Ronda

On our final day we drove from Sevilla to Ronda, a small city in the Malaga province that is known for the massive gorge that bisects it in two. The drive was very nice and offered a diverse set of landscapes.

After arriving in Ronda we walked around the central square and the Plaza del Toros – the oldest bullring in Spain. Given all the commotion around the bullring, it seemed that there would be some bull fights later in the day.

The western edge of the city is effectively a cliff and the resulting views were pretty incredible. If you look closely at the picture on the right, you’ll see some tourists standing on an overhang that extends a couple of feet over the edge of the cliff. And it was a long…way…down from there.

Next we walked to the Puente Nuevo, which is the main bridge that extends over the gorge. It was built at the end of the 18^th century (“Nuevo” is clearly a bit of a misnomer) and is over 300 feet high.

The views from the bridge were very impressive, offering perhaps the best perspective of the gorge itself.

After crossing the bridge, we walked around La Ciudad – Ronda’s old town. It consists of a number of winding, narrow streets and was the home of the city’s Muslim population during Moorish rule.

 

Here’s a view looking back at the cliffs that we were above when we first arrived.    

Next we visited the Santa Maria la Mayor, a Gothic cathedral that was built on the site of a former mosque following the Reconquista.

We then walked around the old town a bit more towards the eastern end.

In order to return to the other side of the gorge we took the Puente Viejo and passed under the Arco de Felipe V. The view back up the gorge was very nice, though we were warned not to visit the bottom of it on a hot day given that the city still empties its sewage into the river that flows through it.

 

For those who stay in Ronda overnight, there are some nice hotels on the edge of the gorge. I believe that my parents may have even stayed in one of them a few years back.

After grabbing lunch in the main plaza, we began our drive back to Granada to return the rental car and catch our flight home. As we were leaving we passed a caravan heading into the city. I think it was for the afternoon bullflights, but I may be wrong.

And as a parting thought, the following made me think of Don Quixote…