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Angela Merkel (Hamburg, 1954) with the Canary Island of La Gomera turned out to be love at first sight. It all started at the end of the 60s, when he went for the first time with his parents, a Lutheran pastor and Latin teacher in the German Democratic Republic (RDE). I was far from imagining what was the most powerful woman in the world who, when the time came to retire, would become another neighbor of the second smallest island of the Canary Islands: only 370 square kilometers and a current population of 22,000 inhabitants.

"In those years the island was completely virgin," recalls a local. At that time, Angela was studying Physical Sciences at the famous University of Leipzig and bathed naked (behind her parents' back) on the wonderful beach of the Valley of the Great King. The future head of the government of the Reunified Germany was captivated by the volcanic beauty of its ridges, the stillness of its few urban settlements and the magnificent gastronomy of La Gomera. Treasures that dazzled the woman who directed the destinies of her country uninterruptedly for sixteen years and from the chancellery in Berlin was also the leader of the European Union in very difficult times. Merkel, for more than three decades, was considered the most decisive political woman on the international scene.

In a few weeks, Merkel will become another neighbor of the municipality of San Sebastián de La Gomera (the capital), located within the region of Playa de Santiago. As LOC has been able to know through Canarian media and confirms El Tambor.es, the digital magazine of the island of the whistle. Merkel's presence in La Gomera made headlines in the German media, especially when she ruled the country's destinies. His tourist pull among his compatriots seems clear: of the 120,000 annual tourists who pass through La Gomera, 65,000 are of that nationality.

Photograph of the island of La GomeraGTRES

At 68, Merkel has no children and is always accompanied by her second husband, chemist Joachim Sauer, the most wanted man in his nation by the media for years, as he only gave one interview in his life with the Chancellor. Merkel's husband was always considered in his country as an enigmatic character. In fact, when the Bundestag (German Federal Parliament) elected his wife as head of the Federal Government, she did not attend the parliamentary session. He limited himself to following his wife's political exaltation on television.

Both share in Berlin a simple apartment that they cleaned themselves and went to the supermarket to do their shopping. Now, the Merkel-Sauer couple will live in a villa located in the village Don Thomas. The house consists of about 620 square meters built and has a communal pool and other services in what is considered "semi-luxury". All within the constructions on this island, highly protected environmentally and ecologically. Perhaps the element that most convinced the former Teutonic chancellor to choose this place is the extraordinary luminosity during the day, the beauty of its sunsets and the nights of La Gomera. It should not be forgotten that before becoming chancellor (2005), Merkel was Minister of the Environment, Natural Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

"She is very loved in La Gomera for her simplicity, she attends to everyone who approaches, she never shies away from a selfie with people who recognize her on the street or in restaurants," one of the native Gomerans who has met the former German boss on several occasions tells LOC. "He even dares to say a few words in Spanish. It's not about anything."

Angela Merkel with her husband, Joachim Sauer, in 2018GTRES

During their mandate, Angela Merkel and Sauer made eight trips to La Gomera, only interrupting visits when Covid-19 broke out. They used to stay at the Tecina hotel, always with great discretion. A German agent and a member of the Civil Guard, with whom the leader became a great friend, guaranteed her safety. The Gomeros knew that the Chancellor took great walks and made excursions through the mountains of the island. He almost always chose the Easter holidays to disconnect and dive into the tranquility of La Gomera. Perhaps the most assiduous visitor among celebrities in the world of immeasurable Garajonay National Park, located in the town. Nor does it disgust boat trips to visit other nearby islands of the Canary Archipelago.

It was common to see the German couple eating fresh fish at Casa Efigenia or the restaurant Los Abrigos. His love for Gomera gastronomy is attested by the fact that he took to his country the almogrote, a specialty of the Columbian island, consisting of a Canarian fresh cheese pate with tomato.

The locals know that such an illustrious lady has tried to know the Gomera culture, including the origin of the whistle, that unmistakable whistled language of this island and the ancestral Canarian culture and its first inhabitants.

The Government Delegation in the Canary Islands has fine-tuned the security device to guarantee what the former president who was decisive in making Europe a prosperous and free place is looking for: discretion, serenity, free time to read and good food. Almost fifty years later, that young physicist from Leipzig has found her golden garden among the Canaries.

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