An Afternoon in Ronda

If you spend the morning in Zahara, which is only 1 hour from base, why not go the extra 25 minutes down the road to Ronda, one of the oldest and most popular tourist destinations in Malaga? That's what we thought! We spent the morning touring the olive mill, but after lunch in Zahara decided to press onward to Ronda. The half hour drive let us enjoy the mountain views while the kids all took a quick nap.

Ronda is a unique town. The 'old town' was originally built on the mountain, possibly in Roman times, and the whole city was surrounded by a deep river gorge. Then of course it was conquered by the Moors in the 800's, and remained under their influence for several centuries, just like everything else in Spain. In the 1400's, they decided to expand beyond the gorge, building several bridges across it, and a sprawling city on the other side. The most famous landmark is the Puente Nuevo, the 'new bridge' which is actually over 200 years old. The city has some Arab ruins (13th century) and some Roman ruins outside, but we couldn't make those side trips in one afternoon. So we just enjoyed walking through the old town, taking in the Renaissance architecture, and walking to a great vista of the Puente Nuevo. The edges of Ronda end abruptly either at the gorge, or on the side of the mountain, so the city has gorgeous views of the surrounding hillsides.

We parked in the Old Town, and enjoyed walking past the church, through a small park, and past several tourist shops. This was the most touristy place we had visited so far. On summer mornings, Ronda is a huge favorite with tour groups, so we were glad to be there on a somewhat chilly afternoon. Nevertheless, there were other people taking pictures everywhere we went! I couldn't imagine it in a busier time of year! We didn't buy any souvenirs, but it was fun to browse through the pottery and postcard selections, and Sophia loved the flamenco dresses on display.


Because the Puente Nuevo is in the center of town, and because you can still drive or walk over it, you have to go pretty far out of town to actually see what the bridge looks like. There are several options, including ancient stone steps cut into the cliff side, but since we had a stroller and such young children, we opted for a more mild walk down paved terraces on the east side of the city.

This stone arch was built during the Renaissance, and leads to a series of bridges, terraces, and steps that take you to the other side of the city. Along the way, we had dizzying views of the gorge. First it was beside us, the directly under us. Danny wanted me to pick him up at each ledge so he could look over. I obliged, but my Mom instincts were ringing alarm bells the whole time!

Finally, we made it to a view of the bridge, and it was amazing! It was constructed from the bottom of the gorge upward, so there are 3 different levels of arches. Even the lowest arch is still high over the river: we saw birds flying through that arch, while we looked down from a lofty terrace.

Since we were now on the newer side of the river, we took our time wandering through several plazas and parks. The Alamadeda del Tajo park on the northwest side of the city had beautiful shaded boulevards, classic statues, and gorgeous views of the sun setting over the mountains. It was a great spot to enjoy an evening snack, as the kids were starting to get a little tired.

 The park is right next to the bullring, which is Ronda's other famous landmark. Bullfighting was supposedly invented in Ronda, and they have the oldest bullring in Spain. Apparently bullfighting developed when nobles used to train on horseback chasing bulls. One day, a nobleman fell off, and a servant quickly waved his colorful hat to distract the bull and keep the man from danger. Everyone thought is was great sport, and the man soon added a retinue of mounted and unmounted assistants to help with his fights. They are today's picadores (mounted) and matadores (unmounted). Some of the most famous bullfighters fought here, and their statues can be seen around the city, much to Danny's delight. He is becoming familiar with pictures of bulls everywhere and says he wants to be a bullfighter someday. :-) To me, the town reminded me so much of Hemingways' The Sun Also Rises. Even though it didn't take place here, Hemingway spent time in Ronda, and you can tell that the city's Spanish flavor and style is evident in his writing. It makes me want to read his books again, as he was always an author I enjoyed.

Ronda is certainly a gorgeous town, and I can see why it is so popular. We enjoyed our afternoon, but it was cut short by the fact that the kids got tired and hungry, but Spanish restaurants don't start serving dinner until at least 7PM. So we had to drive 2 hours back to Rota to get dinner. But we enjoyed our afternoon, and I'm sure we will return again sometime!