiousinternational universities and schools
such as UniversidadComplutense de Madrid, lsu, University
of Teesside in the uk,Universitat eel.

(03:30):
I'm gonna mess this up.
BALZ in Spain, Universidad delas Palmas in Spain.
Centennial College in Canada,Kennedy College of Technology in
Canada, Digital Media ArtsSchool in Canada, BOSS Program in
Jamaica, CREA ATIF inMalaysia, Program de Acceleration

(03:55):
Naranja in Costa Rica, TorontoFilm School, Canada.
Universidad Miguel Hernandezde Leche in Spain.
Umber College in Canada,University of Niagara Falls in Canada.
Wow.
Besides that, she's writtennumerous books.
I won't go over all of themright now.

(04:17):
And let's see.
Raquel, tell us a little bitabout you, of what I didn't covered
and tell us about how youwound up in Gran Canaria and, and
what's going on there.
Mark, first of all, I wouldlike to say hi to all your listeners

(04:37):
and all the people that arehere today with us.
And thank you, thank you forhaving me and having the opportunity
of talk a little bit aboutsomething that is so dear to my heart
as is Gran Canaria.
I have to start saying that Iwas born in Gran Canaria many, many
centuries ago.
No, no, I'm not that old.

(04:58):
But a while ago I was born inGran Canaria.
I spent all to until I was 19years old.
Then I went to Madrid tostudy, you know, my bachelor degrees
and then I did my MBA, mydoctoral thesis, etc.
Etc.
I had been living in differentcountries for a long time.

(05:18):
I had traveled many, manyother countries, you know, because
of my passion for travelingand also because of my work.
And right now I'm settled herein Niagara Falls, Canada, where I'm
the associate dean of the university.
And I'm really pleased to behere with you and share with everyone,
you know, my experience inGran Canaria.

(05:39):
Not only my experience in GranCanaria, as a person who was born
there, has all her familythere, and all my friends are there,
but also as a member of theLGBTQ community.
That's great.
We can't wait to dive in andfind out the good news about Gran
Canaria.
And thank you for introducingyourself, Raquel.

(06:02):
Appreciate that.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe climate and the geography in
Gran Canaria.
I know it's known for great climate.
Can you describe what theweather is like all year round?
Well, we are extremely luckyin terms of the weather in Gran Canaria.
I have to tell you that wedon't have winters basically, but

(06:26):
we don't have extremetemperatures either.
In terms of the summer, theaverage Temperature is between 23
degrees to 25 degrees on aregular basis in the summer top temperature
we will go like around between27 to 30.
That will be the top, top, top.

(06:46):
And in the winter, you know,we are talking about 20 to 21, 22
degrees.
We are extremely lucky.
We are geographically in aposition in the parallel 28th where
we have the Alicia's wind,which allowed us to have very refreshing
temperatures.
You extreme heat because weare close to the Ecuador, but because

(07:09):
of the position of theislands, you know, we, we don't suffer
from extreme heat.
You have to understand that weare only 15km away from Africa and
desert of Sahara.
So you may think, wow, youknow, with that stream hit, you know,
how come Gran Canaria doesn'thave that extreme hit?
And it's because of the Alicia winds.

(07:30):
You know, we are veryfortunate to have that, that allow
us to, to have a year roundstable weather where, you know, there
are no peaks, no streamstorms, no snow, no nothing like
that.
Once in a while we do havesnow on the peak of the mountain,
but at the same time you canbe with the snow on the peak of the

(07:51):
mountain highest mountain, Tejeda.
But then at the same time, youknow, people will be swimming in
the beach.
So that's the reason why it'scalled the miniature continent, because,
you know, you can go from onestream to the other.
So.
But year round, we have an amazing.
Weather us Focus the US wedon't go by Celsius, unfortunately.

(08:13):
We.
So do you happen to know whatFahrenheit approximately?
Not exactly sure in Fahrenheit.
I don't want to give the wrong information.
I apologize about that.
That's okay.
We'll look it up.
It's probably just mild,beautiful weather.
Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure.
Okay.
So did climate change impactyour daily life or any outdoor activities?

(08:38):
Have you noticed any climatechange in GR Canaria?
No, I, I, I cannot tell you.
You know, I, I'm trying toremember, you know, when I was growing
up there, you know, and eachtime I spend time in Gran Canaria
now, I don't see extreme temperatures.
I don't see like torrentialrains or hurricanes or things like

(09:00):
that.
We, we are extremely lucky.
We, we never get affected byhurricanes or tornadoes or similar
things.
We, I have to say we have avery stable weather.
And I do understand that thereis some problems with the weather
worthwhile, but luckily enoughwe haven't been affected by that.
No.

(09:21):
And just to give us an idea,how large is Gran Canaria?
Gran Canaria is the thirdlargest island of all the Canary
Islands.
Okay.
Being the first one,Forteventura, Tenerife, and the third
one, Gran Canaria.
Gran Canaria is the mostpopulated island of all of it.

(09:42):
And you know, we take turnswith the island of Tenerife being
the capital of all the CanaryIslands for years, it's Tenerife.
Four years is Gran Canaria.
In terms of length, I can'ttell you exactly the length, but
I can tell you that to goingfrom one the north to the south of
the island, it will take youapproximately two hours drive.

(10:03):
It's a circular area.
It's a circular island andalso have only have a small peninsula
on the north.
And that peninsula is wherethe main capital, Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria, is located.
So it's very easy tocommunicate from one part of the
island to the other.
The transportation is fantastic.

(10:24):
I have to say, and I want tosay something that is important for
those of us who like to gothere and would like to visit, is
that the price of the gas isthe cheapest in all Europe because
we don't pay taxes.
We have, we don't have what iscalled bat.
Bat is the tax for for certainitems in Europe, we don't have VAT

(10:45):
in the Canary Islands becausewe are so separate away from Europe
that we have a special tax system.
Interesting.
So your taxes are totallydifferent than the mainland of Spain.
That's correct, yes.
The mainland in Spain, taxesgoes from 13 to 21% depending on

(11:08):
the item that you buy.
On the Canary Islands, we aretalking 4%.
It's called IHIG.
It's only 4%.
Basically, the IHIG.
This tax just cover what isthe transportation of bringing things
to the Canary Islands, ratherthan the taxes itself.
Of course, in Spain there aresome taxes that you don't pay for

(11:31):
basic things such as bread,milk, water.
The same thing happened in theCanary Islands.
But in terms if, for example,you want to buy a luxury car or you
want to buy a car, buying acar there is much, much cheaper than
buying a car in Spain, or forthat matter in any other part of

(11:51):
Europe.
Interesting.
It's like its own little country.
Yes, Mark, we have our ownrules and our own regulations.
In many aspects, the EuropeanCommunity acknowledge that we are
far away from Europe.

(12:12):
Just for you to understand, byplane, we are three hours away from
Madrid, which is the capitalof Spain.
That's far by plan.
Yeah, it's far by plan.
We are 2,500km away.
That's a long distance.
If you gonna go by boat, byship, it will take you two days and
one night.

(12:33):
Depending on the boat, it willbe even take you two nights and three
days.
So yeah, I mean, that's thereason why, you know, is.
Is we do have a special regimein terms of taxes and in terms of.
Of certain things.
But also this, this thing, Ijust want to be sure that I explain
myself properly.
Doesn't give us a sense of isolation.

