Casa Cueva El Mimo, Artenara

Being Fred and Wilma

Welcome to Bedrock. We’re staying at Casa Cueva El Mimo, one of five Artenatur cave houses. But instead of Pebbles, Dino, and Baby Puss, our brood’s Dani, Alex, and Tom who, after a quick shower, take the plunge in the cool pool.

At such great heights

A mere 60km (37 miles) north of the Playa del Inglés, you’ll find Artenara. Although, given the contrast between the dry and arid PDI and the green and pleasant Artenara, you’d assume you were in another time zone altogether. 1,270 metres (4,167 feet) high, it’s the highest village on the island. Yet, the Casa Cueva El Mimo’s is in fact just under 5 minutes’ drive away from Artenara, in Las Arbejas.

21st century comfort in Casa Cueva El Mimo

The Casa Cueva El Mimo’s inside and outside may be Stone Age but its fittings are anything but. As well as a widescreen TV, there’s a microwave, shower, and hydromassage bath. The cave houses in Artenara were originally occupied by the canarii, the Berber-descending people who roamed the island before the 15th-century Spanish invasion, but Artenatur have brought them up to date for new-millennial guests.

Morning glory

If truth be told, Mr Gran Canaria Local could have lolled about the Casa Cueva El Mimo more or less all day as the sun beat down outside. However, Artenatur’s Miriam had other plans for him. And so off he went with a tour party led by Octavio from Artenara’s tourist information office.

His destination was the Risco Caído, a canarii sacred site rarely open to the public. This cave houses 30 carved pubic triangles which illuminate when the sun comes up. The shadow of a nearby rock imitates a phallus, and so what you see resembles the act of love with the rock entering one of the triangles.

Octavio explained that the canarii from the north and the south of the island would meet each year for a mixing of the blood.  Where the youngsters from both tribes would lie together. Well, how did you think Pebbles came about?