Casa Winter Cofete

In the Construction 1946 - 1954 section, there are mention of Isabel Althaus' refusal —when she first visited Fuerteventura in the summer of 1947— to live in such a remote place. The family never lived in the house. What purpose has it served? So much effort, such financial investment  —What utility has it had?— It has undoubtedly been a source of endless speculations and legends.

We present the main milestones in the history of the house.

During the years of the chalet's construction, those workers who came from other parts of Fuerteventura or from Gran Canaria stayed in the house. They stayed mainly in the basement, the first rooms that had covered ceilings, and later in some of the ones on the main floor.

On June 27, 1953, our mother gave birth to her second child, Gabrielito, who was born prematurely and passed away a few minutes later. The following day, he was buried in the vicinity of the Cofete chalet, surrounded by a stone wall, near a fig tree.

Leasing offer

In 1958, Gustav Winter travelled to Germany with the intention of leasing the Cofete chalet and promoting Jandía as a tourist destination. He met prominent businessmen and aristocrats, presenting it as the 'Cofete Castle' along with of “Castillo de Cofete” and a leasing offer. Additionally, he advertised it in the press —Die Welt, 12/07/1958— putting it up for sale or lease for a ten-year period.

However, his efforts were unsuccessful. In the subsequent months, response letters were received declining the offer. The house remained uninhabited.

FIRST RESIDENTS

After many years of abandonment, in 1965, the first residents entered the house: the Pérez Acosta family, with their young children. They were paid a monthly fee for housekeeping. They stayed in the west wing rooms, whose windows faced the village of Cofete. Mr. Juan Pérez (1934 - 2008) cultivated vegetables and fruit trees in the garden outside; in the courtyard at the entrance of the house, he had a beautiful garden with hibiscus and many flowers. In a recent interview with Mrs. Faustina Acosta (30/10/2021), she mentioned they had keys to all rooms in the house. In the basement, 'we didn't see anything, there was only a box.' They didn't have electricity: they used lamps, a fridge, and cooked with gas. In 1968, after approximately two and a half years living in the chalet, they moved to Morro Jable: just like the other inhabitants of the village, they were given a plot of land and they built a house. Their school-aged children attended school, and Mr. Juan started working at the newly constructed Hotel Jandía Playa.

The chalet was left empty and abandoned once again. Occasionally, some hikers would force the door or windows and went in, and sometimes they even spent a few days in it. The basement was particularly used as a restroom, and 'gifts' were often left behind. Gustav Winter commissioned two employees (1970) to brick up some windows and block access to the basement storage areas.

In October 1976, several members of the Matos Viera family moved in. This family had always lived isolated in a valley located at the beginning of the Jandía peninsula (Pecenescal), an area that since 1964 became property of Terrenos Canarios S.A. (TECASA). Around 1974, the owners of these lands evicted them, and they moved to Morro Jable, to a home provided by our mother in 'Las Fileras.' Due to their difficulties adapting to life in the village, Mr. Rafael approached Isabel Althaus requesting permission to live in and take care of the Cofete house. On 01/10/1976, the agreement attached was signed. Mr. Rafael Matos, a widower, with four of his children: Rafael ('Lillo'), who signed the agreement, Pepe, Rosa, and Agustín Matos Viera, started to live in the chalet since then, occupying rooms in the west wing. Isabel Althaus purchased a power generator that allowed them to have electric lighting, connect a refrigerator, and watch television.

In 1988, our brother Juan Miguel commissioned the conditioning of two rooms and a bathroom located in the basement - the Matos family stayed on the main floor - intending to occasionally spend a few days in Cofete for hunting purposes. He didn’t even spend five nights there altogether.

In April 1996, the family sold the chalet. Since then, it has been owned by Dehesa de Jandía, S.A., a part of the Lopesan Group, which honoured the agreement signed in 1976 by Isabel Althaus with the Matos family.

After the passing of several family members in 2012, a descendant, originally from Tenerife, settled in the house attracted by the economic potential it had due to the numerous visits the house had. His aunt Rosa was disabled and at a nursing home for years, and Agustín passed away in early 2023.

The current resident of the chalet, a fervent conspiracy theorist, strongly claims that there are submarines beneath the house. Furthermore, he insists on saying that there are 'nuclear submarines’. Does he truly believe this? One might grant him the benefit of believing his claims stemming from ignorance and a wildly imaginative mind prone to inventing fantasies contrary to all evidence. However, he has indeed, deliberately, and cunningly, created a ‘museum' where he collects different objects claiming they are remains of Nazi artefacts found in the house. He even contacted a radio enthusiast to purchase an old radio and then displayed it as proof of communication with submarines in the area. A neighbour from Morro Jable had gifted his uncle Pepe some photovoltaic panels along with batteries that he no longer needed. As these batteries were of German manufacture, the current occupant of the house came up with a story claiming they are batteries from the submarines once harboured in the house. Every once in a while, he publishes a 'new discovery,' a new farce. Debunking such absurd fabrications is utterly useless.

This is the story of the Cofete house.