(12:56):
Because Canary Islands is atourist destination.
It's a paradise for many people.
We have a lot of tourists thatcome from all over the world, mainly
from Europe, mainly fromScandinavia, Norway, Sweden, Finland,
Denmark, also a lot fromGermany and from the uk.
And we have tons of friendswho decided to establish themselves

(13:20):
in the Canary Islands justbecause of the benign weather.
Some other aspects that I'msure we will be discussing in this,
in this conversation with you.
Great, great.
Okay.
As far as geography, so it'sclose to Africa, correct?
It is very close to Africa.
Just to give you an example,when Christopher Columbus made his

(13:43):
trip to America, the lastpoint that he touched was actually
the Canary Islands.
So he went from Spain to theCanary Islands, from the Canary island,
came to Cuba, Puerto Rico andet Cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Because, you know, the CanaryIslands are located in the middle

(14:04):
point between Africa, Europeand America.
This is fantastic in a sense,that the connections and, for example,
the airports, each island.
We are seven islands and onesmall island.
We have eight airports,international airports.
So the communications arethere, and you have direct flights

(14:25):
with the most importantcapitals from all around the world.
There is no trip that you takefrom Europe to, for example, to Latin
America that doesn't stop in the.
In the Canary Islands as a.
As a point, a starting pointfor the trip to go to Latin America.
Wow.
So from Gran Canaria you cantake a plane to pretty much anywhere

(14:49):
in Europe, correct?
That's correct, yes.
Any place in Europe.
How about the U.S.
yes, there are some directflights to the U.S.
but there are also a lot ofthem that pass through.
Through Madrid or through Barcelona.
I mean, the.
The connection, you know, theGran Canaria is the second largest
airport in Spain, the firstone being Madrid, and the second

(15:12):
position is between Palma deMallorca in the Balearic Islands
and Gran Canaria.
Wow.
Yeah, it's a very busyairport, that's for sure.
I'd say so.
Okay, let's get on to the costof living and real estate.
So how does the cost of livingin Gran Canaria compare to other
European destinations likemainland Spain, Canada, where you

(15:38):
are.
Yeah, well, the difference is huge.
It's really big, in a sensethat the cost of living there is
much lower.
You know, you can rent, justto give an example, if you want to
rent an apartment, as we callit in Spanish, piso, if you want

(15:58):
to rent one, let's say threebedrooms, two washrooms, living room,
kitchen with a garageattached, you will be paying, like,
around €600.
Oh, my God.
That is.
That's.
That's nothing.
If you consider that that's nothing.
And I give you a real example,because this is what my sister is

(16:19):
paying for that.
So then, you know, of course,the cost of living is not the same
as in other parts of Europe.
It's much cheaper, obviously.
You know, there are propertiesthat are quite expensive.
You know what I'm saying?
If you want a townhouse or ifyou want a bungalow or you want something
like that, you may pay, Idon't know, half a million dollars

(16:41):
or half a million euros.
But of course, that happensany place in the world.
I was looking to buy a house.
I'm going to give you an example.
I was looking to buy a housenot long ago in Gran Canaria with
views to the Sea.
Okay.
It was a three bedroom livingroom, garage, kitchen, big toilet,

(17:07):
big washroom and a small toilet.
And the cost was €200,000.
That's incredible.
So funny with, with a, a sea view.
With a sea view, yeah.
Well, ocean view or.
Yeah, yeah.
Wow.
Something, you know, like thathere would be three bedrooms, I don't

(17:28):
know, 800 and up.
Yeah, yeah, well, that, thatis in the U.S.
but if you, you talk, forexample, cities such as Toronto,
where I used to live, inToronto, we will be talking about
a million and a half, $2million for a house like that.
So just imagine the big difference.
Now we do have to be awarethat euro is a very strong currency.

(17:52):
But even though.
So you know, just think200,000 is nothing in comparison
to what would you pay in otherplaces, right?
Oh yeah.
So it's a big difference.
It's very cheap.
Yeah, well, cheaper than inother places, right.
I mean, of course, you know,if you want to live in a cheaper
place, you can go to a smalltown maybe in the, in the mountains

(18:15):
or something like that andmaybe find a house for 100,000.
125, 150.
But I'm talking about the maincapital of the island, Las Palma
de Gran Canaria.
So what's it like forretirees, do you think, or find that
there are many retirees thatretire in the Gran Canaria?

(18:36):
Yes, basically the mainpopulation that retires in the Canary
Islands are German people.
A lot of Germans, they tend tolive in the south of the island,
not so much in the city.
The south of the island hashigher temperatures.
Let's say that the island,like I said, is Round island.

(18:57):
And in the center of theisland there is a huge mountain.
And from the south of thatmountain, you know, there is no weather
variation.
So you will have like around27 degrees, 30 degrees year round.
So many Germans and Sweden andNorway, Norwegians and people from

(19:18):
Finland, they like to go therebecause they want to have a really
warm weather.
Because it's cold.
Yeah, exactly.
In the cities where, you know,there will be a little more variation,
as I explained before, but inthe south is all the time, sunny
all the time, nice weather andall that kind of stuff.
So that's where they live.
And yeah, basically from thosecountries we are seeing now kind

(19:43):
of an increase of Canadiansthat want to establish themselves.
I wonder.
Absolutely, absolutely.
And for example, in the caseof Canadians, it's something very
interesting is the governmentof Canada and the government of Spain
have an understanding where,for example, if you are retiring

(20:04):
in Canada.
You can make your.
The government of Canada payyour pension plan through the Spanish
government.
So you will get your money in Spain.
You don't have to do anything where.
Like working with your bankhere and then transferring the money
or things like that.
It works directly.
Right.
And that's what happened in Spain.
In Spain has a lot of mutualunderstandings with a lot of countries

(20:28):
because we understand that weare a tourist destination and we
understand that a lot ofpeople would like to retire there.
And so.
Okay, so it's a specialunderstanding between Gran Canaria
themselves and those countries.
That's right.
Okay.
Is there something specialwith the US.
At this particular stage?
I think there is anunderstanding with the U.S.

(20:50):
yes.
I think there is.
I don't know the fullextension of it, but I think there
is, yes.
Okay, so that brings us into.
So we already talked about tax advantages.
There are also some taxadvantages for a retiree to move
to Gran Canaria as opposed tomainland Spain or any.

(21:11):
That's correct.
In the eu.
Okay, great.
So let's talk about the visa process.
What's the visa process likefor non EU citizens who want to retire
to Gran Canaria?
Well, I would like to dividethese in three different aspects.
Any European city, reasonmember of the European Union can

(21:34):
retire there.
No problem whatsoever.
Okay.
You don't need an application,you don't need nothing.
Then there is the example ofthe people from the United Kingdom
who wants to retire becausethey left the European Union.
They have a special procedurethat they have to follow.
Okay.
And then, you know, peoplefrom other countries, there is basically

(21:55):
a very easy way doing so.
If you prove that you haveenough income to sustain yourself
in the past, they are thinkingor reviving again the golden Visa,
where if you buy a propertythere, you will be able to establish

(22:15):
yourself in Spain.
The cost of the property hasto be half a million euros.
In the Canary Islands iscompletely different because the
cost of living is completely different.
But there are many ways whereyou can establish yourself in I Canary
Islands.
And the visa process is notthat complicated, lucky enough.

(22:35):
And I said to this in a verygood way.
In the past, Spain was acountry that was well known because
of bureaucracy and how much welike stamps and seals and papers
and blah, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah.
Now, the way it is establishedis where you just go to one single

(22:57):
office.
You see it in three different tables.
It's a line that you do on tables.
So you go on the first table,you apply, you do whatever it is,
you go to the second table,you follow the procedure, you go
to the third table and whenyou leave the room, basically you
will have all the paperworkthat is needed for you to establish
yourself there.

(23:18):
It's not as complicated as it sounds.
And one thing that I want tomention is that in many, many institutions
you will find a lot ofdocumentation in different languages,
because we are aware of the tourism.
Right.
So not all the documentationsare in Spanish.
You will may find instructionsin German, in Dutch, in English,

(23:40):
in French, but thedocumentation itself have to be submitted
in Spanish.
But at least you know what youare writing and what you have to
write in this particular case.
Okay, so on mainland Spain, ifyou're applying for a visa, you'd
have to go through an embassyin the United States in order to

(24:01):
apply.
Is it the same for Gran Canaria?
Well, there is two different ways.
One way is going through theembassy, as you say, go to the embassy
of Spain in Washington.
And also there is a differentsystem depending on what is your
status that you want toachieve in.

