0205 Ronda

View down the side of the cliff on which Ronda stands






The new bridge (Puente Nuevo 1753-1793)




We were really pleased we made a day trip to Ronda. We went by bus with the Amarillos company and when I bought the tickets the ticket seller seemed to say that it didn't matter which bus we came back on in the afternoon. When we got there the ticket offices were closed so we decided to get moving and see some of the sights. We finally found a map in a sweet shop and headed for the historic area. The town of Ronda is built on top of a 60 m high cliff. It seemed much higher to me when I looked over the edge - my stomach gave a decided lurch. By following the walk around the top of the cliff we came to the bridge which was built in the 18th century and joins the two parts of the town together. It, of course, has to be 60 m plus tall.

We then walked across the bridge and down the hill to investigate a building we could see from the other side. We came to an entrance to what was called The Mine (La Mina) so decided to have a look. It turned out to be the water supply for the city when it was under the control of the Moors from 700? until it was taken by Cadiz in 1400? It was an ingenious series of 360 steps cut in the side of the cliff and covered by a tower in one part. There was a well about half way down which used a waterwheel in some way to get the water from the river. Hundreds of slaves carried water all day from this well to the surface. This construction also had a weapons room which had space for the water and oil which would have been poured (boiling) onto anyone attacking from below and a secret escape from the city. It was a really great thing to see and is very unusual as an example of a defence system. As it turns out, Cadiz came up the river when he attacked the city and cut off the water supply leading to the surrender of the villagers.


The weapons room in La Mina with the window through which boiling oil would be poured


At the bottom of La Mina

The garden in the Moorish King's Palace (Casa del Rey Moro) at the top of the stairs to the mine was designed by a French gardener and is very simple but beautiful. From this garden we could see the old bridge at the bottom of the gorge so we decided to keep going down. On the river Arab Baths have been discovered and are being excavated. Then the heavens opened and we had the long climb up the hill to do on slippery cobbles.

Once back at the bus station, we found the ticket office was still closed so we decided we would try to find the bus and wait. There was no information board listing arrivals and departures and no information on the window of the ticket office. Finally the bus started loading so we joined the queue only to be chastised by the bus driver for something that was several sentences long. When I said "no entiendo" he took the mickey - I actually think he thought I was Spanish and several sentences later, I said "but the ticket office is closed". During this fiasco, there was an elderly man just leaning on the bus. We thought he must have been a retired driver or bus station worker. He understood the situation perfectly and swung into action, taking our tickets and us to the ticket office which was miraculously open just for the departure of the bus. We lined up again with kosher tickets and all was rosey. The bus driver apologised to me when we were boarding, but I ignored him and instead looked at the kind elderly gentleman and said "gracias". I felt I got my own back (I would have preferred to have kicked him in the shins).

Negotiating the language is part of the fun of travel, but sometimes it does become overwhelming especially in situations like this one when so much relies on local knowledge. I also find that I just get tired of doing all the dealing.
I must say, the bus service here is very good and most of the time the information given works.

The bus journey to Ronda was exciting, with many gorges and limestone cliffs and agriculture in any possible space. It was not difficult to imagine Moors and Christians playing cat and mouse in the gorges and mountains. The area boasts many "white" villages mostly built around a castle or fort, on the top of a hill and a cathedral is never far away. I saw two donkeys taking it easy in orchards and several herds of goats with a shepherd in tow so I have finally seen a donkey even if it was not working.

Our bus journey was an hour and a half and unbelievably, there were two young men in the seats behind us who talked or yelled constantly for the whole journey. Often, a woman in the front seat across the aisle would have a yelled conversation with the bus driver and the driver had the radio on. It was so loud that I could feel the little hairs in my ears lying down and giving up the ghost.

Ronda is gorgeous and not only I think so. Orson Wells loved it so much that he requested his ashes be scattered there on his death. Also Hemingway lived and wrote there for many years.