Staying in Cueva Santa Maria

Many of you have asked us to write more about what it was like to stay in a cave- we understand why! The cave was as exotic, exciting and unique as it seems it might be. Our hosts, Karen and Gary along with their dogs Scruffy and Bruce, bought two adjacent caves a handful of years ago. They left Britain for a quieter life and our experience confirmed, life inside and outside of the cave was quiet as a tomb. Karen was a nurse in England and said it took about a year for that life to leave her system. Now, she, along with other expatriates, combine several different 'jobs' to make their lives possible in Spain.

Every afternoon we saw Gary and Karen taking tea in the silence of their cave patio and the brightness of the Andalucian sun; it was definitely hard to imagine Karen going back to high intensity nursing and cold British weather.

Our cave had three rooms, a living room, kitchen and even a bathroom and a half! It felt BIG. . .almost as big as the silence its rooms emitted. We arrived in Orce during a freak cold streak that was afflicting much of Europe, we were worried if we'd be warm enough.

Turns out burning olive wood is not only fragrant, it is warm. Really warm. The heat has nowhere to go so the cave was not only cosy but smelled yummy. 

The cave was a lot like a homemade bread (like the ones shown here!): warm, memorable, something to savor and rough on the outside but absolutely delicious on the inside! You can see our stove in the background of the bread shot- it really made the cave Norman Rockwell-warm.

The walls were textured, thick and a bit like being enveloped in frosting.

What was surprising to us all was how modern the cave could be. Karen and Gary have great taste and the cave felt like it was Feng-Shui correct: balanced, functional, clean and pleasing to the eye. In short, the aesthetics were spot on.

We had some great laughs around the table with the fire raging and the cave nestling us strongly in a way that a box does not. We invented Haikus, talked about the metric system and enjoyed the wines out of the 'Honesty Cave' that Karen has behind a door. We also dipped into English crackers and roasted almonds from the region.

Little touches like the built-in bookcase gave the air of familiarity but with the   cave twist of depth and texture.

We had a beautiful shower but Baby-O relished in the old-fashioned babe in a tub.

It was an especially fun place to snuggle and read. Take a look at the 'ceiling'-- none of us are sure but we think there was nothing but 30-50 feet of Earth above us.

It was almost shocking to turn out the light and see how dark it is in a cave. It is pitch-black. Cozy and warm are the two words that everyone associated with the caves. There was something other-worldly about looking up at the texture of the cave walls and realizing you were beneath nothing but the Earth.

This last shot is of the castle in Orce (we think we remember it was from the 11th Century). It has the two benches for the guards to sit on either side and out the window a view that went on forever. As we saw how deep the castle walls were we realized there was something very familiar--- for our cave had the same walls, the same depth and evoked the same feeling---one made for protection and vantage point--- a vantage that you realize you may experience only once in your life.