(24:22):
In being in Spain and theCanary Islands.
It's part of Spain and.
But there are certainprocedures that you can do directly
in the Canary Islands.
I see.
You don't have to starteverything from scratch at the embassy
in Washington.
Got it, got it.
So it sounds like there's alittle less bureaucracy there as

(24:44):
well, as far as compared tothe mainland.
Yes, yes, yes.
One of the beautiful thingsthat had happened in Spain is that
after we joined the EuropeanUnion, before the Union, before we
joined the European Union, welove paperwork.
I'm telling you.

(25:05):
Yes.
We love paper.
We love paper.
We love paper.
But after entering theEuropean Union, we had to go through
the standards of the European Union.
European Union have lesspaper, less paper applications, less
complication things.
Right.
The most important thing toget in Spain is the nie.

(25:27):
NIE is a number that isprovided to you by the government
of Spain, is youridentification number.
That identification, it allowsyou to do absolutely everything from
open a bank account to open,you know, like to apply for the healthcare

(25:48):
system, which is a publichealth care system.
And I don't know if youraudience is aware, but Spain have
one of the best public healthsystems in the world, where literally
you pay absolutely nothing forsurgeries, for dental, for eyes,
for absolutely nothing.

(26:09):
You pay absolutely nothing.
And there is also, you know,for people who are interested to
have their own private insurance.
You have the opportunity ofdoing that.
You pay €100 per month.
And you can also have your private.
But many, many cases, and Ialways say this to my friends who
Want to establish themselves there.
It's like don't get a privateone because if you have to have for

(26:32):
example a major surgery, theprivate institution will send you
to the public institution.
Because the public institutionis the one who have the best machines,
the tools, the best, you know,things, you know, to, in order to
have the perform the surgeryand all that kind of stuff.
Wow.
So getting back to visas alittle bit, they have for retirees,

(26:55):
they have a non lucrative visa.
Correct.
Okay.
The golden visa I believe wasjust canceled by Spain in April.
Yeah.
So just there has been.
Yeah.
But Mark, what had happened isthat there has been so many applications
regarding the golden visa thatthe government of Spain more than

(27:17):
canceling itself.
What they have said is thatthey have it on a standby position
more than canceling completely.
So we don't know for sure ifit's going to be reestablished or
if it's going to be modifiedor whatever it is.
Right.

(27:38):
But for the government ofSpain, the most important thing,
because you know, you will geta lot of things like for example,
you know, like public health,healthcare, like I said, you know,
and, and certain things isthat you have to prove that you're
able to sustain.
Yourself, that you're not aburden to the.

(27:58):
That you're not a burden.
Exactly.
And I'm going to give you an example.
You know, when I came, when Imoved to Canada for the first three
months, you know, in Canada wealso have a health free health system.
For the first three months ofme staying in Canada, I didn't have
health insurance.
So you know, when after threemonths you were able to apply for

(28:19):
that.
So it's something similar inSpain you have to prove that you're
able to sustain yourself, thatyou're not a burden to society and
then you don't have a problemat all.
And that is something that Ithink is very important to mention
because you know, it's assimple as that, that you have a completely

(28:41):
source of income all the time.
And one of the best ways ofdoing that is what I said is use
the treaty that Spain has withso many countries where you will
get your pension plan throughthe government of Spain.
Because then the government ofSpain say oh hey Mark, has X amount
of money every month.
So you are able to prove that.

(29:03):
Right.
So right.
This is an important asset.
Social Security check or pension.
Exactly.
Because what happens, youknow, and these are the people who
are having a hard time is whenthey receive the money directly from
the government.
Because like any country Spainwants to have as Much funds as possible.

(29:25):
Money.
Right.
So they want to control themoney that is entering into the country
and all that kind of stuff.
Yeah, that's understandable.
And I believe they also have adigital nomad visa for those.
That is correct.
And this is something that isa very interesting concept, especially
if you apply to go to GranCanaria of the Canary Islands.

(29:49):
Especially in the island ofGran Canaria has a technology development
structure where if you are adigital nomad or if you want to establish
a technology company or atleast to be associated with one,
your visa application is speed track.
And this is.

(30:09):
This is very.
This is.
This is a very good way ofgetting into the country and getting,
you know, a permanent resident permit.
Are there any challengesunique to the LGBTQ community for
getting visas, or do theytreat everybody as equal?
Well, you have to understandthat at this particular point, the

(30:32):
two top countries in the worldin terms of LGBT rights, in terms
of, for example, frominheriting a will or buying property
together or having kidstogether and so on, so forth.
The top countries in the worldare Iceland and Spain.

(30:54):
Spain has one of the mostadvanced legislations regarding the
LGBT community.
And we are very used, youknow, to.
You have to understand thatbecause Gran Canaria is located in
this middle point in theAtlantic where we always.
I mean, I remember growing up,you know, in my same school, in the

(31:15):
same class.
I have friends who were fromIndia, who were from England, who
were from Germany, who arefrom different countries.
So we are very open.
We have a very open societywhere we are used to different cultures,
different ways of living, etcetera, et cetera, et cetera.
So many member of the LGBTcommunity is not an issue.
It's not a problem, actually.

(31:36):
In fact, you know, in GranCanaria in the south, we have a jumbo.
It's called the Jumbo center,which is the largest LGBT center
in Europe, where, you know,it's like a huge mall.
Imagine a huge, huge.
Yeah, imagine a huge mallwhere everything is lgbt.
LGBTQ plus.

(31:57):
Wow.
Not only that, but inMaspalomas, also in Gran Canaria,
we have.
What is the bet?
The best and the largest andthe first one established drag queen
festival in the world, where,you know, they choose the best drag
king and the best drag queenin Carnival, you know, so what I'm

(32:19):
trying to say is, like, youknow, I think that is like any other
part of the world, you know,you have to be respectful and all
that kind of stuff.
But myself, a member of thecommunity, I'm a member of the LGBTQ
community.
And I'm really looking forwardfor my retirement into Canary Islands,
concretely in Gran Canaria,not only because I have families

(32:42):
and friends, but because ofthe weather, because of the health
insurance, because of thefood, because of the way of living.
You know, one of the thingsthat I always talk with my friends
is the way of living is thatyou have time to spend time, not

(33:04):
only, you know, working, ifthat's your goal, work, but you have
time to go to the beach, to bewith friends, to see, to have a coffee,
to have a nice meal.
You know, it's a completelydifferent concept of living.
And that is very valuable for me.
You know, it's, you know, wehave in Spanish something that is

(33:27):
called sobremesa, which meansthat after lunch, you just don't
finish lunch.
And okay, you pay your billand you leave.
No, you know, you, you havelunch, you sit, maybe you have some
coffee, maybe you have aliqueur, maybe you have an ice cream,
all seated in the restaurantand maybe a lunch that it was supposed
to last for one hour, may lastfor five hours, and no one will come

(33:51):
and say to you, hey, you haveto leave because another client is
coming.
It's part of the culture.
It's different, you know, it'sa completely different, completely
mentality.
I'm just going to give you anexample, you know, now my brother
is retired, but when he wasworking, he will go to work at 8
in the morning, finish at 1.
And in Spain, it's very normalto have two hour break for lunch.

(34:15):
So he will have his lunch,then he will go to the beach, have
a swim, go back to the house,have a nap, what we call siesta,
and then get dressed and go towork again.
So this is the kind of lifethat I'm talking about.
I want to have a very easy,relaxed life, you know, because our

(34:37):
work and our lives in thepast, you know, we have been, yeah,
you work hard and when youreach to that age, when, you know,
you say, hey, I want to havean easy life.
Let's put it in this way.
This is my point of view anyway.
And you know what?
Times change too.
Because I remember growing upwhen I first started my work and

(35:00):
I lived in New York City andworked on Wall Street.
I said to myself, God, I am sofortunate to live in a place like
this in the United States, inNew York City, on walls, to have
a job on wal.
I'm just so fortunate.
How do you know?
I just count my blessings.

