Las Palmas
This is a preview to the chapter Las Palmas from the book Going Local in Gran Canaria by Matthew Hirtes.
Please note this text is copyright protected.
At a reception at the plush Hotel Santa Catalina to welcome the new British Ambassador Denise Holt back in 2007, I got cornered by a fellow expat who was moaning about the road from the airport to Las Palmas.“They should do something about it, it’s just so depressing,” she said. I nodded in agreement, in fact, my brother, on his first visit, had genuinely enquired “Is there a war on?” before
adding that for me the most depressing thing was that it led to Las Palmas. The shocked expat gulped and moved on to talk to somebody more pro-LP.
They say it takes time for Las Palmas to get under your skin but when it does, you’re hooked. Well, I’m still waiting. Yet, I know I’m a hypocrite. One of the things I miss most about living in the UK is London. And here I am residing in Spain’s seventh-biggest city but hankering for a home on or around the less-populated north coast.
But if I have to live in Las Palmas, which I do for work, I can’t fault the area I live in much, Arenales. It’s within walking distance of the vaguely historic centre and our academy, which is handy as I still haven’t learned to drive. I got round London on foot and public transport, and it hasn’t changed being over here.
adding that for me the most depressing thing was that it led to Las Palmas. The shocked expat gulped and moved on to talk to somebody more pro-LP.
They say it takes time for Las Palmas to get under your skin but when it does, you’re hooked. Well, I’m still waiting. Yet, I know I’m a hypocrite. One of the things I miss most about living in the UK is London. And here I am residing in Spain’s seventh-biggest city but hankering for a home on or around the less-populated north coast.
But if I have to live in Las Palmas, which I do for work, I can’t fault the area I live in much, Arenales. It’s within walking distance of the vaguely historic centre and our academy, which is handy as I still haven’t learned to drive. I got round London on foot and public transport, and it hasn’t changed being over here.
That's the end of the free preview ...
