Second Interview Coming Up
By Susanne Pacher, Fri Dec 9th

As you will probably know by now, I have a real fascination foreverything Spanish (my article on Hispanophilia will attest tothat), so I headed over to Spain twice last year. On my secondtrip where I visited places such as Barcelona, Tarragona,Valencia, Montserrat and Ibiza, I also spent a couple of days onthe Costa Blanca, the most easterly part of Spain that sticksout into the Mediterranean.

My friend and Internet mentor David had linked me up with one ofhis close friends, a very interesting woman from Canada who hadmoved to Spain a few years earlier. Karla Darocas was verygracious and invited me to stay with her for a night or two andI had a chance to get a brief glimpse into the life of anexpatriate Canuck on the Spanish Costa Blanca.

Karla, her Scottish friend Rhonda and I went on a day trip onthe local train to Benidorm, the largest tourist resort townalong the entire Costa Blanca. We talked about life in Spain,about the culture and in particular about the humongous influxof Northern Europeans, particularly retirees, who are settlingalong the Spanish coastline. If I remember correctly, Spain isexpecting something like 4 million Northern Europeans to settlein Spain over the next few years.

As a result there has been huge real estate development alongthe entire coastline and in some places like Marbella literallyevery square inch of available space has been paved over. Foranybody with any kind of love for nature, what has happenedalong the coasts of Southern Spain is really quite painful tosee.

Development has progressed with very few limits and as aresult Spain is facing serious water shortages and environmentalissues due to overdevelopment, overcrowding of coastal areas aswell as the building of golf courses. The tremendous increase inprices along the coast has made it virtually impossible for thelocals to be able to afford a house there.

However, despite all these excesses, there are still manybeautiful places, and particularly the area where Karla lives isan extremely scenic part of Spain. Karla is a very interestingindividual who is an artist, but is also involved in a varietyof business and non-profit endeavours. Again she is one of thosepeople who manage to combine the artistic with theentrepreneurial. I found her to be a very generous host and Iappreciated the opportunity to spend a day and half with aperson who could give me local insight into the area.

Her interview will provide unique insight into a culture thatfascinates many of us in one of the most beautiful and diversecountries around. Karla's frank comments describe Spanishsociety and the life of a North American expatriate and providean inside look into a beguiling and contradictory culture.

About the author:Susanne Pacher is the publisher ofhttp://www.travelandtransitions.com. It deals with travel toforeign countries and is chock full of advice, tips, real lifetravel experiences, interviews with travellers, insights,cross-cultural issues, and many other features. Participate inour travel story contesthttp://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm and win greatprizes, a fabulous cruise to the Amazon. Life is a Journey -Explore New Horizons.