(35:21):
And now as years go on, I'mlike I don't.
You know, it just changes.
I would rather have thelifestyle that Europe has, that Spain
has.
As far as, you know, I don'tno longer work, but they take care
of the people.

(35:42):
So it's not just the work thing.
They take care of family firstand everything else.
And there's more humanity inthe culture.
You know, what I like to sayis that.

(36:02):
And this is the way I see itis that we take care of each other
and this is part of ourculture and this is part of how we
are.
You know, one of the thingsthat I noticed living in North America,
have been living in NorthAmerica for 25 years already is that
everyone go and mind their own businesses.

(36:22):
You know, you do what you doand all that kind of stuff.
At least here in Canada, forexample, where we have such a horrible
winters, people get very muchisolated in the wintertime is kind
of, you hibernate kind of thing.
In Gran Canaria, it'simpossible to do that because, you
know, you have amazing weather.

(36:43):
The only thing that you wantto do is go out, see the natural
and have a coffee.
Right.
Maybe the person.
Yeah, maybe the person who issitting next to you will start a
conversation with you.
It's like, hey, how are you doing?
And what are you doing?
Are you a tourist?
Are you.
Whatever it is, Right.
Because we are used to that.
We are educated in that waysince our childhood, you know, to

(37:07):
welcome people and.
And to be communicative with people.
Yeah.
It's different than here inthe United States.
It's.
We don't.
We don't have that coffee culture.
No, no, no, no, no.
And this is something, forexample, that I do miss a lot in
Canada because basically.
Or in North America, generallyspeaking, because, you know, where
do you go for a coffee?
You go to Starbucks, Right.

(37:28):
But that's not a coffee place.
A coffee place, the way weunderstand in Spain is a go.
You go, you ask for a coffee,is a real coffee.
Not the coffee from Starbucksis a real coffee con leche or whatever.
Yeah, cafe con leche.
Exactly.
And you see it.
And in all these places, theyhave newspapers, so you are able
to read the newspaper for free there.

(37:50):
Or a magazine, they have freeInternet connection.
You are able to read to stay there.
If you want to stay fiveminutes, you stay five minutes.
And if you want to stay onehour, you stay one hour.
I have been in many places inthe United States where they have
a sign saying, you know,patrons only can stay up to 15 minutes.

(38:10):
I have never seen that in theCanary Islands and not in Gran Canaria.
I have never seen that.
Yeah.
Mostly in Europe.
It's.
They're pretty good.
You know, you have to ask foryour check.
Exactly.
Instead of, you know, themcoming over and saying, okay, time
to leave.
They'll never say, that'sright, that's right, that's right.
It's a question of mentality, Mark.
I think it's a question ofmentality, of how you.

(38:33):
You know, it's.
It's different.
It's different.
Yeah.
I love it.
Okay.
The LGBTQ community and culture.
So Gran Canary is famous forbeing a major LGBTQ destination.
What's it like being a part ofthe LGBTQ community there?
I have to say, like I said, Ihave never faced discrimination ever

(38:58):
in my life.
There.
I feel free to hold hands withmy partner walking down the street
or going to the beach orsomething like that.
We are very.
How could I say these.
Very relaxed in terms of whatis sexual.
Sexual conduct in terms of.

(39:18):
For example, we have a lot ofnudist beach where you just go.
And it's nudist.
You know, you don't have to be nudist.
You can go with your swimmingsuit if you want to.
But there are areas wherethere are nudists.
Areas.
I mean, the sense that is veryinteresting because in the North
American culture, sex, anerotica, for example, is perceived

(39:42):
as something that is an aggression.
Right.
But they are used more to gunsand violence of that kind.
On the contrary, you know, theEuropean culture is being seen in
a completely different waywhere aggression and war, et cetera,
et cetera, is being seen as ahuge violent thing that you don't

(40:04):
want to even touch.
Right.
But when it's something aboutsexual conduct or something like
that, there's no problem whatsoever.
We are very, very much open.
Open minded in that regard, yes.
Very much open in that regard, yes.
And like I said, I have neverfelt threatened.

(40:27):
Never anyone turned their headto look back at me again because
I was holding my partner's hand.
All my friends, all my family,my colleagues at work, when I was
working there, everyone knewthat I was member of the community.
And the same way I was invitedto a function, my partner was invited
to a function as well.

(40:48):
So.
You know, it's part of the nature.
You know, I remember the days,Raquel, where I'd be invited to someone's
wedding or my boss's wedding,and I had to get a fake friend or.
Well, a friend, but it waslike a fake thing because.
Right.
I wasn't out.

(41:09):
And it Was like, you can'tinvite your partner, so you have
to invite a friend that's a female.
That's right.
I hear you.
So, yeah.
Very sad, but it's true.
It's unfortunate, but it's true.
Yeah, I know.
But now.
I wouldn't do that now.
These days.
Thank God, things have changeda lot.

(41:30):
Yeah.
At least, you know.
Although I.
I see with some concern, if Imay say so, what is happening in
the United States right nowregarding the LGBT rights, And not
only the LGBT rights, butmany, many rights of many, many people.
People there.
So same here.
That's why I think I'm gonnalearn my Spanish.

(41:53):
So.
Okay, so the.
The.
Are there any LGBTQneighborhoods, so to speak, with
bars or restaurants, or is it scattered?
Yes, yes, yes, there are.
Especially in the south ofGran Canaria, like I said, you have
Jumbo, which is the largestmall for LGBT people.
They are there.
You find from restaurants tosex shops to pubs to, I don't know,

(42:19):
arcades to everything.
But one thing that I want tomention, and I think this is very
important to mention, manycities in the world have one street.
For example, in Toronto, wehave Church street, which is the
main core street in the gay neighborhood.
Yes.

(42:40):
And where everything andeverything is permitted.
In Gran Canaria, we don't have that.
And the reason, because wedon't have that is because it's permitted
everywhere.
I cannot tell you, hey, go tothis particular restaurant because
it's lgbt.
No.
Excuse me.
All the restaurants are lgbtbecause, you know, it doesn't matter

(43:00):
with whom you go.
It doesn't matter.
So we don't need to have aghetto, because that's what happened
in many cities.
You know, they try to put LGBTpeople in ghettos.
And, yeah, I understand that.
We do have discos and pabs andso on in Gran Canaria, where it's
especially focused for theLGBT community.

(43:23):
But that doesn't mean that ifyou're a straight person, you cannot
enter into that bar or a gaycouple cannot go to a stray bar or.
It's so relaxed.
The environment is so relaxedthat this is the best definition
I can find.

(43:44):
We don't have ghettos.
We don't have ghettos.
Yes.
We have areas where the LGBTpopulation tends to concentrate more
than other areas.
Yes.
But that's natural.
Right.
It's like, you know, when yougo overseas, you tend to get together
with the people who is fromyour same country, who speak the
same language, et cetera, et cetera.
But it's not because you willbe punished or you will be prosecuted

(44:07):
or you will be, you know,harassed for being in a way or another.
That's not the case.
So is there a social scene forretirees in the LGBTQ community?
Are there meetups?
Is it easy to meet others likeexpats or.
Yeah, there are different groups.
Yes, there are differentgroups where you can join and you

(44:31):
can meet people from, youknow, the same community.
But I just want to tell youthat Gran Canaria is an island that
is thriving culturally.
So there are a lot ofactivities year round from.
We have one of the mostimportant opera, opera festivals

(44:53):
in the world happens in Gran Canaria.
And also we have our own filmfestival that is larger, popular
and well known.
These are just two exampleswhere, you know, members of the LGBT
community participate andthere's no problem.
Quite famous.
Quite famous is the carnival.
We have the carnival in themonth of February, and it's a whole

(45:14):
month of carnival festival.
Yeah.
You know, I'm just going togive you a story that happens to
me.
I was in June, like, Maybethis was 10 years ago, 11 years ago,
and I was walking on thestreet and I saw maybe, you know,
a group of maybe 100 people,if so not.

