Casa Tile, its history and importance to rural tourism in Fuerteventura

Casa Tile, our first rural tourism accommodation which debuted around 20o2, already 2o years ago.

Tile (pronounced tee-leh, short for Clotilde Rodríguez) is the family’s maternal grandmother, mother of Cloti Méndez (one of the founders of the Verdeaurora project) and the one who gives her name to this wonderful house located in El Roque, a small village in the north of Fuerteventura.

Tile tells us that this house dates back to the time of her parents back in 1930 and that her husband, Pedro Méndez, bought it to make it her home. Her 4 children were born there, along with a thousand and one family experiences and those with the neighbors that will remain forever marked in the family legacy.

As the years went by, life continued on and with it brought many changes, among them the change of residence of the family to Puerto del Rosario, thus Casa Tile would become the house for weekend getaways and summers.

As the children became independent and married, Tile decided to divide the house and part of it was left to Cloti. Cloti decided to renovate it and rent it to a couple long-term so that it would continue to be inhabited and therefore avoid “dying” over the years. An unfortunate event took place when the house caught fire, filling the hearts of the family with sadness, doubts and great sorrow at seeing the house in such a state.

As time passed, Cloti did not know what to do at the time, wrestling with many doubts and uncertainty, until one day the solution came to her. The next step came from the hand of the “Era de la Corte” family: incredible people, lovers of the island, rural tourism and the culture and tradition of Fuerteventura. They proposed to allocate the house to rural tourism, which at that time was a little-known concept on the island. A concept with very few options available, but with a lot of potential.

Doubts assailed Cloti; “how am I going to make the house where my siblings and I were born, where my parents raised us and where there are memories in every corner, available to so many unknown people?” However, something told her that this was the way, that she should see it as an act of sharing those beautiful memories with the people who come to Fuerteventura to get to know it from within, from the heart of its people: those who were born here, their houses, their memories and their history.

Without further ado, this wonderful journey began, which has provided so many good memories and which now includes two more accommodations (Casa Pilar and Casa Aurora located on the premises of Verdeaurora Bio Farm).

With this story we want to convey the importance of rural tourism for us:

• • It’s returning to our roots, reconnecting with our ancestors in order to bring them into the present and thus prevent them from falling into oblivion. Avoiding a forgetfulness that causes us not remember our origins, and lose our way to where we are going.
  • It means reliving countless beautiful moments at the home of our grandparents and great-grandparents, where the whole family was born and which is the ideal place for all the families who come to visit us to continue contributing to that memory and that history.
  • It involves connecting with the location, with the peace and tranquility of the island, its starry sky, its turquoise blue sea; with its inhabitants, their families and homes, its mountains, its trails and its crops.
  • It helps us understand that Fuerteventura is not only a “sun and beach” destination, but one that contains a richness within it that must be discovered and that allows all to be captivated by it.

Live a different kind of vacation.

There are many things that contribute to living a different kind of vacation, a holiday to immerse yourself in the roots, tradition and culture of an island that at first may surprise with its arid landscape. However if you allow for it, it will remain forever in your heart. And as Unamuno said, exiled on the island in 1924, “…You enter Fuerteventura crying, and leave crying”.

Don’t think twice: come to live an enriching rural experience and thus contribute your part of this wonderful story that we have all been creating for decades… WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU AT CASA TILE!

And if you prefer an experience on an ecological farm in the center of the island or an oceanfront getaway, here is a brief guide to all our accommodations.