26/06/2012 Lanzarote (KMC) - Driving around Lanzarote in the seventies in an orange Citroën 2CV, is one of Teguise Broker Emily’s earliest memories of living on the island. Emily was born in Marylebone, central London; however she has lived in Lanzarote for most of her life, coming here with her family in 1975 when she was only six and a half:
“We brought all our possessions with us when we travelled over on the Black Watch ship, although my mum did forget the washing machine. We didn’t forget our car though – an orange Citroën 2CV, we were definitely the only people driving around Lanzarote in such a car!”
The family first lived at La Concha in Playa Honda, before moving to Puerto del Carmen and then finally settling in the resort of Costa Teguise, where Emily and her family still live and work today.
Emily’s mother first came to Lanzarote in 1972 for a short visit of three or four days but instead this was the start of a lifetime love affair when she fell for the island.
She returned to Lanzarote and fell in love again, this time with Emily’s future stepfather, who is also British. The couple then decided to relocate and create a new life together on the island with Emily and her two brothers. Because Emily has practically lived her whole life on Lanzarote, she has a unique perspective on the old style of life on the island, before cheap flights and package holidays caused the tourism boom which modernised the Canaries.
“When I first came to Lanzarote it was completely different to how it is today. The road leading into Arrecife was a dirt track and all the popular tourist resorts such as Costa Teguise, Playa Blanca and Puerto del Carmen only had the original buildings. The resort of Playa Honda was non-existent, apart from our house on La Concha beach, there were only a few more houses and that was it!”
In fact Emily and her family were the first British family to settle on Lanzarote and Emily and her two brothers were the first British children to attend school on the island.
Emily’s long life on Lanzarote means that she is bilingual –speaking both fluent English and Spanish. She is also fully integrated into Spanish society, with a Spanish husband, Luis, from Madrid, and two boys, Manuel, six, and George, 13, who have been brought up in Lanzarote. The couple also own a Tapas bar, El Guachinche de Luis, which is conveniently located next door to Emily’s office in Costa Teguise.
“The Tapas bar has been open for a year and a half; we have a great team of five staff and business is good. I like to think this is because we believe in selling good quality food at affordable prices.”
Emily has been selling insurance for twelve years and has owned her own insurance brokerage for ten years. She deals in all types of insurance from travel insurance to pet insurance and even golf insurance for the keen sportsman!
Emily’s fluency in English and Spanish, as well as her long experience of living on Lanzarote, enables her to successfully serve both the local and expatriate community here. She aims to offer her customers a complete and personal brokerage service at the best rates available and puts her success down to her attention to detail and from listening to her clients needs and matching them to an ever-increasing range of insurance products.
Emily will be happy to provide you with a quotation for any of your insurance requirements, without any obligation. Just call into her office at CC Las Maretas on Avenida Islas Canarias in Costa Teguise, and after why not pop next door to El Guachinche and grab a café con leche and a croissant served by Emily’s husband Luis!
Contact Emily at (0034) 928 590 623 or (0034) 696 779 836