(45:36):
Not more than 100 people, andthey have the LGBT flag, the rainbow
flag, right?
And I was like, what is this?
Right.
So I went approached them andI asked them, what is this?
What what is?
They say, we are celebrating pride.
And I said, but you're only100 people.
It's like, well, it's just.

(45:56):
We just have thismanifestation, this thing, just because,
you know, it's Gay Pride, butwe don't need to have it because
we don't have any rights to ask.
Here in the Canary Islands, wealready have them.
Right.
So normally when you go anddemand something, you make a big

(46:17):
thing and, you know, I wantthese rights and blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah.
But it was just like 100 people.
And they say, well, what arewe asking for?
I say, what is the demand forthis year?
And they say, well, we aredemanding peace in the world.
It's like, okay, well, that'sa good demand, but it's not directly

(46:39):
affecting is no particular lgbt.
So that's what I'm trying to say.
But, yeah, we do havedemonstrations, we do have all that
kind of stuff.
There are organizations as aGamma, for example.
Gamma is LGBT organization inGran Canaria.
They have a lot of activities.
They.
They introduce people to eachother and so on.

(47:01):
There are.
There are a lot for lesbiansand for gays as well.
It's so refreshing, you know,that it really doesn't matter.
And do you know if.
If anti discrimination lawsare written into Spain's constitution?
Yes, yes, yes.
There is a very strong legislation.

(47:24):
Just to give you an example,if you call someone, and forgive
me for using this term, but ifyou call someone the equivalent of
in Spanish to someone, theycan sue you.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
As simple as that.

(47:44):
Because it's a discriminatory term.
So, yeah, there is a very,very anti hate, what is called the
anti hate legislation thatapplies not only for people of different
races, for example, ordifferent faith or cultural backgrounds,

(48:05):
etc.
Etc.
But sexual orientation as wellis part of one of them.
Absolutely.
Wow, that's so refreshing tohave it in your constitution.
And we try.
So we have certain states thathave written anti discrimination
laws and anti abortion lawsinto their constitution here, but
there are only a limitedamount of states that do that.

(48:28):
But to have a country put thatinto their country into their constitution
is great.
Yeah.
You know, it's like I saidbefore, we don't call it civil unions,
we call it marriage.
Yes.
Is marriage under the law?
Is marriage.
And for example, just to giveyou an example, if your partner.

(48:50):
Yeah.
Well, Italy don't have a samesex thing, but what happened in Spain,
for example, just to give anexample, if you're married to a person
of your same sex and you getsick and you're in a hospital, that
person has exactly the samerights of visiting you and caring
for you as if it was astraight couple or even furthermore,

(49:13):
you know, this person, Godforgive, you know, die, pass away
under legal heir.
The legal heir, because you'remarried to this person.
So that's how it works.
Yeah, yeah, it's right now, itworks that way too here, for the
most part.
Okay, great.
Wonderful.
Wonderful LGBTQ community andculture in Gran Canaria.

(49:37):
Let's talk about walkabilityand transportation.
But before, before I forget,tell us, is Spanish a must if an
expat moves from the U.S.
now, I know you should,wherever you move, you should try
to learn the language at leastsomewhat, because you're now an immigrant

(50:00):
of that country and it's theonly right thing to do.
But is knowing Spanish a mustin Gran Canaria?
Not really.
Not really?
Well, it depends on the areaswhere you go.
But a large majority of thepopulation speak English because

(50:21):
we work based on the tourism.
Right.
Maybe their accent would notbe the best one.
Maybe they will use some wordsthat, that you'll say, okay, she's
trying to say these or tryingto say that.
But they will do their best tocommunicate with you.
That's for sure.
That's for sure.
But it's like any other place,you know, when you go to a new country,

(50:43):
it's always good or useful tolearn the language of that particular
country.
For sure, that's for sure.
Okay, let's talk aboutwalkability and transportation.
So I know mainland Spain,depending upon the city, big cities
have wonderful, wonderfulwalkability and great transportation.

(51:04):
They have trains.
But being on an island, what'sthat like?
Is the community where youlive, can you walk to the grocery
store, the market?
Absolutely, absolutely.
Okay.
One of the positive things isthat the Gran Canaria has the largest

(51:24):
amount of malls and grocerystores in relationship to population
of all Spain.
So basically, you know, youwill be able to buy groceries or
a piece of clothing or shoesor whatever you may need, you know,
walking distance.
There are a lot, not only inthese malls, but there are a lot

(51:46):
of small businesses thatoperate in the islands and you will
be able to do that.
Mobility is never an issue.
We have fantastic, you know,bus system not only within the main
city, Las Parametera andCanaria, but also between the different
towns, very modern buses, aswe call their wawas, that's how it's

(52:09):
called there.
Wawa.
Yeah.
So we move around there,there's no problem.
There is a fantastic cabservice, you know, taxi service and
you know, just to give anexample, because they cars are so
cheap there, this is somethingthat a friend of mine who went to
the Canary Islands wassurprised is that the majority of

(52:29):
the cars that are taxi areBMWs, Mercedes and you know, and
high end kind of cars.
I remember my friend asking mehow come is that possible?
I mean, how, how is thatMercedes is a cab?
He said, well, because it's isexpensive and you know what?

(52:49):
So if you're going to pay thesame for this car or this other car
and you can get a Mercedes,probably I will get a Mercedes rather
than this other car.
So transportation is not anissue and walkability is not an issue
either.
It's not an issue at all.
If you talk about the maincity, Las Palmatina Canaria, it's
a flat city where we don'thave, you know, like mountains or

(53:11):
high hills or things like that.
So you can walk, no problem whatsoever.
Can you walk to like in a 15,20 minute radius, can you walk to
the market, a doctor, dentist,hospital, a bank, can you walk to
all of those?
No problem whatsoever.

(53:31):
It doesn't matter in whichPart you are.
You will be able to do that.
Yes, you will.
That's refreshing.
So, yes, being a coffeeculture type place where people have
their coffee and they walk andthat's why they're all.

(53:52):
Skinny, you know what I mean?
That's true, that's true.
I mean, the range of obesityin the Canary Islands is really low
in Gran Canaria because, youknow, we walk to many, many places.
And.
And one of the things that youhave to understand is that if I remember,
if you remember I told youthat the island is round and we have

(54:12):
a peninsula.
The peninsula is where themain city, Las Palmater Canaria,
is located.
That's the capital of the island.
And in the capital of theisland, in this peninsula, both sides
of the peninsula, you have abeach in each part of the city.
So, you know, if many, manypeople, what they do is like, you
know, when they finish theirworkday or when they want to just

(54:34):
relax, they just go and walkby the beach.
They just.
We have a wonderful pathway togo and.
And you just walk and relax and.
And sea and all that.
Yeah, yeah.
What's the, what's the body ofwater that.
It's.
It's not on the Mediterranean, right?
No, it's in the Atlantic, inthe Atlantic Ocean.
Atlantic Ocean, yeah.

(54:55):
Okay.
Yeah, thought so.
All right.
So good transportation.
Of course, it's an island.
So they don't have any trains?
No, we don't have trains.
No, we don't have trains.
They were talking orestablishing a streetcar service,
but that was something thatwas in evaluation.

(55:17):
It hasn't been approved yet.
Okay.
And I'm sure that we talkedbriefly about, you know, flights
and airport.
Is the airport from Gran Canaria?
Let's say I wanted to go fromGran Canaria to Madrid.
Is it really inexpensive?
Well, there are two different.
There are two different things.

(55:38):
Okay.
If you are a permanentresident of the Canary island, The
government subsides 50% of thecost of your flight.
Wow.
So if the flight is, I don'tknow, €200, €300, the government
automatically will pay for you50% of that cost.

(55:58):
Wow.
Yeah.
Because you live in an islandand that will be the easiest way
of getting in, getting out.
Just if you want to travelbetween islands, maybe it would be
€50 or €75 stops.
But if you want to go toSpain, the government subsidize 50%
of the cost.
That's great.

