Corkonians Abroad: Our first Christmas on sunny isle

Where did you both grow up, Janet?

Originally, Chris is from Blackpool in Cork and I’m from The Lough. We met seven years ago and have been married for over five.

How did you end up in Lanzarote?

We had thought about living abroad and to semi-retire to a place with a more pleasing climate for a while now.

When we first met, both of us individually had an idea of going to live in a sunny country at a certain age, so after we married it just became a goal for both of us.

Plus, the older we got, the more we realised that Ireland was fast becoming a country that would not suit us or provide adequately for us in our old age, primarily in the area of health care. And, of course, climate.

What is life like in your new home?

The first thing we had to get used to was the weather.

Obviously, the main difference between here and Ireland was the constant sunshine and high temperatures. Climatisation, I suppose you’d call it. There was a running joke for a couple of weeks where Chris would wake up and say to me ‘What’s it like outside?’ That’s not to say the weather doesn’t turn. It does.

There might be the odd shower of rain or a cloud might show up but it is actually ideal and we are really appreciating it.

What has been the biggest challenge and how have you tackled it?

The language barrier. We are so used to meeting and working with Spanish people back in Ireland that we are under the impression that the majority of people in Spain speak fluent English. Not the case.

In every aspect of life here, administration, shops, services, construction and using automated services, the lack of English can be very frustrating and you can find yourself banging your head against brick walls at times.

We are dealing with it by using Google Translate, which has been a lifesaver, and we have also taken combined Spanish language lessons with a private tutor and we are actually enjoying that, but we are also taking it seriously because we really want to be speaking Spanish confidently in around 12 weeks.

How do you spend your weekends?

Hah! Now here’s the thing. There is no such thing as a weekend in Lanzarote. Every night is a Saturday night.

We have to confess that for a while we were in serious ‘holiday mode’ while we waited for our container to arrive from Ireland.

But we have found that since our furniture and television came, we seem to be settling into a more normal pattern of living here.

Actually, it took five weeks for the container to arrive, which is a long time to be waiting for personal belongings and furniture, but once it did arrive and we started putting our own stuff and touches to the house, it made staying in and cooking at home a lot more natural, acceptable and normal.

Tell us a little about the culture?

We live in a holiday resort, but we are ten minutes away in a private residential complex. And because it’s a resort, it caters for the tastes, drinking and entertainment needs of the visiting hordes of tourists.

So you’ll get a lot of places doing English/Irish breakfasts, Sunday roasts and karaoke. But that’s primarily for the people who are here for ten days or a fortnight. But there is so much more to this island.

We have gone to villages away from the tourist hotspots and discovered local cuisine and tavernas and they are a world away from the squares and strips of the main drags.

It’s a volcanic island with so much beautiful scenery and terrains to explore.

It has an amazing coastline with so much to see and discover, and we are only spreading our wings now since we bought a car and started to see the place through our eyes as new residents.

We have barely touched upon the culture of the area but we found out recently that Lanzarote was a pirate haven at one time and there seem to be festivals at the drop of a sombrero. We really have so much to learn about the place and are really looking forward to that.

There is so much that is different to Ireland that all we can say with regards to it is that it is definitely not Ireland.

The main difference is our daily attire because of the weather.

Shorts and t-shirts are the order of the day and at night we just need something light just to offset the slight chill that descends upon the place when it gets dark.

Tell us about your work?

I worked in the beauty industry back home and was self-employed, and Chris worked in The Sin É pub.

So far, we have not taken up employment but there are ample opportunities for work for both our chosen careers when we are totally sorted with paperwork and local registration.

But the plan is to work part-time, maybe 20 hours a week each, because people need activity and communication with others outside of the home environment.

What has been your most memorable moment?

There’s been a few to be honest. The morning we got the keys and opened the door to our new home. We’d only seen it once at the viewing and were quite pleasantly surprised to see that it was even better than how we remembered it.

There was the moment the four dogs arrived, four days after we arrived.

They had been travelling by land for ten days and there was a frenzy of excitement when they finally showed up.

They’d have a very interesting set of answers to these questions if they could type.

But they are settled well now and at least one of them is still confused as to why she’s not getting soaked on her walks like she used to be going around The Lough.

Mentions to friends and family?

One thing that kind of hit us last week is that we no longer are afforded the opportunity of bumping into a friend or a family member when we are out and about. That was a major realisation.

Both of us had very wide circles of friends and acquaintances, and we were kind of stunned to think that we are very far removed from them now.

Of course, there are particular friends and family members that we miss terribly, but social media and communication apps keep us constantly in touch.

And we keep reminding people that there is always a place here for them if they fancy a week away. Just a week, mind you. Any more than that and they’d be pushing it!

If they were back in Cork, Chris would definitely have a mooch around the Benny Bars, especially the Sin É, catching up with old friends and colleagues, Janet would definitely feast on proper coleslaw and mushy peas, and they’d definitely meet up with friends for a meal and a good local gig.

What are you looking forward to in the coming months?

Experiencing Christmas for the first time abroad.

Definitely learning to speak Spanish fluently.

Discovering more about local cuisine and making new friends, although we have to say that the people we have met up until now, especially the ex-pat contingent, have been invaluable with their advice based upon their own experiences.

One piece of advice both of us would give anyone is, if you are thinking of doing what we did, do not leave it too late.

If we had waited until our 70s we would not have been able to deal with all the logistics and physical requirements a move like this entails.