Gran Canaria – A Mini-Continent to Rediscover

If you have been reading this blog for a good few years already, you would know vast majority of articles over here have always been related to some of the main business topics I have been rather passionate about over the course of the last 20 years, whether it is Knowledge Management, Collaboration, Learning, Online Communities (and Community Building), Social Networking, Social Business and Digital Transformation, Productivity, and, of course, Work / Life Integration. 

You may have noticed as well though how I hardly write anymore about one subject in particular that’s been so dear to my heart over the course of the last 13 years I feel it may well be a good time to kick it off today without any further delay. I may have waited for far too long on that one already. I know now I am ready to talk and blog about it and I will explain why shortly…

You know, people often say, when you decide to start a blog, you should always write about the stuff you are truly passionate about, so that, as the years go by, you wouldn’t get tired of writing about such exciting topics that would allow you to keep up with your blogging mojo for many many years to come. I’m only now starting to realise there is something else I have been rather passionate about over the last few years that I haven’t written much about, at least, in the length I would have expected. And, with that, I guess it’s time to do something about it. And change it. Today. That’s why I’m kicking off this new series of blog entries under the heading ‘Gran Canaria – A Mini-Continent to Rediscover’. 

I know what you all may be thinking about, that you are going to unsubscribe really quick and stop reading this blog, from here onwards, as I write these few words, and never come back. That was it, you are done. So long and thanks much for all the fish! Good-bye! The thing is the fact I’m starting a new series of entries over here to write about one of my other passions, Gran Canaria, that may not be very much related to work, does not imply, at all, I will stop writing about the usual subjects I have been writing about all along, let me be clear on that one. I still plan to write, at least, 3 blog entries per week about business related topics and then, over the weekend, I will write one other post about the island I have been in love with since early 2004. And all of that because of a very specific reason altogether I think it’s now a good time to put down for good. 

As I have mentioned already, I have been living in Gran Canaria, one of the Canary Islands, Spain, for nearly 13 years now and time and time again I keep meeting up tons of people, some of whom are good friends of mine, or become friends over time, or they are just acquaintances who come and go as they holiday over here in the island. More often than not, I keep hearing from them how there isn’t anything else much to do in the island other than lay in the sunshine, go to the beach (or the pool), have a swim, perhaps have a mojito (or two!), come back to the hotel, and enjoy perhaps one of the most disappointing dinners ever. And then repeat again for as long as the holidays would last. Ouch!

Well, that may well have happened a few years back, but it’s no longer, necessarily, the norm. If you ask me, that’s, definitely, not what a refreshing and re-energising holiday in Gran Canaria should be all about, I tell you. It’s got a whole lot more to offer, if you care enough to look for it. Yes, of course, you can still get plenty of sunshine throughout the entire year, go and enjoy some of the most stunning beaches in the country, and have a drink or two before dinner, but that’s just the beginning. There is a whole lot more than that. That’s just one of the many activities you can embark on while you are staying in the island. And that’s exactly what I am hoping to share with you all with this new series of weekly articles. 

The same goes for food. You know, I am a foodie myself. Those of you who know me in real life could vouch for that, I am sure. I have always been one. In fact, before I went and started working in the IT industry back in 1997 I was a already cook for a good few years. And I loved it, I still do every single day, which is what I find incredibly surprising, because, upon asking those friends and acquaintances about the places where they had awful meals I keep saying, ‘No wonder, you are just going to the wrong places altogether! Gosh, believe me, I have tried most of them all out myself already! I know’. It’s what you get having lived over here for nearly 13 years and go out on a regular basis for a meal or a drink, which is something I really love doing, as it allows me to help a little bit with the local economy (I will share some more on what I mean about this one at a later time…) while, just as well, have a good time, too. Yes, indeed, getting the best out of both worlds. 

So when conversing with friends about this, I always get asked abut what nice places should they go out to for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or what kinds of other activities folks could do apart from laying on the beach whole day long, having a drink and getting some much needed sunshine. Over time, one realises I keep repeating, over and over again, the very same stories, that is, the very same recommendations and suggestions, year in year out, to the point where it gets a bit too repetitive. And BOOM! Here it goes: I will blog them then, why not, right? 

That’s exactly the purpose of this series of blog posts. They are not meant to replace TripAdvisor at all or whatever other app people may use at the moment to get around places. In fact, if I take TripAdvisor’s noteworthy suggestions about places to eat & dine in Gran Canaria they are quite a few (nasty) surprises I would avoid (Yes, I told you, I have tried most of them all out already! Yikes!). So my intent with these posts is to keep it very informal, very down to earth, nothing fancy, nor too complicated, just blog weekly about a place, or an activity, to go / do and include a couple of items as to why I’d be recommending it based on my own experience living here and then share some additional pictures I may have taken as well. And that’s pretty much it.

Sounds like good fun, don’t you think? I think so, too. More than anything else because the next time friends come over to stay in the island for a good few days (whether on holidays or for work, why not?) I could just point them into this blog and they could just read and digest all of the different suggestions and then make their own holiday / work plans, as they may see fit, based on their needs and wants. So when we meet up again for lunch, or dinner, or just for drinks to catch up with one another, the conversations may shift from ‘My gosh, that place was just awful’, to ‘My goodness! What an amazing place that was! We are definitely coming back! It was absolutely gorgeous!’ 

And who knows? If other people out there, who may be reading those blog posts, benefit from such stories, suggestions and recommendations, about what else you could do while you are in Gran Canaria, all the better, right? That’s what working out loud has always been all about in the first place, open knowledge sharing about the stuff that matters to you, or, better said, in this case, that’s what living out loud is all about. Now, in the moment, carpe diem, making the most, every day, of the place I now call home. My home. And share it with everyone out there who may be interested in doing something different, because if there is something I have learned over time is that Gran Canaria has got a lot to offer. 

Care to join me and find out?

Get in touch soon then! Let’s do it!