(56:18):
Yeah.
But you have to be a permanentresident in the Canary Islands.
Do you know if there's anymore discounts in transportation?
In general with seniors.
Seniors.
Seniors do have discount in transportation.
They state do.
There has a special kind ofissue thing where they will get discount.
Now actually there is a policywhere all the transportation within

(56:42):
the city of Las Palmas, theGran Canaria is absolutely free.
You take any bus and it'sabsolutely free.
For seniors or for everyone?
No, everyone.
Everyone.
So I don't know for how longthis measure is going to be in place
because it doesn't exclusivelydepend on the government of Gran
Canaria because this issomething that comes from the government
of sp.

(57:03):
But right now, this ishappening at this particular stage,
it's absolutely free.
Wow.
Yeah, I know.
Also for seniors.
I know Spain takes care oftheir seniors.
We do, we do.
We do it because, you know,it's one of the things that I have
noticed when I travel someplaces is that when people get older

(57:24):
they have get your juices, youknow, your brain and all that kind
of stuff.
They almost see you as asecond class citizen, if you know
what I'm trying to say.
Right.
It's part of our culture totake care of your, our seniors, you
know, of your father or yourgrandfather or whatever it is.

(57:47):
Right.
So it's embellishment us.
It's.
That's the way it works.
Yeah, that's the way it worksfor us.
So it's no discussion about it.
You know, I mean, you have tounderstand we are a very much family
oriented culture.
Yes.
Where families get togetherevery Sunday.

(58:09):
We have a joke kind of thingwhere we say how you divide the weekend
and we say that Fridays is foryour boyfriend or girlfriend, Saturdays
is for your friends andSundays for your family.
That's.
That's how it works.
That's.
I mean it's, it's not a rule, obviously.

(58:30):
Right, but most people do that.
Most, most people do that, yes.
I think that's great.
That's great.
All right.
Healthcare and medical services.
So we briefly touched uponthat there's the public and the private.
How do expats access it?
So I know on mainland Spain,if you're a resident, if you become

(58:53):
a resident, I think you musthave private insurance for a year
to get a visa.
That's right.
And then after the year you'reentitled, or it might be even sooner
than that, you still have sixmonths, then you can go on to the
public.
That's right.
But also as being an expat,since you haven't been paying into

(59:16):
the, the Social Securitysystem, pension system of Spain,
that there is a fee for thepublic system as well.
If you're under 65, and thenit almost doubles when you're over
65.
What happened is that when youmove to the Canary Islands or Gran
Canaria, any place in Spainfor that matter, you do have to have

(59:37):
a private insurance.
Okay, but that is exactly thesame thing that happened when I moved
to Canada for the first time.
For the beginning, you do haveto have your own private insurance,
because what had happened inthe past is there were some people
who were really sick, reallyill, and tried to take advantage
of the public system.

(59:57):
So basically they went there,have a major heart surgery, just
to give an example.
Right.
And the government will haveto pay for that.
So the government tried toavoid that kind of situation where
at the beginning you do needto have your own private insurance.
And then with the time you canaccess, you know, as a permanent
resident, you can access tohave a public system health insurance.

(01:00:22):
Yes, you can.
Like any other.
I mean, what I just want tosay is that the moment you become
a permanent resident, you arelike any other Spaniard.
Yes, it works.
But I know that in the publicsystem, if you're, if you're a resident,

(01:00:43):
I know if you're, if you're anexpat and haven't been paid into
your system, then I think thegovernment charges, I think something
like 150something euros per month.
If you're over 65, I thinkit's $75.
If you're under 65, whathappened is that it will depend if

(01:01:08):
you have paid any pensionplan, any pension in Spain or not.
So some people, what they dois they go there, they have their
own private insurance, butthey open their own company.
Okay.
So they pay their taxes forthe company for a year.

(01:01:28):
So since you are alreadypaying to the social system, then
later when you retireofficially there, you know how to
make that payment.
So it's a little trick, right?
Right.
You have to have a job andbring in.
You have to have a job andbring in money.
That's understandable.
Yeah, yeah.
And then, you know, you willbe able to have me, myself, for example,

(01:01:50):
as a Spanish citizen, I dofree, completely healthcare.
Yeah, yeah, that's great.
How about.
Are there English speakingdoctors in the hospitals?
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
They are actually hospitalsthat are completely in English.
Oh, really?
Yeah, yeah.
Both in Gran Canaria in the,in the capital, and both, both in

(01:02:12):
the south.
And in the ones that are inthe south, not only in English, but
many, many doctors, especiallythe ones that work in the south of
the island, many of them speakGerman or Dutch.
Or Finnish or other languages,because, you know, the tourism.
Right.
But English is, is.

(01:02:33):
Is very common for doctors.
Wow.
Yeah.
It's other parts of Spain, notso much.
So not so much.
No, no, no, no, no.
But, but you have tounderstand, we leave.
One of the main income of theCanary Islands is tourism.
So, you know, everybody knowsEnglish from hotels and.

(01:02:54):
Exactly.
And interesting enough, GranCanaria, the main focus of tourism
is tourism from outside ofSpain, Tenerife, which is another
island.
In the Canary Islands, themain focus of tourism is from Spain.
There is a.
I cannot tell.

(01:03:14):
It's interesting, but that'show it works.
That's the reason why in GranCanaria people speak more English
than in Tenerife.
And also, you know, the peopleof Spain tend to go to the Balearic
Islands because it's closer to Spain.
You know, a trip to Palma deMallorca from Madrid will be one
hour.
Okay.
And it is of course, you know,more convenient for them rather than

(01:03:36):
going to the Canary Islands,which is three hour flight.
Right, got it.
Yeah.
Okay, that's good.
English speaking doctors andthe process of getting retirees,
getting on health insurance iswhen that's one of the requirements
for a visa.
So before you come, you haveto establish your health.
Health insurance.
That's right.
That's right.

(01:03:56):
You need to prove that youhave a health insurance.
Yes, that's correct.
Yes.
There, there.
I just want to say that thereare many, many, many, many different
options, many different companies.
So you are not tied to oneparticular company or the government
tells you you have to havethis company or that company or whatever
it is.
A lot of different companies.

(01:04:17):
So you can choose and pickwhichever is the one that adequates
more to your needs.
Yes, that's right.
Right, got it.
Okay, let's talk about myfavorite subject.
Food.
Oh my God.
Food and dining.
How's the dining situation inGran Canaria?
Are there a lot of restaurants?
I know it caters to tourists.

(01:04:38):
Tons of restaurants.
Tons, tons of different restaurants.
We do.
And not only that, but thecuisine is very, very various.
We have cuisines from, ofcourse, the Spanish cuisine.
Cuisine from the Canary Islands.
Typical from the Canary Islands.
And what is cuisine from theCanary Islands?

(01:05:01):
What is it like?
Oh, my God.
Okay.
We are an island.
So we have a lot of fish, alot of seafood, and many restaurants.
Actually they have the menu,but then when you go to the restaurant,
they say this is the menu.
But our fisherman got us today.
This, this, this, this, this.
So this is completely fresh.
Would you like to try that?

(01:05:22):
So, so on top of their regularmenu, they have extra items on the
menu that are just fresh, justcame from the water like, you know,
a couple of hours ago.
Also we have a lot of veggies.
And in terms of meat, the mainthree myths that we have is beef,
pork and goat.
There's a lot of goat.

(01:05:43):
I like goat cheese.
Yeah, it's really yummy.
Actually, the cheeses.
Oh my God, you just touched myfavorite subject, cheeses with a
little wine.
Wow.
Oh my God.
And wine.
Actually, just to give you anexample of how important is the wine
in the Canary Islands thateven William Shakespeare in one of
his, in his novels speak aboutthe wine Malvasia, which is from

(01:06:06):
the Canary Islands, as beingthe best wine in the world.
So also another thing that Iwant to mention is that Canary Islands
is huge producer of tropical fruits.
We are the main exporter ofbananas, pineapples, papaya, kiwi,

(01:06:27):
avocados to Europe.
In fact, there is a wharf inLondon, England called the Canary
Wharf.
And the reason for that isbecause the ships from the Canary
Islands, full of veggies andfull of fruit will go to that wharf
in London to supply, you know,the people from the uk.

