May 11, 2015
Ronda, Andalucia, Spain.
On our last day with our hideous rental car, Tom and I took a day trip on the Ruta de los Pueblos Blanchos (Route of the White Hill Towns) to Ronda. As you have probably surmised, Ronda is town of white washed houses located on a hill. But what you might not have suspected is that the town is straddling a deep limestone gorge. And what a lovely sight to take in!
Main bridge crossing in Ronda.
Of course, Tom and I did not miss the opportunity to hike down into the gorge so we could take a look around. The water coming out under the bridge looked lovely, clear and refreshing... When we hiked in behind, the water looked very scummy and stagnant...
Tom under the gorge bridge.
As we looked around, we saw signs of a via ferrata (Italian for "iron road"), a set of iron rungs set into the rock that can be clipped into for climbing. We didn't see any one using them, and we couldn't tell exactly where they went.
Via ferrata cables.
The town was initially established over the gorge for practical reasons-- it provided the Moors an strategic defense position. Unfortunately for the Moors, the city was taken by the Spaniards in 1485, and has remained a relatively small city, with approximately 40,000 residents.
Lunch time view.
We ate lunch on a gorge-side patio, and enjoyed the warm weather (about 30 degrees), and beautiful views. We had gazpacho, melon wrapped in jamon iberico (the Spanish version of proscuitto), and a salad between us.
Our lunch spot was on the opposite side of the gorge bridge, so we got a slightly different perspective of it.
Opposite side of gorge bridge.
After lunch, Tom took the photo below of a pile of garbage. Sometimes... It's better not to think about where you lunch came from. *Sigh*
Remains of Spanish cured ham-- jamon iberico.
Ronda's second claim to fame is that it is the home of modern bullfighting. There were no bullfights going on the day that we visited (and honestly, we probably wouldn't have gone to it if there had been), but we took a walk around the stadium, and perused some of the displays in the bullfighting museum.
Ronda bullfighting ring.
All in all, it was a pretty relaxed day. As we headed back to the car, we were able to take in one last linger look at the countryside around us.
And Andalusian view.
We took the car back to Seville so we could drop it off at the rental lot at a nearby train station. We had the rental car for nine days, and an hour and a half before we dropped it off, we drove through a speed trap. It was photo radar, and I'm pretty sure it's only a matter of time before we receive THAT ticket in the mail.
Ronda wraps up our trip in Spain. Next, we're on to Portugal!
No comments:
Post a Comment