Second interview coming up: Karla Darocas!
My Second Interview: Karla Darocas - Expatriate Canuck
in Spain!
As you will probably know by now, I have a real fascination
for everything Spanish (my article on Hispanophilia will attest to that), so
I headed over to Spain twice last year. On my second trip
where I visited places such as Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencia,
Montserrat and Ibiza, I also spent a couple of days on the
Costa Blanca, the most easterly part of Spain that sticks
out into the Mediterranean.
My friend and Internet mentor David had linked me up with
one of his close friends, a very interesting woman from Canada
who had moved to Spain a few years earlier. Karla Darocas
was very gracious and invited me to stay with her for a night
or two and I had a chance to get a brief glimpse into the
life of an expatriate Canuck on the Spanish Costa Blanca.
Karla in the beautiful town of Javea.
Karla, her Scottish friend Rhonda and I went on a day trip
on the local train to Benidorm, the largest tourist resort
town along the entire Costa Blanca. We talked about life in
Spain, about the culture and in particular about the humongous
influx of Northern Europeans, particularly retirees, who are
settling along the Spanish coastline. If I remember correctly,
Spain is expecting something like 4 million Northern Europeans
to settle in Spain over the next few years.
From left to right: moi, Karla and Rhonda on the Costa Blanca.
As a result there has been huge real estate development along
the entire coastline and in some places like Marbella literally
every square inch of available space has been paved over.
For anybody with any kind of love for nature, what has happened
along the coasts of Southern Spain is really quite painful
to see. Development has progressed with very few limits and
as a result Spain is facing serious water shortages and environmental
issues due to overdevelopment, overcrowding of coastal areas
as well as the building of golf courses. The tremendous increase
in prices along the coast has made it virtually impossible
for the locals to be able to afford a house there.
Benidorm's famous balcony by the sea.
However, despite all these excesses, there are still many
beautiful places, and particularly the area where Karla lives
is an extremely scenic part of Spain. Karla is a very interesting
individual who is an artist, but is also involved in a variety
of business and non-profit endeavours. Again she is one of
those people who manage to combine the artistic with the entrepreneurial.
I found her to be a very generous host and I appreciated the
opportunity to spend a day and half with a person who could
give me local insight into the area.
Her interview will provide unique insight into a culture that
fascinates many of us in one of the most beautiful and diverse
countries around. Karla's frank comments describe Spanish
society and the life of a North American expatriate and provide
an inside look into a beguiling and contradictory culture.
Related articles:
Click here for the completed
interview with Karla Darocas
Check out Karla's views on
Spanish culture, family life and gender relations.
Click here
for my travel report from Barcelona.
Click here
for my travel report from Tarragona.
Click here
for my travel report from Javea.
Click here
for my travel report from Sitges.
Click here
for my travel report from Ibiza (1)
Click here
for my travel report from Ibiza (2)
Click here
for my travel report from Ibiza (3)
Click here
for my travel report from Ibiza (4)
Click here for my
country travel guide on Spain.