(01:06:52):
Famous.
Very famous are the avocados,and very famous also are the tomatoes.
The tomatoes are not regulartomatoes are tomatoes like big tomatoes.
And potatoes.
We have our own specialcategory of, of potatoes that normally
the potatoes, we take it witha special sauce, but you can have

(01:07:13):
the potatoes obviously withthem, with anything.
Right?
So.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
There's a lot of differentkind of food.
And there been there has beenseveral important and well known
chefs that had been in theCanary Islands who said that is probably
one of the most completecuisines in the world in terms of

(01:07:36):
the variety of things.
You can, you can have dessertsand cheeses.
And, you know, in GranCanaria, you know, we have over 15
different kinds of cheeses.
And you have to understand,this is an island that is a little
over 70 km in diameter, whichis very small.

(01:07:58):
It's very small.
And you have different, 15different kinds of cheeses.
Yes.
Can you grow your own wine?
You can have your own wine ifyou want.
Yes, absolutely.
Do you grow your own, do youhave wine that's grown there?
Yes, yes, we do.
We do.
Yes, we do.
Like, I know on the mainland,wine could be cheaper than water.
Yeah.
And the same thing in theCanary Islands.

(01:08:19):
Same thing.
Okay.
Because, you know, we produceour own wine.
Even if the, even if you wantto have wine that is not from the
Canary Islands, but Comes fromthe mainland.
It's very, very inexpensive.
The same with be beer.
We have two main, hugefactories of beer, local beer.
So it's very inexpensive, Very inexpensive.

(01:08:40):
Wow.
My favorite.
My favorite topic to discussis food.
Always is, always will be.
But anyway, let's get intoarts, culture and entertainment.
That's your specialty.
Yeah, well, like I said, youknow, we have in Europe one of the
most important opera festivalsin the world, also a film festival

(01:09:03):
that is very well known.
We have tons of museums.
We have.
You have to understand thatone of the main characteristics not
only of the Canary Islands,but in Spain is culture.
We are a country that we areall country.
And, you know, it's veryinteresting to see, you know, that
you have buildings that arelike 600, 700 years old.

(01:09:26):
Yeah, it's like nothing.
You know, the cathedral.
The cathedral is 500 yearsold, and it's there, and it's standing
there, you know, so it's, it'svery interesting because sometimes
you see tourists, you know,how they are amazed that we have
structures that are like 700years old.
It's like, well, hello.

(01:09:47):
Yes.
Yeah, it's still standing too.
It's, it's, it's.
It's part of our culture.
You know, it's the same thing.
If you go to Madrid, you know,you may have built.
There are a thousand years old.
It's part of who we are andwhat we are.
But you know what is veryinteresting, because when you grow
up, you grow up seeing thosethings every day, right?

(01:10:10):
When you go to school, whenyou take the bath or whatever it
is.
So for you, it's part of your life.
It's like, okay, sure, whatever.
Right.
But then it's very interestingbecause you see tourists, you know,
taking pictures in front ofthese monuments in.
In front of maybe a house thatis, you know, maybe 200 years old.
Right.
And they are like, wow, thisis so old.
It's like.
And you say, but it's only 200.

(01:10:31):
Go to this one that is 700.
It's like, right?
Yeah.
In here, in the US, nothing is old.
Nothing is old.
Yeah, it's the same thing.
I mean, they're old, but not as.
Not old.
Like, you know, a couplehundred years.
Not as much.
No, no, no, I understand that.
And I understand that.
And throughout ambience, thereis a lot of cinemas, there are a
lot of activities, tons of museums.

(01:10:53):
One of the things that wehave, for example, there that is
worth visiting is the house ofChristopher Columbus.
Christopher Columbus had ahouse in Gran Canaria.
And that's where he used tostay between his trips, you know,
from Spain to America, Americato Spain.
He will stay in that house.

(01:11:14):
So it's his house and he'skept the way he used to have his
house.
Now it's a museum.
And.
Yeah, so it, it's.
And we have the old part ofthe city called Vegeta, which is
a fascinating place to visit.
I mean, they have spent largeamount of money in illuminating and

(01:11:38):
putting light installationsand all that kind of stuff to, to
create the ambience of how wasthe city, like 600, 700 years ago.
So it's, it's, it's fascinating.
It's, it's, it's really.
I can imagine.
It's, it's.
Yeah.
And you wouldn't get boredliving there with all the culture?

(01:11:59):
You know what, I have to tellyou the truth.
No, I.
Sometimes I have to say, okay,I'm going to take one day off of
doing anything and just stay,you know, in my sister house or in
a hotel, just relaxingbecause, you know, you want to do
things every day.
And if you don't want to doany cultural activities, just walk

(01:12:22):
the streets.
The streets are walkable.
And if you don't like to walk,go to the beach, go have a coffee.
And it's safe.
It's safe.
That's, that's the mostimportant thing, you know, it's a
safe environment.
You're not looking over your shoulder.
No, that's, that's the thing.
That's what I'm trying to say,you know, is.

(01:12:42):
I mean, one of the things thatyou, for example, have to understand,
just to give you aboutcleanness, if you have a dog, let's
say that you have a dog inGran Canaria and you walk your dog
on the street and your dog peeor poo, Right?
Of course, you have to cleanup after the dog.
You pick up the poo, throw itto the garbage.

(01:13:04):
But then you also have toclean the pee.
Really?
Yeah, you do.
It is mandatory by law.
Wow.
So you have to have with you abottle that has some water and a
small little amount of bleach.
A small and small amount.
And you put it on top of the pea.
So the city doesn't smell.

(01:13:24):
Wow.
Yeah, I like that.
Yeah, it's, it's very commit.
I mean, you know what?
So, so the city doesn't smell.
But you know, you have animal.
I heard in Europe it's.
I don't know if it's Portugalthat I heard this, or Spain, mainland
Spain, that people don't pickup poop.
Well, this is something that,this is true in, in certain areas

(01:13:47):
of, especially Portugal.
It's not within their way of being.
And many, many, many, manyyears ago, Spain was the same way.
Now the problem is that.
Well, not the problem.
The good thing, though, isthat the government, the police will
give you such a healthy ticket you.
That you better clean afteryour dog.

(01:14:08):
So, yes.
I love that idea with thebleach for the pee.
Yeah, it's a small amount ofbleach because you cannot put a lot
of bleach because it's, youknow, it would create a problem.
It's toxic.
Right.
But you have to put water anda small amount of bleach.
You.
You walk your dog and then youspray that so it doesn't smell, and
it cleans the facade of, ofthe building or the sidewalk or whatever

(01:14:32):
that may be.
That idea.
I love that.
Okay, so great arts andculture and safety and crime.
So I'm assuming the LGBTQcommunity has no issues with safety
as the regular community.
There are no guns allowed in Spain.

(01:14:52):
So nobody's shooting one another?
No.
So it's.
You could walk out at 2 in themorning and not from a restaurant
or a bar and not feel.
You don't feel threatened at all.
No.
I mean, I was living there for20 years until I went to the university,

(01:15:13):
and I go there every year,several times, and I spend there
for a while time.
I have to say, I have neverhad any problem.
Never, Never.
Nothing was ever stolen or.
Or nothing.
Nothing, Nothing, nothing, Nothing.
Nothing at all.
That means a lot becausecoming from the U.S.

(01:15:36):
now, these days, between thegun culture in the U.S.
we have to look over ourshoulders if we're in the supermarket
to see if there's any crazy people.
Right.
I hear you.
No, we don't have any problem.
I'm not going to say thateverything is perfect.
Perfect, because there is nosuch a thing as perfect.

