Spanish Journey Part One
4. Guadix

Narrator
To the east of Granada we find this strange and ancient landscape. For hundreds of years different peoples sought shelter from the elements by burrowing caves into the flanks of these clay mountains. The caves of Guadix are still inhabited by thousands of people. Living in a cave can seem somewhat primitive, but it is not always the case. Verónica Casado invited Inka to visit the cave where she lives with her grandmother.

Verónica Casado
This is the cave.

Inka Martí
This? Is this your home?

Verónica Casado
Yes. This is the doorway.

Inka Martí
This is the doorway? It is lovely, isn't it?

Verónica Casado
The doorway is great, yes.

Inka Martí
And this little one?

Verónica Casado
A little bird. This is the hallway, the corridor, and this is to hang things up, the clothes cupboard - a wardrobe.

Inka Martí
And this is just like that, is it, and then you whitewash it?

Verónica Casado
Yes, it has been excavated and then just whitewashed, it is typical here in the caves.

Inka Martí
Has it always been like that?

Verónica Casado
Yes. This is the last room they dug out. It is Alfonsa's grandchildren's bedroom.

Inka Martí
It is definitely for tiny people, isn't it?

Verónica Casado
Yes. And this is Alfonsa's room.

Inka Martí
This is Alfonsa's room?

Verónica Casado
Yes. Yes. That’s the window. And there is... there used to be another room but they put in a partition. It was all dug out, a bit more and all that. It's the biggest one.

Alfonsa Ramos
Some people think caves are for rabbits. I can tell you that they are divine glory itself.

Verónica Casado
And this is the kitchen.

Inka Martí
This is the kitchen?

Verónica Casado
Yes. Over here is where in the old days they used to cook, but nowadays... the kitchen used to be outside. They cooked....

Inka Martí
Do you ever light the fire nowadays?

Verónica Casado
No.

Inka Martí
Never?

Verónica Casado
No.

Inka Martí
Why, because you don't need it?

Verónica Casado
No.

Alfonsa Ramos
In the summer they're hot, I mean cold, and in winter the caves are warm.

Inka Martí
Is there anything you miss, living here?

Alfonsa Ramos
No. Not me, I don't miss a thing.

Verónica Casado
This is the dining room.

Inka Martí 
This is the dining room?

Verónica Casado
Yes, it's the dining room. That is one of Alfonsa's daughters. Here in the living room is where Alfonsa sits and spends most of the afternoon, up until the evening....

Inka Martí
How many of you fit in here?

Verónica Casado
Oh, it gets full and we have to get out extra chairs and put them here.

Inka Martí
Of course, because they’re no-one here now, but how many would there be of you?

Verónica Casado
Nine or ten. Sometimes twelve. We get the whole family together, get a few pizzas and all sit in here.

Alfonsa Ramos 
We have a toilet, which we didn't before. Things are better than they were: we had four chairs, four pictures on the wall and that was the lot! That's how it is, I've lived through many things in my time.

Inka Martí
Do you enjoy living in a cave? Would you, for instance, swap living in the cave for a flat?

Abuela
Go and live in a flat? If someone comes up to me and says: "I'll swap you the cave for a flat," I would say: " I'm in my cave, I’m not going to a flat".

[music]

Narrator
It is not only human beings that seek refuge in the caves. These riding stables built in the traditional cave style help attract tourism to Guadix. And if you are interested in cave life, you can always stay at the Cueva de Guadix hotel. The owner, Juan José Fernández, is the descendent of a long line of troglodytes.

Inka Martí
Juan José, what do you think the origin of these caves is?

Juan José Fernández
As far as I know, the main core was created when the Moors were expelled from Spain, some of them stayed on, the ones that didn't want to leave, and they started to make caves, which were quite different to the ones we have today. Whole families here are born and have lived in caves all their lives.

Inka Martí
What were the people who lived in these caves like originally? Are there many poor people still living in caves?

Juan José Fernández
Yes, it is no longer like that. Before, someone might have lived in a cave because he could not afford a house. Now it's the opposite: anyone who can afford a decent house also wants a decent cave here in Guadix. Many people are doing that. They want somewhere to enjoy themselves and relax at the weekend, for the holidays, and most of all for the summer months when they move out of their houses completely and come to live in the caves.

[music]