Spain 2023 Ronda

Ronda is famous for having a fantastic bridge crossing a deep gorge to connect both sides of the city.

To get there, we drove for an hour and a half, winding first along the Mediterranean coast, then up through the mountains. I have to say, the roads were good, and plenty wide. But I still practiced deep breathing and humming, and drove quite a bit slower than the 60 kph limit (there were plenty of turnouts to let others go by).

Somehow (my fault, as I didn't double-check the chosen route 🙄 ), we ended up on the opposite side of town than I had planned. The plus was, free parking; the negative, we had more walking. Still, we're getting better at the whole "you drive, you navigate" process. 

Anyway, we found a place for coffee and a bathroom, and got pointed in the right direction for the town center. We detoured a bit, as we glimpsed this church.

And again, when we saw cliffs...

Right about lunch time (1:30!), we got to the Plaza del Socorro, and stopped for tapas.

A bit further, and we got to the Bullfighting Plaza, containing the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain - this had the arena and park, as well as an overlook of the valley below.

Orson Welles 

Here's Rick, completely ignoring the many-meters drop from the overlook.

The surrounding mountains 

So you get an idea of how deep this gorge is!

See the house at the bottom?

We walked along the cliff edge (sidewalk and wall, so no worries) to the bridge.

You can see here a lookout point - you would walk down the stairs and ramps, the look back at the bridge.

Here it is!

There's an information area and museum inside the bridge - you go down the stairs, then in the door. We didn't do that.

Look at how close those houses are to the cliff!

Feel like a carriage ride?

Looking down at the gorge through the metalwork of the bridge.

Here's the other side of the bridge - see the other bridge in the distance?

We found the quick way back to the car, then drove home, stopping for Indian food take out on the way. Now? Feet up, relaxing to the sound of the Mediterranean waves 🙂.

~~~

Orson Welles quote from the sculpture:

“A man does not belong to the place where he is born but to the place where he chooses to die.”