(01:15:59):
Of course, you know, there maybe some neighborhoods that are a
little more conflicted than others.
You know, there are some areaswhere there may be drugs like any
other.
Like any other city in the world.
I mean, I'm not saying we are perfect.
I'm not saying that we havethe most iconic place in the world,
but overall, trust me, I have been.

(01:16:21):
Been lucky enough to be in 27different countries around the world.
And each time, you know, Ialways say, hey, can I see myself
living here?
Can I see myself, you know,when I retire?
Because, you know, I stillhave nine more years, but I'm thinking
About retirement.
Right.
My investments and how to dowhat, to buy a house, blah, blah,

(01:16:44):
blah, all that kind of stuff.
And I'm telling you the truth.
I don't have that fear.
I just want to retire.
I wish I could retire sooner.
I'm telling you the truthbecause I really want to go to the
Canary Islands, Gran Canaria,to live there.
Not only because I havefriends and family, obviously, which

(01:17:06):
is a big asset for me, butbecause the way of life.
I mean, I left the CanaryIslands not because I wanted to leave
the Canary Islands.
I was forced to leave theCanary Islands because of the business.
I'm involved.
That was the right decision todo at that time.

(01:17:27):
And at that time, I had to goto Madrid.
But now, for example, we havefour in the island of Gran Canaria.
Only in the island of GranCanaria, we have four universities,
just to give you an example.
One public and three private.
It.
So that gives you an idea ofwhat I'm trying to say.
You know, it's.
It's.
It's like I said, nothing isperfect, you know?

(01:17:50):
Right.
And I'm sure there's pettycrime, because everywhere.
Everywhere is petty crime.
You know, There is.
Yeah, but it's not.
It's not the norm.
Right.
That's what I'm trying to say.
It's not something that, youknow, when I go to Toronto, you know,
and Toronto is a very safecity in Canada.

(01:18:11):
Right?
Hey, you know, I try to hidethings in the trunk of the car.
I try to.
It's a different mentality.
Of course.
You have to take precautionsand be careful where you go, how
you do, and all that kind ofstuff, but in a regular daily basis,

(01:18:31):
no, you.
Don'T feel threatened at all.
You don't feel threatened?
No.
It doesn't matter if you are amember of the LGBT community or not.
You don't feel threatened at all.
That's wonderful.
Definitely wonderful.
Okay, final thoughts and advice.
What advice would you give toour LGBTQ retiree listeners considering

(01:18:53):
a move to Gran Canaria?
Well, I always will advisethem to visit first the island before
you retire.
This is what I did when Imoved to Canada.
Before I moved to Canada, Icame to Toronto, to Montreal, to
Ottawa and Vancouver to seethe country and go there.

(01:19:14):
Go with an open mind.
Forget that you are in a hurry.
This is something that I justwant to say because, you know, in
North America culture, we arevery familiar with any.
This now when the waiters.
Yeah.
Is.
Is that when the waiters takesmore than two seconds to come.
Where's my dinner?
Where is.

(01:19:34):
Okay, what's going on?
What don't you pay attentionto me?
So I mean, there we have adifferent way of life where, you
know, everything takes time.
We are not in a rush.
You have to be patient.
You have to be patient.
And we say, we have anexpression that says that if you
run too fast, you fall intothe water.
Water, it's an island, right?

(01:19:56):
So you fall into the water.
So basically, this is what Iwould recommend.
Know the island.
No.
Rent a car.
They are not expensive.
Rent a car.
If you want to have your ownfreedom, on your own time frame,
visit different places, bedifferent towns, different parts
and speak with the people,speak there and see how it is.

(01:20:20):
And more importantly, haveclear what you want.
There are some tourists thatlike to have the city vibe, if you
wish, and wants to live in the city.
And there are some touriststhat what they want is just beach.
So they move to the south ofthe city of the island.
Sorry.
Where they will be able to goto the beach all year round.

(01:20:41):
I mean, you can also go yearround the city, in the city.
But you know, you have warmerweather in the south.
That's what I'm trying to say.
So, you know, there are, forexample, a lot of marketplace, you
know, every town have theirown market, public market, where
you can go from buying veggiesto buying, you know, shoes, you know,

(01:21:03):
to buy a leather something,you know what I mean?
So all these things, you know, are.
Are important and visit, understand?
Oh no.
Be with an open mentality andwith patience.
Because we are not in a rush, right?
For anything at all.

(01:21:25):
That's my advice for me, for them.
Got it?
Great advice.
And if someone visited for thefirst time, is there a must see or
must do?
Oh, absolutely.
What's the one thing thatstands out that you must see?
Okay, you must visit the sand dunes.
They are in the south of the island.

(01:21:46):
Yeah, the sand dunes is thewhole part of the south of the island
is the virgin sand dunes.
It's kilometers and kilometersof sand dunes, wonderful beaches.
Then, you know, if you want tosee a traditional town, go to the
center, go to a place called Teror.
Or if you want to see the oldcity, go to Vegeta.

(01:22:10):
In the capital city we havenatural swimming pools, like because
it's a volcanic island.
There are natural swimmingpools that are created because, you
know, when the lava reachesthe water, you know, they make like
these big bubbles that, youknow, they are natural Swimming pools.
So.
And try the gastronomy.

(01:22:31):
You know, you will find, youwill be surprised, you know, by the
gastronomy because you maysay, well, is it an island?
It's only fish.
No, it's fish.
Minority is fish, but it's fish.
But there are a lot ofdifferent things that you can try.
You can try a lot of manydifferent things, for sure.
I'm sure.
And when you mentioned thecity, are you talking about Las Palmas

(01:22:54):
and Maspalomas?
No, Las Palmas de Gran Canariais the capital city.
Maspalomas is in the south.
It's a different city.
Maspaloma is a different citythat is in the south.
There, where is the largestpopulation of Greece.
It.
Got it.
Yeah, got it.
So if you can sum up life inGran Canaria in just a few words,

(01:23:18):
what would it be?
Looking forward to?
Moving back.
Yay.
That will be my summary of my hope.
Looking forward to move back.
I'm sure it will happen.
Oh, it will happen.
I don't have any doubt about it.
This is when I moved to Canada.

(01:23:38):
I said, well, this is mytemporary home, but my final home
and destination will be theGran Canaria.
And that's.
That's what it's going to be.
And I'm planning my futureaccordingly to that particular goal,
that's for sure.
I just want to use this mediathat you are offering me, Mark, to

(01:24:00):
say to the people, go visit.
You will be surprised of whatyou will see there.
You will find an amazing community.
You will find an open mindpeople and bring summer clothing
because that's what you will find.
I always advise to bring ajacket because at night, you know,

(01:24:21):
if you go by the beach, youknow, it's always a little chilly,
but that's all.
You know, bring summerclothing and enjoy.
Enjoy the island.
Enjoy the island to thefullest then.
Sounds like my type of place.
I'm going to have to brush upon my Spanish because in fact, a
friend put.
Put some.
Something into my brain,planted a seed.

(01:24:43):
I just have to say, Mark, ifyou decide to visit Gran Canaria
or any of the Canary Islands,please reach out to me and I will
be sure to organize a goodtour for you to visit the island
and tell you where to go,where to, where not to go and what
food to have and whererestaurants and places to go and

(01:25:05):
all that kind of stuff.
Great.
Thank you, Raquel.
And thank you so much for yourinsights on Gran Canaria to our listeners
in the podcast.
It's been really educational.
I love talking to you I thinkwe kind of hit it off and I hope
to talk to you again.
So let's definitely keep in touch.
And if our listeners have anyquestions and they reach out to me,

(01:25:28):
do you mind if I get back toyou, please?
Absolutely.
They will be my pleasure to do so.
I will be happy to help anyonewho is interested in Gran Canaria.
Wonderful.
Well, thank you so much andwe'll talk soon.
Thank you, Mark.
Thank you, everyone.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you.
Bye Bye.
Bye bye.

(01:25:49):
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